Gerardo "Tata" Martino

[jairzinho]

From now till the end of the season Tata has my full support. I think its natural that when the team plays bad as they are right now, he gets the flack for it. But we need to be rational and observe restraint even though emotions are high. He came in under circumstances where Tito's illness meant we had to find someone quickly during the middle of the off season and he has had to work with what was given to him. Prior to him assuming control and even after, it was expected that we would make refinrocements at the back and possibly other places a priority, especially after the bitchslapping we received from Bayern in the CL last term.


Did we do that ???. No. we went for the glamour signing, splashing the cash on Neymar for a reported fee of xxx amount only to discover that it was substantially more than was inatially communicated. What has been the effect ??. Rosell has resigned, the case against the club is ongoing, and the situation has ceated an unwanted distraction in the dressing room. Not only that, you get the feeling the money spent to payoff N&N for Neymar's services meant we were stretched thin financially, when it came to allocating money for a CB. Rosell and Zubi were so busy pandering to Brazil, they negelected their responsibilities to fill the other voids in the team. Don't get me wrong i'm happy we got Neymar, but not under the circumstances which have become apparent. But Rossell was more concerned about selling jerseys and the economics of the club rather than bolstering the team and ensuring that we remain competitive. That's all i have to say right now.

 

[mazp]

I think this is a case of a train going downhill without the brakes on. Its almost impossible to stop the momentum.

As a manager what do you do? I think the best thing for Tata to do is come clean to the press. If there are certain players causing disruption in the dressing room he should out them. He should then see if the board supports him. If they don't, resign asap. Why should he or anyone for that matter deal with this crap. Even a strong personality and egotistic ass like Mourinho had problems dealing with his players and RM have a strong squad with depth. Mourinho tried to control the dissent but player power was too strong.

Nowadays the tail seems to wag the dog not the other way around. Players seem to decide what style of play they like and which manager should stay. Chelsea being the prime example.

Are we really ready for a 4th manager in 4 seasons??

To be fair, 2 managers left due to non sporting reasons. If Tata leaves or gets fired it would be the first for sporting reasons.

 

[Behrox]

We wasted too much energy on the start of the season and now we are draining not forgetting that most of our players are weak and devoid of physical strength compared to the likes of bale, cr7 alonso, ramires, vidal etc

Wasted energy in the start?? Not sure if you are trolling or lost your marbles the minutes played by the players was spread very efficiently by Tata more than that by Pep and Tito combined

 

[Flavia]

I've said it a few weeks ago when many were complaining for how Tata was treated by the press that when the press will really atack him we will know. And today is the first day.

Sport has started a campaing, for sure. They're speculating names now. 1st is de Boer.

 

[DonAndres]

Frank de Boer (coach Ajax): "Got a call from Barcelona lately? (laughs) Just from some journalists to ask about Puyol..." [nos]

Frank de Boer (coach Ajax): "I'm having a good time at Ajax. There's nothing with Barça now, so no need to think about it." [nos]

I doubt the board would go behind Tata's back to talk to de Boer anyway, it'll probably be a decision they make at the end of the season while talking with Tata himself on what his plans are.

 

[Muttu]

If the plan is to replace Tata, i would love de Boer tbh.

 

[Barcaman]

Frank de Boer, Luis Enrique, Ernesto Valverde, Laurent Blanc, Juan Antonio Pizzi.. all Barca former players, all doing good and young enough to have hunger in them to build something. There are a lot of options out there.

 

[Cule4life]

If Tata is sacked my choices would be Boer or Valverde

 

[Pepe Silvia]

I hope Barca use a methodical and reasonable approach to this off season. It already seems to me that internally there is a wildfire that hasn't been contained and is traveling all across the organization from the players, to the coaches, to the board, and even to some fans. All of this toxicity can't be hidden any longer. I hope things get straightened out, with Tata given all the respect and backing of Barca no matter what the case. Right now, the Catalan media need to chill out. Our image has suffered a bit with Rossell resigning, the Neymar-gate scandal, player/coach riffs, etc. We need some order.

 

[footyfan]

I don't like either his tactics or Tito's. This Barca is unrecognizable to the one that was so beautiful to watch. The positional play is completely different, we don't create any triangles (jeez how long has it been since anyone used that word in connection to Barca), we do the same thing over and over again and it doesn't look like the players like it. There is hardly any creativity, everything is so formulaic.

He's probably a good manager, just not for Barca I think. He will never be able to sign who he wants. And even if he does, his signings will take us farther away from the core football that made Barcelona so popular.

 

[ryuken]

You have to take into account that our players decline massively to even create the so called triangles effectively.

