Ronald Koeman

[vegitot]

Why not pick the simple answer, and fashion some high-order speculative explanation behind Koeman's motives, like how players can handle pressure, which is unlikely to be true.

When there is a simpler answer, it's more likely to be the case.
The simplest answer here is Rotation.
Koeman made 3 changes in Illaix, Umtiti and Roberto to rest some players and rotate a bit.
If every one of us looked at the schedule beforehand, you would agree that 'on paper' the easiest of the next 4 is Granada at home.
So it was the safest game theoretically to rotate a bit.

It backfired, but that's a different story.



You did not say that, but you built on a pseudo-argument that attempts to discredit the work he has done thus far, and has at its front the 'results' line.
That's why I asked you If you were happy with Valverde or not.
To know whether you care only about results.

About quality of football:
Man City in Pep's first year was not that spectacular and had many holes in their play.
If City's hierarchy followed lines like the one you are defending here, they should have sacked him.
But they trusted him, and in his second year not only results came, but football played skyrocketed.
Same at Barca. 08/09 saw a phenomenal increase in quality of football played, but then it become even better the following years.

Now, it's the first time since 2016 that I like the football this team plays.
And that's a looooooong time, 5 years or so. That's too much for a club like Barca, which unlike other top clubs, does NOT care about results ONLY.
And that's on Koeman and the work he has done together his team of assistants.
Give the credit where it's due.

It's hard to win by playing good football, and it takes much more time to do it

It is your personal taste. Your view as current Barca plays beautiful football. Just like your love affair with Dembele.

On Laporta and players eyes, they want more result. Quality and promising football are up there but this current Barca is nowhere near it. This team still depends mostly on Messi or any individual brillance, and usually loses vs big teams.

Please don't jump into your conclusion without reading carefully first. Show me the part i implied Koeman should be sacked.

 

[Messigician]

Barcelona have failed to pick up 14 points at the Camp Nou this season. The team haven't won against Sevilla, Valencia, Eibar, C?diz, Real Madrid and Granada. [md]

Sackable offence. Sources say if he doesn't win the league he won't continue and rightfully so.

 

[serghei]

Koeman also fucked up with man management, let's not take this lightly. He shat on both Puig and Pjanic, so we have basically no CM to rotate for Pedri, who looks like the shadow of Pedri from the first part of the season when he was fresh and full of energy.

There are 3 CMs in this team: Pedri, Puig, and Pjanic. 2 box-to-box / AM types: De Jong and Ilaix (more AM this one). 1 DM: Busi. The manager burned out Pedri, and sidelined Puig and Pjanic. So now when Pedri is a disaster, he started to use unbalanced formulas (like the one with De Jong and Ilaix together).

Now I'm wondering how long it will take until he puts Roberto in midfield .

 

[CatalinR10]

PAIN.

 

[serghei]

Seems like Koeman doesn't know the rules very well. "If we win all 5 games we are champions". No mate, that's not enough, because you fucking lost vs Granada at home in a key game.

 

[Porque]

PAIN.

Meme potential right there if we win our 5 games and Madrid win their 5 games.

 

[Birdy]

It is your personal taste. Your view as current Barca plays beautiful football. Just like your love affair with Dembele.

On Laporta and players eyes, they want more result. Quality and promising football are up there but this current Barca is nowhere near it. This team still depends mostly on Messi or any individual brillance, and usually loses vs big teams.
.

Players are co-responsible mate for the results. LOL There are not judging results from without as spectators.

Now about Laporta, in his most recent public statement he claimed that Koeman has done an 'excellent job' thus far, let alone the public reassurance to Koeman that he has his full backing.
You may know more about it. Are you in touch with anyone from Laporta's board?

On your bolded claim, I will waste my time answering to you.
If what you see with your eyes tells you that our game has not improved and we are still a team like in the Valverde's days waiting for Messi to win a game,
then sorry I cannot help you, and no one can.

 

[Birdy]

Koeman's tenure thus far is clearly divided into two distinct phases IMO:

Phase I: from August until the end of 2020
Koeman took a declined, slow, complacent team with 0 intensity in its game, and full of veterans. Hard task to rejuvenate this squad, and on the top of that Messi being 'unhappy' until then meant we were playing most games with 10 players on the pitch.
But there was gradual improvement with every passing month, even though the team had not clicked yet.
Being unlucky in getting results was also the case, with the attackers constantly under-performing their xG and wasting sitters every game, and at the other end glaring mistakes by our defenders meant we wasted many points in games against minor opposition.
A big plus was also the fact that Koeman was trusting youngsters, and making them regulars despite their age.

