Ernesto Valverde - V1

[serghei]

More than Madrid looking great, I'm worried about the baboons in charge of the club.

So many things going wrong. Whether Madrid does well or bad, the club should be managed well.

Instead we're not able to sign bargains available, seem to be out of any plans, have one potential scandal after the other every second month, and have a 600m project incoming with very little transparency on the total cost of each renovation.

It just doesn't look too well to me, when they struggle with the simplest of things and are starting a big project just like that.

If something goes wrong with Espai Barca and the cost shoots up, things could turn out very critical for the club. The incompetence in the Nou Mestalla is still very much in my memory. Obv Barca bigger and better club, but I wouldn't say it's particularly well run right now.

Valverde is in charge. Right? It's not like the board makes the team or tells Valverde who to play. So this is argument no1.

Argument no2. Look at the squad. You really think our squad can't provide a winning team under the right manager? Seriously now. One of the best players ever in Messi. The best young player in the world by far, Neymar. Probably the best striker in the world - Suarez. The best DM in the world. One of the best midfielders in the world in Iniesta, who is not yet done, I don't think he is done. A good player in Rakitic. One of the best CBs in the world 100%, Pique, who is surely up for it this season as he can't stand seeing Madrid win. Expect to see him motivated as fuck. One of the best young CBs in the world, Umtiti (better than Varane imo) now in his 2nd season, integrated, showing his great potential right away.

One of the most underrated young players in the world, Sergi Roberto. He is a 70m. player who is just waiting to be trusted in midfield. In two back to back clasicos on Bernabeu, he took the ball on his own and dribbled through 3-4 Madrid players as if Messi possessed his body. Stegen who, with his problems, can pull off amazing saves to help his team at any point, he is also a player of genius, with consistency problems. Deulofeu, who, make no mistake, if you give him space he will not be too shy in exploting it, he has balls and this helps. Alcacer, the hated one, who kept getting better and better. Denis Suarez who played very well for Villareal. I may not be his biggest fan, but there is something there, and he can succeed if he really wants to. Alena, the young talent who's comming in hard to win his spot. I tell you right now, the kid has the tools and he has the brains to not lose himself with the fame and everything. He can be our next great gem. He can be better than Thiago by the time he's 22.

Now, we have Turan, who, sure, is not the player he was at Atletico. Everyone can see that. But he still can make a difference against the smaller teams. He is not completely useless as some think. You put hm in against some weaker teams and you can rest Neymar no problems. Now, sure, we payed too much for him, he is not young, and he is payed way too much money, but the harm is done, he doesn't want to leave. Instead of moaning about it, let's just use him the best way we can use him. Marlon is another player who could have a very nice future. I liked what I saw in his first game. Absolutely no signs of nerves, or signs that he doubts himself or his ability. That is great. A player just getting his first games with the first team and playing as if he is not scared, but as if he's waited this chance for a whole year. Looks ready to step up for me.

I tell you right now that if Valverde is the real deal, we'll see instant improvement with our squad. I tell you right now that in 6 months we will reevaluate what we think about certain players.

If I tell you right now that Alcacer for example is one of the best back-up strikers in the world you'd say I'm crazy. Only Madrid has a better 2nd option at no9 - Morata (they might very well lose him), and not by that much.

 

[DonAK]

He can @serghei

But I'm not thinking about next season. I'm thinking about 3-5 years from now.

This incompetence cannot continue. You cannot make the team and manager's job harder by being totally incompetent and stupid. This have gone on for years where our once in a generation core carried the team. That's not going to happen forever and they never seem to learn from their mistakes.

Unless Valverde flops, I think we'll win the league next season, but it'll be harder than ever.

Not even just the football section. The basket section is pathetic right now and Women's Team have had some issues as well. Handball doing well which is great, but 2 or 3 of the top 5 sections of the club is seeing bad management and bad management might not kill you tomorrow, but in a few years it definitely will.

 

[evilhita666]

I don't know, that's why I wanted a coach with with a stronger personality and bigger presence in the football world... I mean, he should be (publicly) asking for quality signings, and players from other teams should be looking forward to play under his instructions, but he's been a ghost since we signed him, which only benefits the current board and their stupid ways of running the club...

Hopefully he can turn everything around on the pitch where it matters, but with such an unbalanced squad full of mediocre players I can't see it happening, and it won't be his fault to be honest, the guy only has MSN to work with...

 

[serghei]

He can @serghei

But I'm not thinking about next season. I'm thinking about 3-5 years from now.

This incompetence cannot continue. You cannot make the team and manager's job harder by being totally incompetent and stupid. This have gone on for years where our once in a generation core carried the team. That's not going to happen forever and they never seem to learn from their mistakes.

Unless Valverde flops, I think we'll win the league next season, but it'll be harder than ever.

What makes you so sure that in 3 years we won't be talking about Alena as better than Asensio or Ceballos? What makes you so sure that in 3 years we won't be playing with Umtiti - Marlon and both of them doing great?

Instead of looking at what other teams have, let's look at the potential in front of our eyes. Too much talk about the board. Valverde is in charge of the team. Not the board. Valverde decides who plays, what tactics are used.

