Pedro
La Masia
Because Fati is going to turn to shit when he's 17?
No, but he won't get many chances in the starting eleven, he'll probably get loaned out somewhere
Because Fati is going to turn to shit when he's 17?
No, but he won't get many chances in the starting eleven, he'll probably get loaned out somewhere
Mundo reporting that the board is looking for a replacement is a great thing.
That means, he is gone next summer or will be benched by a newcomer next season.
Lautaro is mentioned and that would be a great buy - not too expensive given we will get money for Suarez - and I don't think we will get Mbappe.
Mundo reporting that the board is looking for a replacement is a great thing.
That means, he is gone next summer or will be benched by a newcomer next season.
Lautaro is mentioned and that would be a great buy - not too expensive given we will get money for Suarez - and I don't think we will get Mbappe.
I will sound negative: but regardless of whom we will buy after Suarez, chances are extremely low that we will be happy with a player.
Then we tried with a 4th guy: Griezmann. For now, he seems to be a similar fail/misfit to Dembele/Coutinho.
I wouldn't even blame the board or directors here.
Potroh, your reply sounds as if Valverde is a problem.
He might be, to some extent and for some players.
But this problem exists for 30 years.
It doesn't mean that we should stop trying.
But we should lower the expectations.
Success is achieved by aiming as high as possible,
Potroh, your reply sounds as if Valverde is a problem.
Yes, Valverde is a huge problem indeed.
Let me sum it up for you just once:
First of all take the best and at the same time the most banal slogan of football: 11 outstanding or great players do NOT necessarily form a good and competitive TEAM. A good team needs a good coach, good vision, good tactics, good imagination, etc.
But the saga and the actual decline in playing qualities started with Lous Enrique. He is a way better coach compared to EV but made some horrendous mistakes in his last year as Barca's coach.
1. He didn't count on Alves anymore because thought A.Vidal will be a better solution.
2. He preferred Arda Turan in order to overhaul the mf.
3. Later he made Roberto a RB, which is an unnatural position for the midfielder.
4. He played Neymar too close to the touch-line and by that did not use Alba's pace and other capabilities. Neymar should have played a bit more centrally.
5. He wanted to generally speed up the slow Barca game-play, did that, but the midfield with the ageing Iniesta and Busq wasn't adaptable for that. Rakitic was, on a relatively mediocre level.
Valverde actually inherited these problems and ultimately added his own weaknesses to the scenario.
When he came:
- Neymar left and the attack formation collapsed by losing the pace of all of them.
- Without a true RB, serving Messi in attack, the left became prominent and Iniesta was too old to contribute much.
- Gomes never had the talent to work with and there was a shortage of power in midfield.
- Dembele, who was supposed to take the Neymar role, got a serious injury in his first game.
Thus, Valverde started his Barca reign by strengthening defense and leaving everything else to Messi and Suarez.
It was working on a surface level, no league defeats in the first year, only after Rome.
Valverde's mistakes and deficiencies - from the sole pro point of view - are the following:
- No tactics whatsoever, apart from "play safe", "pass it to Messi", and "individual geniuses will solve it" - mentality.
- No tactical variations according to the qualities and features of the actual opponent.
- Playing a 4-4-2 with a midfield where only Rakitic had some capability to attack.
- Possession-based pseudo-tactics, where even the 3rd attacker has to return deep, if playing his version of 4-3-3, which is still not a "real" 4-3-3.
- Playing Gomes all the time, when it was clear he can't really contribute.
- Bad system of substitutions, usually way too late and again according to his own defensive view.
- Younger players and talents got nothing from Valverde, apart from loss of confidence.
- He is a bad psychologist, a bad pedagogic and a bad tactician.
- He continuously "punishes" players after a worse show, instead of being consequent.
- He cannot be flexible at all with his "pyramid" of the untouchables.
- He has no idea about when and how to make rotations.
- The psychical state of the team has declined considerably under EV.
- Probably the intensity of trainings are not good enough to be competitive internationally.
- Frequent panic reactions, if a goal was conceded against a formidable opponent and giving up attack in these situations. "Play even safer" - EV says.
- His part in bad signings, and playing players out of their favorite positions.
- Always trusting elderly players and even signing elderly ones, around and above 30.
- Returning to the "have even more possession" formula, by seeing the decline of speed of the entire team.
- Knowing very little about modern football and its characteristics.
- Forcing many players to perform out of position.
- Absolute inability to enthuse the team.
- Absolute inability to allow players to ENJOY playing.
- Absolute inability to allow players to try incalculable solutions and play unpredictably.
- Being a dead-pan when winning and being clueless when losing.
- Never trying a 4-2-3-1 or any other formation.
Defense:
1. Using Roberto as RB for two years and not trusting Semedo for a minute.
2. Using both CBs in a rigid line, although both are slow, so a single opponent with pace can always make essential danger in the middle.
3. Not telling, teaching the defenders WHEN to commit faults ans when Not to.
Midfield:
1. The greatest mess in the team, hard to list his mistakes...
2. FDJ plays out of position, Arthur almost out of position, only Busq is there to serve in his own, but he became 3 times slower, so he is useful only against very weak opponents.
3. Rakitic played too much last year.
4. The entire midfield is lacking concept as such.
Attack:
1. Playing Coutinho, Griezmann out of position and simply "hoping" to adapt to a new game of theirs.
2. Dembele's Canossa-rounds, injuries, lack of confidence and not motivating him.
3. Inability to rest Suarez and admitting that he is old and can hardly move anymore.
4. Total and complete dependency on Messi.
These things are just general points of Valverde's failures, you can go forward and analyze Anfield and the like.
So yes, the difference is that you BBZ, always try to put heavy iron-balls into the necks of individual players, whereas I'm on the more common opinion, that the players one by one are very good, many of them world-class, but Valverde's system is either non-existent or it's absolutely horrible - for a tactically based team sports.
The historical aspect that you mention fails me, because I wasn't a Barca follower 30 years ago.
Yes, Valverde is a huge problem indeed.
Let me sum it up for you just once:
First of all take the best and at the same time the most banal slogan of football: 11 outstanding or great players do NOT necessarily form a good and competitive TEAM. A good team needs a good coach, good vision, good tactics, good imagination, etc.
But the saga and the actual decline in playing qualities started with Lous Enrique. He is a way better coach compared to EV but made some horrendous mistakes in his last year as Barca's coach.
1. He didn't count on Alves anymore because thought A.Vidal will be a better solution.
2. He preferred Arda Turan in order to overhaul the mf.
3. Later he made Roberto a RB, which is an unnatural position for the midfielder.
4. He played Neymar too close to the touch-line and by that did not use Alba's pace and other capabilities. Neymar should have played a bit more centrally.
5. He wanted to generally speed up the slow Barca game-play, did that, but the midfield with the ageing Iniesta and Busq wasn't adaptable for that. Rakitic was, on a relatively mediocre level.
Valverde actually inherited these problems and ultimately added his own weaknesses to the scenario.
When he came:
- Neymar left and the attack formation collapsed by losing the pace of all of them.
- Without a true RB, serving Messi in attack, the left became prominent and Iniesta was too old to contribute much.
- Gomes never had the talent to work with and there was a shortage of power in midfield.
- Dembele, who was supposed to take the Neymar role, got a serious injury in his first game.
Thus, Valverde started his Barca reign by strengthening defense and leaving everything else to Messi and Suarez.
It was working on a surface level, no league defeats in the first year, only after Rome.
Valverde's mistakes and deficiencies - from the sole pro point of view - are the following:
- No tactics whatsoever, apart from "play safe", "pass it to Messi", and "individual geniuses will solve it" - mentality.
- No tactical variations according to the qualities and features of the actual opponent.
- Playing a 4-4-2 with a midfield where only Rakitic had some capability to attack.
- Possession-based pseudo-tactics, where even the 3rd attacker has to return deep, if playing his version of 4-3-3, which is still not a "real" 4-3-3.
- Playing Gomes all the time, when it was clear he can't really contribute.
- Bad system of substitutions, usually way too late and again according to his own defensive view.
- Younger players and talents got nothing from Valverde, apart from loss of confidence.
- He is a bad psychologist, a bad pedagogic and a bad tactician.
- He continuously "punishes" players after a worse show, instead of being consequent.
- He cannot be flexible at all with his "pyramid" of the untouchables.
- He has no idea about when and how to make rotations.
- The psychical state of the team has declined considerably under EV.
- Probably the intensity of trainings are not good enough to be competitive internationally.
- Frequent panic reactions, if a goal was conceded against a formidable opponent and giving up attack in these situations. "Play even safer" - EV says.
- His part in bad signings, and playing players out of their favorite positions.
- Always trusting elderly players and even signing elderly ones, around and above 30.
- Returning to the "have even more possession" formula, by seeing the decline of speed of the entire team.
- Knowing very little about modern football and its characteristics.
- Forcing many players to perform out of position.
- Absolute inability to enthuse the team.
- Absolute inability to allow players to ENJOY playing.
- Absolute inability to allow players to try incalculable solutions and play unpredictably.
- Being a dead-pan when winning and being clueless when losing.
- Never trying a 4-2-3-1 or any other formation.
Defense:
1. Using Roberto as RB for two years and not trusting Semedo for a minute.
2. Using both CBs in a rigid line, although both are slow, so a single opponent with pace can always make essential danger in the middle.
3. Not telling, teaching the defenders WHEN to commit faults ans when Not to.
Midfield:
1. The greatest mess in the team, hard to list his mistakes...
2. FDJ plays out of position, Arthur almost out of position, only Busq is there to serve in his own, but he became 3 times slower, so he is useful only against very weak opponents.
3. Rakitic played too much last year.
4. The entire midfield is lacking concept as such.
Attack:
1. Playing Coutinho, Griezmann out of position and simply "hoping" to adapt to a new game of theirs.
2. Dembele's Canossa-rounds, injuries, lack of confidence and not motivating him.
3. Inability to rest Suarez and admitting that he is old and can hardly move anymore.
4. Total and complete dependency on Messi.
These things are just general points of Valverde's failures, you can go forward and analyze Anfield and the like.
So yes, the difference is that you BBZ, always try to put heavy iron-balls into the necks of individual players, whereas I'm on the more common opinion, that the players one by one are very good, many of them world-class, but Valverde's system is either non-existent or it's absolutely horrible - for a tactically based team sports.
The historical aspect that you mention fails me, because I wasn't a Barca follower 30 years ago.
A bit off-topic, but this is a recipe for either success, or epic failures