Ernesto Valverde - V1

[RMU ReBorn]

Agree with your points except the fact that losing to Roma 3-0 after winning the first leg 4-1 is definitely worse than losing to Liverpool.

Yeah sure , Ev had his flaws and did few things that fucked up the Cl tie along with our players . Should have subbed of Iniesta earlier . I am saying that give him one more chance before calling him a coward , fraud etc etc . If he doesn't deliver , then he is a gonnar . Especially looking at what Messi said ( Can't end another season without CL) . He was appointed at a time when we had a massive meltdown with Neymar transfer and didn't had enough bench strength at the beginning . I am happy with how we ended looking at how terrible our situation were after Super copa lose . If it wasn't for that fuck up at Levante then Ev's Barcelona would have been part of history . Something that no Barca team has achieved before .


Btw Pep's city was knocked out by Monaco a season before that .

 

[Joan]

I agree with RMU. Mosty, not going into details.

Especially the post above.

 

[henias]

It's an incredible achievement . I just went with the logic of few people here. But it seems like people uses two different criteria to judge Pep and Ev .

Pep losing to Liverpool in Cl , a team that had inferior midfield to city . -"forget that . Oh look how he is tearing the Pl apart ,shattering all records " . Not a fraud despite not winning a Cl after leaving Barcelona . Or not even reaching the final

EV's Barcelona loses to Roma 3-0 in Cl . Wins domestic double , having a lead of 15 points over rivals in league " Fraud , Coward , Fucked up Cl tie , Anyone can win the league with Messi , Madrid was out of shape , Atleti chokers , etc etc"

These are the same guys who licks pep's ball everywhere in the transfer threads and other threads and despise every other manager we had and their shortcomings . All of a sudden Pep is the only Barca manager with no weakness . Yeah he was a prominent figure in our rise in European football . Will always be grateful for that . Apart from that i have no sentiments for him , at times hate him for his narcissistic attitude .

Like I said, dont think people was criticising about the losses and I dont think that's the right logic anyway. People were criticising EV's lack of flexibility, rigid style, lack of preparations, rotations and succumbing to pressure. They gave credit for EV's first half of the season, but after that he lost it.

Anyway will have to see what he brings this season. Pep has his own problems but that's the least of our problems. He isnt in Barcelona no more. No point comparing EV and Pep as these 2 are hard to compare while EV's only managed one big team in his entire career. Will have to see how EV does this season and whether he goes on to manage other big clubs.

In any case, I have said this before so I ain't repeating that again.

 

[RMU ReBorn]

Like I said, dont think people was criticising about the losses and I dont think that's the right logic anyway. People were criticising EV's lack of flexibility, rigid style, lack of preparations, rotations and succumbing to pressure. They gave credit for EV's first half of the season, but after that he lost it.

Anyway will have to see what he brings this season. Pep has his own problems but that's the least of our problems. He isnt in Barcelona no more. No point comparing EV and Pep as these 2 are hard to compare while EV's only managed one big team in his entire career. Will have to see how EV does this season and whether he goes on to manage other big clubs.

In any case, I have said this before so I ain't repeating that again.

Regarding style of play ,he hardly got a team to work on with ,that plays attractive football or the 433 which Barcelona was known for . Dembele got injured against Getafe . He tried Deulefou in that wing and proved to be a disaster . Instead of playing a dead weight in 433 he used 442 with Paulinho at the top of diamond formation in most matches including classico . Whilst Dembele was back ,he can't be forced in to the mix right away . So Ev had to Rotate him . Trusting a player who just got back from injury in away matches was suicidal . So it was 442 in away ties and 433 in home matches . It was a tricky situation and i believe he handled it well till that Cl tie were he sticked with Iniesta while he was bullied off by Roma players . Should have brought in Paulinho and Dembele early . But his over cautious approach fucked up that tie . Fair enough criticism . But the style of play he was getting criticized for was the need of the hour given oir situation . with better players in his disposal i believe he will bring that versatility and tenacity in the attack which was missing . I hope CDR final was the beginning of something better and breathtaking , were we played brilliant football . This is the season in which he should deliver , especially the brand of football which we are known for . I don't mind the way we played last season . Better than going for kill with slow Busi and Raki in 433 setup . We didn't end trophy less , and won domestic double . Now time to deliver in CL .

