Congrats on Winning La Liga.... anyone??!!

Well, no one really cheering and celebrating in the forum. This just shows the fans' feeling about the way we lost CHL.

Happy for la liga, but i did not even watch the game. I do not recognise this team and it is no joy to watch. Will watch Classio and tune in next season hopping we forget the damn 442 and we make the right promotions/purchases to play 433 again.

Thanks to that Roma debacle, its of no surprise I guess. I think the bigger story than winning this league is that we have won 7 out of the last 10 and thats hugly impressive no matter what. Its not historically been like this for Barca, to win so consistently and thanks to those core group of players we all know, its been possible.

Moving on to next season, I dont expect a change in formation for next season or much radical in change in terms of tactics.

I think the squad lacks quality some too many areas and against the strongest teams is where it will always show much. But winning the league is always about being consistently at a high enough level and we are capable of that still.

I dont know how long I have been away for, feels like ages, but nice to see some old timers are still around.

Not as old as you obviously

Nice to see you post again, didn't honestly expect it.

The Franchise wrote:Thanks to that Roma debacle, its of no surprise I guess. I think the bigger story than winning this league is that we have won 7 out of the last 10 and thats hugly impressive no matter what. Its not historically been like this for Barca, to win so consistently and thanks to those core group of players we all know, its been possible.

Moving on to next season, I dont expect a change in formation for next season or much radical in change in terms of tactics.

I think the squad lacks quality some too many areas and against the strongest teams is where it will always show much. But winning the league is always about being consistently at a high enough level and we are capable of that still.

I dont know how long I have been away for, feels like ages, but nice to see some old timers are still around.

Look who is back.

Wow, Franchise is here. Glad to see you back.

I've been busy with work. Wanted to post a lot about the Roma match, Valverde (I like him), Iniesta retiring (speechless) and other stuff. Waiting for some free time, to put my thoughts down. Work is killer.


But all my fellow cules, Congratulations! 7/10 man. It's been a great ride. This decade has been immense. Am super proud of the team - unbeaten 41 games; the equivalent of more than a season. CAMPEONES!

I am still hanging on in there

Didnt expect to post again either, hadnt even considered it until a week ago. Hardest part was logging in, went through a ton of password option.

Also forgot to add, I think going unbeaten for the entire season would be an impressive achievement which would bring more enthusiasm. Not been done before and very difficult to do, especially now when we dont have as much quality as the past and the rivals outside of Real are also pretty good.

Welcome back old man.

Had we not crashed out of CL the way we did I would have been much more happy. Anyway congratulations to all you guys, let's hope we finish this season unbeaten.

The Franchise wrote:Thanks to that Roma debacle, its of no surprise I guess. I think the bigger story than winning this league is that we have won 7 out of the last 10 and thats hugly impressive no matter what. Its not historically been like this for Barca, to win so consistently and thanks to those core group of players we all know, its been possible.

Moving on to next season, I dont expect a change in formation for next season or much radical in change in terms of tactics.

I think the squad lacks quality some too many areas and against the strongest teams is where it will always show much. But winning the league is always about being consistently at a high enough level and we are capable of that still.

I dont know how long I have been away for, feels like ages, but nice to see some old timers are still around.

have you ever banned me or docked me 25% before.

Yeah the Roma defeat has hit the fanbase hard. And usually for Barca finishing the season is a grueling experience where we struggle to keep 3 points ahead of Madrid in a "must win every game" scenario, whereas this time around the league was a foregone conclusion and little pressure.

Welcome back Dani

Welcome back Dani. And as a representative of the GL Madrid, well done to Barcelona. Honestly cannot recall a Barcelona side that looked as balanced as this version and obviously deserved the title. No excuses, no side notes, just a wonderful campaign.

The Roma game would obviously damper the success a bit (even worse if Madrid win their 3rd straight CL) but it is still a fantastic achievement.

