Ronald Koeman - welcome to FC Barcelona!

The Franchise wrote:Hey bro. Yes, between all the work ive been doing i just havent had the time. I only really have the time now because I am working from home and in England, its impossible to coach right now for the vast majority.

Havent stopped watching of course and cant say im delighted by what im seeing. But this season in some ways is far more encouraging.

Cool, so normally like pre-covid u work and then coach as a hobby? Didnt realise that Definitely great to know someone here who actually plays or is involved for real in the game. I figured most of us are just fans who causally play at most

Btw, another quick quesion, at HT during the Madrid derby just now, they watered the pitch. So the home team decides? And whats the best condition for the pitch? Not too dry with a bit of water? Since I always thought its best just dry, no idea.

Yes and no. I coach for a club, so it takes alot of hours up between training, matches and planning. Now that has stopped, I have more time.

The pitch? Honestly, I didnt notice. But afaik the home team decides. What is best? Depends on what you want.

If you want to pass the ball quickly, along the ground. Making the pitch wet is good as obviously the ball goes along the ground faster.

If you know you wont have much posession and will defend most of the game, no reason you want that kind of pitch so you'd tend to keep it as dry as possible and many teams who might usually water the pitch will intentionally leave it to become very dry if they play a strong team in the upcoming game.

Honestly @The Franchise , it's awesome to have you back posting, great stuff to be able to read, it's a pleasure and it's also good to hear you're doing fine.

Thanks Hans, good to see you and others still here. I didnt know what to expect at all. I hope to stay around as long as possible. Im hopeful I can ride it out till the summer or even Autumn.

Are my eyes deceiving me?!

Thanks Dani. Funny since I always had the impression those really water logged pitch in the rain the ball hardly moves when they hit the ground so I thought its best dry Not sure why Atletico watered it then, would think they prefer it dry so Real cant play the ball as fast or fluently.

For a team like Barca I guess best would be to have it just a bit wet then so as to have the ball move faster.

Hope u will stick around even after things goes back to normal, even just once in a while In the meantime just ride it out and enjoy the relaxing time I guess, the whole world is forced to still, luckily we have had good football to watch during all this time

Given the challenges, an outstanding first season. Surprised he has not had success at other clubs. Maybe he is not a small club coach. From what I have seen, he definitely has what it takes to manage big clubs. A legend as a player, authoritative, calm, composed and a terrific man manger (for us at least). Looks, talks and acts like he belongs.
Definitely deserves a second season and any talk of Xavi should be nixed in the bud. Koeman can be better in big games but I firmly believe our issues in big games have nothing to do with the manager.

Do you think the club final 11 is/should be the team, system and positions moving forward?

Maybe you can debate Dembele v Griezmann and aging Pique v improving Araujo. But those 2 aside, it seems everything else remains, aswell as the 3 at the back which can transform into 4 when called on.

Given Messi stays, I would make the following changes. I dont think a spine of Messi, Busquets, Pique works come crunch time. It has not worked for 7 years now (even longer if we ignore 2015). It most certainly wont work in 2022. I can guarantee we will be humiliated again.
We are beholden to Messi and like the girlfriend who stays with the abusive boyfriend, we won't end it with Messi.
So he stays in the starting lineup. That leaves Pique and Busquets. I would definitely play Araujo over Pique. Teams will pressure him on the ball and he is going to go for the easy pass to Mats/Lenglet/Mingueza every single time. We just have to plan our buildup around that. The positives of having Araujo far outweigh the loss of ball playing ability.
That leaves Busquets. Busquets might work in CL knockout football in a non Messi team. He has no place in a Messi team. I would try to replace Busquets. I have 2 options. Try Roberto there. I think he can do the job. We lose some of the passing but much better in transitions and much more mobile. Or throw another youngster in at the deep end. Nico at the B is having a tremendous season and he has recently been playing DM in Orellana's absence. Have read that Koeman is a fan. I like Nico's profile. Excellent technically and he has some of the dragbacks of Busquets in him. More importantly, he is tall, strong and mobile.
Those would be my changes. Pique and Busquets out. Araujo and Roberto/Nico in. That and tactical changes on a match to match basis.

Same system? Which I guess define as 3421?

Yes. It seems the best system for a Messi Barcelona. We have played better since the switch. Better possession higher up the pitch and I believe we are also creating more chances (have not checked stats though, just eye test).

I understand and agree with the spine point. But I dont see Busi being replaced. I think yesterday was 13 starts in a row. Normally, I would argue that to be criminal given his age plus attrition but there really is no clear alternative. Perhaps if Pjanic wasnt so poor things could have evolved.

As it stands, the young guys like you mentioned would have to be really outstanding to displace Busi. Especially from a defensive positioning point of view.

Roberto? I cant say I am convinced but I hadnt put much thought into it. I am unsure because while I agree has his more mobility I doubt he could replicate Busquets decision making and composure in tight situations.

While I am a fan of his work, didnt like the way we played the second half against Villareal. He can take a hike if he wants to park the bus leading 2-1. Especially after going a man down.

Yep hes done that before multiple times. THats the one aspect of his work I dislike the most. Bringing in more defenders towards the beginning doesnt mean we will defender better lol. And also being one man up!

I think he's done after today, unacceptable result with red behaviour.

Se queda!

Not the worst news , sounds like no upgrades were available

Shouldve been sacked after that finish in la liga but I guess there weren't many options to pick out from. He's an awful tactician though and I dont expect things to get better

Also Laporta requests the 4-3-3 formation and more attacking footy so perhaps its the end of 3 CBs and wingbacks.

