Hans-Dieter Flick

[KingLeo10]

If he had a younger Lewandowski and a Manuel Neuer (BIG upgrade), this side is better than his 19/20 Bayern side.

In fact, with those 2 changes it’s a treble winning team (in current competition era).

 

[jamrock]

If he had a younger Lewandowski and a Manuel Neuer (BIG upgrade), this side is better than his 19/20 Bayern side.

In fact, with those 2 changes it’s a treble winning team (in current competition era).

Facts.

A mobile 9 will take flick ball to a whole new level.

I dream an impossible dream of isak.

 

[Barcaman]

mclovin and jamrock are those last Japanese soldiers stranded in the Indochina jungle in 1957, believing WWII wasn't over.

 

[DonAK]

If given the option to sign just one player this summer it would easily be Isak.

Would be incredible for us.

 

[JamDav1982]

For all that we discuss DMs.. there is not that many specialist DMs anymore and top clubs are not really playing with one sitting anyway.

Mostly it is full backs coming into cover or a CB pushing up or two more all rounded midfielders sitting.

Do Bayern, City, Real etc play with sitting midfielders? Liverpool? Arsenal?

Not so much these days.

 

[Alik]

Do people really believe Xavi could have continued considering how toxic the situation had become? He didn't only have problems with Laporta/Deco, but he was also constantly shitting on the players he had available and whining about how they could not be competitive vs. better teams due to the players not being good enough.

He had no chance to continue at Barca unless Laporta resigned and half the squad was replaced according to his liking.

I dont think anyone disputes that.

 

[Birdy]

If he had a younger Lewandowski and a Manuel Neuer (BIG upgrade), this side is better than his 19/20 Bayern side.

In fact, with those 2 changes it’s a treble winning team (in current competition era).

His 19/20 Bayern were STACKED with HUGE EXPERIENCED players in their PRIME:
Neuer, Alaba, Boateng, Pavard, Kimmich, Thiago, Lewa, Muller, Gnabry, Coman.
(Could also add Alphonso Davies to the list, but without the experience factor)

These players never played better in their career after Flick, and most of them never played better before Flick either

Now he is asked to do the same with Masia kids of 17-23 yr old, plus the likes of finished folk like De Fraud and Lewy and 2nd tier players like Ferret. The only players that come close to being in their prime and experienced are Raphina and Olmo, and that with question-marks.

We might not win the treble like Bayern 19/20 did, but Flick has ALREADY done a superior job given the squad he has!

 

[jamrock]

His 19/20 Bayern were STACKED with HUGE EXPERIENCED players in their PRIME:
Neuer, Alaba, Boateng, Pavard, Kimmich, Thiago, Lewa, Muller, Gnabry, Coman.
(Could also add Alphonso Davies to the list, but without the experience factor)

These players never played better in their career after Flick, and most of them never played better before Flick either

Now he is asked to do the same with Masia kids of 17-23 yr old, plus the likes of finished folk like De Fraud and Lewy and 2nd tier players like Ferret. The only players that come close to being in their prime and experienced are Raphina and Olmo, and that with question-marks.

We might not win the treble like Bayern 19/20 did, but Flick has ALREADY done a superior job given the squad he has!

All true.

I still think he'll win something this season, not sure what though, would be a shame with the football he's playing.

 

[Andresito]

Re fewer points / worse league run.

I hope Xavi apologists also feel that many of the points we dropped this season were unfair. Bad luck and refs are easy to blame so won't go into that. What's important is that at the end of the game, despite dropping points there are lots of positives. Whereas with Xavi we'd get outplayed and lose due to Xavi's mistakes.

In those Flick games we have created a bunch of chances but failed to score. The game where Flick properly shot himself in the foot was the heavy rotations v Osasuna.

Our highest level is much higher than Xavi's which is something I value a lot. Floor is also higher even if results don't reflect that. But if you watch the games it's clear that Flick is better suited for this current Barca and able to take them to next level compared to Xavi who was finished with his whiny loser culture.

 

[serghei]

It was much more often to lose points to players fuck-ups during Xavi than due to Xavi's mistakes. Let's not forget how we lost in CL vs Inter, PSG for example, comedy error show in defense. Two key games in which the players fucked the manager basically.

