Paul: Is Fabregas struggling without Pep Guardiola?
Cesc in a precarious position. by Paul
Ex AFC captain Cesc Fabregas finds himself in a precarious position since the appointment of new coach Tito Vilanova. Having been persuaded to leave AFC & return home, his primary suitor – Pep Guardiola – is now gone & one has to question how secure is Cesc’s place in new coach Vilanova’s plans. Rumors have already surfaced that Cesc’s recent form – or lack thereof – in Barca’s first three games has not done much to further his cause with Vilanova. (Although, I must that the source of these rumors a Madrid newspaper ‘Marca’ is anything but trustworthy.)
An in-form Cesc is one of the best midfielders in the world, but he finds himself competing with three of the best midfielders in the modern game. With Xavi, Iniesta & Messi finding their form easily, it’s not going to be an easy ride at the Camp Nou for Cesc to say the least. But, the “where to play Cesc riddle” was already on all our minds when Cesc left.
So what’s changed?
For starters, Pep is gone & his replacement Vilanova – although heavily punted by Barca FC as an experienced La Masia disciple – has never actually played in a Barca first team like his predecessor Pep. Coincidently, Pep & Vilanova’s careers started at the same time in the Barca junior ranks, but Pep went on to play & win titles with the Barca first team under the tutelage of the legendary Barcelona coach Johann Cruyff who is credited with the creation of the famous Barca system of ‘tiki-taka’ football, while Vilanova, well he left after failing to break into the first team. That missing step or ‘lack of’ the Cruyff experience leads one to the questions: does Vilanova fully understand the ebb & flow of the Barca system? Or is he merely pretending to understand the inner workings of the Barca system?
In reality it is easier for Vilanova to rather just bench Cesc than to try & re-arrange an already successful system. Should Barca fail under Vilanova, what would Vilanova do? Would he be as courteous as Pep & exit while taking the blame? Or will Vilanova stay & blame the players & wield the axe, with the unlucky candidates being the bench warmers & underperformers. Ultimately if the latter prevails Cesc will not enjoy the protection of his primary suitor ‘Pep’. And as they say, he may find himself on shaky ground with an important question to answer: Should I go or should I stay??
Written by Paul Nefdt
Cesc is always welcome back at Arsenal. If things do not improve for him, I suggest he makes a loan move to Arsenal in January, just like Henry at the start of the year.
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Cesc should comeback to arsenal.
He is the only ex-arsenal player who i love somuch.
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That aint all true my friend
As a fellow Arsenal fan i would love to see Cesc back in the shirt with the number 4 on his back. But the ONLY ex-arsenal player?? What about Henry?? The one and only true legend.. I bet you cried as many tears of joy when he scored against Leeds 
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if he wants to return, the doors n hearts of the emirates are always open for him
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lol so the player is bigger than the club. And wat i say is not true lol. Cesc is a great player but Arsenal and the fans wanted him to stay (He loved us that much)And we must move on.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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And if and when Carzola leaves? -:)
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Most football players are the fxxkin same Jim. WHAT THE HELL. only players like Tony Adams was loyal. Football and money h its a bad situation.
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John,
Just joking.
Only fans are loyal to the club, literally to the day we die. And on our deathbed, we will disown and remove from the will those children or grandchildren, if any, who dare cross the line and support Spuds or Manure.
Players are just professionals. Like us they move jobs, to greener pastures and for better pay. We just despise the conducts of Adebayor, Nasri after leaving Arsenal, and RvP’s before the transfer. As far as Cesc is concerned, he has conducted himself very well and has publicly expressed his respect and support to the Arsenal club, the fans and the manager. His conduct is much better and much more appreciated than Viera’s who somehow remains a hero to many Arsenal fans.
I don’t believe one bit the rumour about Cesc refusing to go on the Asian tour. It could not be true because a player simply cannot be allowed on tour while his transfer negotiation is in the final leg.
So I don’t think we should be harsh on Cesc. He is my favourite player.
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Any blemish!…we need him…fabrepas!
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Are you kidding me?? TH14??
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I think,it wil be a welcome devlopment if faberigas comes bakt to arsenal.
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Hell Yeah. with open doors as wide as the Atlantic Ocean. Wenger will surely break the bank to bring him back unless someone you know who (RV something) pursuade him….
GoGunners4Eva
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Prof if cesc back we wnt him becos he is loved in dis team up gooners fuck vanpasie
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cesc is a one-ball player not a pass-and-move player that defines barca football.
i always thought cesc might struggle at Barca.
maybe its a matter of wait your turn, as xavi, iniesta, messi, busquets, pedro etc are super players.
anyway, cesc should have known he had it all at arsenal, except the shiny silverware.