I am fine with it. Firstly, we cannot keep paying 3 different coaches at once

Second, I really hope the next coach gets a cleaner slate. Regardless of who it is, I hope they dont have put up with this squad clearly stuck between cycles.

Barça vp Rafa Yuste spoke to Koeman ahead of training today. [@xlemus]

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 13, 2021

"Win 8-2 tomorrow or your getting sacked boi" reasonable request imo

He has to go at the first realistically available moment.

Admirable he is using the youth guys, respect it.

But tactically he is from a different time, he is far behind the best of the best.

I also find myself often able to predict the starting line up but not agreeing with it.

The Franchise wrote:He has to go at the first realistically available moment.

Admirable he is using the youth guys, respect it.

But tactically he is from a different time, he is far behind the best of the best.

I also find myself often able to predict the starting line up but not agreeing with it.

I disagree about letting Koeman go but lets assume we let him go. Who would you want? Options are not exactly great at the moment.
The top managers are all locked down. We could gamble and go for Xavi. I am the biggest Xavi fan but not sure he is ready for the top job at a club like Barca. He needs to get some experience outside of Qatar.
Zidane is out of a job but he would never coach us.
Conte? He is a good coach but creates problems wherever he goes and has just left Inter due to a lack of investments. Doubt he would come to us when we are letting players go. Nevermind signing anyone.
The one interesting name is Klopp. Heard he is not happy with the lack of investments at Liverpool. If there is one coach out there who can get us back to the top, it is Klopp. He can work miracles with a shoestring budget. But, given he is unhappy at Liverpool over the lack of investments, doubt he would come to us. He is surely tired by now of long term projects. But, feel he could be enticed by the prospect of coaching us and bringing us back to the top. I have not been the greatest fan of his style but have grown to like it grudgingly. He is a modern coach, brings through players and has a proven track record. Doubt we go for him though.

We should go for Ten Hag before Xavi is ready. But sacking Koeman midseason doesnt make much sense and nobody would come midseason anyway.

alexjanosik wrote:

I disagree about letting Koeman go but lets assume we let him go. Who would you want? Options are not exactly great at the moment.
The top managers are all locked down. We could gamble and go for Xavi. I am the biggest Xavi fan but not sure he is ready for the top job at a club like Barca. He needs to get some experience outside of Qatar.
Zidane is out of a job but he would never coach us.
Conte? He is a good coach but creates problems wherever he goes and has just left Inter due to a lack of investments. Doubt he would come to us when we are letting players go. Nevermind signing anyone.
The one interesting name is Klopp. Heard he is not happy with the lack of investments at Liverpool. If there is one coach out there who can get us back to the top, it is Klopp. He can work miracles with a shoestring budget. But, given he is unhappy at Liverpool over the lack of investments, doubt he would come to us. He is surely tired by now of long term projects. But, feel he could be enticed by the prospect of coaching us and bringing us back to the top. I have not been the greatest fan of his style but have grown to like it grudgingly. He is a modern coach, brings through players and has a proven track record. Doubt we go for him though.

I dont know Klopp would come. He just doesnt strike me as a Barca coach. I have no questions about his ability mind you, I just dont see it for some reason.

My choices.


Xavi or Ten Haag. I like both of their ideas alot from what I have seen. Obviously I know Ten Haag's ideas translate to Europe, but what Xavi is doing is not so different to many top coaches in Europe today. My question with them isnt tactical, I believe both are up to task on that. They both have clear ideas I can recognize and I like the sound of.

It is the unknown, their personality, how they relate to players, the force of their will that I have no idea about and obviously that is where the risk comes.

Dont know if you addressed this in other thread yet, but why do you want Koeman to stay?

Dani what do you think of Sarri?

I wouldn't have brought him up with the old guard still there, but since they're being phased out I think he'd be great for all the young kids.

He'd have more pull in the dressing room and they'd adapt to his style easier. He also isn't big into transfers, so he'd accept Barca's current financial situation.

A 4-3-3 focused on a lot of pre-rehearsed patterns would be great for the young kids. I think it would help them adapt better to the qualitative decrease Barca's seen in recent years.

He has big club experience with Chelsea and Juve. He did win trophies there, but the main criticism against him was implementing his football at defensive clubs with large player power. These kids would be accustomed to his style and with the old guard gone he'd have more say in the dressing room.

I also think if Xavi is the long term plan him coming in for Sarri would be a nice transition in terms of playing style. It's not like you'd be going from a counter attacking coach to a possession one. The foundations would largely remain the same.

Ideally you'd have Sarri for a few years to get the young kids up to the speed and Xavi would've worked in Europe in the meantime. I don't see that happening though because if Xavi flops at a European team he'll have more criticism about joining than he already does now.

That being said, I think after the World Cup, Barca will replace Koeman with Luis Enrique. That's just my gut suspicion.

I'm not joking I think even with your current crop if they played Sarri ball they'd compete to win La Liga. I think he'd start this kind of team. Let him phase out Busquets, Pique, and Alba then replace them with a few key signings and you'll be back on track imo.

Anyone would have started this kind of team if available. This is definitely a good team to contest for top 4 positions. but you made too many assumptions. the squad is thin. Pedri and Alba are already out. Dembele and Fati are not back yet. considering how fatigued Busi and Pique are they might not run the whole season. we may run the risk of losing more players of this eleven. I dont think any coach can do well with the current squad.