The manager is key imo. More than the board.

 

[DonAK]

What makes you so sure that in 3 years we won't be talking about Alena as better than Asensio or Ceballos? What makes you so sure that in 3 years we won't be playing with Umtiti - Marlon and both of them doing great?

Instead of looking at what other teams have, let's look at the potential in front of our eyes. Too much talk about the board. Valverde is in charge of the team. Not the board. Valverde decides who plays, what tactics are used.

The manager is key.

In 3 years we might not have the resources to sign a replacement for Suarez, or a replacement Pique, or a replacement for some other player to give Alenya, Umtiti and Marlon a team to compete with.

In 3 years Alenya might not even be at the club. In 3 years our 600m project we know little about could cost 900m and that's where the issue is.

These guys in charge of the club are so incompetent and random that we don't even know what they're gonna do next year. For all we know, they might sell Alenya or loan him out to some scrub team to make way for another bad signing.

Valverde is staying at this club like Lucho for max. 3 years. The structures, buildings and the club leadership will remain. The only constant and the worrying one too.

That said, once the games start, I'll support the team like always, but I won't ignore the bad signs or vibe these guys are giving me.

 

[JamDav1982]

Barcelona do have players for the future.

Ter Stegen, Umititi, Roberto and Neymar are still young players and potentially backbone to a very good side.

Others like Marlon, Cucu, Mina, Alena, Palencia may emerge and likes of Paco and slight chance even Gomes turns it around but slim chance.

Not all doom and gloom.

 

[serghei]

In 3 years we might not have the resources to sign a replacement for Suarez, or a replacement Pique, or a replacement for some other player to give Alenya, Umtiti and Marlon a team to compete with.

In 3 years Alenya might not even be at the club. In 3 years our 600m project we know little about could cost 900m and that's where the issue is.

These guys in charge of the club are so incompetent and random that we don't even know what they're gonna do next year. For all we know, they might sell Alenya or loan him out to some scrub team to make way for another bad signing.

Valverde is staying at this club like Lucho for max. 3 years. The structures, buildings and the club leadership will remain. The only constant and the worrying one too.

That said, once the games start, I'll support the team like always, but I won't ignore the bad signs or vibe these guys are giving me.

This can be said about any other team.

Madrid's most important players are Ramos, Ronaldo, Modric, Marcelo, and Kroos. Ramos is 31, Ronaldo is 32 closing in on 33, Modric will soon be 32, Marcelo is 29. So, the most important players Madrid has are getting older and older as well. Very much like ours. Don't tell me Asensio is anything close to Modric. He is far worse, and can play a shit game at any point. Barely noticed him in the EC final from a few weeks ago.

Don't know many details about the New Camp Nou project, so I will leave that out. Madrid will also have a similar project IIRC. So they are almost in a similar situation.

Bad signs exist every time. In 2008, we had to applaud Madrid players on Bernabeu while they came out from the tunnel. Humiliating. After that, shockingly, Barca had the best season ever for a club team. Incredible. Pep came and change everything. This is Barca right now. The tools are there. What we need is a person who can take those tools and build something with them. Valverde can be that person.

 

[mssarm]

In 3 years we might not have the resources to sign a replacement for Suarez, or a replacement Pique, or a replacement for some other player to give Alenya, Umtiti and Marlon a team to compete with.

In 3 years Alenya might not even be at the club. In 3 years our 600m project we know little about could cost 900m and that's where the issue is.

These guys in charge of the club are so incompetent and random that we don't even know what they're gonna do next year. For all we know, they might sell Alenya or loan him out to some scrub team to make way for another bad signing.

Valverde is staying at this club like Lucho for max. 3 years. The structures, buildings and the club leadership will remain. The only constant and the worrying one too.

That said, once the games start, I'll support the team like always, but I won't ignore the bad signs or vibe these guys are giving me.

I think you worry about 600m too much. This is not a project that will require injections from current assets. This is a capital investment that most likely to be financed by long term loans and investor shares. I don't think the ROI on this project is less than 30 years maybe even more. It's more of a strategic type of move to be in power game in long terms future. What worries me is the current state:seems like Barca is not a prestige club anymore, we get rejections from players we want, the market value for decent players are insane, there are not much quality players are available in the market etc. I don't like what Barto is doing with the club right now, I don't like the fact that his competition is not any better. I just hope we are not becoming Arsenal. In my mind the best for Barca is go public and that way they could have some assurance that some asshole from oil country will not take over or Madrid can't bribe different organizations to act against Barca.But I don't think Barca soci-s or Farto will consider that option. Maybe Pique ..when he becomes the next president will consider it.

 

[Cool]

Valvarde is the only light in this dark tunnel, thank god Lucho left or else we'd be fucked.

 

[Messi983]

This can be said about any other team.

Madrid's most important players are Ramos, Ronaldo, Modric, Marcelo, and Kroos. Ramos is 31, Ronaldo is 32 closing in on 33, Modric will soon be 32, Marcelo is 29. So, the most important players Madrid has are getting older and older as well. Very much like ours. Don't tell me Asensio is anything close to Modric. He is far worse, and can play a shit game at any point. Barely noticed him in the EC final from a few weeks ago.

