I enjoy your posts, but I must disagree with you ....

I enjoy your posts, but I must disagree with you ....
by Rocksteady74 (2026-08-30 23:50:31)
Edited on 2026-09-01 22:52:37

In reply to: Statistics does not tell the story posted by SCOANGERS

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... with respect to the World Cup. Doue and Barcola took turns starting. Doue started games 1, 3, and 5. Barcola started games 2, 4, and 6. You can't say that Doue got the tougher ones when Barcola go the nod against Spain. I agree that Barcola was ineffective in the Spain game, but the same is true of Doue. In fact, Doue's failure to stay with his man on a give and go directly allowed a Spain goal.

I watched all of the France games, and Doue and Barcola both had excellent moments and poor moments. Their games are different. Doue is good drifting into a crowed middle and trying to combine with others or make things happen for himself. Barcola, as you noted, uses his incredible speed and agility to get behind the defense. Another difference between the two in the WC was that Barcola was more diligent in his defensive duties. Doue was lost in the first half of the Senegal game trying to contain the Senegal right back and I've already mentioned his mistake against Spain.

I recognize that Enrique values Doue more than Barcola, and he sees both in every practice and game. I have no access to the league games and see few of the UCL games until the later rounds, so I have no reason to dispute Enrique or you in the overall assessment. But in the WC, Barcola was at least the equal of Doue in my assessment.