Ernesto Valverde - V1

[Luftstalag14]

I really don't think the club will sack Valverde if we win the domestic double, I hope I will be proven wrong.

There's no stopping Real Madrid from winning the CL - Go easy on your heart there mate

Seriously, my blood pressure was at 84-119 earlier today after learning what happened at the white shit - Juve game.

They literally made me sick. I should sue them.

 

[KingLeo10]

Seriously, my blood pressure was at 84-119 earlier today after learning what happened at the white shit - Juve game.

They literally made me sick. I should sue them.

that's normal blood pressure tho...

 

[Luftstalag14]

that's normal blood pressure tho...

84 was quite high...

 

[Givenchy]

I really don't think the club will sack Valverde if we win the domestic double, I hope I will be proven wrong.

EV will be here next year serving up the same shit, you can bet on that. probably some 'mes que un club' bullshit that we don't sack managers, give him time etc etc.

it still hasn't sank in yet for me.. I mean 3-0 lead on aggregate.. Roma... WTF.. they bloody deserved it aswell

 

[Ousmane Dembélé]

I cannot and will not be able to watch Barca next season if this coward is still here.

Firstly, just seeing his face enrages me after that debacle in Rome, but moreover the football we've been playing has been so consistently dross and negative I don't even look for forward to matches anymore. After just the first 10 minutes I've usually had enough and am simply waiting for the ref to blow for FT. I don't want tiki-taka or total football or anything of the sort; football is supposed to be entertainment, I just want something that's palatable for 90 minutes.

I'm far too invested in this season to stop watching now, but I won't be able to put up with this shit for another season. It's become a chore to watch Barca and always will be with this negative coward at the helm.

Hopefully he's sacked in the summer.

 

[Birdy]

Multiple sources already report Iniesta and Pique criticizing EV during the match. Wouldn't be surprising at all if this were true.

Pique and Iniesta, who were horrendous during the game, want to put the blame on EV's tactics. Funny!!
Players that didn't win any duel for 90 min and showed up for a CL quarterfinal like kids playing against grown-ups.
How many millions did you say they are getting paid to perform their professional duties?

a domestic double and a real Madrid 0 tituli would give this season a solid 8 of 10, all things considered. Especially with Enrique's Heritage ( i had to borrow that Jose). Yes, our season evaluation, admit it or not, always depend on Madrid and vice versa.

Totally true that our season will be colored differently according to what Madrid does.

 

[Barcilliant]

There's no stopping Real Madrid from winning the CL - Go easy on your heart there mate

In the end it is just a game. The players don't really give a shit about the fans. They get paid regardless. We played a game behind closed doors. It's not as if the players weeped for the fans or didn't get paid.

Totally true that our season will be colored differently according to what Madrid does.

That is small club mentality. During Cruyff, Pep Era we worried about ourselves not real madrid.

I cannot and will not be able to watch Barca next season if this coward is still here.

Firstly, just seeing his face enrages me after that debacle in Rome, but moreover the football we've been playing has been so consistently dross and negative I don't even look for forward to matches anymore. After just the first 10 minutes I've usually had enough and am simply waiting for the ref to blow for FT. I don't want tiki-taka or total football or anything of the sort; football is supposed to be entertainment, I just want something that's palatable for 90 minutes.

I'm far too invested in this season to stop watching now, but I won't be able to put up with this shit for another season. It's become a chore to watch Barca and always will be with this negative coward at the helm.

Hopefully he's sacked in the summer.

He needs to go. A Barca manager needs to be a big personality, motivator and tactician.

Heynkes or Allegri please.

However knowing our shitty board they will either keep ev or bring another scrub with Barca DNA.

 

[Cruyff-Total Football]

Pique and Iniesta, who were horrendous during the game, want to put the blame on EV's tactics. Funny!!
Players that didn't win any duel for 90 min and showed up for a CL quarterfinal like kids playing against grown-ups.
How many millions did you say they are getting paid to perform their professional duties?