Don't know many details about the New Camp Nou project, so I will leave that out. Madrid will also have a similar project IIRC. So they are almost in a similar situation.

Bad signs exist every time. In 2008, we had to applaud Madrid players on Bernabeu while they came out from the tunnel. Humiliating. After that, shockingly, Barca had the best season ever for a club team. Incredible. Pep came and change everything. This is Barca right now. The tools are there. What we need is a person who can take those tools and build something with them. Valverde can be that person.

Good post.

Most people here see things too black (everything that we're doing on the transfer market) and white (everything that Madrid do) but reality is somewhere in the middle as always. Yes, RM future looks better right now but nobody can really predict what will happen next season, let alone in 3 or 5 years.

 

[George_Costanza]

It seems he is a very passive manager and that what the board wants. He has no saying in signing mediocre players like Lima and Paulinho

 

[serghei]

Good post.

Most people here see things too black (everything that we're doing on the transfer market) and white (everything that Madrid do) but reality is somewhere in the middle as always. Yes, RM future looks better right now but nobody can really predict what will happen next season, let alone in 3 or 5 years.

Of course. That's how things are. It's normal that cules are a bit grumpy these days, but let's not forget that 2 years ago Madrid fans were booing their own players after being 0-2 down at HT in the clasico on Bernabeu (could've been 0-4 with ease). In the big clubs, whith so many great players, all it takes is one person in charge who knows what he is doing and things fall into place right away. Why? Because the most important things, like infrastructure, great players, winning mentality, all are there just waiting to be used by a skilled leader. Once we agree that we have a great team, the manager becomes more important than the board.

But then again, how can we agree that we have a great team when, for example, there are people on this forum who find reasons to hate even a top 5 player in the world like Neymar?

So, within one single year, Madrid became pretty much a joke (with Benitez), a team everybody is jealous of. Some of the solutions they came up with, like Casemiro at DM, were so out of the box, that nobody but a great manager could have found them.

People say, oh, we need to sign Verratti, or we're fucked. Or this, or that. Rubbish. We need to build an atmosphere in the team that will make every player improve. After we have established that atmosphere, after we've built the platform (this is down to Valverde, not the board) only then we can say that this player has it, or this player needs to leave. Until then, whatever conclusions we draw are more or less a guess work. Has Rakitic declined so much from 2014-15, or our tactics are deteriorating to such a degree that he seems a lot worse than he is? Nobody can answer that question.

Zidane took an underperforming squad from Benitez and in 18 months turned it into a squad that won two back to back CLs. He didn't do that by signing superstars, but by believing in the players he had. And he made them better players, or at least made them perform to their maximum ability. He didn't sign some highly rated DM like Kante, although he needed that. He trusted Casemiro. He trusted Vazquez, a player who is, in all fariness, not Madrid quality. But he still went with him and he absolutely made that player play to his maximum ability. Vazquez can't play better than what he already showed under Zidane.

Maybe, instead of talking about the board, and looking at the Madrid squad as if it is comprised only of super-players (which it isn't) - that squad was there under Benitez too btw - people should pay more atention to what Zidane is doing with his players. And how he is absolutely getting the best out of all players, to the point that he's making ordinary good players like Vazquez or Nacho to play with a level of confidence which actually makes them the best versions of themselves.

 

[denn]

Well, ofc that this team is good, with new coach and the system, I'm really optimistic about the way we'll be playing.

But, Valverde said he'll put young players IN, give them a chance. And then, we are going to buy fuckin 29years old Paulinho to be back-up for Busi, and we have Samper in squad. Fuck that!

If we are going to buy players then they have to be WORLD CLASS. If not, don't buy them, rather give chance young players from our academy. That's the whole point.

As long as we have Messi we are contenders for treble. But in 4-5 years, our squad is going to look like shit. That's another problem. Yes, some young guys will come in, but the main players will be so old. There's why you don't buy freakin 29 years old Paulinho or Arda..

 

[serghei]

Well, ofc that this team is good, with new coach and the system, I'm really optimistic about the way we'll be playing.

But, Valverde said he'll put young players IN, give them a chance. And then, we are going to buy fuckin 29years old Paulinho to be back-up for Busi, and we have Samper in squad. Fuck that!

If we are going to buy players then they have to be WORLD CLASS. If not, don't buy them, rather give chance young players from our academy. That's the whole point.

As long as we have Messi we are contenders for treble. But in 4-5 years, our squad is going to look like shit. That's another problem. Yes, some young guys will come in, but the main players will be so old. There's why you don't buy freakin 29 years old Paulinho or Arda..

Nobody knows what will happen in 4-5 years. It's up to Valverde. Trusting La Masia players is also up to Valverde. A lot of things will be down to him, not the board. That's my point. The manager is a key role in this, so as long as people trust Valverde, they should trust our team as well.

 

[Cool]

Is he back from holiday?