Ernesto Valverde - V1

[FCBfan22]

Sure Lucho's last season wasn't good and there are legit criticisms to be made of him. Yet at least the man tried to change things during his time here.

He changed the Midfield with the addition of Rakitic and had the balls to make Xavi a bench player in his final season. He turned Roberto, who was on the verge of leaving the club to join Stoke City, into a very reliable squad player. He benched Mascherano, a guy that was possibly his most favorite player and most trusted player in the squad for Umtiti. Hell, he tried even making Gomes a starter over the likes of Rakitic but sadly he was clearly not good enough but I give Lucho credit for trying to revamp the Midfield again then.

The two seasons Valverde has been here I haven't really seen much in terms of actual development and changing things up that actually meant something. Lenglet? the only reason he became a starter this season was because Umtiti suffered injuries and Verm also suffered his worse season in years in terms of injury problems as well.

Arthur? took a couple of months for Valverde to actually trust him and give him a start vs Tottenham and despite his performances, he got benched during the most crucial time in the CL semis for that Zombie Midfield of Vidal-Busi-Rakitic. Despite being our only CM that can resist the press.

Dembele/Coutinho? Valverde clearly didn't have it in him to actually develop/Utilize either of the players properly and forced a musical chairs situation between the two. Dembele went on a hot streak and showed his real potential until an ankle injury derailed it and came back was a bit rusty and ended up suffering some muscle discomfort, only for Valverde to still play him vs Lyon as a sub because he was panicking on the sidelines only for Dembele's injury to get worse. But hey we got passed Lyon so that's okay!

Malcom? Lol, dude was basically the red-headed stepchild of this team. Instead of actually making him a useful option he was dicked around all season and treated like garbage that came off as personal vendetta because he wasn't Willian. Played his best match for us vs Real in the Copa, only to be never seen on the pitch until a month later.

Alena? Yeah, he got promoted but hardly seen much consistent action and even when the team was 5-0 up the guy still was on the bench. Only started to play more towards the second half of the season once things were starting to be wrapped up in the league.

Semedo? I consider one of Valverde's most mismanaged players we brought in. The guy never seemed to have gotten a real run of games and when he actually did well he was eventually benched yet again for Roberto. Semedo's strengths are clearly his defensive qualities yet it seemed Valverde hasn't done shit to actually help him improve his offensive game. The same damn story with every other players we brought in during his reign.

Vidal? the only reason he started to feature more because his performances were too good for him to be ignored like Arthur. But sadly Vidal and Arthur were forced to fight for one spot no matter how good both were despite the poor performances of Rakitic and Busi.

Valverde just rode off what Lucho did and half-assed the development of players that were brought in under him. When things got tough he went back to his precious 4-4-2 because he didn't know a damn thing on how to create a proper system and cohesive team that can create an environment to help get the most out of a number of players in this squad and to help properly develop players.

That's why I scoff at the idea that the players we brought in are overrated or crap in general. We just have a coach who is flat out not good enough for this level. It's easy to coach limited players at Bilbao but here we can afford to buy some of the best talents out there, he doesn't have a damn clue how to develop them.

Real easy just playing them but without the coaching and guidance, they aren't going anywhere. It's actually frightening what guys like Pep, Klopp, Poch, etc could do with this team.

Great fucking post. Hats off.

I might add that Vidal was also being benched at the beginning of the season, until he basically said that EV is a moron on social media. Then, he started playing more and more, because EV has no balls to control any player over the age of 25.

 

[BBZ8800]

which should improve our most technical and talented players like Dembele, Arthur, Semedo, De Jong, Alena, Malcom, Puig

EV is bad.
But there is nobody in this world who could turn majority of players which you mentioned into Barca's level of quality.

Except maybe this guy...

Dembele: low IQ and forever injured.
Arthur: aged 23, learning how to play a forward pass for the first time in his life. That process will surely end as a happy end
Semedo: two years here, he made 0 or 1 assists?
Alena: nowhere near Barca's level
Puig: nice technical skills, questionable physique for a modern era of football
Malcom: Crystal Palace level of skills

Again, we need a change.
But we won't get anywhere with majority of these players.
A coach is bad.
Old players are complacent, slow and mentally drained.
Young players are a comedy level, close to early 2000s era with Fabio Rochemback, Saviola, Christanval, Geovanni Deiberson and Gerard Lopez.