Our highest level is more enjoyable and simply better under Flick than under Xavi. No comment here, absolutely true. We play more attacking and faster, albeit with more systemic problems in defense. Defensive stability was superior with Xavi, especially in 2022-23. It remains to be seen if Flick can win a big title while conceding so many goals, and how will we do when the attack has a less productive day. The jury is still out on this one, and it's a major point because the no1 objective is to win.

At the end of the day, the only valid and important criticisim of Xavi was that he was more pragmatic, and that the quality of football we played was less in the direction some Barca fans hoped. I can understand fans not liking this long term. Xavi probably didn't like it much either.

What's clear, and beyond doubt, is you can't blame the players and refs in Flick's case, but with Xavi, when people pointed to these mittigating circumstances, the "no excuses" narrative was often served.

 

[Porque]

Xavi never really knew how to make the transition from a defensive team to an offensive one.

His best game last year, in terms of attacking play was Villarreal. We lost 5-3 with comical errors.

So I'm gonna say something shocking. Xavi got the directive from above to be more attacking last season, more entertaining, and he couldn't do it.

Even got the option to continue this term but increase the quality of his staff, but insisted on continuing with Milky and Pilky.

As Charlie Sheen said in Hot Shots, "dead meat... Is dead"

IF Laporta allowed Xavi to continue building shitball then who knows, maybe we could have won the league again.

But it's just not the Barca way. We either win and win as the best team in the world, or we come up short trying to play good football. And if you don't know that by now then you will never understand this club and why it was one of the biggest in the world despite having Diego Maradona and no major European success until 1992- and then 2006 and the modern era.

 

[JamDav1982]

Against Inter.. Xavi chose a horrendous set up. The team had injuries but for him to think a CB pairing of a Pique who could barely run beside Garcia was a good idea was ridiculous. To then 'protect' them with Busi who struggled to run at sole DM was bizarre. Compound those three with Bellerin RB and Alonso LB.

Awful.

Against PSG.. Araujo fucked up but two points on that.. Xavi had Araujo playing in a way that made him easy for PSG to target and made not adjustments despite it being clear as day they were going after him tactically.

Then against PSG.. Barca were still favourites to go through despite ten men.. PSG needed to score 4 to go through in normal time.. Barca collapsed and Xavi looked devoid of ideas how to stop them. They scored 4 and in truth could have scored more.

Same PSG then went out to Dortmund without scoring in two ties.

 

[serghei]

But it's just not the Barca way. We either win and win as the best team in the world, or we come up short trying to play good football. And if you don't know that by now then you will never understand this club and why it was one of the biggest in the world despite having Diego Maradona and no major European success until 1992- and then 2006 and the modern era.

I already said I understand fans not liking Xavi because the style of football we played was supposedly not Barca worthy.

But I take it with a grain of salt, this supposed "we accept coming up short if we try to play good football", not a direct quote to you but this is the direction of the theory. This is a club that has a 50% ratio of winning the league title in Spain for almost 30 years.

Playing well gives everyone hope that you will get closer and closer to glory, but the goal is always to win. Whoever doesn't think so is delusional to me.

That's why you don't throw bus parades unless you win. That's the end goal and the destination, but it doesn't mean the ride to that shouldn't be as enjoyable as possible.

 

[serghei]

Against Inter.. Xavi chose a horrendous set up. The team had injuries but for him to think a CB pairing of a Pique who could barely run beside Garcia was a good idea was ridiculous. To then 'protect' them with Busi who struggled to run at sole DM was bizarre. Compound those three with Bellerin RB and Alonso LB.

Awful.

Against PSG.. Araujo fucked up but two points on that.. Xavi had Araujo playing in a way that made him easy for PSG to target and made not adjustments despite it being clear as day they were going after him tactically.

Then against PSG.. Barca were still favourites to go through despite ten men.. PSG needed to score 4 to go through in normal time.. Barca collapsed and Xavi looked devoid of ideas how to stop them. They scored 4 and in truth could have scored more.

Same PSG then went out to Dortmund without scoring in two ties.

Yes, yes, I have heard Pep's latest speech. The manager is to blame when he can't make his players comfortable enough and prepared enough to perform as expected. I can agree with this very exigent appraisal of manager's responsability. As long as it's consistent.

 

[Don Juan Laporta Estruch]

Is Bumsi ever going to give us the front 4 we all want to see ????


,.......,........ Olmo (False 9)
Raph........FERMIN .......Lamine


Or is he still going to insist on Lewa and rate Gavi above Fermin?