Messi983
Senior Member
We've also scored more game winning goals in last 15 minutes than I can remember since I follow this team. Go figure.
Proving my point that while we are not exactly playing well we did still have some good spells of moments during games. But at the same time inconsistent and bad concentration. That said I think this team has fighting spirit that we often lacked even when we had better teams on paper. And have to give some credit for that to Xavi. So don't buy BS that he has lost the team like I've seen some people mentioned.
We might be thrashed by better teams but I don't think you'll see any of current players have a "Jordi Alba at Anfield moments". Finally moving on from amigos and building a new team/culture is what I wanted to see for a long time. So while the work is still far from done and we have financial limitations which will prolong the whole process I'll stay patient and see where we'll go. I've survived yearly European embarassments during the amigos days so I can go through another year or two of struggling knowing we are on the right path.
You can see when the team is playing lazy and uninterested. Not the case with this team imo. If they go down it's not for lack of trying but more on poor execution (bad finishing, defensive mistakes). Ofc lot of that is on Xavi still being tactically very naive but I also see it as a relatively inexperienced team trying to find their own identity. Injuries don't help and neither do poor performances of certain veteran(s) who the youngsters should lean on rather than carrying them.
In other words I'd say we should learn to play smarter rather than harder. But that will come when most of these kids (and I'm not only talking about Yamal or Cubarsi here but also likes of Balde, Gavi, Pedri who despite having lot of experience for their ages we still forget how young they are) will grow up. This team has very good potential but we're just not there yet. Would clearly help us a lot if we could find 2-3 good signings to add to the core though.
I don't know if Xavi is the right coach to get the best out of them longterm (probably not) but as of now he's still our best option so I'll stand with him. Mid season coaching changes rarely work (never forget people wanted to see EV gone only to be replaced by that farmer Setien) and besides that I don't see many coaches from the outside will want to come to the club in current situation when their hands will be tied to build the team in their own image.
I would give a try to Thiago Motta if he wants to return home but I believe he'll find more attractive options elsewhere. What I don't want us to do is sack Xavi and replace him with another "rookie" manager like Rafa Marquez though.