Apart from Messi, our current squad is the most overrated bunch of players which I have seen since 2000-2003 era.
And again, just my opinion, when you remove Messi, the current Barca is the weakest Barca since 2003'.

Sarri most likely leaving this summer.
Please barto do the right thing for fucking once.

This is a joke, right?
I would rather appoint you as a manager.

You have a higher chance for actually winning something than Sarri.

You guys have totally lost your minds.

Sure Lucho's last season wasn't good and there are legit criticisms to be made of him. Yet at least the man tried to change things during his time here.

He changed the Midfield with the addition of Rakitic and had the balls to make Xavi a bench player in his final season. He turned Roberto, who was on the verge of leaving the club to join Stoke City, into a very reliable squad player. He benched Mascherano, a guy that was possibly his most favorite player and most trusted player in the squad for Umtiti. Hell, he tried even making Gomes a starter over the likes of Rakitic but sadly he was clearly not good enough but I give Lucho credit for trying to revamp the Midfield again then.

The two seasons Valverde has been here I haven't really seen much in terms of actual development and changing things up that actually meant something. Lenglet? the only reason he became a starter this season was because Umtiti suffered injuries and Verm also suffered his worse season in years in terms of injury problems as well.

Arthur? took a couple of months for Valverde to actually trust him and give him a start vs Tottenham and despite his performances, he got benched during the most crucial time in the CL semis for that Zombie Midfield of Vidal-Busi-Rakitic. Despite being our only CM that can resist the press.

Dembele/Coutinho? Valverde clearly didn't have it in him to actually develop/Utilize either of the players properly and forced a musical chairs situation between the two. Dembele went on a hot streak and showed his real potential until an ankle injury derailed it and came back was a bit rusty and ended up suffering some muscle discomfort, only for Valverde to still play him vs Lyon as a sub because he was panicking on the sidelines only for Dembele's injury to get worse. But hey we got passed Lyon so that's okay!

Malcom? Lol, dude was basically the red-headed stepchild of this team. Instead of actually making him a useful option he was dicked around all season and treated like garbage that came off as personal vendetta because he wasn't Willian. Played his best match for us vs Real in the Copa, only to be never seen on the pitch until a month later.

Alena? Yeah, he got promoted but hardly seen much consistent action and even when the team was 5-0 up the guy still was on the bench. Only started to play more towards the second half of the season once things were starting to be wrapped up in the league.

Semedo? I consider one of Valverde's most mismanaged players we brought in. The guy never seemed to have gotten a real run of games and when he actually did well he was eventually benched yet again for Roberto. Semedo's strengths are clearly his defensive qualities yet it seemed Valverde hasn't done shit to actually help him improve his offensive game. The same damn story with every other players we brought in during his reign.

Vidal? the only reason he started to feature more because his performances were too good for him to be ignored like Arthur. But sadly Vidal and Arthur were forced to fight for one spot no matter how good both were despite the poor performances of Rakitic and Busi.

Valverde just rode off what Lucho did and half-assed the development of players that were brought in under him. When things got tough he went back to his precious 4-4-2 because he didn't know a damn thing on how to create a proper system and cohesive team that can create an environment to help get the most out of a number of players in this squad and to help properly develop players.

That's why I scoff at the idea that the players we brought in are overrated or crap in general. We just have a coach who is flat out not good enough for this level. It's easy to coach limited players at Bilbao but here we can afford to buy some of the best talents out there, he doesn't have a damn clue how to develop them.

Real easy just playing them but without the coaching and guidance, they aren't going anywhere. It's actually frightening what guys like Pep, Klopp, Poch, etc could do with this team.

You have a different opinion.
You think that all of these players are actually good, mismanaged and that they will or could have been better with a different coach.
The only way to test this is: when we'll have a different coach or when these players will leave a club.

If Dembele will be dumb under a new coach/in a new club=EV was not guilty. Or, you guys will have a new excuse: a new coach is also bad. We need a 3rd coach so that Dembele can reach his potential.

To some extent, I would be open to get a new coach only so that we can test these players, and move on from them once when they will be exposed under two different managers.