 

[khaled_a_d]

Frank de Boer, Luis Enrique, Ernesto Valverde, Laurent Blanc, Juan Antonio Pizzi.. all Barca former players, all doing good and young enough to have hunger in them to build something. There are a lot of options out there.

This should never be a factor in choosing a new coach tbh ,just get the best one available

 

[mazp]

Frank de Boer, Luis Enrique, Ernesto Valverde, Laurent Blanc, Juan Antonio Pizzi.. all Barca former players, all doing good and young enough to have hunger in them to build something. There are a lot of options out there.

Former players turn managers...BCN media will try to build them as Pep 2.0... The club shouldn't try recreate history. Pep was a once in a lifetime thing. None of them are ready/good enough for Barca. IMO

 

[Gaudi]

Tactics could be off a bit, but this players are old enough and schooled enough to form famous triangles if monkey was coaching them yet they don't.
Even in duels they look slow, kind of just standing there.
When this Peps era started we not only pressed hard and as a team we were all over opposition like bees. Teams didn't Know how to respond to that, of course also because they haven't really seen anything like that before.
They did change their tactics, best example is Real, at the begining we trashed them arround, they started killing the play not playing and they got closer. If I remember correctly RM fans were not that happy in the beggining they were playing counters, and basically parking bus against us thinking they are galacticos or whatever stupid nick they had. But they realised they can't really play against us they need to defend.
So, teams changed but it's not like they weren't parking buses before, problem is we changed and that is worrying.
We would and never had play equally free against opened team and bus but we always dominated and created a lot of chances, we pressed them hard and eventually they would break. Now I see Barca not only weaker in defence but also without any big scoring opportunities, our movment with and without ball is bad, pressing gone, energy gone, basically we are a bunch of highly talented players playing with ball at their feet.
I'm affraid there are depper problems than just buying CB or one other player, maybe Pep also knew that therefore he left, possibly not having a backing from board to see that through.
This is why I'm affraid it is the end of an era because because I don't belive our players simply, withhout any reason, stopped playing like they alone know how to play.

 

[Poor_Sunyol]

Jesus, it is all so fecking depressing. We have lost effectively 3 years of development, with Tito's illness and Pata 'I am absolutely clueless, would try and make an omelette without eggs' Martino, which has allowed the competition to catch up with us now and the players know it. They must be as frustrated and depressed as the rest of us, and it shows on the pitch. Not the best frame of mind to enter a second leg with Man City...but that is for another topic.

In the end the blame for all this (if there is a finger to point and this is not just the natural way of things) is to the board and that bloody feud between Rosell and Laporta. Ego's, bloody ego's and we the fans, as always, are the collateral damage. We still pay to watch the games, we still pay for the merchandising, and we still pay for all their wages not just the players. What have we been given in return, just a massive let down. The way this project has destroyed itself is almost criminal in nature and those that are responsible must pay the price. Rosell could see the storms brewing on the horizon and left with his tail firmly between his legs, amongst stories of corruption and tax evasion (he is still wanted in Brazil BTW), with the excuse that he was leaving for the sake of his family. The club must have elections this summer, they must. Out with the old and in with the new. We must purge the club and go back to our principles and back to basics.

There is nothing wrong with the group of players that we have. Sure we could do with another CB, but we have needed that for 5 years or so and still have been successful. The problem is now with the attitude and that stems from not understanding what the coach is trying to implement. One minute counter attack, next minute possession, one minute deep, next minute high up, one minute Iniesta, next minute Xavi...make your sodding mind up and coach the players to play that way. And bollocks to anyone who comes up with the usual bullshit of, we have to find a way to beat teams that park the bus. Give me a break!!! We lose against teams that attack us, not that park the bus. *facepalm*

This team is mainly from La Masia, they have been educated since they were children to play in one way. You can't change that overnight. If you are determined to do that then you need to change the soul of the club and become like Madrid, City, PSG and the rest of the godless...buy in a completely new team and stop developing your own players. But hang on a minute, we can't afford to do that economically because we can't compete financially with those types of clubs as we don't have a sugar daddy with unlimited resources (plus we are still in huge debt, albeit managed debt). So like it or not (and I know this will depress the younger members who just like seeing new superstars being bought in all the time like Fifa Ultimate Team) this is never going to be a viable option. This is why it is important that we do have a manager that does understand the club, which is why former players are often muted as possible replacements.

The league is over for us. I won't morn it personally as I didn't think it was on the cards. However we do need to win something this year, for the players’ cohesion and self belief at the very least. I can see this team being torn apart at the end of the season if they finish without a trophy. We are in dire straights, watch this story with interest if you do love the club, or piss off and jump on somebody elses bandwagon if you don't.