Phase II: from the beginning of 2021 until now
The game that marks the transition to the new phase is the win away against Bilbao 2-3 in January.
For the first time the team clicked completely, and Koeman's work the past months finally reached the new stage of development.
There was a further improvement when Koeman and Schreuder invented the 3-5-2 formation which proved to be ideal against top opposition that attempts to disrupt early our buildup with aggressive pressing.
From the Bilbao game until now, Barca's record is:
in 27 games: 19 wins, 3 draws, 5 defeats [I take the Sociedad SuperCopa game as a draw]
That is roughly 70% win rate, which can rise to 75% by the end of the season.
which to be frank is a very good winning record, given it took only 4 months of work, and given that there are so many under-21 players in there.
Just for the record RM has 13 wins in 23 games since the same date. Which is around 56% winning percentage.
Atletico has 10 wins in 21 games since the same date. 47% winning ration.

So, even results-wise the amount of winning about results in this forum is unjustified to say the least.
In every sane club there would not be even a shadow, let alone a discussion of replacing, over a manager, and his assistants, who achieved such a dramatic improvement in the football played in such a short time, while incorporating so many youngsters, AND managing at the later phase of the season to have such a decent winning percentage.

 

[Bobo32]

Players are co-responsible mate for the results. LOL There are not judging results from without as spectators.

Now about Laporta, in his most recent public statement he claimed that Koeman has done an 'excellent job' thus far, let alone the public reassurance to Koeman that he has his full backing.
You may know more about it. Are you in touch with anyone from Laporta's board?

On your bolded claim, I will waste my time answering to you.
If what you see with your eyes tells you that our game has not improved and we are still a team like in the Valverde's days waiting for Messi to win a game,
then sorry I cannot help you, and no one can.

Are you?
It's the talk of a politician, totally correct by Laporta of course, but it doesn't say very much about what will happen after the season, especially if Koeman lose the title.

 

[Windhook]

One of the weakest Barca squads of the last 30 years winning La Liga sounds like a miracle. Koeman was on the verge of achieving that, but we slipped due to poor form and inexperienced players in the last game. We still have a shot at it, but seems unlikely given the results against Atleti and Real Madrid this season.

 

[malvolio]

Koeman also fucked up with man management, let's not take this lightly. He shat on both Puig and Pjanic, so we have basically no CM to rotate for Pedri, who looks like the shadow of Pedri from the first part of the season when he was fresh and full of energy.

There are 3 CMs in this team: Pedri, Puig, and Pjanic. 2 box-to-box / AM types: De Jong and Ilaix (more AM this one). 1 DM: Busi. The manager burned out Pedri, and sidelined Puig and Pjanic. So now when Pedri is a disaster, he started to use unbalanced formulas (like the one with De Jong and Ilaix together).

Now I'm wondering how long it will take until he puts Roberto in midfield .

I usually don't like your posts, but tbf you are right. I also don't rate either Puig or Pjanic. Rotations and in-game management is poor with Koeman in charge.

Pedri, Fati, Araujo and Mingueza weren't meant to be full starters this season.

 

[Birdy]

Koeman also fucked up with man management, let's not take this lightly. He shat on both Puig and Pjanic, so we have basically no CM to rotate for Pedri, who looks like the shadow of Pedri from the first part of the season when he was fresh and full of energy.

There are 3 CMs in this team: Pedri, Puig, and Pjanic. 2 box-to-box / AM types: De Jong and Ilaix (more AM this one). 1 DM: Busi. The manager burned out Pedri, and sidelined Puig and Pjanic. So now when Pedri is a disaster, he started to use unbalanced formulas (like the one with De Jong and Ilaix together).

Now I'm wondering how long it will take until he puts Roberto in midfield .

Pjanic is not a CM. He is a DM, and played like that at Juve for years.

The fact that old, slow, and semi-retired Busi is like million times better than Pjanic says it all

 

[Windhook]

Koeman deals with players that were bought before his tenure at Barca. Pjanic obviously turned out to be a player outside of his philosophy. The Barto scandal in the winter transfer window and the uncertainty about club politics didn't help either. Koeman is yet to approve his first transfer at the club, which is strange.

 

[Barcaman]

One of the weakest Barca squads of the last 30 years winning La Liga sounds like a miracle. Koeman was on the verge of achieving that, but we slipped due to poor form and inexperienced players in the last game. We still have a shot at it, but seems unlikely given the results against Atleti and Real Madrid this season.

Inexperience yes but what about Alba, Roberto, or Ter Stegen, Pique. Can't say those have been stellar .

We need a transition, not half-solutions. I like Koeman but I don't support his decision to play Pique, Roberto as soon as they are half-fit.

We've seen good signs this season, won a Copa, playd youngsters. Next season we need to turn it up a notch and get rid of veterans and start a proper new era.

 

[Windhook]

Inexperience yes but what about Alba, Roberto, or Ter Stegen, Pique. Can't say those have been stellar.

That's why I said poor form players. Pique and Alba are past their prime. Same was for Busi until Koeman switched to this compact slow pace 3-5-2 that gave the man the comfort of doing the miracle tackles he did back in the early 2010's. I already commented on Roberto and MATS, I'm not happy about it, but truth had to be told.

Next season will be also hard and I'll approach things with patience, because the perfect scenario of getting the biggest stars in football is unlikely.