I am probably too negative and too cautious towards players, but you guys are like on some drugs. Totally crazy and you are insanely overrating our players.
In the least 20 years, I haven't seen dumber players in our team (Dembele), than Alexis, Rochemback and Riquelme.
Since we are Barca, a team with a complicated style of play and movement (ok, except under EV), I just don't see how do you guys plan to build a future around a dummy like Dumbele.
Our former leaders and key attackers were R9, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Etoo, Messi, Henry. And our bright future should rely on Dembele? Omg...

Then Malcom guy.
Ev might be shit, but this guy has nothing for Barca's level. I used to say that Denis is the worst player in our rooster, currently those are Boateng and then Malcom.

Arthur?
Again, each player has default set of skills which can be altered only to some extent.
If Neymar's natural instincts are to make tricks, dribble past 5 players, please the crowd, slow down the play=this is what he will do on 90% of times.
How can you teach him to play a simple 1-2 touch/pass faster football? You can't. He might play it for a few Months and then he will return to his natural instincts, and this is what Neymar is doing.
If Adama is dumb as fuck, how can you teach him to be smart and to play differently than dribble, dribble, dribble till death in every single action? You can't.
If Iniesta is a NOT a natural deadly finisher, but a guy who will always look for a assist (his natural instincts), how will you teach him to be a deadly finisher with a feeling when to shoot? You can't.
If Cou's main instinct is to shoot from outside of a box whenever possible, how can you teach him to play and think differently? You can't.
The same is with Arthur. He is 23 years old in 2 months. In his whole career at Gremio, Brasil and Barca, his play is the same: his natural instincts are to protect the ball, slow down the game and play extremely safe pass to his left, right or to a defender. His main instincts are: don't lose the ball, no matter what. Don't risk, no matter what.
Here and there (1-2 times per match) he will play a forward pass.
He is not 13 years old. He is almost 23. How are you guys expecting that his game will significantly change in this age? He is already shaped footballer and his footballing IQ is shaped and works that way. He can only force himself to make small adjustments, and even then he will need to play against his natural instincts and against his train of thoughts.

So, basically, you are really asking for a wizzard to come and to turn our current bunch of players into:
Dembele who will be smarter, or we will have the dumbest attacker (star of a team) in the 21st century.
Arthur will stay the same or he will only slightly improve his forward game.
Malcom, that guy can't improve since he is lacking quality.
Alena, I still have like 10% of hope for him that he will somehow turn into something because he is not dumb and has a lot of passion, energy and a killer shot. But he will need to improve in lots of areas.
Puig, that player will be able to impose himself only if he will be out of this world in technical skills to compensate for his weak physique. If his technique will be on a level with other players, he won't make it. So, he'll need almost Xavi level of skills to survive in a modern football.

I am not shitting on Frenkie, because other players are full of flaws, and even I need someone to look forward to.
But seriously, this is my opinion, I have never seen a bunch of more average players than our current team (bar Messi) since Gaspart's era.

Rijkaard explained in one interview in 2005, when he was buying players for his team, he was looking for:
1. world class technical players
2. but also for players who were born leaders, mentally strong and captains (leaders) in their former clubs.
And that way he bought Ronaldinho, Etoo, Deco, Edmilson, Van Bommel, Marquez, Henry, Guily.
All players who were leaders, mentally strong, fighters and majority had a high IQ. Only Guily was not the brightest guy, though.
And then he paired golden La Masia boys, best players ever: Xavi, Iniesta, Messi with these players with IQ, mental strength, fighting spirit and leadership.
I mean, just look at Rijkaard's team:
1. Ronaldinho, a true leader and a fighter. He never sulks
2. Etoo, what a fighter, what a spirit
3. Marquez, a true captain and a leader
4. Puyol, no comments needed. A lion on a field
5. Van Bommel, a crazy guy/captain/fighter. He would kick even Vidal's and Zlatan's ass today easily.
6. Edmilson, a Brasilian leader and a fighter.

So, we had a true world class La Masia talent (Xavi, Iniesta, Messi) paired with at least 6 guys who can be captains and leaders.
What do we have today? Our captains and leaders are Messi, Busi and Pique (and a good guy Iniesta last season)
And our kids are a dumb kid Dembele and other far from a world class level kids.

Or when Pep came, he didn't play on a leadership/mental strength card like Rijkaard.
Pep played on a card of an insane technical talent of Xavi, Iniesta, Busi, Messi, Alves.

