Philippe Coutinho: The Kid

Dont get the criticism. I think he has largely played well for us. I thought he was very good last game. Linked up well with Alba, kept the ball well and managed to create danger.

alexjanosik wrote:Dont get the criticism. I think he has largely played well for us. I thought he was very good last game. Linked up well with Alba, kept the ball well and managed to create danger.

Dany criticises everyobdy. He couldnt go after Dumbo so he stormed into this thread lmao

Lets not forget he just returned from injury, he hit a rough patch recently but he was great before that and can offer a lot to the team.

It depends on the game. Coutinho is great when there is no space, his control, touch and agility in tight spaces is equal to Iniesta's for me. He lacks iniesta's passing and iniesta lacked cou's shooting
But Dembele also must play, his speed is needed in this turtle team, both can play in the same side, play Coutinho in Arthur's position and Dembele in front

Iniesta is Einstein compared to Coutinho's IQ. Iniesta was a total package - Smart, collected, and always looked to help the team. Coutinho dribbles and shoots.

What the hell happened to this guy? He had no spirit to fight and to win. I understand that a player can be misused or whatever but at least show some fighting spirit. He couldn't even beat his man. Fucking Lucas Vasquez played 2x better.

What a waste of space, not to mention the money. I hope the rumors of him leaving for PSG are true. Just take him for free.

It's not his fault, he was always that James Rodriguez/Özil type of luxury player. I'm just amazed alex thought he could replace Iniesta. He is not even a midfielder.

He was scoring quite frequently at the beginning, but now he seems very disinterested. Malcom is also shit but at least he's trying and running a lot. Coutinho just hogs the ball, gets surrounded by 4 opponents, and loses it.

Told you so.

Chelsea want to replace Hazard with Coutinho this summer. [the independent]

So many reports that Utd, PSG and Chelsea want him in the summer. But just as many reports that the Barca dressing room and the Barca board do not want Coutinho gone and 100% believe in him.

Given how much money the clubs spent on Coutinho, Dembele, De Jong...and the requirement to still sign a new LB and Striker I would think it's a no brainer to offload Coutinho for a fair price (if something close to the 130M the club paid for him came in it should be accepted)

futbol wrote:It's not his fault, he was always that James Rodriguez/Özil type of luxury player. I'm just amazed alex thought he could replace Iniesta. He is not even a midfielder.

It depends what you expect.
Do you expect us to win the CL with an Iniesta, Busquets, Rakitic midfield? With Messi upfront, Roberto at RB. I dont and we didnt win a CL. Went out quarters every single time. We won the league and Cup.
Well, I expect us to win the league and Cup with Coutinho too. Obviously, he is not Iniesta but he is as good a replacement as we could have gotten. He plays LM. And he tries to make stuff happen. I think he has broadly played well bar the past 2,3 months. Let's give him some time before writing him off.

Can he be any worse? Why is he so bad (always considering the price we payed)?

Serious question (how do I make a poll?)

Going into next season..which set of left winger options would you prefer

A ) Dembele starts with Malcom backup; Coutinho sold
B ) Coutinho and Dembele rotate; Malcom sold
C ) Dembele starts, and we find a new backup winger; sell both Malcom and Coutinho

Hes been improving lately actually, but I think part of it is actually being in the team with Messi, sometimes for some players its hard to play alongside someone who is so good and so influential, it takes your game and confidence out somewhat. I remember a game recently where Messi wasnt playing and Cou actually looked more free to do what he want to do if that makes sense.

I think hes still good and can be better for us, similar to Dembele, they've both given given a lot of time and chances, so next season they both need to step up even more.

windkick wrote:Serious question (how do I make a poll?)

Going into next season..which set of left winger options would you prefer

A ) Dembele starts with Malcom backup; Coutinho sold
B ) Coutinho and Dembele rotate; Malcom sold
C ) Dembele starts, and we find a new backup winger; sell both Malcom and Coutinho

Malcom looks like hes gonna be sold, Valverde said himself I think so. Cou and Dembele I imagine both will stay given their price tag and both still have the abilities to shine for us, so unless a really big money offer comes in where we profit I dont think they would be sold. I have higher hopes for Dembele since hes younger and potentially better, but he needs to improve a lot, and would like to see him given more time and chances to play regularly to see.

None of your wingers are good enough for Barça. You're lucky Alba is so good going forward and an engine.

Dembélé. Coutinho. Absolute waste of money. You practically gave Neymar to PSG for free considering the replacements aren't half as good to replace him

You need a new winger. I've been told Eden is available

danyjr wrote:I've been told Eden is available

Hazard signing for Barça would be some legendary level of trolling.

