Barça's Transfers and Rumors

[Co0ter]

Lol @ people saying we've been figured out. What our team is doing at the moment has nothing to do with tiki taka. Watch matches from the 08-09 season and you'll see what tiki taka is. If anything, our demise is directly connected to the fact that we don't play like that anymore.

I'm glad you mentioned that- please do go back and watch 08-09...you'll see that teams defended us very differently and we had a lot more space. It started with just parking the bus, then moved onto what teams do to us now...we look like we only play possession football now...but its because teams are forcing us to play that way because they are literally defending tiki taka so it looks like just possession football. We were already starting, STARTING, to look toothless during Pep's last season. It got worse under Tito and now even worse....not only is Tata just as bad as Tito, he has no prior success with the club to give him credit for.

 

[DonAndres]

I'm glad you mentioned that- please do go back and watch 08-09...you'll see that teams defended us very differently and we had a lot more space. It started with just parking the bus, then moved onto what teams do to us now...we look like we only play possession football now...but its because teams are forcing us to play that way because they are literally defending tiki taka so it looks like just possession football. We were already starting, STARTING, to look toothless during Pep's last season. It got worse under Tito and now even worse....not only is Tata just as bad as Tito, he has no prior success with the club to give him credit for.

The way teams play against us is almost always reactive to our style, since we are the ones in control (up until recently at least). If we play well, they can't react in any way to actually stop us. If we don't, then they create the antithesis necessary to keep us at bay.

Prime Barca plays with a hell lot of movement, great team shape, and with purpose: Oh surprise! Teams can't successfully park the bus OR outpress us in any way to stop us from having goalscoring chances. Point to Inter and Chelsea if you like but we still broke their buses, we just couldn't finish.

Barca now is static, slow, and dead: Teams have the luxury of being able to migrate back into their own box and successfully keep us out of the game. We don't play with transitions quick enough to get towards goal, it's just passing in a ring around the area of penetration.

Football tactics can never actually die, it's the death of their execution that makes it seem that way. If we were to get a coach with a good understanding of how the system works and a reboot of the squad, we'd see success with the same tactics adopted to a new team. Perhaps not in the way we did in the Golden Era, but oh well we can't have it all can we?

 

[jamrock]

when ever someone says, it can be seen in pep's last season, I instantly ignore them.

 

[barcanuck]

Prime Barca also had size to go with our wizards. That extra size is essential to winning headers in the midfield off goal kicks, clearning corners, set pieces, etc. Right now teams just park the bus and hope they score a set piece which works 1 in 5 times against us.

 

[KING XAVI]

Ah

 

[KING XAVI]

Ever since I've been on this forum(about 2 weeks i think),I've been saying alba is not good enough for us because as I've said before ,if we are to play Messi ,centrally or on the right wing,then someone will need to make those overlapping runs,like alves did in the past,.......a dfensive right back just wont do.in that case we need to get this amazingly athletic and quick Brazilian defender doria,who can play as a defensive left back,then we'd be fine if we get a cuadrado ,because doria can cover for him .hes a natural cb,6'2,and quicker than abidal ever was........
then we'd need another two cbs,....preferably aymeric laporte,he's tall,extremely quick(he can play as a left back,),athletic,but more than that he's comfortable on the ball,a superb passer and is used to a similiar systam at athletic Bilbao......,and also pique replaced by benatia������(never happen�&#56848.....

 

[KING XAVI]

Alba for me is not good enough ,going forward we need someone like the old alves who can take his man on and skin him,not a road runner like alba,who needs a through all delivered infront of him to create any trouble for the opposition defenders.

 

[Co0ter]

So I guess all our players, which the majority played under Pep, magically forgot how to play tiki taka? Do you think Tito told them "hey, stop doing what worked under Guardiola"?

Whether Pep was out some of his last season or not, he was still the coach and the team doesn't suddenly forget how to play their style just because the coach isn't there.

As I originally said, teams have figured out how to defend us. Our team is perfectly capable of playing the old way, yet we do not. If they knew it worked before, why not keep doing it? It's because it's not working as well as it used to. Plain and simple. Better get used to it now, because it's not coming back anytime soon. The only way it will work is if we bring a different dimension to it. We change and become something different. Otherwise, might as well swing as hard as you can with your eyes closed.

 

[Dan1983]

Barcelona isn't Ajax my good friend. We can't keep being used as lab rats.

Who do you see replacing Tata if he left?

 

[Ghostmaster]

So I guess all our players, which the majority played under Pep, magically forgot how to play tiki taka? Do you think Tito told them "hey, stop doing what worked under Guardiola"?

