Comments on: No Review This Week

By: James

James — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:21:38 +0000

Another draw for the Catalans! I was holding my breath the entire last 10 minutes, it was an excellent effort by Barca to try and snatch the win. Too bad for them…

Hopefully, Villareal slips up a little tomorrow, we play to our healthy potential, and take a double-digit lead into the final 5 fixtures. I’d be pretty satisfied to see us celebrate in Cibeles after the Barca game, plus it would give some playing time to younger guys.

Hala Madrid!

By: elmeromero

elmeromero — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:23:26 +0000

Cesc, I like Higuain, he is young and has a lot to learn but for a young player, his movement around the box is world class. It’s very creative and it opens up brilliant play opportunities for Guti and Sneijder. Unfortunately, he’s somewhat out of place on this Real team, in that everyone expects him to play as a true striker, and he hasn’t been able to meet those expectations because his finishing still needs work. I’m not sure if it’s due to the fact that we also need a more dynamic striker, as Raul and Ruud are fairly slow and immobile (while also brilliant in their own way). They might just not be a good fit for what Higuain offers, which is a very hard to guard assist man. So as it stands, I guess Higuain is underperforming. But he has the potential to be world class in the adequate situation, and I think Real should hold on to him. I for one am excited to see who comes on board this summer (Benzema, Hunteelar, etc) and what that may do to help Higuain out.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:54:25 +0000

To Comment on the Ref problems above:

A Red card offense is a red card offense, whether it is in the 5th minute or the 50th.

By: corey

corey — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:56:00 +0000

No preview this week everyone I still have a lot of work to do and its my best friends 21st tomorrow I’ll have a review of the game up on Sunday though. Hala Madrid!

By: cesc

cesc — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:26:19 +0000

Simply because this is the most recent Real article, I’m interested as to what Madridistas think of G. Higuain..ya think he’s potentially world class? Or just ‘good’ as in Morientes good. So not setting the world alight but a good player nonetheless

By: Corey

Corey — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:24:12 +0000

I dont forsee any major changes. Schuster has said he wants 2 or 3 new faces, but with the return of the three on-loan midfielders plus Agus and Adrian, thats 5. So I do not forsee any major purchases. A few good signings I am ok with, but no major players yet. Calderon, Mijatovic, Portugal and Schuster (and to an extent chief scout Lopetegui) know that the constant turn over is unhealthy, so their wont be another summer of upheavel.

That being said, football has cycles, and Real And Barca are prety to this. Barca was on top of the world for 3 or 4 years, now they arent and we are back to back champions (I hope so!), and will be pushing hard for European glory once again. But this cycle will have to end, the triumphant 10 year spans that both clubs had in their histories does not happen these days, as player and coach movement makes it impossible. The days of the Dream Team or Butre Squad are long gone, and evry 2-3 years one team will be on the decline and another will elevate once again. Its like the economy, or your love life. Its my philosophy on life, I apply it to football as well.

By: john

john — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:06:21 +0000

My first thought is about AC Milan. Honestly, for a team with so much history and pride, they’ve kind of disgusted me this season. I always have a hard time with a team that scoffs off the league competition, which Milan very apparently did, again, this year, putting all their eggs in one European basket, so to speak. This year, it bit them in the ass. Now it’s questionable if they’ll even make it to the Champions League next year. Their response: disolve the team, bring in the mercinaries. (Sound familiar?) It just seems they played their cards foolishly and now are grappling desperatly to get back their seat at the table. In my opinion, a team like AC Milan should never be in that position.

Which brings me to Barcelona. They’re in nowhere the same kind of crisis, but seem to be realing and primed for a major makeover nonetheless. I’m all for it, as it benifits Madrid – who are just now settling in to their last overhaul – and would give them (I believe) a distinct advantage next year. That is, unless they fall prey to the same mindset – cleaning house and altering the makeup of the team. My overall desire for Madrid in the offseason is for them to focus on who they have, not who they can bring in. Just let this squad get comfortable. But being Madrid…

By: elmeromero

elmeromero — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:58:37 +0000

In non-Real related news, but obviously could be a good thing for us, Milan is now contemplating making an offer for not just Ronnie, but also Deco, Rafa Marquez and Zambrotta. Apparently, Barca might consider this a good move as it would release some aging players who are not happy with their current situations. In my opinion these veterans have a lot more to offer than younger untested players, which may be a good thing for us and for the rest of the league for a few years. On the other side, those moves would also free up spending to bring on other players such as Dani Alves or Garay, so who knows. Either way, it looks like its going to be a major shakeup at Barca. Any thoughts?

By: Evo

Evo — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:03:02 +0000

The jury is still out on Robben for me. In some ways I like him because he is more direct than Robinho, using pace rather than tricks to make space. I would agree Robinho has more talent and has settled into a player who can proudce something this season. Mind you it has taken Robinho a long time at the club to really start doing this. Also Robben runs like a girl

Fair points about Guti, i really hate his attitude though.

By: john

john — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:09:27 +0000

Awsome points Corey – and spot on about Robben. I’m still of the opinion that Torres’ tackle was horrible and worthy of his Red, but that’s an arguable opinion.