So, for me personally, one cardinal question remains, if I've been your critique for some years anyway: which "tribe" do I belong to? At least according to your distinction.
Imo, your footballing views and ideas regarding Barca are leaning towards the "majority tribe".
Neymar is good, Raki is bad, beautiful play is a key, EV is bad, roughly.
But since you are older, you distanced yourself in terms of tribes.
You aren't exactly in a tribe like guys whom I have mentioned.
Ideologically you are leaning towards that tribe, but in actions=you are a loner without tribes.
Even though you are triggered more often by posts from me and guys "from my tribe" since they have different footballing ideas than you.
Maybe I'm also a "low IQ" guy, as you have alone and single-underhandedly invented and introduced that extremely harmful assay here, but still, even if I'm stupid, I do feel to be belonging to any tribe, anywhere, especially here.
No, you are a high IQ.
I mean, even guys like Andres, Serghei, DonAk and lots of others with whom I don't agree are high IQ guys, we just share different views on football and we are fighting due to being animals in enemy tribes.
Regarding Dembele's IQ, since I am the first guy who started to mention that he is dumb and low IQ (which was proven to be true in the end).
I see that you are offended with that.
Let's not get too deep and into circles with that.
For me, IQ is a skill.
If Busi is slow, if Raki has slow hips and bad passes, if Suarez is old and fat, what is wrong with saying that Dembele isn't the brightest guy in the world and that due to THAT he will struggle in tactical improvement, reading the game and similar.
Ok, you were a coach and you have a different relationship with players.
I really don't know what more to say about this: I don't mean anything bad. IQ is just a skill which some players lack. The same as pace, technique, bravery and similar.
These next two quotes are more or less the same, so I will reply below:
Are your footballing views highly biased towards defensive play, tall players, Rakitic or towards a bad coach who essentially ruined the typical Barca play? Yes the are.
The ball is on your half now. You have to decide if your personal endearment towards the dullest English-mid-team football and its player-characters are the notions you wish to disseminate in this forum, or you could also be able to make some compromises regarding your views, which ARE DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED TO THE BARCA FOOTBALLING PHILOSOPHY.
Here's my theory, I've alluded to this once before but now I'll ask again: BBZ, earnestly, are you posting 'less and less' because along the years you morphed into more of a Rakitic fan than a Barca one?
And now Rakitic is barely playing, you're becoming - either consciously or subconsciously - more and more indifferent?
You've said numerous times you don't particularly enjoy when we play beautiful football anyway, so it's not like you'll be missing much if you don't watch every game since now you no longer have your main reason to watch the game.
Especially now when you add the fact Arthur, who's been our best player this season, is doing so well. And we all know you disliked him even before last year's pre-season...
It's just an assumption though, but is there any truth to that? I'm genuinely asking.
I have told my story a few times.
Some people are fans of Barca because they love Messi.
Some people are fans of Barca since Pep's years.
Some are fans of Barca because they were born in Catalonia, so they "have" to support Barca no matter what.
Other guys have some random reasons.
In late 80s, when I was like 7, I was at my grandpa's home in Zagreb, capital of Croatia.
I didn't know too much about football, except kicking the ball and running with my friends at school.
My grandpa told me one day (and he was holding a nice chocolate in his hands): Hey, Bbz, do you want a chocolate?
I ran to him and said: yeeessss!!
He said: Wait... and he has put the chocolate behind his back (as if he won't give it to me).
He continued: I will give you a chocolate ONLY if you promise me that you will be a fan of Dinamo Zagreb forever.
I was 7 years old. I wanted a chocolate, and since my grandpa loved Dinamo, it sounded like a good deal. If he likes that club, it must be a good club, isn't it?
I said: yes.
He gave me a chocolate, and now 30 years later, I am still a fan of Dinamo in my domestic country.
I still remember that day like it was yesterday.
So, I am not a fan of Dinamo because they play nice, attacking or who knows what.
I am their fan because my grandpa tricked me aged 7. And that's the whole truth.
There aren't any emotional or deeper reasons behind me and Dinamo.
Regarding international club football, I remember first watching Champions cup in 1989 or something like that.
It was semis of a CL Milan:Real. It ended 5:0 for Milan with Gullit and Van Basten scoring goals.
Since I was a kid and I didn't watch too much football before that, in my head I had only one thought:
Omg, this AC Milan club is the best club in the world and Van Basten and Gullit are 2 best players in the world!
I will be a fan of AC Milan from now on, since THEY ARE THE BEST!
You see, imo, when you are a kid, it is all random.
The team which is the best in the days when you are a kid will leave the biggest mark on you and your development.
So, aged 8-12, I was a fan of Ac Milan.
Then, iirc in 1993, I watched a game with my dad, it was Barca
orto or someone in a CL semis at Camp Nou.
Hristo Stoichkov scored 2 goals.
And my idea again was: omg, he is the best player in the world!
From that night, my 2 clubs were Barca and Milan.
I don't know WHY or HOW, but for some reason: Barca became a number 1, and Milan my 2nd beloved club.
And when Barca and Milan played in a CL finals of 1994, I was cheering for Barca.
And we lost heavily 0:4.
Now, you see, imo, this is all connected with psychology, our development and moments in life which make deep impressions on us.
Milan:Barca was my first Barca's CL final, and I was so sad that night.
But even worse, I was kinda mad at our team, because we were so outplayed, so outrun and humiliated.
The whole match looked as if 11 boys are playing vs 11 men.
So, you see, my first footballing lesson as a kid was: Ac Milan plays serious, tactical, physical, cautious and smart football.
While Barca plays overly attacking, naive and with too light players.