They didn't forget, but under Pep they actually had a plan how to get players into scoring positions, on the other hand, Tata is playing with a hope that someone will "make the magic" and somehow will score.

 

[Barcilliant]

I beg to differ. de Boer has a solid resume and I think he is ready for a fresh challenge here after taking Ajax as far as they can go. Excluding Pep, I think he is the overall best candidate to help us evolve. I'm never ruling out Pep's return, I think with a proper board in place, he might be willing to come back but until then de Boer has very similar qualities to Pep, particularly his tactical nous, fiery personality and familiarity with the club.

Perhaps de Boer rebuilds the team to either to hand off to Pep or stay and work side by side with him a la Tito? You never know, but I think he would be a good step in the right direction.

For my $$, it's:
1. Pep
2. de Boer
3. Luis Enrique

I'd consider Klopp though that's a long shot but I'm indifferent about Valverde and Rayo's coach.

Also, cash in on Alexis ASAP so we can make a bid for Aguero!

PLEASE not De Boer!!

I think we are going back to the Gaspart era here. At the PRESENT TIME we need a BIG name. Someone who will make decisive moves and not dither. Any coach who comes here has to deal with the entrenched mafia of big names-sacred cows. De Boer has been handling COMPLIANT kids at Ajax-not superstars. I would prefer a big name who will take the necessary steps to make us a big TEAM again. At the moment we are a bunch of big, individual egos patched together and presented as a team.

People using Pep as evidence are forgetting that he was the exception to the rule. Lightning doesn't strike twice.

De Boer offers us nothing NEW.

 

[Lomar1o]

just bring jupp heynckes out of retirement and give him complete freedom. he will rebuild this team in two years. im sure he's itching to coach a good team once more seeing how pep handles his bayern, im sure he wants to implement a thing or two and teach how coaching is done. while i have nothing against pep i think that jupp's bayern were better and he himself might think so too. i hope he comes out of retirement, at least it's good to dream about it.

 

[Barcilliant]

Barcelona "tiki taka", as I will call it, is a thing of the past.

People will deny it because they want to hold onto it- but it is the truth. Barcelona has been figured out, it's why weaker teams give us a hard time now when we used to crush them and it's why any decent side has a 50/50 chance of defeating us.

Pep brought new tactics into our team- heavy pressing, especially from the wingers, and tiki taka- quick, triangular passing where teammates always made themselves available to each other. It was great for a few years, but that is all.

We have brought some marquee players into our team- Alexis was the young engine behind Udinesse, Cesc was the leader and captain of Arsenal and Neymar- one of the most promising young talents of the world. Sure a better defense would be great, and our midfield is aging....but we are losing players you can't exactly replace. Xavi in his prime was fantastic- but even then, you take Pep's Xavi and you place him in another team and he is maybe above average. Even if Puyol and Xavi were in their prime- teams know how to defend us now, we still wouldn't be that dominating team we once were.

Barcelona needs a new era- the longer we hold onto Pep's tiki taka- the longer we'll be dealing with failure. Things need to change. A new defense, at least one WC CB....a defensive RB or LB to bring balance to our defense. Someone to bring muscle and some tenacity into our midfield- Busquets is not in any way any sort of muscle. We need a player like Suarez, Eto (in prime) or Falcao before he went to Monaco. A player even like Cavani- although I don't rate him as high as others. Having Messi as false 9 will not work anymore- he is small and gets too heavily marked, by shutting down Messi they have shutdown Barcelona. Has anyone noticed that since Messi has stopped doing the spectacular recently...no one else has stepped up to do so? That's because there is no one else like him, and if he can't carry this weakened Barcelona- no one can.

Things need to change.

Agree but a lot of fans and the press don't want change. They are not realistic enough to know that repeating Pep's golden years is an exercise in futility.

 

[Barcilliant]

just bring jupp heynckes out of retirement and give him complete freedom. he will rebuild this team in two years. im sure he's itching to coach a good team once more seeing how pep handles his bayern, im sure he wants to implement a thing or two and teach how coaching is done. while i have nothing against pep i think that jupp's bayern were better and he himself might think so too. i hope he comes out of retirement, at least it's good to dream about it.

LOL! Dude you must have read my mind!! Just about to post that!

 

[Barcilliant]

Jupp never WANTED to retire -he was FORCED to because of Pep's announcement as the next coach. Heynckes has immense experience at both small and big clubs and knows how to handle primadonnas and mould them into a team. He could be 'seduced' if a different board were to present an ambitious project to him and give him control of the football side.

Valverde, Jemez, Lucho, De Boer etc are all not big enough for this club. Heynckes knows Spain, the culture and the language and he has clear ideas on how his team should play. All the big managers are currently busy and we don't need a guy thrown in who's out of his depth.