I too used to say this was the best Barca defensively that we have seen in a long time but the Roma game is such a big question mark. I did not see it live from start to finish and do not have the heart to see a full recording. How could we concede three goals in one night after being so defensively solid all season? How poorly were we set up tactically as to not even be able to move properly on the pitch? Roma certainly deserve a lot of credit but looking only at ourselves what all was so different in the game against Roma compared to the game against Sevilla?

Anyway about the league title. I noticed there are two other clubs in Europe's top leagues who have achieved the same 7 out of 10 that we have - Juventus (assuming they win the current title) and Bayern Munich. Out of these I would say our achievement is the most impressive. Ever since Jose Mourinho left Inter Milan was no longer competition. Ever since Zlatan Ibrahimovic left AC Milan was no longer competition. Napoli has been competition but we could say not at the level of what we have had to face not just in terms of squad quality but also winning mentality. Ever since Jurgen Klopp left (or actually even before that) Borussia Dortmund were no longer competition. We on the other hand had to face a Real Madrid that consistently remained a top team and on top of that had Diego Simeone making Atletico Madrid play above potential so regularly.

VISCA BARCA !!!

^^taking nothing away from Roma, that game was pure complacency if you ask me.
They literally thought they could coast through the game knowing what they did in the first leg, but of course they conceded one, then they conceded another, and then momentum just took Roma to a clinching third.

I find it puzzling and unsettling that we've taken the CL elimination so bad, to the point that we're yawning past a Domestic Double. It's wholly unreasonable and absurd. Is the team expected to win a treble every season? Hey, Lucho won it in his first season, so that's the precedent for other new managers to be measured by?

At the start of the season, we were absolutely dismantled by Madrid, and if anyone offered us just the league alone - we would have taken it with both hands and a nut. Now, at the end of the season, we find ourselves unbeaten in the league and with two trophies in the cabinet, and we're crying over Roma? It happens. We were complacent and we were punished. That's run-of-the-mill in knockout tournaments.

Is the reaction based on scheduling? The CL is the last trophy, so it remains pertinent longer than every other trophy? Would we be just as apathetic if we had won the league on the last day? Would we be just as disappointed if Madrid were eliminated by Juve? Is our success tied to their failure, after the last ten years that we've had?

My fear is this - football always operates in cycles. We're on the last legs of our cycle. Once Messi leaves, we just can't afford to have this sort of expectancy from the team anymore. At this point, it just seems like we're setting ourselves up for disappointment. We won the double. 7th league win in 10 years. But we want more.

We have to try really hard to battle this sense of entitlement that the likes of Leo and Iniesta have validated in us. There will come a season where we win nothing at all, and how we'll long for just a CDR.

I'm thoroughly content with the double. It's one thing for Messi to want the treble, but I know that I have to be reasonable as I stretch out on the couch while I watch these super-humans battle it out in front of me. I know my place. I'm just a fan.

In all honesty, I personally value the league and CL on an equal level. CL is the 100m sprint, versus the triathlon of the league. Each has its own merit. CDR just sweetens the deal. To want it all, as a fan, is just...madness.

I'm personally not yawning at the domestic double, I love it and it's a fact that we already have 2 titles and Madrid have 0.

It's difficult to win a treble and I feel like we just a lacked a little bit of motivation and competent bench players to achieve a better finish in the CL campaign.

What I'm more concerned about is the quality of football in many games but that's mostly down to not having a formidable front three to compensate for the holes in midfield. I hope that can be solved soon.

We just need to make the right moves in the summer. Iniesta's departure will make room for big signing/s since it'll relieve the wage structure a little so hopefully no more Gomes' and Paulinho's but actual talented and dependable players will join.

The Lizard King, wonderful post. You are right that we have become spoiled by success. Barca in history had had its low phases and the fear will certainly be there that as our legends leave one by one such a phase could come back sooner rather than later. I think other than UCL what has disappointed people is that Valverde's team does not play the way most of us in our minds expect a Barcelona team to play.

I dont think anyone is denying that this has been a good season results wise. But results are secondary for me. I want us to play good football and that has been sorely lacking this season. We have been dominated by scrubs time and again only to be bailed out by Mats or the odd goal.
Just not good enough performance wise.

Welcome back Dani

My opinion on the season, the league and cup has been pretty much expected for a long while now so I guess its the reason for the non-celebration together with the Roma loss.... that loss was just too much. If we went out even fighting or with extreme bad luck or something I guess it might have been a bit better for everyone to take, but it wasnt.

Overall though for the past decade we've definitely done well domestically, but we really should have done more in the CLs, it was a big shock losing to Chelsea, and twice we got beaten by Atletico which was really unacceptable since the second time we didnt improve at all compared with the first (not to mention the league we lost to them also), this season to Roma, etc. With Real likely to win 4 out of 5 CLs (although CL is really much more about luck/draws/ref/etc.), its a bit of bad taste in the mouth knowing that we are better than them domestically.

Still, our cycle has lasted quite long time, longer than I ever expected so I guess it is about changing our expectations as well, Iniesta is gone, and when Messi eventually goes especially, Im sure pretty Barca wont be winning anywhere as much as we are used to over these years.

Get the F*** out of our club

— ABHIYAN (@abhi_pkh) April 29, 2018

Leave the club and save some dignity

— fabiano (@TempoOfXavi) April 29, 2018

Perfect summary.

With regards to concerns over our playing style - This is Valverde's first season, so surely he should be afforded a bit of slack? Not to mention the Neymar exit, which left us completely disoriented and unbalanced. And then our marquee signing, Dembele, who was supposed to offset this imbalance is injured for a major part of the season. We spent over a 100mil on the kid, and he's only now beginning to transition into the team. As a coach, at the helm of one of the biggest clubs in the world, would he or the board prioritize playing style instead of results?

For years we complained about a lacklustre defense, which was thoroughly addressed this season. Do we just ignore that?

I think we just need to give Ernesto time, and thank the stars that he's won us the double without Dembele being a factor. Again, he cost over 100mil, and he was a non-factor. Sure, an over-reliance on Messi can always be pointed to as the cause behind our triumph, but that still doesn't change the facts. New coach, loss of star player, injured marquee replacement, ageing Iniesta, and an overall lack of depth in midfield. In those circumstances, I'd take results over style of play. Two or three seasons down the road, however, I'll whistle a different tune.

Football, especially in this day and age, is undeniably a results-driven sport. We need to win to keep the coffers full, and to justify the massive transfer fees and wage packets. Liverpool played brilliantly under Rodgers in that season where Stevie G slipped. Are they remembered for their playing style, or failure to win? Tottenham play really well under Pochettino, but without a trophy there will come a breaking point.

Just my two cents. We just need to give Ernesto time. It's too early to be disgruntled, especially with the double in our cabinet.

I was defending Valverde all the time, but the way he set-up Roma game (also the players were not without a fault) was disgusting to say the least. For that he deserves all the criticism in the world!

Roma at home seems to be a force. Klopp the tactical mastermind with his budget version MSN just conceded 4 (6 over 2 legs) and could have been more.

Blaming only the coach is idiotic. Of course he did some questionable things, I still don't understand the Gomes 81 minute sub. But you cannot exempt such experienced players from any blame. They just went there with the thought "4-1 first leg, it's done." At 0-1 they sad "meh, come on bruh, we ain't losing 0-3" and after 0-2 they couldn't get back into the game anymore. It happens. I'm over it.

It is the coach who decides whether the team sits and defends or plays its usual attacking game right? Or am I missing something?

eelir wrote:It is the coach who decides whether the team sits and defends or plays its usual attacking game right? Or am I missing something?

You're missing that this team has no leader who rallies the troops and says: "*bleep* this shit, we're going to score now, follow me."

Schoolboys, indeed.