And my footballing lesson from that night was: when a team like Milan and Barca meet=Milan will outplay them as rookies.
This is what all neutral commentators and papers were saying in those days and that left huge scars on me.
So, Barca remained my No1 club, but from that night, those words from press and commentators on my Tv, always remained in my head: Barca played too attacking, Barca played too naive, Barca couldn't cope physically with AC Milan's players.
And then, what is worse: in upcoming years in late 90s, Barca were KO'd 3 times in a group stage of a CL in extremely naive ways (losing to teams like Dynamo Kiev, Newcastle, Psv, Fenerbahce, Leeds), a total disgrace.
Even worse, in those days Seria A was considered as NBA of football. And those teams played both technical, tactical and had a mix of technique&physique.
While Barca was a team of naive overly attacking physically light players=who more or less, lose EVERY SINGLE time when they face more serious teams like Milan and Juve.
So, you see, during my teen years, Barca (even though my favorite club) was a symbol of mockery in Europe.
Something like Psg or Arsenal in recent years: a club for whom you know that no matter what they will do, they will eventually lose in the end, by more or less anyone.
So, you see, from 1993 till 2006, I had to wait 14 (!!) years for Barca to win a CL.
And during those 14 years, my main idea (and how press and random footballers and commentators were saying)=Barca's football is just not good enough for European titles.
So, you see, Barca was an example of a club who is just not good enough for Europe.
And in those years, we played:
1. very beautiful
2. very attacking
3. bad in defense
4. with very light players (Sergi, Albert Ferrer, Guardiola, Xavi, Frank De Boer, Zenden, Overmars, Saviola etc).
So, for 14 years I had to wait for Barca "to grow" up and to add some muscles into a team, to add a slightly more defensive approach and to play wiser.
And Rijkaard has finally did it in 2006'.
So, during those 14 years, we have always played "Barca's way", and we were an ultimate shit in terms of a CL results in those years.
And the FIRST time when a coach (Rijkaard) has actually moved away from Barca's way with playing 2 workhorses in Edmilson/Van Bommel/Motta instead of a classical Deco-Xavi-Iniesta and similar combinations=we won a CL.
Plus, that was the first time ever that Barca played in an Italian way in a CL, playing cautiously and smart.
That year, we won 2:1 against Chelsea in 1/8 in the first leg, and 1:0 at San Siro vs Milan in semis. And in both 2nd legs, at home, we played very cautiously and unlike Barca.
We didn't attack too much, we were keeping the ball in an Italian way and playing for a score, not for beauty.
So, you see, during my history as Barca's fan:
1. light players, playing too attacking, playing too naive and too emotional=was a symbol of failures for 14 years in a row
2. and what you guys call: English/Italian/defensive football=was the only season when we have actually won a CL.
After 2006, Rijkaard sold Van Bommel. Xavi was back after a knee injury and we returned to Xavi-Deco (Barca's DNA light midfield).
We returned to Barca's DNA football and were eaten alive by Liverpool and Man Utd in 2007 and 2008, as always.
So, in my first 16 years of watching Barca, from 1993-2008:
We played 15 times in Barca's way=ended as a disaster every single time.
Played only once in a more cautious/defensive/pragmatic way=won a CL.
And then you have 4 Pep's years, where probably 90% of fans here started to watch Barca.
For those guys, Pep's football, light players, attacking like crazy=is Barca's DNA, it is "who we are" and the way to go.
Yet, for me, Pep's 4 years are an anomaly in which he was able to turn a style which is otherwise a losing style=into a winning style for 3 years, ONLY because he had 3 best players ever in Messi, Xavi, Iniesta.
For me: years 1993-2005 and years after Pep=are a real state of Barca's DNA football. That style is usually NOT good enough and we will more or less always lose in naive and in unlucky ways against more all-rounded teams.
So, you see, for me: Pep's football was an anomaly due to individually TOO good players, and that was the only moment ever for Spain and Barca that their type of football worked.
For 90% of fans here, Pep's football left a huge impact and for them=it is a way to go, and everything else is a mistake.
More or less, I hope you will understand my "thoughts" more now after this story and why I always lean towards more physique, more defense, more cautious approach etc.
Also, regarding EV, since I had 14 years of misery from 1993-2006, to me our last 2 years are really not a big deal.
My expectations are not that high.
This is why I often say: I still didn't see any evidences that our "Barca's DNA" system is a winning system once when you remove Messi (and Mr. TikiTaka himself: Xavi).
In 90s and 00s without Messi, we couldn't win anything with our style.
Spain couldn't win anything for 100 years without Xavi.
Then: BOTH barca and Spain were winning from 2008-2012.
Then Xavi was gone:
Barca couldn't win it anymore (ok, except in 2015, where we, ironically, again won it when we moved away from our style and played more defensively, pragmatic, counterattacking and with giving away possession under Lucho).
Pep, the same story. 6 CL attempts after Barca with his system (without Xavi and Messi to turn that system into a winning system)=a horrible defeat after defeat, quite similar to Barca's defeats in 90s.
** EdmondDantes, you see that this story don't have too much with Rakitic.
More with us losing for 14 years from Italian type of players, while we had 3 players like Arthur/Puig in a field and we were always eaten alive (except during 3 Pep's years where it worked for a short period).
Catalinutz will get angry for me posting the same video again, but this is match which formed my opinion and left 100s of scars.
Also, the whole 90s and early 00s, looked exactly the same as that match: always naive, too attacking, lost in defense, weak in the air, losing majority all over the field to physically stronger (and still technically decent) teams.
I could poke and say: we didn't even have EV and Rakitic in 90s and 00s, yet we were always losing in exactly the same way: