Problem is with the players Real Madrid sign, there is usually an established player ahead of them where all these new signings need to be doing is challenging for the position and filling in when appropriate. They're not expected to be starters from the first minute they arrive.
Us on the other hand throw Pedri and Gavi straight into being the current and future 6 and 8 of the club. With no one to learn from, no established players to take on responsibility of the team. Xavi and Iniesta themselves didn't play as many games as these two from the start. And had good solid professionals to learn from, as well as leaders ahead of them. We have a decrepit Busquets who is supposed to be the example.
Yeah, but to some extent, these are all axcuses.
Suddenly = getting a chance at Barca all the time is not good and a player will fail because of that.
In the past it was the opposite, we were stacked and young midfielders like Alena, Puig, Oriol didn't get chances and then fans said that they stagnated because they didn't get chances.
Or: when we send a young player on loan and he fails, we used to say: loans never work for us. Those players had to play in wrong formations, surrounded by bad players, not playing our mighty Barca DNA where they can shine.
Yet, when you remove emotions and excuses = those players who failed at loans = failed because they sucked and they never turned into world class players later in their career no matter where they'd go.
So: what if your current sucks more or less = because they suck?
Xavi grew up under the same or even worse circumstances from 1999-2005.
Age 18 = 26 apps
Age 19 = 38 apps
Age 20 = 36 apps
Age 21 = 52 apps
Pedri is 20 in 7 days. Ok, he plays slightly more than Xavi, but you get the point.
Xavi grew up surrounded by mighty Saviola in attack (who was a shitty kid), Fabio Rochemback, Zenden, Dehu, Christanval, 10 random Dutch average players etc.
Coached by Serra Ferrer, Rexach, Van Gaal twice, Rijkaard.
We changed coaches, players and styles every season.
Yet, Xavi was thrown as a kid into all of that, played good and survived.
My opinion is for years that fans always give way too many excuses to young players.
Remember how Riki was not weak for some time, and physique didn't matter if you could play well with the ball.
Arthur was the next Xavi, and he was not guilty for backpasses, it was his teammates who didn't make runs. When he never made interceptions in defense, it was not him, it was because he would chase the opponents and then Raki and Busi would make easy interceptions due to Arthur's work, lol.
When Arthur went snowboarding, smoking, getting STDs, the first reaction of fans was: those are lies, media hates him for no reason.
When Dembele was eating unhealthy, was late for trainings, unable to speak Spanish etc = it was not him, those were lies. Media hated him because he was black, lol.
Of course, there are always some examples like KDB and Salah under Mou, but fans forget that for 1 mistake, there are 999 players who are shit for a reason.
And then when our kids are bad and overrated, fans always point to: Xavi wasn't that good till 2008, or Salah was a late Bloomer.
Yeah, but what about 999 other players?
Regarding Pedri, you can say what you want, but he will never improve his pace, strength, height, workrate.
He will always be a weak, lazy, hide and seek midfielder with occasional flashes of brilliance which are not consistent enough for a top level. He can only get more mature and slightly better in passes and decisions. But he will always be tired and lazy.
About Gavi, I don't even know what to say where he'll improve.
Look, we are so shit that we look at every young player as a potential savior.
And then when a young player sucks or someone asks questions about him: you get problems/insults, because if those young players fail, what is left for us? Nothing, zero hope.
And people don't want to accept that we are Titanic/a former AC Milan/Arsenal for the next decade:
Majority of fans became Barca's fans during our glory days, when we were on top of the world and when we were producing gems out of fun.
Their brains can't accept the reality that we suck, the future is extremely grey and that a huge majority of new kids are bang average, yet the hype, media, papers and fans are trying to turn them into a ray of hope/saviors, since because that: who will watch and care about Barca?