So, our last 2 awesome eras were:
Rijkaard: Xavi-Iniesta-Messi paired with IQ, leadership and fighting spirit.
Pep: out of this world technical skills of the best generation ever paired with Messi the goat on his prime (plus Pep's awesome system)

So, I really don't think that I am crazy or overly negative guy here.
But, how on Earth are you planning to do what Rijkaard or Pep did, with these bunch of clowns?
Raki, Suarez, Pique, Busi are done.
Rijkaard bought Ronaldinho, Etoo, Henry for attack, plus he had young Messi.
Today, we have forever injured and raw Dumbele and Malcom

In midfield, Rijkaard had Xavi aged 23-24, 20 years old Iniesta and 27 years old Deco who was in his prime and just won a CL with Porto.
What do we have? Only Frenkie, who hasn't played a minute here, and maybe Arthur, who is miiiiiiiiiiiles behind all of these players mentioned above.

So, even if Frenkie and Arthur turn into awesome players, our team will be a shit compared to any of those teams.
No Ronaldinho, Etoo, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta. No one.
The only safe bet seems to be Frenkie. And let's say that we can give a pass to Arthur.
From other positions, more or less, we need to buy a new team (except defense and a GK).

I really have no reason to hate Dembele, Malcom or Puig for no reason.
But again, we didn't have such a low quality bunch of young players since 2000' and Gaspart.

Laporta and his sporting directors were GOATS compared to Barto and his sporting directors.

 

[clemente]

This is a joke, right?
I would rather appoint you as a manager.

You have a higher chance for actually winning something than Sarri.

You guys have totally lost your minds.

Just because you don't like him, doesn't mean anything.
Literally anything is a massive upgrade over EV, even playing without a manager, and Sarri is being talked around Barca for years now.

 

[jairzinho]

Even Bielsa would be an upgrade over 'it is what it is Valgreen'.

 

[Respekt_III]

Just because you don't like him, doesn't mean anything.
Literally anything is a massive upgrade over EV, even playing without a manager, and Sarri is being talked around Barca for years now.

I also think we would be an incredibly poor choice for us. He's stubborn has his favorites (prefers older players) and doesn't make many substitutions or even the correct ones during the games, He as some of the same issues valverde has. He is not a good fit for us imo and we need to look elsewhere.

 

[FCBfan22]

I'd like to see BBZ explain why did Raheem Sterling turn from one of the most frustrating and stupid players to a great winger under a WC coach. Same with Salah, who was slightly above average in Roma.

P.S. Please do not make a fool out of yourself saying that Sterling was better than Dembele before being coached by Pep.

 

[Jakabor]

You simply can't expect more from a manager of this limited capacity. Winning two domestic Doubles with Valverde is a huge accomplishment.

 

[snowy]

... dummy like Dumbele ...

err he was still nominated the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year: 15–16 in his time at Rennes and
the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season: 16–17 when playing with Dortmund


what is he, some kind of boy wonder idiot savant?

going by your posts, you'd have perma-benched both neyney and dembouze while perma-starting your fav workhorses. dat shiiiizzz iizzz kraaaaaaayyyzzzeeeeeeeee ヽ(•́o•̀)ノ

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

I'd like to see BBZ explain why did Raheem Sterling turn from one of the most frustrating and stupid players to a great winger under a WC coach. Same with Salah, who was slightly above average in Roma.

P.S. Please do not make a fool out of yourself saying that Sterling was better than Dembele before being coached by Pep.

True. Valverde is the wrong man to get the best out of our offensive weapons.

 

[jairzinho]

There are coaches like Klopp that can get the best out of young players.
Valgreen is not one of those coaches.

 

[Messigician]

There are coaches like Klopp that can get the best out of young players.
Valgreen is not one of those coaches.

Are you serious? What EV did with youth at Bilbao was superb and he rightfully earned praise for his youth integration and attacking football

 

[delancey]

Are you serious? What EV did with youth at Bilbao was superb and he rightfully earned praise for his youth integration and attacking football

He most certainly has not been able to do that here at Barcelona, which matters significantly more than any past accomplishment outside of our club.

 

[BBZ8800]

I'll need to copy this post to my laptop because I'll need these stats every season, because some things never change and majority of people will never learn.
Anyway, since a lot of guys are mentioning how Puig, Alena, Oriol and now even Wague are our future and a stupid coach is not giving them too much time.
And how we should sell oldies (with which I agree) and play with THESE youngsters (lol, with which I surely don't agree)...
I have checked the last 20 years and ALL of our greatest youth prospects since 2000.
I have found 88 players in total and only 8 of them turned out to be good enough for Barca's starting 11.
Also, we had 56 players who played for Spanish youth or senior NT teams, and they weren't good enough for Barca.