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…and for that reason, arsenal and its supporters should never let players crawl back to the club asking for forgiveness, because the club is bigger.
anyway, i dont think cesc will ever play in an arsenal uniform again with players like wilshere, coquelin, aneke, chamberlain, etc.
arsenal is a proud club, and i am a proud supporter, and they can all rot.
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Mark a man with sense.
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Well said Mark
And if he did come back he would’nt beg forgiveness.
It would be more like he was doing us a favour.
Let’s have the same rule and principle for everyone people.
Yes to Fabregas but no to Song?
He pledged his undying love to Barca when he left Arsenal
Where is your pride?
Lets concentrate on keeping the quality we have beyond the next transfer window rather than pining over a player who made it clear he wanted out.
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fair enough, you guys have your own opinions
but this to me is shit reasoning. i`m all for moving on from players. van persie can rot, agreed, he left and made us all feel contempt
cesc, he gave 8 loyal years, and went back to the his hometown. that is not abandonment, it sucked of course, but he left near his physical prime, and he wanted to give barca a shot. makes sense to me, as far as i`m concerned he should`ve felt equal loyalty to both teams.
every supporter screams for quality signings, but when we could have world class back, in peak condition, it`s a resounding no. he probably won`t come back, but still..
pride is one thing, stupidity is another.
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I see no reason why he won’t be welcome back. He didn’t leave under a cloud and now he has got all that Barcelona nonsense out of the way with the endless head turning, Cesc could actually focus on winning things with us. With Arteta deep with Diaby, Cesc can have his preferred forward role. Cazorla though can’t be benched. It’s going to be tough for places when Wilshere returns, the guy I consider the most important to be in the midfield. Cesc could find the same problem at Arsenal as he has at Barcelona.
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Xavi is 32, Born: January 25, 1980. Know your facts!
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He is not coming back! i also think this article is blowing the situation out of proportion.
i rather think that he will remain at Barca, he may never reach the heights he promised while at Arsenal, but he will always be a valuable part of the Barca bench.
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Yes GeorgeD, Messi does fall into that category (midfielder) playing the false 9, Pep set his system up to have three defenders & 7 midfielders, obviously Messi is in a more advanced position than Xavi & sometimes Iniesta but the system essentially works by the players always providing their team mates at least 1 or 2 passing options. How does one fill the space and provide an option to pass if you play only as a striker on the shoulder of the central defender??
Mark, “Cesc is a one-ball player not a pass-and-move player”?? Dude how is that possible? Please explain to us all how the player that out-passed, out-assisted & completed more passes than Xavi, Iniesta & Messi over a five year period fits the description of a “one-ball player not a pass-and-move player”??
The article is not a debate on Cesc’s abilities, it rather
highlights the coaches inability to utilize Cesc properly and what position this inability leaves Cesc in.
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No matter how good Cesc was as a talent, he was an absolute crap captain. As soon as we went down by one goal in a game he’d hang his head down in dismay and frustration. He basically undercut and demoralized the rest of the team without realizing it. In his years we were accused of being spineless, of lacking steel. So oddly, Arsenal has been better without him. We needed players like Arteta, who are not as talented, but came from a mid table team and knows what it means to fight and claw for every point, week in, week out.
Cesc will never give you that. He’s talented. He’s wonderful to watch. But he lacks the mental toughness required in the EPL. He may even lack what’s needed mentally in La Liga – other players with his gifts would have found a way to secure a spot on the team. They would have made adjustments to their game and fought for a place. Cesc looks like a deer caught in the headlights at Barca these days. He has no idea what to do.
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Also, if it Cesc’s return was never ever going to be possible then why would Wenger write in a Buy-Back Clause?? & more importantly why would Cesc state that if he ever leaves Barca he would only return to Arsenal?
Clearly the buy-back clause & Cesc publicly stating his desire to return to AFC would indicate that Cesc, Wenger & Barca are well aware of that he might not be as successful as he was at AFC.
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Fabregas should stew in his own juice. He wanted to go to Barca at all costs last season,not minding that he was our captain and we allowed him go. Now that things are not exactly rosy for him, he should not even contemplate coming back to Arsenal. We made him and he kicked us in the arse simply because he wants his miserable laurels. Let him stay even if they use him as a ball boy. It is entirely his business not ours.We have some image to protect and a little boy like him should not trifle with our collective intelligence.
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welcome back to arsenal Cesc, you will soon realise(if havent yet) arsenal is the club in your dna. Seems u will win la liga this year, then come back to win epl with arsenal. With the midfield of cesc, cazorla arteta diaby and wilshere, no pl team can match our play. COYG
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For weeks i’ve heard no player is bigger than the club and
life must go on.
like all Arsenal players i gave Fabregas my full backing when he was here.
If he has problems now that’s his and Barca’s business.
I suspect that those who would want to see him back just want to avoid seeing him come back to the Premier league to play for someone else which is always possible.
I understand it but would you welcome back Alex Song a year from now?
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