Who will they go for?
Barcelona: Charged with corruption .... again!
- Thread starter The Boy
- Start date
What a terrible side right now. I think they’ll struggle to finish top 4 currently
Quality control
koeman won't leave and it is nearly impossible to sack him and hire a competent substitute due to LaLiga FFP.
as i said months ago the 2 objectives of the season are:
- Reduce salaries (very decent job here)
- Be a top4 in LaLiga.
Period.
so you wish us the same you've done for over a decade?
you know that 2009-2011 finals are far away in time... don't you? still crying like a baby?
by the way... manchester united is not an arrogant club... nope... you are known over the world for being very humble...
"theatre of the dreams" knobbers... no one else can dream... anywhere... just you.... knobbers....
as i said months ago the 2 objectives of the season are:
- Reduce salaries (very decent job here)
- Be a top4 in LaLiga.
Period.
so you wish us the same you've done for over a decade?
you know that 2009-2011 finals are far away in time... don't you? still crying like a baby?
by the way... manchester united is not an arrogant club... nope... you are known over the world for being very humble...
"theatre of the dreams" knobbers... no one else can dream... anywhere... just you.... knobbers....
koeman won't leave and it is nearly impossible to sack him and hire a competent substitute due to LaLiga FFP.
as i said months ago the 2 objectives of the season are:
- Reduced salaries (very decent job here)
- Be a top4 in LaLiga.
Period.
so you wish us the same you've done for over a decade?
you know that 2009-2011 finals are far away in time... don't you? still crying like a baby?
by the way... manchester united is not an arrogant club... nope... you are known over the world for being very humble...
"theatre of the dreams" knobbers... no one else can dream... anywhere... just you.... knobbers....
Christ, couldn’t of bit more hard if you tried.koeman won't leave and it is nearly impossible to sack him and hire a competent substitute due to LaLiga FFP.
as i said months ago the 2 objectives of the season are:
- Reduce salaries (very decent job here)
- Be a top4 in LaLiga.
Period.
so you wish us the same you've done for over a decade?
you know that 2009-2011 finals are far away in time... don't you? still crying like a baby?
by the way... manchester united is not an arrogant club... nope... you are known over the world for being very humble...
"theatre of the dreams" knobbers... no one else can dream... anywhere... just you.... knobbers....
have a lie down like messi is doing at PSG
Koeman is an awful coach but this Barca side has been shit for years and Messi was barely, I mean barely even covering it.
Valverde made it all look so easy.
Valverde had a far far far far far better squad.
This is probably the worst Barça team in 20 years.
People forget, it was all doom and gloom at Barca in the summer of 2017, Valverde comes in and walks the league, almost going unbeaten.
Squad is worse? Okay, but not that much worse(up until Messi left), coach makes a difference.
He had Messi+Suarez. Koeman shot himself in the foot when he thought Suarez wouldn't be of any use to him
So did Setien, and looks where that got him.
You need a proper coach if you don’t have all the top players. A coach that can improve what he has got and make the team a cohesive unit. Koeman isn’t that man for that job. There is enough there to make a quality side.
They should go all out for Klopp if they can get the money from somewhere. He would make a team out of what they have got and would probably enjoy the challenge of being the underdogs and resurrecting them.
They should go all out for Klopp if they can get the money from somewhere. He would make a team out of what they have got and would probably enjoy the challenge of being the underdogs and resurrecting them.
I don't think that Valverde was a bad manager, but the European defeats were his fault, and they were ridiculous.
His squad was way better both in names and in ages. You cannot compare a ~30 years old Pique/Busquets/Alba/etc with almost 35.
He had Suarez+Messi+Dembele+Coutinho in decent ages and not injured.
That squad was uncomparable in quality and depth.
Pressure getting to you lad?koeman won't leave and it is nearly impossible to sack him and hire a competent substitute due to LaLiga FFP.
as i said months ago the 2 objectives of the season are:
- Reduce salaries (very decent job here)
- Be a top4 in LaLiga.
Period.
so you wish us the same you've done for over a decade?
you know that 2009-2011 finals are far away in time... don't you? still crying like a baby?
by the way... manchester united is not an arrogant club... nope... you are known over the world for being very humble...
"theatre of the dreams" knobbers... no one else can dream... anywhere... just you.... knobbers....
more than a club, yep, a charity case.He should he sacked. 5-3-2 and loses 3-0; a reluctant 4-3-3 and he loses 2-0. He built the decent 2020-21 season around Messi and Griezmann, but with both of them gone, Koeman's Barcelona is going nowhere. His negativity is tainting the entire squad.
That said, Busquets and Piqué are done, utterly finished former Top players.
That said, Busquets and Piqué are done, utterly finished former Top players.
Not in the CL.
Just wondering if they should do something random and try to appoint maverick like Bielsa. Probably too honourable to quit Leeds mid season but would be fun to see what he could do there on short term basis until Xavi decides he finally wants the job.
that Messi goal against City was amazing though in fairness
I think they should give Arteta a chance.