Guys who were good enough for starters at Barca:
Cm Iniesta 2002, 45 youth NT matches, 131 SENIOR NT matches
Cm Thiago Alcantara 2009, 42 youth NT matches, 31 SENIOR NT matches
CB Pique 2008, 40 youth NT matches, 102 SENIOR NT matches
Cm Fabregas, 39 youth NT matches, 110 SENIOR NT matches
GK Valdes 2002, 26 youth NT matches, 20 senior matches
Rw Messi 2004, 23 youth NT matches, 129 SENIOR NT matches
Cdm Busquets 2008, 3 youth NT matches, 112 SENIOR NT matches
LW Pedro 2008, 2 youth NT matches, 64 SENIOR NT matches

Guys who didn't turn into starters for Barca, BUT WERE YOUTH NT Players for Spain:
Gk Pepe Reina 2000, 36 SENIOR NT matches, 33 youth NT matches
Lw Luis Garcia 2003, 20 SENIOR NT matches
Cf Nolito 2010, 16 SENIOR NT matches
Rw Deulofeu 2011, 87 youth NT matches, 4 SENIOR NT matches
Cf Abel Ruiz 2019, 50 youth NT matches
Cm Gabri 2000, 48 youth NT matches, 3 SENIOR matches
Rb Montoya 2011, 47 youth NT matches
Cf Bojan Krkic 2007, 41 youth NT matches,1 SENIOR NT match
Rb Sergi Roberto 2010, 39 youth NT matches, 5 SENIOR NT matches
Cb Sergi Gomez 2010, 39 youth NT matches
Cdm Oriol Romeu 2010, 39 youth NT matches
Cb Dani Tortolero 2002, 38 youth NT matches
Cb Bartra 2010, 37 youth NT matches, 14 SENIOR NT matches
Cf Sergio Garcia 2003, 36 youth NT matches, 2 senior NT matches
Lb Carles Planas 2012, 34 youth NT matches
Lb Cucurella 2018, 33 youth NT matches
Lb Pena 2005, 30 youth NT matches
Cf Jeffren 2008, 30 youth NT matches
Cb Muniesa 2009, 30 youth NT matches
Cb Botia 2009, 29 youth NT matches
Lw Nano 2000, 26 youth NT matches
Lw Tello 2011, 26 youth NT matches, 1 SENIOR NT match
Cf Sandro 2014, 26 youth NT matches
Cf Jonathan Soriano 2009, 25 youth NT matches
Cb Tarin 2018, 24 youth NT matches
Cb Mario 2003, 23 youth NT matches
Cm Samper 2014, 23 youth NT matches
Lb Grimaldo 2015, 21 youth NT matches
Cm Roberto Trashorras 2002, 20 youth NT matches
Cf Munir 2014, 20 youth matches
Lb David Bermudo 2001, 18 youth NT matches
Rw Adama 2013, 18 youth NT matches
Cam Sergio Santamaria 2000, 17 youth NT matches
Rw Carles Perez 2019, 17 youth NT matches
Cb Andreu Fontas 2009, 14 youth NT matches
Cb Borja Lopez 2016, 14 youth NT matches
Lb Fernando Navarro 2004, 12 youth NT matches, 2 senior NT matches
Rw Paco Montanes 2005, 12 youth NT matches
Rb Kiko Femenia 2013, 11 youth NT matches
Gk Masip 2014, 11 youth NT matches
Lm Jofre Mateu 2000, 10 youth NT matches
Cm Carbonell 2016, 10 youth NT matches
Cdm Sarsanedas 2019, 10 youth NT matches
Cb Jesus Olmo 2005, 8 youth NT matches
Lw Juan Camara 2016, 8 youth NT matches
Gk Ruben Martinez 2004, 4 youth NT matches
Cm David Sanchez 2002, 4 youth NT matches
Rw Cuenca 2011, 3 youth NT matches
Cm Joan Verdu 2004, 2 youth NT matches
Gk Ruben Mino 2010, 2 youth NT matches
Rb Palencia 2018, 2 youth NT matches
Dc Rodri 2004, 1 youth NT match
Rw Javito 2004, 1 youth NT match
Cm Jordi Gomez 2005, 1 youth NT match
Cam Victor Vasquez 2008, 1 youth NT match
Gk Oier 2008, 1 youth NT match

Edgar Ie 2015, 41 youth NT matches, 1 SENIOR NT match (Portugal)
Halilovic 2015, 40 youth NT matches, 9 SENIOR NT matches (Croatia)
Gio Dos Santos 2007, 23 youth NT matches, 106 SENIOR NT matches (Mexico)
Rafinha, 23 youth NT matches, 2 SENIOR NT matches (Brasil)
Gai Assulin 2009, 22 youth NT matches, 1 SENIOR NT match (Israel)
Marlon 2016, 12 youth NT matches (Brasil)
Cdm Diagne 2015, 9 youth NT matches, 2 SENIOR NT matches (Senegal)
Motta 2001, 3 youth NT matches, 2 SENIOR NT matches (Brasil)
Jonathan Dos Santos 2009, 0 youth NT matches, 40 SENIOR NT matches (Mexico)
Ondoa 2015, 0 youth NT matches, 38 SENIOR NT matches (Cameroon)

Cb Oleguer 2003, 167 matches for Barca
Gk Jorquera 2004, 24 matches for Barca
Dr Damia 2004, 9 matches for Barca
Cm Gumbau 2015, 9 matches for Barca
Lb Oscar Lopez 2003, 8 matches for Barca
Cdm Victor Sanchez 2008, 8 matches for Barca
Cf Arnaiz 2017, 5 match for Barca
Cm Kaptoum 2016, 3 matches for Barca
Cm Sylvestre, 2 matches for Barca
Cdm Xavi Torres, 2 matches for Barca
Cm Abraham, 2 matches for Barca
Cm Pitu 2005, 1 match for Barca
Rb Martos 2005, 1 match for Barca
Cm Ramon Maso 2005, 1 match for Barca
Cdm Ramon Ros 2003, 1 match for Barca
Cf Dongou 2013, 1 match for Barca

Total:
Starters: 8 players
Starters who made it through Barca: only 5 (Pique, Fabregas and Thiago had to leave a club)
NT players who didn't make it here: 57
Players who weren't NT players and didn't turn into starters + foreigners: 26

Players who made it from Barca B to Barca starting 11 through Barca: 5
Total number of Barca B prospects in the last 20 years who played for Barca and NT teams (all players mentioned above): 91

So, what do stats say?
What is a chance for the highest rated Barca B prospects to turn into Barca's starters=8/90=8,9%
What is a chance for the highest rated Barca B prospects to turn into Barca's starters THROUGH Barca's team, without leaving a club=5/90=5,6%
What is a chance for the highest rated Barca B players to not turn into players for Barca/Real/Bayern/City=82/90=91%

From current youngsters:
Alena 33 youth NT matches
Oriol 27 youth NT matches
And a reason why I am sceptical is Riki Puig: with 0 youth NT matches, and he will be 20 in 3 Months.

For example:
Xavi 57 youth NT matches
Gabri 48 youth NT matches
Iniesta 45
Thiago 42
Fabregas 39
Oriol Romeu 39
Samper 23
Trashorras 20
Santamaria 17
Carbonell 10
Sarsanedas 10
---------------
Puig 0 youth NT matches

People often reply with Busi and Pedro.
But they were more like exceptions than rules.

Alena's chances to turn into a starter are around 5%.
Puig's are even lower due to youth NT matches stats.
Chances of BOTH Alena and Puig becoming starters are around 2/1000.
Chances of BOTH Alena, Puig and Oriol becoming starters is around 1/10 000.
Basically, you need 20 players like Alena, Puig, Oriol, Wague, Abel Ruiz and insert 15 similar players.
And stats say that ONLY ONE of them will turn into Barca's starter (through Barca's team, not being forced to leave).

People are replying to me for years: players are not numbers, each player is unique.
But we are going through the same shit every year:
BBZ: Bartra won't make it.
People: you are an idiot. You don't know anything about football.
Bartra eventually failed.

BBZ: Halilovic won't make it.
People: You are a moron.
Halilovic can't play in any 1st division team 4 years later.

BBZ: Adama is dumb.
People: You don't know shit about football.

