Ernesto Valverde - V1

[Barcilliant]

To be fair to Valverde our Midfield AND attack looks very mediocre. We HAVE to buy in January or at least look at loan options. The quality is just not there. I have no idea why we don't look at loan options. Anyone remember us getting Davids on loan and how our fortunes changed?

 

[khaled_a_d]

I will keep posting this until people stop trying to spread the myth that we were great that season before Messi got injured or Tito fell ill and that those two factors would somehow have mattered against Bayern:

Full team, healthy coach. Exact same problems. Things wouldn't have looked much better against Bayern even if Tito didn't have cancer and Messi weren't injured.

If you actually watch the games rather than just look at the results, I'd say it was about as bad as the Tata season (it was obviously better results-wise). Performances were actually worse against big teams, although they were better (or at least more consistent) in La Liga (a much weaker La Liga than in Tata's season, mind you).

For the record, I am by no means writing EV off at this point in the season, I'll even praise him for our home form which is much better than what I expected with the current squad. I'm simply pointing out what I see. Good and bad.

I watched the whole games -not random video- and we were Europe best team in 1st half of the season, no argument around it even if we had our flaws.
Things were starting to downfall after. Tito grinned that team like EV doing now for sure and we weren't gonna maintain our level even if healthy, buy we weren't gonna get humiliated against Bayerm. It would have been a historic record Liga + CL SF. That is a good season
And Tata was awful, god damn awful. Guy couldn't get respect, emphasis his tactics or adapt to the clun and had a quitting mentality as icing on the cake FFS

 

[Lelouch vi Britannia]

I watched the whole games -not random video- and we were Europe best team in 1st half of the season, no argument around it even if we had our flaws.
Things were starting to downfall after. Tito grinned that team like EV doing now for sure and we weren't gonna maintain our level even if healthy, buy we weren't gonna get humiliated against Bayerm. It would have been a historic record Liga + CL SF. That is a good season
And Tata was awful, god damn awful. Guy couldn't get respect, emphasis his tactics or adapt to the clun and had a quitting mentality as icing on the cake FFS

We grinded out wins in la liga and got destroyed in big games (clasicos). Exact same thing as the second half of the season, only difference being we werent able to grind out wins in la liga with as much consistency in the second half. No way were we ever the best team in europe that season.

 

[xXKonan]

Iniesta-Busi-Rakitic

Messi-Suarez

Something needs to give here. Suarez-Messi aren't fast nor have the workrate most of the time and having a slow immobile Midfield like Iniesta-Busi-Rakitic to cover for them is suicidal. It amazes me that this is still our starting Midfield.

The likes of Paulinho,Denis and Roberto provide the energy and work rate and even decent enough pace that we desperately need in the middle but for some reason they aren't being utilized enough and instead we are overusing a 33 year old Iniesta and a 29 year old Rakitic who has the legs and work rate of a 60 year old man.

We need creative/control CMs but we also need pace and energy in the Middle to help cover up the weaknesses of Messi and Suarez's pace and workrate.

 

[DonAK]

UNTIL we can fix our issues next summer, Valverde absolutely has to drop Rakitic for Roberto or Paulinho and put Denis or Deulofeu on the RW. Deulofeu is a dumb player, but he can provide some energy and pace which is lacking right now. I'm ready to sacrifice frustration for some more movement up front.

 

[Xaviniesta]

Wish Valverde had balls to drop rakitic in big games. I also think we should try 4-2-3-1. Isn't that sort of the formation we played against Juve?

 

[Andrew M]

UNTIL we can fix our issues next summer, Valverde absolutely has to drop Rakitic for Roberto or Paulinho and put Denis or Deulofeu on the RW. Deulofeu is a dumb player, but he can provide some energy and pace which is lacking right now. I'm ready to sacrifice frustration for some more movement up front.

I think Dembele will make the difference when he comes back

 

[MIXA]

The team is broken. Neymar’s departure together with Dembele’s injury has left a huge chasm in the team.

I don’t think that conventional structures are going to help this Barcelona. I would do something radical as the normal way just does not seem to bring enough impetus in our attack.

I would go with a 3-4-1-2 with the following individuals:

Mascherano – Pique – Umtiti
Semedo – Busi – Iniesta – Alba
Messi
Suarez – Paulinho

These are currently the best 11 individuals at the club I believe. This is just an attempt to shoehorn the best 11 into a system that could potentially work.