 

[henias]

Regarding style of play ,he hardly got a team to work on with that plays attractive football or the 433 which Barcelona was known for . Dembele got injured against Getafe . He tries Deulefou in that wing and proved to he disaster . Instead of playing a dead weight in 433 he used 442 with Paulinho at the top of diamond formation in most matches including classico . Whilst Dembele was back ,he can't be forced in to the mix right away . So Eg had to Rotate him . Trusting a player who just back from injury in away matches was suicidal . So it was 442 in away ties and 433 in home matches . It was a tricky situation and i believe he handled it well till that Cl tie were he sticked with Iniesta while he was bullied off by Roma players . Should have brought in Paulinho and Dembele early . But his over cautious approach fucked up that tie . Fair enough criticism . But te style of play he was getting criticized for was the need of the hour given oir situation . But with better players in his disposal i believe he will bring that versatility and tenacity in the attack which was missing . I hope CDR final was the beginning of something better and breathtaking , were we played brilliant football . This is the season in which he should deliver , especially the brand of football which we are known for . I don't mind the way we played last season . Better than going for kill with slow Busi and Raki in 433 setup . We didn't end trophy less , and woj domestic double . Now time to deliver in CL .

Which is why I said he did well the first half of the season and then seemed to have lost it after that and were criticising him for the second half of the season. EV almost could have lost the massive points lead if not for Messi stepping up in some of the league games. Luckily we didnt but in the CL, it showed and we massively fail. Basically EV was playing with fire and almost tripping himself. And you are making it seem like people were senselessly criticising him for no reason.

I get you want to bring Pep into this but both have different problems and for me EV's problem was more damaging to the club in the long run and I wasnt much concerned about whether we manage to win CL after Neymar left. What irks me is the way he goes into the competition prematurely and without any planning whatsoever. And also burning the players in all 3 competitions.

Also, you're arguing and bringing Pep into this, all on the assumption that EV wouldnt make the same errors and mentality into league games and worst, into CL games next season. I think best now is to take a step back and see whether he is still the same and a test for him to transform the squad. I also dont buy the excuse some ppl claimed here that he doesnt have a good squad now and it is up to him to step up and bring postitive and solid changes.

 

[Sorin]

Pep is not only loved for his stint as our manager. He's loved because he's one of the first players to graduate from Cruyff's La Masia and one of the most important players from the dream team.

Why is it so hard to understand that Pep has a bit more leeway with our fans? It's fucking justified for what he represented for us in what is the most successful period in our club's history. Both as a player and manager. Valverde on the other hand has a lot to do to be viewed in the same light as Guardiola. You can talk as much shit as you want about Pep, Valverde isn't even in the same stratosphere right now.

 

[soul24rage]

For me, EV performed almost flawlessly in terms of result and with decent performances in the first half of the season and in the second half, there was some decisions that I didn't agree with (especially in the Roma game) but considering what was our situation at the beginning of the season, I would have bite your hand off for a domestic double. I think Messi deserves the biggest credit for that, but EV also deserves some credit for it as well. It is this season that we will find out if he is the man for us. All I want from him this season:

-play only the kids/fringe players in the Copa del Rey to let them gain more valuable first team experience and rest key players for the love of god.
-with VAR, we should have more favorable decisions from the ref so I expect a league title.
-with CL, it's tricky because there's a lot of factors that can come into play even if we have the strongest squad since 14/15 (especially with refs that has no VAR), but I expect a stronger performance than what we had in the past 3 years. Hopefully we can win the CL this season too.

 

[El Flaco]

Yes, but last season he was such a slow starter.. Only Messis goals bailed him out and hid that he couldn't score to save his life, ran offside more often than not etc.

