Our Status as a Elite club

Andrew M

New member
Sure, the result is incredibly humiliating on a global scale and it severely hurts, but we'll eventually bounce back(may take at least 2/3 years) and be competitive in the CL again. IMO we need to reign in the big signings and get back to basics. Try to build a cohesive collective with maybe one or two stars and find a way of restoring and modernizing our footballing identity while incorporating the athletic dynamism that is required in the modern game.

It's clear our board has no clue in how to do this, however, and they have endowed the players with far too much power and freedom. We need a bold leader as head coach as well who has strong authority.

I have no problem with comparing our status to Utd, but people should stop bringing up Milan ffs. They had a completely different situation. I'm sick of reading posts mentioning them. Indeed there are financial setbacks right now with the pandemic that affects all clubs as well as our budget being handcuffed by money tied up in stupid big signings like Coutinho, but our revenues are still the highest in the world.

Maybe not being able to spend right now will do us some good and force us to do better with less and not waste money
 

serghei

Senior Member
it's simply not the same getting beaten 4-0 or getting absolutely thrashed 8-2,becoming the thing of mockery across the planet. we can only console ourselves that we could score way more in 2009

Yea, for me the score doesn't matter as much, especially when the opponent gives up. If you watch the 4-0 in 2009, it was total annihilation on the field, not much different than this time, regardless of the score.
 

KingLeo10

Senior Member
Oil clubs FTW! PSG and City are a necessary evil. Stop likes of Bayern and Liverpool from putting too many CLs past us.

I've started adopting this mentality.

City are easy as a second choice because of Guardiola but I would even stomach Mbappe and Ney crushing Bayern.

AM already did us a favor with Pool. One less year of their prime in terms of winning the CL.

Bayern are also an arrogant club from top to bottom. They'll likely implode again like in the aftermath of 2013. If PSG or City win this one, Bayern will cool off. 1 year is an eternity in football
 

KingLeo10

Senior Member
By the way, we're firmly among the elites, for now.

For those who don't keep up with CL score lines, go watch Bayern v AC milan in the 2000s.

AC Milan fucking mauled them when they met. 5-2 and 4-1 or something IIRC across the meetings.

Now, look at Bayern and look at AC Milan.

The heritage of a club can't be destroyed (If Milan got it together again, they'd come back to Tier 1 IMO. They had some of the greatest to play this game). We're still Tier 1 based on the contributions of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Alves, Cruyff, Guardiola. We'll survive.
 

JerseyAddict

Well-known member
Barcelona thrived in a last decade. Earned shitload of bew fans became a brand.

Nowdays youngsters don't have a player to look at. Club is trashed 2:8.

Globaly this will hurt. Kids will look elsewhere.
Oldies will stay.
But the focus will shift. Visitors will reduce.

It will take at least 3-5 years to recover from this.
If we are lucky. Barca could end as Arsenal or AC Milan.

In Spain RM could dominate, in Europe 1/4 will be an achievement.
 

Alik

Moderator
Yea it does. Same feeling. We could have gone for more vs Bayern in 2009 but relaxed. Just because Bayern go crazy when they find an unprepared team doesn't mean the 4-0 in 2009 wasn't utterly humiliating for them.

Last 3 goals we conceded we just wandered around waiting for the match to be over.

I wish we were more ruthless.
 

KingLeo10

Senior Member
I wish we were more ruthless.

Bayern have a vendetta against us.

They show a lot of respect to RM, even when there is contention (not proof) that they got robbed in some CL encounters with them.

My belief is that Bayern see themselves as one of the original European forces with RM, Ajax, and Liverpool.

Whenever they play one of the comparatively newer ones (Barcelona, United, Juve) they go straight for the jugular.

Before our 2005-2015 era, they were arguably second (or third after Milan) leading club in the history of the game and we usurped their spot. Hence the sheer vitriol.
 

ebc_99

Active member
Barca's status is secure, they have been one of the top 2 or 3 most beloved clubs for decades. But the next managerial appointment is crucial, if we get that right then we can get back competing very quickly.
 

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