With 3 CB’s and two full backs, Busquets will hopefully be able to take more risk and play more openly. He is the best and only reliable midfielder we have. If we can somehow find a way to give him more freedom then perhaps the team won’t look so blunt in attack.

I would dare to play Paulinho right up front along Suarez as a secondary striker. Messi and Suarez simply do not place enough pressure on the opposition anymore. It’s far too easy for the opposition to pass the ball along their back line these days. Throwing Paulinho into the mix would hopefully disrupt the other teams defence and always keep them on guard.

Paulinho has had a good start to life in Barcelona but he still has zero understanding of positional play. As a ‘defensive midfielder’ he is almost always out of position and he shows far too much eagerness to run up field. For this reason, I would just let him play up field where he really wants to be.

 

[Gaudi]

I think our style is broken more than a team. First of all tiki taka is philosophy not tactic so we can be faithfull to philosophy but our tactic is wrong. We play slow and static football and that's the bottom line. With this type of play I wouldn't bet that we'll sell Dembele in 2 years as a flop, we'll get some money thx to his age but he we'll look as a mediocore player...and he is not! Mbappe will look like a new Messi and many here, who watched both, claim they are closely matched in talent. But....even look at the highlites alone and you'll see Mbappe destroying one defender, quick running to the defence, playing with Ney and Cavani quick passes against equal number of defenders and so on. Then look at all our players including Dembele, getting the ball to his feet surrounded with 3 players and entire team in defence.He can either countinue sideway passing or try suicide dribble.
I know we made some bad transfers, we would all rather have Assensio than Arda or Gomes, but I'm almost 100% sure they are not that bad players in good system but rather this system makes everyone look bad unless you are Messi. If RM bought Gomes we would talk about another talanted and young midfielder we could have bought. Arda here looks like an amateur but he was creative spark for freaking AM, not for some 3rd division club.
That is actually the reason why I think noone comes even close to Messi. Whenever I hear about debate CR or Messi I would say to that person: put CR in Barca he may still score because he'll be fed with balls from Messi but put Messi in RM and people would think he is in form of his life. Imagine that much space for him RM players have? People here, when RM is playing, often comment: look how xy club is giving space to RM and to CR? Well, conspiracies aside, it's not that they do that on purpose it's down to tactics! This is why we depend only on Messi, because we need a true magic to create something.

 

[jamrock]

Been saying Suarez in the villa/Henry position won't work, he just isn't fit enough or as the skill set for that, we have had a nice little boost since the season started but that will stop in due time. A pity because this still likely make those idiots running the club survive.

 

[Barcaman]

Too early to discard Suarez in that role. It's still September for crying out loud.

 

[JamDav1982]

Been saying Suarez in the villa/Henry position won't work, he just isn't fit enough or as the skill set for that, we have had a nice little boost since the season started but that will stop in due time. A pity because this still likely make those idiots running the club survive.

He hasnt played that role this season he has more been a CF than anyhting who on occasion drifts wider.

Henry and Villa had wide starting positions and when Barca got ball Villa in particular from wide tried to get in behind the defence from the left.

When Barca get the ball Suarez is more or less a CF and plays amongst the CBs.

Henry didnt play same role as Villa and neither played same role as Suarez is other than all three were strikers that to different degrees played towards the left.

 

[Nothanks]

Too early to discard Suarez in that role. It's still September for crying out loud.

sell, SELL THEM ALL

 

[PhilS]

I think Valverde deserves a lot of credit for establishing the regular list of players. Much better to settle on the right-sized group than do what Lucho did.

1 keeper
1 LB
3 CBs
2 RBs, alternating
Pretty much 1 DM, Rak as the only alternate
4.5 midfielders (S. Roberto is the .5). Iniesta and Rak first choices, lots of subs and rotations.
2 + 2/2 forwards. Vidal is a forward, now.

Abandoned: Verm, Digne, Gomes, Arda, Deulo, Cillessen, Paco. Rafinha will be ignored when (if?) he gets healthy. It's better for the team to let all these excess players rust, so that a right-sized group can all keep sharp.

Valverde deserves a lot of credit getting improved play from Messi, Iniesta, Rak, Alba, Messi, D. Suarez, Vidal, S. Roberto. Forcing L. Suarez to play out of position has hurt Suarez a lot, but helped the team more by getting more from Messi. Integrating Paulinho and Semedo has gone very well, likely to improve as the season progresses.

 

[Horatio]

He didn't abandon Cillessen. He was on the bench today. Probably rates him as a solid backup.