Any defender in the history of football would appear horrendous if he has to be the one man defense. What was Umtiti doing the entire game? Ball watching. How many time Umtiti was out of position or was not reactive enough that Pique had to move out of his position to tackle? Everytime Umtiti and Roberto made a mistake Pique stopped the attack. But when Pique made a mistake, he was made to look like a fool. Understand the context before posting. Do you really think, it's Pique as an individual who is criticizing Valverde? Pique represents the Barca squad there. When Pique went to Valverde to give him suggestion to put more attacking contribution, not because he suddenly became a tactical expert. He communicated the idea of the important members of the team such as Messi, Iniesta and Pique. Watch Iniesta not even looking at Valverde when substituted. It's easy to just look at one match and say, players were static. The players followed the plans and decisions of Valverde the entire season. It's valverde who changed the team to accommodate Suarez in his best performing position. It backfired when a team overcame our midfield and Suarez's first touch is a tackle or a accurate pass to the opposition. He is the one who implemented the static system. He didn't develop or integrate Alena in the team. Paulinho who has no place in a team as Barcelona where you should be press resistant, was a started despite him being liability for most of the matches.
I always considered that Demeble is on the way to be the biggest flop of Barca signings. But I knew very well when opponent play with three man defense, you either play direct football or play from flanks with wingers. Suarez can't do shit with his slow pace and everytime he lost the chase. The only optimal as well as most efficient option is Dembele. Not because dembele will change the game on his own but because the opponent couldn't afford to play with 3 defenders without wing back. Paulinho has consistently been a starter for his team despite us having a very good talented but raw midfielder in Alena. That should say about Valverde's season.

That is small club mentality. During Cruyff, Pep Era we worried about ourselves not real madrid.

Not true. Real and Barca are the two best teams in the world in the club football history. The accomplishment or failure of them is relative. Their standard is higher than other clubs. For other clubs, such as Manchester United, you would be boasted as the greatest manager of all time if you win 10 league titles. But here, it's not like that. It's not about small club mentality, it's a historical competition. If Barca want Bayern to win CL it's not because Barca is small club. It's because their competitor is losing which means they are good in the historical perspective of the club football. And let's not even mention the political background. It has been like that when Cruyff was there, it will be like that as long as either one of the team become a small club.

 

[xXKonan]

I wouldn't be shocked if there's articles published that the squad had been at odds in with Valverde in terms of his tactics for awhile now but the only thing keeping it together is the La Liga, Copa and CL results. But due to the Roma debacle the frustration is finally getting out.

Squad probably doesn't have many qualms about Valverde as a person, it's more or less likely due to the system and tactics he employed that made everything so tedious and ridgid that sucked all the fun out of what Football was suppose to be.

I understood what Valverde was going for, he wanted Pure control and a solid defensive unit with High pressing system. But one of Valverde's biggest flaws are that he is simply to afraid of the prospect of losing thus less risk are taken.

In football you will have to take risks or be left behind. This season he took the main XI Lucho left behind which became much older and we lost Neymar. He changed the system as Dembele who was suppose to be our Ney replacement had gotten a bad injury and was out for months. He played Rakitic and Busi in more of a double pivot, and played Musical chairs with the RB spot with Semedo and Roberto and at the RM position with the likes of Paulinho,Vidal,Gomes,Denis etc.

Most of those players in that XI were part of the treble season, the only players who are no longer in that XI are Alves,Neymar,Mascherano as all three of them would later leave the club and in Mascherano's case he would later be benched for Umtiti.

I said it before but that XI needs new blood especially in the Centre Midfield where we have been buttfumbling it for quite sometime. We are still relying a lot on a nearly 34 year old Iniesta and Busi and Rakitic who aren't young themselves and up front a Suarez who's best days are behind us.

But the question would be even if we had much younger and really good technically adept Midfielders would they easily break into the XI? over the likes of Iniesta and Rakitic? or would Valverde still stick to his guns and play Rakitic and Iniesta instead despite Iniesta aging and Rakitic not exactly some technical Maestro.

We have Coutinho but right now he's more or less being used as a Wide Midfielder/LW and even was paired up on the right wing on a couple of occasions with Iniesta out on the field.

 

[Barcilliant]

His handling of some players has been appalling. Alena, Mina, Semedo and Dembele for example. The core of the team has been overplayed.

This jackass better not be here next season.

It's time to hire a big name manager. No more unknowns, no more B team managers... Please

 

[Cruyff-Total Football]

His handling of some players has been appalling. Alena, Mina, Semedo and Dembele for example. The core of the team has been overplayed.

This jackass better not be here next season.

It's time to hire a big name manager. No more unknowns, no more B team managers... Please

I don't know if the news regarding players' criticism on valverde is true. But if it's true it's improbable for Valverde to continue. Lucho had the respect of Barca squad. And his 2016 season, Barca started with flying colours that too independent of Messi for the first time since Rijkaard era. But all collapsed in the end. So it is very possible the squad still had respect for him since it's possible for him to change the circumstance the next season. But Valverde's is completely different.

 

[Birdy]

Any defender in the history of football would appear horrendous if he has to be the one man defense. What was Umtiti doing the entire game? Ball watching. How many time Umtiti was out of position or was not reactive enough that Pique had to move out of his position to tackle? Everytime Umtiti and Roberto made a mistake Pique stopped the attack. But when Pique made a mistake, he was made to look like a fool. Understand the context before posting. Do you really think, it's Pique as an individual who is criticizing Valverde? Pique represents the Barca squad there. When Pique went to Valverde to give him suggestion to put more attacking contribution, not because he suddenly became a tactical expert. He communicated the idea of the important members of the team such as Messi, Iniesta and Pique. Watch Iniesta not even looking at Valverde when substituted. It's easy to just look at one match and say, players were static. The players followed the plans and decisions of Valverde the entire season. It's valverde who changed the team to accommodate Suarez in his best performing position. It backfired when a team overcame our midfield and Suarez's first touch is a tackle or a accurate pass to the opposition. He is the one who implemented the static system. He didn't develop or integrate Alena in the team. Paulinho who has no place in a team as Barcelona where you should be press resistant, was a started despite him being liability for most of the matches.
I always considered that Demeble is on the way to be the biggest flop of Barca signings. But I knew very well when opponent play with three man defense, you either play direct football or play from flanks with wingers. Suarez can't do shit with his slow pace and everytime he lost the chase. The only optimal as well as most efficient option is Dembele. Not because dembele will change the game on his own but because the opponent couldn't afford to play with 3 defenders without wing back. Paulinho has consistently been a starter for his team despite us having a very good talented but raw midfielder in Alena. That should say about Valverde's season.

Man, i am sorry if it's not obvious to you that Pique, Messi, Iniesta know sh$@t about tactics...
They act like little children who think they know how the team should play, like when Xavi was trying to dictate (to Tata) how Barca should play.
These legends as players need a long way to just become proper coaches, let alone successful coaches.
Stop thinking that Guardiola story can be easily repeated. Guardiola is a phenomenon..

And of course, even if all of them knew just a tiny bit about tactics, this could not excuse their absolute HORRENDOUS performance. Look at the any moment in the game, look at first goal how they defend, look a the third goal where is everyone when the ball is being crossed in the box. Give me any moment in the game where all of them (bar Stegen) won any single duel in the game. Find that first and then look at the tactics..

 

[Aryagorn]

I hope we ship out Suarez along with him too. If we kept Suarez for another season it means we are screwed

 

[henias]

Man, i am sorry if it's not obvious to you that Pique, Messi, Iniesta know sh$@t about tactics...
They act like little children who think they know how the team should play, like when Xavi was trying to dictate (to Tata) how Barca should play.
These legends as players need a long way to just become proper coaches, let alone successful coaches.
Stop thinking that Guardiola story can be easily repeated. Guardiola is a phenomenon..

And of course, even if all of them knew just a tiny bit about tactics, this could not excuse their absolute HORRENDOUS performance. Look at the any moment in the game, look at first goal how they defend, look a the third goal where is everyone when the ball is being crossed in the box. Give me any moment in the game where all of them (bar Stegen) won any single duel in the game. Find that first and then look at the tactics..

It's not the first time this tactics have suffered, I have already said there were glaring problems and loopholes to such a system, it's just that people have chose to ignore them because of the scoreline.

Players may not know extensive or in depth tactics, but it is clear that they struggle in this sort of setup significantly even against smaller teams. Basic formation knowledge that they cant play possession with such a one dimensional set-up where they can only side pass to one another, and often has to resort to defending because they cant do much when opponents decide to high press. Iniesta has to switch his role to helping Suarez or Alba defending and clearly a player of his calibre cannot cover large areas defensively.

It also doesnt help that EV just stood by the stands doing nothing when he sees his team getting succumbed to pressure and not add a passing option upfront, instead allow Roma's 3 defender to easily contain our 2 slow attackers. EV doesnt intend to fast counter, and just want to defend and pass sideways which is never going to work.

People have seen this coming, and called out of the problems, and it's not like it's the first time people have seen such horrendous performances. Also, the fatigue issues and EV's stubborness in using the same set of players have drained them mentally and physically and it's hard for them to fight at all fronts.

Barcelona coaches never learn their lessons, it is only inevitable that such a defeat is bound to happen.

 

[Barcilliant]

I hope we ship out Suarez along with him too. If we kept Suarez for another season it means we are screwed

Suarez needs to go but being Messi's pal carries weight.