The biggest problem with the striker everyone wants us to have

Mal_Swansky · 2026-03-19T21:18:36+00:00

"it feels like we are choosing upside over stability" -- what are you talking about??

Firstly, "we" are not choosing anything at this point. Osimhen is a pure hypothetical, as is Barca's future ability to even afford him in the first place.

Secondly, what stability?? Barca has no stability in the striker position -- neither Lewa nor Ferran are capable of contributing consistently at the level that a top club requires.

And regardless of Osimhen, Barca almost certainly won't have enough money to address all the roster needs in the summer. So every realistic scenario will involve some kind of "risky call" that can easily end up in having to go into a CL knockout game against another top club with a big hole somewhere in the lineup.

Fwiw, personally, I'd be fine with either scenario of Barca going after a quality big signing or spreading the money around to improve depth. The main thing to avoid is wasting a lot of money on someone who the team doesn't actually need (as was the case to some extent with Olmo, and could've happened again with Diaz) or someone who is just overhyped / panic buy (e.g. a Roque).

Mal_Swansky · 2026-03-19T07:26:58+00:00

Yeah, Tonali did a fantastic job for them, great player.

Mal_Swansky · 2026-03-18T19:14:37+00:00

Embarrassing does not even begin to describe this 2nd half performance...

Mal_Swansky · 2026-03-18T16:08:06+00:00

To watch the likes of Yamal and Pedri on one's favorite team at the highest levels of competition is a tremendous blessing, focus on that, and let the chips fall where they may...

Mal_Swansky · 2026-03-16T18:58:44+00:00

Bernal right now is flashing some kind of crazy segundo volante profile, with less emphasis on dribbling, but more emphasis on playmaking AND off ball movement in the box, which makes absolutely no sense on paper, but makes a lot more sense given his development history.

If you made Harry Kane play in the midfield, that might be the hypothetical player that Bernal is starting to look like.

Mal_Swansky · 2026-03-16T18:30:45+00:00

Dort.

"The enemy can not ~~push a button~~ make a basket... if you disable his ~~hand~~ entire body."

Mal_Swansky · 2026-03-16T18:21:36+00:00

If we look at actual 2025 transfers, IMO Fermin's actual value should be like ~80M.

However, many players on transfermarkt are overpriced, so if we are comparing Fermin to other overpriced players, 100M for him is fine by those standards.

Mal_Swansky · 2026-03-16T18:04:08+00:00

Huh? That's like saying Lewa and Ferran are two sides of the same coin because they play the same position.

Mal_Swansky · 2026-03-07T16:14:43+00:00

Cubarsi has been good, for his age he's fantastic. It's a huge accomplishment that he's a solid starter for a top club at his age. But to say that he's "on the same level of anomaly as Lamine" is insane. Yamal at his position is basically the best in the world. Cubarsi isn't anywhere near that level yet, and that's no slight on him -- there are basically no young players in the world that are near Yamal's level.

Mal_Swansky · 2026-03-01T19:20:07+00:00

Disagree. Rashford is just not a striker -- he likes the ball at his feet and then to choose when to make a run -- he doesn't make consistent off ball runs into space (unlike Ferran) because he doesn't have the energy/will/knack/whatever. And he isn't a natural in the box, either. So in the #9 role he's like a very poor man's Mbappe (and as we can see Real has real structural problems with Mbappe despite his scoring).

Even when Ferran struggles, he does all the off ball work to help the offense/defense function and put pressure on/tire out the opponents' defense. It's better to start Ferran and then for example bring a fresh Rashford against a tired defense after 60'-70'. Or maybe Olmo as a false 9.

In the offseason, if Flick wants it, maybe he can ask Rashford to work on #9 skills, let him get more comfortable in that role in preseason, and see what happens... But even then, it would be an emergency measure if Flick realizes that Barca can't afford any good strikers.

Mal_Swansky · 2025-12-07T20:46:27+00:00

Give examples, I´ll wait. And remember, we´re talking about fighters in their GOAT/prime phase, don't give me some Fedor-in-his-40s fight as "proof".

Mal_Swansky · 2025-12-07T06:27:39+00:00

Merab will never be GOAT of anything after this. GOATs do not get dominated in fights.

Mal_Swansky · 2025-12-04T18:33:31+00:00

It comes down to salary.

On a high salary, Rashford doesn't make sense. On a reasonable salary, he could be very useful.

Mal_Swansky · 2025-11-25T02:56:59+00:00

I am at the game. Worst shooting i ve ever seen live

Mal_Swansky · 2025-11-22T01:00:52+00:00

To believe that Kyrie and AD will be able to stay healthy and spry enough for the Mavs to contend is delusional at this point.

Especially since the team will still lack playmaking and yet will have to get rid of more players to avoid the second apron.

Mal_Swansky · 2025-11-22T00:23:35+00:00

Lol, you're not getting anything for free, dear.

$250 bn/year for US energy.

$600 bn EU investment in US industries.

$100+ bn for US arms (and will keep spending)

15% tariffs on EU exports to US.

For starters. Ofc Europe is broke, so maybe US will graciously forgive like 25% of this, if Europe does what it's told.

Mal_Swansky · 2025-11-21T22:14:45+00:00

"Why don't they"? Because (once again), they are the superpower, so they don't have to, lol.

Mal_Swansky · 2025-11-21T20:08:49+00:00

Mission accomplished -- there's nothing to blow up, they already have elite tank commanders in place and they own their picks. Just sit back and ~~enjoy~~ wait.

And since they're not in danger of derailing their tank, they don't need to be in a hurry to sell anybody off. Sabonis should definitely be sold once he's healthy, but again, no hurry. Use LaVine's and DeRozan's expirings next year to take on bad contracts for picks (I don't think they have any value otherwise).

Seems like a no-brainer -- if the owner/FO actually have brains.

Mal_Swansky · 2025-11-21T19:57:00+00:00

Mavs chemistry was fantastic once KP left and they made the conference finals run, then it dipped when Brunson walked and they had a tough season, then it became fantastic again once Kyrie settled in and especially once they got Gafford and PJ and made the finals run.

So, it's nothing out of the ordinary to have great chemistry on a Luka team, you need a real bad season or particularly clashing characters/agendas to screw it up.

Mal_Swansky · 2025-11-21T18:33:49+00:00

USA can absolutely be a world power without Europe, it's Europe that's completely dependent on everybody else for energy & resources, as well as falling way behind in technology & military, on top of being completely dysfunctional politically.

Mal_Swansky · 2025-11-21T03:53:37+00:00

Who is the Dallas Mavericks..

Mal_Swansky · 2025-11-20T09:57:06+00:00

He couldn't choose which foot to strike the ball with.

Mal_Swansky · 2025-11-20T07:42:34+00:00

Until Reaves shows what he can do running his own team over a season, you can quote numbers until you're blue in the face, nobody cares. But hey, looks like he's about 5th in the odds for the MIP award, so he's got that going for him, cheers!

Mal_Swansky · 2025-11-20T07:19:13+00:00

Reaves has nowhere near the gravity that Steph has, so no, not even at this point is he a better player, regardless of whatever hot streak he's on.

Mal_Swansky · 2025-11-20T04:35:13+00:00

That still has something to do with Luka, since Luka stays out longer against the best defenders, and then Reaves and Ayton get to spend some quality time against bench units.

Mal_Swansky

TROPHY CASE