BBZ: Samper won't make it.
People: You are an idiot. Why isn't this idiot already banned from this forum? I can't read his cancerous posts full of negativity.
Samper probably won't play any 1st division football in his career.

BBZ: Denise is too light for a modern football and she is probably the weakest player in our rooster.
People: You are an idiot and you don't know anything about football.
A few years later: Denise will probably quit professional football and turn into a fashion model.

I don't even want to mention crazy ideas like Dongou, Sandro Ramirez or Arnaiz (remember when people thought that he could actually be a useful player for Barca and people got mad if anyone questioned that idea )

Anyway, my point is, majority of people here are too emotional.
And you are not assessing youth players with objectivity, but with pure emotions and with desperation for new gems and a brighter future.
I mean, I also want a brighter future, but that won't suddenly turn Puig into a new Iniesta.

Also, I see that people are mentioning Pep and Klopp all the time.
But each player's development is a mix of several different factors:
1. his natural talent (Gumbau won't turn into a new Xavi regardless of playing time and if he is coached by Lucho or Pep. He just sucks. Or Munir/Sandro. Even 10 Peps wouldn't turn them into Barca's level. Or Adama. Who can fix his IQ? No one)
2. playing time
3. a good coach
4. player's IQ, professionalism, work ethic (remember Deulofeu, Halilovic and similar)
5. injuries
6. mental strength (Bartra is too soft and scared. Samper is too soft and scared. Bojan has too fragile mentality etc)

So, some posts sounds as if: if Klopp were here, Alena, Puig, Oriol, Wague, insert any player=would turn into new Xavi and Dani Alves.

Even Pep used all these players:
Bojan, Victor Sanchez, Botia, Muniesa, Abraham, Xavi Torres, Fontas, Bartra, Jonathan Dos Santos, Gai Assulin, Soriano, Mino, Sergi Gomez, Andreu Fontas, Montoya, Roberto, Victor Vasquez, Oriol Romeu, Jeffren, Nolito, Riverola, Rafinha, Cuenca, Deulofeu, Tello.

Pep "discovered" Busi and Pedro (and Pique).
And still he wasn't able to do too much with other 25 prospects with whom he worked (mentioned above).

And you guys act as if Pep would turn any semi decent player into a new Sterling.
Pep worked with 29 youngsters at Barca, 4 of them turned into starter's material (Pique, Busi, Pedro and Thiago).
And now again, when you sum all stats and numbers, do you guys still think that Pep would improve:
Puig, Alena, Oriol, Wague.
Plus: Dembele, Semedo, Arthur, Malcom.

I mean, Pep is good with some youngsters.
But you are making it as if he is able to cure every single flaw of every player.
Pep wasn't able to do too much with Bojan, Tello, Cuenca, Assulin, Montoya, Romeu etc.
Not to mention that he bought fairly young players like 23 years old Sanchez, 23 years old Chygrynskiy, 24 years old Affelay, 21 years old Caceres.

So, I don't get that part: some of you claim that ALL of Dembele, Malcom, Arthur, Alena, Puig would improve over Pep.
And yet Pep couldn't do too much with Bojan, Tello, Montoya, Assulin, Affelay, Chygry, Alexis, Cacares.

So, revisionism kicked in again.
Now it sounds as if Pep was turning every average player into a gold.
He wasn't able to do that even when he was here.
And he surely wouldn't be able to that with majority of current forum's favorites who are, sadly, insanely overrated by our fans.

 

[Givenchy]

Are you serious? What EV did with youth at Bilbao was superb and he rightfully earned praise for his youth integration and attacking football

Bilbao had a strict rule about only basque players though.. makes it alot easier to 'give youth a chance'?

 

[xXKonan]

BBZ has his own thoughts but for me and for many others, Valverde is not the best use of judgment to examine just how good a squad really is.

Valverde (trying to be nice here) has done well in the past with teams that are small and have a group of players who are limited but also have a couple of decent-good talented players that you could make a good focal point for. Like his days at Espanyol, Bilbao, etc.

But this team of ours is far more talented and much more complex than what he has ever worked with. His limitations start to show right off the bat, in that regard. He just cannot comprehend what he really has because every player is so different from what he used to work with.

His 4-4-2 has existed since his Espanyol days while that worked with teams as then but now? nada, this team is just not built to be some defensive team like he wants. We have made some mistakes on the market but truth be told the players we are bringing in are just too much for Valverde to actually handle and develop.