Just imagine, after years and years of him practically begging Madrid to sign him, rejecting them and signing for their arch-rival. Florentino would get a stroke

I hear Pogba is available Don't mind his forgettable performance against you, that was a one off. World Cup winner + is pretty great on FIFA. He even dyes his hair every week to keep himself from looking stale

danyjr wrote:None of your wingers are good enough for Barça. You're lucky Alba is so good going forward and an engine.

Dembélé. Coutinho. Absolute waste of money. You practically gave Neymar to PSG for free considering the replacements aren't half as good to replace him

You need a new winger. I've been told Eden is available

completely agree. On the other hand, think about how Liverpool spent the money they earned from Coutinho selling....

Liverpool? What about Dortmund. They’ve got a golden goose in Jadon Sancho, who looks like a far more intelligent player than Dembele, and they’ve looked strong in the league for the greater part of the season. Went from being 4th in the league with two-footed speedster, Dembele on board, to accomplishing a convincing 2nd place without him Their scouting department is amazing.

Some of you need to calm down, particularly about Dembele.
Kid comes in as the Neymar replacement and gets a 6 month injury. Comes back and shows glimpses, like the performance against Chelsea. Starts the second season well, has clutcch performances throughout and then absolutely catches fire when Messi is out. He showed that he has the capability to take the mantle from Messi.

Unfortunately for him, he again suffers back to back muscle injuries ruining his momentum. Lets not forget that he got the second one while being rushed back against Lyon, when we looked in a spot of bother. Completely changed the game for us. Absolutely no doubts about Dembele. He will be a star if he puts the muscle injuries behind.

Coming to Coutinho, he has again been much better than what people claim he is. As always, he has to be evaluated within the context of how Valverde sets up. And Valverde sets up in a 4-4-2 where the front 2 dont defend. What that means is that Coutinho is playing LM and NOT as a forward or a winger. And he has done a very good job playing that LM role. He plays positionally well, defends when we drop in a low block, combines really well in the final third and has a great understanding with Alba. He also has two knockout stage goals.

Given the context that he plays LM in Valverde's 4-4-2, what are the expectations? That he score 30 goals. Not possible. A Neymar might score more but we lose the midfield balance and defensive solidity we have now. All players need to be evaluated within the context of the team setup and tactics. And as long as Messi stays, everyone else will be his water carrier and wont perform as well as they would otherwise. Context matters.

pity, even with all your stupid excuses you cant save this plastic boy...

neuro11 wrote:pity, even with all your stupid excuses you cant save this plastic boy...

And you need to be more civil and grow up. Lets have a normal discussion instead of throwing the stupid word around.

will take your advice sir Alex. does not change though what I said.

alexjanosik wrote:Some of you need to calm down, particularly about Dembele.
Kid comes in as the Neymar replacement and gets a 6 month injury. Comes back and shows glimpses, like the performance against Chelsea. Starts the second season well, has clutcch performances throughout and then absolutely catches fire when Messi is out. He showed that he has the capability to take the mantle from Messi.

Unfortunately for him, he again suffers back to back muscle injuries ruining his momentum. Lets not forget that he got the second one while being rushed back against Lyon, when we looked in a spot of bother. Completely changed the game for us. Absolutely no doubts about Dembele. He will be a star if he puts the muscle injuries behind.

Coming to Coutinho, he has again been much better than what people claim he is. As always, he has to be evaluated within the context of how Valverde sets up. And Valverde sets up in a 4-4-2 where the front 2 dont defend. What that means is that Coutinho is playing LM and NOT as a forward or a winger. And he has done a very good job playing that LM role. He plays positionally well, defends when we drop in a low block, combines really well in the final third and has a great understanding with Alba. He also has two knockout stage goals.

Given the context that he plays LM in Valverde's 4-4-2, what are the expectations? That he score 30 goals. Not possible. A Neymar might score more but we lose the midfield balance and defensive solidity we have now. All players need to be evaluated within the context of the team setup and tactics. And as long as Messi stays, everyone else will be his water carrier and wont perform as well as they would otherwise. Context matters.

This post shows our standards have drastically fallen if anything. Coutinho is a Arda Turan level player and should be a bench player at BARCA.

Agree about Dembele but his injuries are worrying. Its not normal to be out for 80% of the season with muscle injuries after basically having none earlier in his career.

Coutinho and Dembele are giving competation to each other. One if being average with one dimentional short and other one is busy with small injuries.

Just hope he learns something from the team and deliver when required. Not a very bif fan of dribble-dribble-shot technique.