Xavi Hernández

[serghei]

But I'm probably wasting my time, 60% of the ones I argue with here think Simeone is a crap manager.

 

[Birdy]

The thing is we are missing the ones with the potential to make Barca great again with the football we crave.
Laporta made the first mistake with Xavi and 2 years are lost now.
If he makes another mistake the coming summer with the next coach, we are talking about 4-5 years lost

 

[mc_lovin]

The narrow-mindedness of Laporta and his buddies to follow a strategy that only worked with Pep (once in a million year chance) is going to cost us a lot more than what you think...

I mean generally it has worked out pretty great for the club. At least on the national level.

 

[serghei]

I think the problem is we have different expectations

For most guys: A big club like barca needs to win titles (nearly) every season and play nice football

For people like Sergh: Happy when Barca wins every second season a title like la liga

True. I am a pragmatic and a realist first.

The Barca teams that achieved all of those things you lot crave for had completely different possibilities compared to the current side.

To deny this is to be... as they say... delusional.

 

[serghei]

If Barca would have the ability to sign the best players like in the past... be sure I'd be a lot more critical because all the tools to do something great would be inside the club.

As it stands though, with just one elite player in the whole club... to be so drastic I'd have to be too much of a dumb fan and too little of a logical person.

 

[Iniesta Ultra]

Yeah, and that is the team that knocked us out, though to be fair they were at their season peak when we met and we had injury issues.

See that's the thing, I'm willing to give Xavi credit when he gets things right but also realise when things are not. Take our Real Madrid home game, we actually played an excellent first half. Second half we gave the ball to Madrid and failed to regain initiative.

I'm not in the Xavi out clan either, certainly right now and ahead of a pivotal moment in the season where things could go awry with a bad result this week. But something is going wrong, the play is showing it, the whispers are creeping out from the changing room and only one person can change it. That's Xavi, but everybody closing their eyes and putting their fingers in their ears is not going to help. As the cliche goes, pressure makes diamonds. Time to prove it.

Rayo fans were chanting "they're scared" because we are. There's no coming back from that after two years. Opposing fans should start chanting "gimps" to be more accurate.

Your hope with Xavi is insane.

 

[JamDav1982]

Not really relevant and personally I don't try to engage with Jammy too much.

Aye best you dont and your 50m+ transfers goes back years and years so not nearly as relevant as made out.

 

[JamDav1982]

True. I am a pragmatic and a realist first.

The Barca teams that achieved all of those things you lot crave for had completely different possibilities compared to the current side.

To deny this is to be... as they say... delusional.

You are not a realist in slightest that has been proven.

Saying Barca players are over rated as excuse for way team is playing.

Your logic is to give credit to Xavi for title and say deserves more respect for that.. while being about biggest whinger in terms of the squad... who also won the league.

Coming up with fake arguments as if folk are expecting prime Pep level Barca and have too high standard...no one is expecting that.

Also say coaches in past should be gone first seaosn when dont win and change rules for Xavi.

 

[mc_lovin]

Aye best you dont and your 50m+ transfers goes back years and years so not nearly as relevant as made out.

Heck, I would even argue a 50m transfer that goes back years and years and is still in the squad and good footballing condition (eg not Modric) is even more relevant.

 

[JamDav1982]

Heck, I would even argue a 50m transfer that goes back years and years and is still in the squad and good footballing condition (eg not Modric) is even more relevant.

So your argument is that they have these still in the squad now as do City?

The 'years and years' part also covers players that have left.

Or we including Hazard/Jovic etc?

You are going back as far as 2012 to argue Real spent more with Modric.

We should count Neymar for Barca.

 

[mc_lovin]

So your argument is that they have these still in the squad now as do City?

The 'years and years' part also covers players that have left.

Or we including Hazard/Jovic etc?

You are going back as far as 2012 to argue Real spent more with Modric.

We should count Neymar for Barca.

We. Are. Not. Judging. The. Business. Side.

A current squad of 20 50m transfers should have more quality than one with 10 or 5. It’s thankfully not everything though. There’s still scouting, youth etc pp.

It doesn’t matter when the players were signed.

 

[JamDav1982]

We. Are. Not. Judging. The. Business. Side.

A current squad of 20 50m transfers should have more quality than one with 10 or 5. It’s thankfully not everything though. There’s still scouting, youth etc pp.

It doesn’t matter when the players were signed.

So your point includes 50m players that have now left originally but now they dont matter? Where are you getting those number of 50m+ players for Real?

In last 5 years or so Real and Barca have singed around same 50m+ players.

Doesnt work like that and Barca would have looked fools arguing have better squad when spend 400m odd on x3 players a couple years back.

 

[mc_lovin]

So your point includes 50m players that have now left originally but now they dont matter?

In last 5 years or so Real and Barca have singed around same 50m+ players.

???
CURRENT squad ffs. It’s not a hard concept.

 

[JamDav1982]

???
CURRENT squad ffs. It’s not a hard concept.

Yes thats what you are saying now..are you claiming that was original point when said Real have signed so many 50m + players?

Hard concept to keep up with when changing rules.

 

[KingLeo10]

De Zerbi is a good prospect, but we need to see what he can do at top clubs before we hail him the next messiah.

Professor L'OptaBirdy can't seem to understand that a very select amount of individuals can deliver under the weight of pressure and expectations. I have zero doubts that De Zerbi would be run over by the all-time great squads Barca and RM had in the late 00s to mid 10s. Whereas Pep and ZZ (and Carlo) thrived in those circumstances, managing to rein in players like Messi, CR7, Xavi, Alves, Marcelo, Ramos etc. etc.. Some managers just command respect and I don't see that in De Zerbi (but could be proven wrong, we'll see).

Xavi has disappointment me a little in this arena. I thought he would command more respect than he does from the Barca squad.