Funnily enough, Ole did that at United but he gets slated…
Busquets can still play but he can't be a lone DM covering huge amount of spaces anymore. If he moved to say Arsenal and took Xhaka's job as Partney's partner they'd be a better team.
As Ole should, united have spent a ton of money on players and Ole tactically leaves a lot to be desired in fairness.
Watched the game close.
The big issues to me:
1. The Barca midfield and defend simply couldn't and wouldn't match Lemar's off the ball runs. If Llorente had played in midfield instead of De Paul it could have been even worse and they might have given up a 3rd or 4th in the same manner they conceded the first two. Nico for Barca fell asleep on the first goal and Pique, possibly shook from the first goal and argument with Busquets and general frustration got too aggressive on a simple play a few minutes later and they damn near conceded a second.
2. Koeman inexplicably built the attack around the fullbacks pushing high even though Dest on the left can't go left (looked tidy enough on the ball carrying it coming inside, maybe he'll be a decent RB in time) and Mingueza is a center back. So their fullbacks were pushed high and when they lost it and Atletico got a neat 1-2 or nice first touch to create a counter, it was Pique, Araujo and Busquets defending huge amounts of space and Lemar rushing past Nico or Coutinho (just happened to be him on the 2nd goal as he'd dropped deep) easily to scare the crap out of them and create space for Suarez and Felix.
3. So basically they looked like a bad Arsenal performance under late Wenger, where there's a bunch of tidy, un-athletic midfielders out there who aren't pressing maniacally enough to stop counters and basically nobody on the team is good at defending them and they react slower to transition from offence to defence when they do lose the ball, which is in dangerous positions because nobody really runs in behind so the ball isn't lost long or behind the Atletico defense but in front.
Smaller stuff:
3. They badly need Fati out there as they had no help for Depay, who had a strong first 35 or so then seemed to call it a day mostly.
4. De Jong on the right had no idea what to do and not having him as the 8 instead of Nico definitely hurt them from a sheer athleticism perspective in there.
5. Araujo kept getting dragged out wide and couldn't deal with Joao Felix out there, which happens to big CBs all the time but it did suggest that if Araujo had been the LCB and Mingueza the RCB they might have not looked so shaky on the counter. Pique and Busquets just can't go sideline to sideline anymore.
6. Coutinho wasn't bad at times going forward in terms of ideas, liability defensively though, really needs a free role on a lesser team.
7. I can see why Koeman tried to go 3 at the back. Tough to see how they can be defensively sound without doing so right now unless they stop trying to push up the pitch all the time and play De Jong and Busquets together in a double pivot and defend deeper a lot more.
8. I guess I'd try this in big games if I were them:
--------Depay------Fati---------
--------------Pedri----------------
Alba--DeJong-Busquets-Dest
---Garcia-Araujo--Mingueza---
9. Long-term, assuming they fire Koeman and go back to 4-3-3, I guess they look like this:
Fati----------Depay------------RW
---------Pedri---------------
----------------------DeJong--
------------------DM-------------
LB--------------------------------Dest
------LCB---Araujo/Minguza
----------------Ter Stegen-----------
And they're probably best off running Alba into the ground and prioritizing replacements for Busquets and Pique, especially since a Busquets replacement might even prolong his career a year or two since he won't be alone in defensive midfield. And that's being very generous on Dest, who basically just seems like Max Aarons or pick anyone in the 10-12 range on the England RB depth chart. Eric Garcia might be alright, but he's not there physically yet, whereas I could see Araujo and Minguez at least being okay at one spot since Araujo is very good in the air and Mingueza quite good at everything else so might be able to rotate them depending on opponent and tactics and be fine.
The big issues to me:
1. The Barca midfield and defend simply couldn't and wouldn't match Lemar's off the ball runs. If Llorente had played in midfield instead of De Paul it could have been even worse and they might have given up a 3rd or 4th in the same manner they conceded the first two. Nico for Barca fell asleep on the first goal and Pique, possibly shook from the first goal and argument with Busquets and general frustration got too aggressive on a simple play a few minutes later and they damn near conceded a second.
2. Koeman inexplicably built the attack around the fullbacks pushing high even though Dest on the left can't go left (looked tidy enough on the ball carrying it coming inside, maybe he'll be a decent RB in time) and Mingueza is a center back. So their fullbacks were pushed high and when they lost it and Atletico got a neat 1-2 or nice first touch to create a counter, it was Pique, Araujo and Busquets defending huge amounts of space and Lemar rushing past Nico or Coutinho (just happened to be him on the 2nd goal as he'd dropped deep) easily to scare the crap out of them and create space for Suarez and Felix.
3. So basically they looked like a bad Arsenal performance under late Wenger, where there's a bunch of tidy, un-athletic midfielders out there who aren't pressing maniacally enough to stop counters and basically nobody on the team is good at defending them and they react slower to transition from offence to defence when they do lose the ball, which is in dangerous positions because nobody really runs in behind so the ball isn't lost long or behind the Atletico defense but in front.
Smaller stuff:
3. They badly need Fati out there as they had no help for Depay, who had a strong first 35 or so then seemed to call it a day mostly.