Last year we had Deulofeu, Vidal and Iniesta on the field for a substantial amount of time. This year we have a goal-scoring-threat from Coutinho, Dembele/Malcom besides Messi.
Therefore we can afford to bench him/phase him out during the fall, while bringing him in well-rested when we need it. I would hate to see him play all the games, unless he really hits the ground running, and I doubt that he would be able to do that.

IIRC, Suárez kept playing with a cyst in his knee for a while and eventually made a surgery during 1st half of last season.

Aside Messi, there's no other player in our squad then Suárez who guarantees 20 league goals in every season.

Just hope he improves his goalscoring rate in UCL.

Think Valverde will keep Suárez as an undisputed starter even for the up-coming season.

 

[jairzinho]

Really can't wait to see what EV comes up with this season, tactics wise.
He has a much stronger squad and slighly more deeper squad to work with this season so rotation is pretty much expected.
Both defence and midfield looks stronger and deeper.
Only thing to do now would be to sell both Munir+Paco and get a quality backup cf.
Minimum expectations for me are La Liga+CL. Anything less than that and he's gone.

 

[Joan]

Minimum expectations for me are La Liga+CL. Anything less than that and he's gone.

You are modest.

 

[RMU ReBorn]

Pep is not only loved for his stint as our manager. He's loved because he's one of the first players to graduate from Cruyff's La Masia and one of the most important players from the dream team.

Why is it so hard to understand that Pep has a bit more leeway with our fans? It's fucking justified for what he represented for us in what is the most successful period in our club's history. Both as a player and manager. Valverde on the other hand has a lot to do to be viewed in the same light as Guardiola. You can talk as much shit as you want about Pep, Valverde isn't even in the same stratosphere right now.

Doesn't mean that one should lick his balls even after leaving Barca . Right now Ev is our manager . Like i support Barca , Ev also deserves that respect till he leaves . At least he should be given two seasons before calling him a coward and fraud . Ev may not be in same league as Pep but I don't care as long as he manages our team . Right now he is our boss not Pep . That Ship has sailed . Still few people here licks his balls , enjoy citys success , despise Ev , abuse him . which is not the way to go if you are a true supporter of the club . Not saying that he shouldn't be criticized but to tag him as a coward and fraud is different from constructive criticism . Same set of people defends Pep despite losing to Liverpool and Monaco

 

[serghei]

Minimum expectations for me are La Liga+CL. Anything less than that and he's gone.

Lol. Madrid had a season like that like... once in their entire history. As usual the objective is La Liga and challenge for CL. I'd say CL semifinal is the minimum after 3 poor showings in quarterfinals.

La Liga will not be like last year. We kind of sucker punched everyone last season. I expect more stiff competition from Atletico and Madrid domestically.

 

[DonAK]

Let's see if he's learned his lesson from last season.

 

[Stoichkov1]

Lol. Madrid had a season like that like... once in their entire history. As usual the objective is La Liga and challenge for CL. I'd say CL semifinal is the minimum after 3 poor showings in quarterfinals.

La Liga will not be like last year. We kind of sucker punched everyone last season. I expect more stiff competition from Atletico and Madrid domestically.

CL semifinal can't be the minimum if we meet Real, Juventus, Bayern or PSG in the eighth-finals or quarterfinals. Even after buying these players it's not fair to say we have a better team than those four. Not better and not worse, if we meet them it will be a 50-50 match.

 

[KingLeo10]

CL semifinal can't be the minimum if we meet Real, Juventus, Bayern or PSG in the eighth-finals or quarterfinals. Even after buying these players it's not fair to say we have a better team than those four. Not better and not worse, if we meet them it will be a 50-50 match.

We're marginally stronger than Real, PSG (their defense is a joke) or Bayern in my opinion. Juventus would be a 50-50 and I think if Valverde plays his cards correctly, that is going to the marquee match-up in the CL this season.