Hans-Dieter Flick

[serghei]

It would take a hell of a fall off from here for him to be replaced.

Too much positive movements in right direction for now even if dont win league or CL.

I wouldn't replace him no matter what this season. Even if we get beaten in Last 16, knocked out in the Cup and finishing 3rd in the league.

It's a trust the manager thing. I trust him patiently until I see or don't see progress from season to season.

Of course, this doesn't mean we start to bend the realities and consider the season a success or anything of the sort. The bad stuff of his work so far exists clearly and this is where he will be put to test in the future.

 

[JamDav1982]

I wouldn't replace him no matter what this season. Even if we get beaten in Last 16, kkocked out in the Cup and finishing 3rd in the league.

It's a trust the manager thing. I trust him patiently until I see or don't see progress from season to season.

Yeah it would be some kind of huge explosion that wont happen.

The team are moving in right direction and he is getting best out the players.

Def need stability and he ticks all the right boxes.. other than success at this point.

Its going to be scary stuff in CL games and some of the big La Liga ones but Flick is going in swinging which like to see.

 

[serghei]

The questions for me are about his defensive setup. It is bad consistently. There is a possibility that conceding easy goals will be a permanent plague of his time with us.

Either his attacking is enough to cope with that and still win, or not. If the defense doesn't get fixed, it is possible or even probable his tenure will yeld zero big titles. Which would be a massive problem.

The defensive frailty of the team is also the reason many here fear PSG, wether they admit it or not.

 

[Rory]

Seems to be conveniently forgotten by the usual crowd we're missing a goalkeeper who had his best ever season (won player of the year in la liga) when we won the league with Xavi. Now we're calling goalkeepers out of retirement who in their prime we wouldn't have had as first choice.

 

[JamDav1982]

The questions for me are about his defensive setup. It is bad consistently. There is a possibility that conceding easy goals will be a permanent plague of his time with us.

Either his attacking is enough to cope with that and still win, or not. If the defense doesn't get fixed, it is possible or even probable his tenure will yeld zero big titles. Which would be a massive problem.

The defensive frailty of the team is also the reason many here fear PSG, wether they admit it or not.

The only thing that matters is winning.

Xavi had decent enough record when won league but dont think the set up was all that great.

The best defences are not always those that concede the least either. There is a lot of merit in a team having a riskier set up defensively if it allows team to play in way that makes scoring goals more likely.

Barcas defence has been fairly poor for years in Europe and against Real etc for years anyway.

Flick knows full well the defensive risks he is asking team to take but also knows it allows for best chance of his attacking players to go and win the game.

Its gamble he is taking. Even if doesnt pay off with titles it doesnt mean he was wrong either.

 

[serghei]

Seems to be conveniently forgotten by the usual crowd we're missing a goalkeeper who had his best ever season (won player of the year in la liga) when we won the league with Xavi. Now we're calling goalkeepers out of retirement who in their prime we wouldn't have had as first choice.

Not really. Xavi's side was defensively superior to that of Flick at a systemic level, but that came at the cost of much lower offensive productivity. The data shows this in terms of conceded chances and expected goals against. Flick's team creates much more chances, but also concedes considerably more.

It's quite easy to explain this. Xavi's side was much more scared to open themselves up and played more boring closed football (less action, both in creating and conceding chances), while Flick's team is end to end ball like a Bundesliga side.

 

[DonAK]

It was defensively superior indeed. So much it was putting both opponents and fans to sleep.

 

[JamDav1982]

Not really. Xavi's side was defensively superior to that of Flick. The data shows this in terms of concedesld chances and expected goals against.

It's quite easy to explain this. Xavi's side was much more scared to open themselves up and played more boring closed football (less action, both in creating and conceding chances) and Flick's team is end to end ball like a Bundesliga side.

You are looking at it too much of goals conceded and that took MATS arguably being best player and some absolute scuddings in Europe.

Barca could concede more than other teams this season and still have the best defensive set up as it is the platform it gives the team and ability to limit goals v risky set up.

 

[serghei]

Argument doesn't work for me. Defensive solidity is why Xavi put in a 2.5 points per game average in 2022-23 league season, wich was a big performance. The team defended really well and was very effective in a cynical way. But then I also get the people here who hated it, after all, most here think Simeone is a 2nd rate manager. There is a lot of disdain and lack of appreciation for defensive phase of the game.

To properly judge something rationally though, you have to step out from what you like.

 

[JamDav1982]

Barcas xG against was best in league in 22/23 but still not great and barely better than likes of Sociedad.

It was not all that great a set up defensively and relied on MATS a lot to bail them out.

Then you take into account conceding 5 to Bayern in two games, 5 to Inter, 4 to United and worst home defeat to Real in decades.

There was a lot of 'fortune' in that goals against column in league really and it was not a top or reliable set up and they couldnt make it last.

 

[KingLeo10]

As much as I like to troll them, this season’s Pool is no walk in the park. If we beat them en route to a CL, it would be a massive achievement.

 

[ajnotkeith]

What are you even talking about?

A great season means winning the league or CL.

If he does what kinda of excuse can be given for literally winning?.

Because the expectations are changing.

A lot of the same people who argued how massive a league title win was a year ago are now saying it's simply expected and our team is completely ready to win CL and LaLiga.

 

[serghei]

Because the expectations are changing.

A lot of the same people who argued how massive a league title win was a year ago are now saying it's simply expected and our team is completely ready to win CL and LaLiga.

I said it's expected if we want to be a really great side. Read carefully.

 

[JamDav1982]

I said it's expected if we want to be a really great side. Read carefully.

The players ages and not spending hundreds of millions is not such a factor now?

We constantly were told it was last season when said thought Barca good enough to compete and Xavi should be getting more from team.

Likes of Pedri when folk said not playing him correctly or Xavi contributing injuries we were just told about how it was not Xavis fault..,Pedri is frail and over rated etc.

Balde, Cubarsi, Yamal all far too young to make impact at very top level.

Other teams spend more. Unfair to expect more etc.

 

[serghei]

The players ages and not spending hundreds of millions is not such a factor now?

What do you mean by that? Flick benefits from the investments of Xavi era. In full.

Also gets a huge talent like Yamal who was one of the Euro MVPs.

All the work made during Xavi's time by all involved is now part of Flick's team.

It's not like we sold Kounde, Raphinha etc, and Flick gets Demir and Ilias all over again.