Posted by Stephen Kuzner

By Stephen Kuzner - WFD Fan Correspondent

1. Why did Barcelona not sign Cesc Fàbregas?

The answer is simple. Barcelona didn't offer enough money. Barcelona thought €35m was a fair and equitable price for a player they believed unequivocally wanted to leave. Under the new Sandro Rosell regime of fiscal discipline, Barcelona was not willing to go much above this price. On the contrary, Arsenal thought Cesc was worth much more than €35m and believed they convinced their potentially unsettled star captain that his best option for now was to stay at Arsenal.



2. Is La Liga BBVA better than the Barclays Premier League?

No. They are probably equal and this is a question that has enough material for a dissertation. But, to keep it short and sweet here we go. Barcelona had 7 starters on the Spain's World Cup winning side. Madrid just bought what seems like the entire world. There's a gulf at the top with Madrid and Barcelona and whoever will win the Premiership, either Chelsea or ManU. Are Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham, Everton, and Liverpool truly any better than Atlético Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, Villarreal, and Athletic Bilbao? Probably not. Things are equal in this group. Blackpool, West Brom, and Newcastle compared to Real Sociedad, Levante, and Hércules. Newcastle is probably a step above, but the rest are likely relegation fodder. What about the rest of Brady Mid-table Bunch? Your Bolton's, Blackburn's, Birmingham's, Espanyol's, Getafe's, Deportivo's and so forth? I don't see much difference here. In the end, the seasons, Europa League and Champions League will tell. But, for now they look the same from here.



3. What is La Liga's Best XI?

This is kind-of hard to pick. I know this one works against the rest of the world.

Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Gerard Piqué (FC Barcelona), Carlos Puyol (FC Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Busquets (FC Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Andrés Iniesta (FC Barcelona), Xavi (FC Barcelona), Pedro (FC Barcelona), David Villa (FC Barcelona)

We could make it a little better by doing this.

Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Filipe Luis (Atlético Madrid), Gerard Piqué (FC Barcelona), Carlos Puyol (FC Barcelona), Dani Alves (FC Barcelona), Andrés Iniesta (FC Barcelona), Kaka (Real Madrid), Xavi (FC Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona), Diego Forlan (Atlético Madrid)

Maybe La Liga BBVA is better than the Barclays Premier League?



4. Who will win the Pichichi?

Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo will return to the form he had 2 years ago when he won the Golden Boot while at Manchester United. Mourinho's arm on his shoulder and comforting words in his ear will restore Ronaldo to his breath-taking scoring pace. You can also throw-in Sami Khedira, Pedro León, Angel Di María, and Mesut Özil in addition to Xabi Alonso and Kaka to feed Ronaldo the ball on counter-attacks. Yikes!



5. Who will be La Liga's revelation for 2010-11?

Jonathan dos Santos (FC Barcelona). Someone from Barcelona steps-up every year. Last year it was Pedro. Before that it was Busquets. Before that it was Bojan. Others to watch for include: Jon Aurtenexe Borde (Althetic Bilbao), Fran Merida (Atlético Madrid), Sergio Canales (Real Madrid), Ivan Obradović (Real Zaragoza), Alberto Botía (Sporting Gijon), and Mateo Pablo Mussachio (Villarreal).



6. Who will be sacked first?

Míchel from Getafe may have more work cut-out for him than any other manager because he has to replace that attacking-force of Soldado and Pedro León while playing in the Europa League. Expectations will be high from a Top 6 finish last year, but goals may be hard to come-by. Míchel will need to find a way to replace the 24 goals that Soldado and Pedro León combined for last year.



7. Will Real Sociedad, Levante, or Hércules escape the drop?

Real Sociedad stays-up. They are the exact same team that won promotion from last year with the exception of Joseba Llorente Etxarri. He is a proven scorer that should help an already cohesive team hopefully stay in La Liga. Hércules is a maybe. They seem to be doing all they can to improve the squad. A number of signing should help, especially Paraguayan World Cup star, Nelson Haedo Valdez. Manager Esteban Vigo lead Xerez to promotion and then did it again last year with Hércules. The karma will help. Levante's experience in La Liga as a yo-yo club will repeat itself with a relegation.



8. What is Real Madrid's Best XI?

I put some names in a hat and this is what I drew-out of it.

Iker Casillas (G), Arbeloa (LB), Ricardo Carvalho (CD-L), Raúl Albiol (CD-R), Sergio Ramos (RB), Xabi Alonso (LM), Mesut Özil (CM), Sami Khedira (RM), Ángel Di María (LW), Gonzalo Higuaín (CF), Cristiano Ronaldo (RW)



9. Will Jose Mourinho survive the hot-seat that is Real Madrid?

You don't sack The Special One. The Special One sacks you. Right? Wrong. That's Chuck Norris. Chelsea did it. Madrid is likely to do it too if he doesn't produce either a double consisting of La Liga and Champions League or La Liga and a better showing in the Champions League than Barcelona. Whether you consider managing Real Madrid a burning hot-seat, poisoned chalice, or most difficult coaching job in all of sports, the average tenure of a Madrid Manager these days is about 9 months. But, this is The Special One.



10. Will anyone win La Liga BBVA other than FC Barcelona and Real Madrid?

No. Barcelona and Madrid will both get 100+ points in a quest for perfection. It's so close to tell, you would have a better chance flipping a coin than analyzing the two teams to determine which one will win La Liga. Today I flipped a tails so Madrid will win.



Please send any feedback to skuzner@gmail.com.