4. De Jong on the right had no idea what to do and not having him as the 8 instead of Nico definitely hurt them from a sheer athleticism perspective in there.
5. Araujo kept getting dragged out wide and couldn't deal with Joao Felix out there, which happens to big CBs all the time but it did suggest that if Araujo had been the LCB and Mingueza the RCB they might have not looked so shaky on the counter. Pique and Busquets just can't go sideline to sideline anymore.
6. Coutinho wasn't bad at times going forward in terms of ideas, liability defensively though, really needs a free role on a lesser team.
7. I can see why Koeman tried to go 3 at the back. Tough to see how they can be defensively sound without doing so right now unless they stop trying to push up the pitch all the time and play De Jong and Busquets together in a double pivot and defend deeper a lot more.
8. I guess I'd try this in big games if I were them:
--------Depay------Fati---------
--------------Pedri----------------
Alba--DeJong-Busquets-Dest
---Garcia-Araujo--Mingueza---
9. Long-term, assuming they fire Koeman and go back to 4-3-3, I guess they look like this:
Fati----------Depay------------RW
---------Pedri---------------
----------------------DeJong--
------------------DM-------------
LB--------------------------------Dest
------LCB---Araujo/Minguza
----------------Ter Stegen-----------
And they're probably best off running Alba into the ground and prioritizing replacements for Busquets and Pique, especially since a Busquets replacement might even prolong his career a year or two since he won't be alone in defensive midfield. And that's being very generous on Dest, who basically just seems like Max Aarons or pick anyone in the 10-12 range on the England RB depth chart. Eric Garcia might be alright, but he's not there physically yet, whereas I could see Araujo and Minguez at least being okay at one spot since Araujo is very good in the air and Mingueza quite good at everything else so might be able to rotate them depending on opponent and tactics and be fine.
Imagine getting this rattled by an anonymous RedCafe post.koeman won't leave and it is nearly impossible to sack him and hire a competent substitute due to LaLiga FFP.
as i said months ago the 2 objectives of the season are:
- Reduce salaries (very decent job here)
- Be a top4 in LaLiga.
Period.
so you wish us the same you've done for over a decade?
you know that 2009-2011 finals are far away in time... don't you? still crying like a baby?
by the way... manchester united is not an arrogant club... nope... you are known over the world for being very humble...
"theatre of the dreams" knobbers... no one else can dream... anywhere... just you.... knobbers....
@Sparky_Hughes you’ve reeled one in here.
They can't get rid of him, he knows the club and is a legend!
Top 4 is going to be tough unless Fati is really tremendous. Could definitely see Barca finishing 3rd in the 5 way Barca, Sociedad, Sevilla, Villarreal + Random upstart team race for 3rd and 4th.
Wonderful thoughts
Not sure what you're watching if you think that we play cohesive football
They should go for Ole. They need those good vibes now
I’ve read these posts way too early. I’m away to the bloody fridge.
My English skills have desserted me. I'm such a pudding.
Seriously
koeman won't leave and it is nearly impossible to sack him and hire a competent substitute due to LaLiga FFP.
as i said months ago the 2 objectives of the season are:
- Reduce salaries (very decent job here)
- Be a top4 in LaLiga.
Period.
so you wish us the same you've done for over a decade?
you know that 2009-2011 finals are far away in time... don't you? still crying like a baby?
by the way... manchester united is not an arrogant club... nope... you are known over the world for being very humble...
"theatre of the dreams" knobbers... no one else can dream... anywhere... just you.... knobbers....
May I have your tears, so I can inject them straight into my veins?
I keep hearing "just wait until Aguero is fit", but I wouldn't be surprised at all if he will never play a single minute for them.
Talks about humility when your catchphrase is 'more than a club'koeman won't leave and it is nearly impossible to sack him and hire a competent substitute due to LaLiga FFP.
as i said months ago the 2 objectives of the season are:
- Reduce salaries (very decent job here)
- Be a top4 in LaLiga.
Period.
so you wish us the same you've done for over a decade?
you know that 2009-2011 finals are far away in time... don't you? still crying like a baby?
by the way... manchester united is not an arrogant club... nope... you are known over the world for being very humble...
"theatre of the dreams" knobbers... no one else can dream... anywhere... just you.... knobbers....
My work here Is done.
I disagree. Busquets, Alba, Pique are all kinda past it.
Players like Dest, Luuk de Jong are shit.
If Memphis is your important attacking player, you're in trouble, see the Dutch NT's failure. Getting results with a bunch of 17 year old kids in the 2nd best league in the world is hard for any manager.
Because I’m talking about this season?
When ole came in the club was a shambles. He steadied the ship and the last two seasons have been continuing that work. Barca fans should be hoping for somebody like ole to come in because right now, they look even worse than United under mourinho.
They're becoming Barcenal.
Time to hire Barsene.
Excellent post and analysis. Much better than the random tripe "they are done and will spend many years in the wilderness" that, oddly, mirrors post-2013 Man Utd.