Hans-Dieter Flick

[-_- RandomUser -_-]

For this high line tactic to work you need immense pressing all the time when the team loses the ball, this has been mentioned thousands of times and it is what we did last season and it worked for the most part.
I don't think that teams have figured us out as some people mention, this is not some secret technology that needs to be decoded, the principles are very simple.
IMO the difference from last year is that the players don't have the same energy and attitude towards pressing. The reasons could be lack of rotation due to injuries, overconfidence due to last season or anything else that the coaching staff needs to figure out.
When it comes to defenders individually, our full backs are in terrible form and Martinez leadership is missing.
And again people should have a reality check, we have no money, no new players coming in, while other teams are spending like crazy. We only have our own La Masia products.
Our only true top level players are Pedri, FDJ, Yamal, 37yo Lewa and Rafinha if he can keeps last year's form.

 

[serghei]

Pressing last season worked great, attackers put in a massive season, and his system was still shite defensively, allowing defensive teams like Inter and Atlatico to score 7 in 2 games in Barcelona.

His system is not sustainable. What he wants is unrealistic and unpractical.

 

[Devils]

That's why I don't blame any single defensive player. Sure, they could do better on an individual level but we could play Lahm, Beckenbauer, Puyol and Maldini at the back and they would struggle too if they would get so exposed and with so little support in every game.

You are talking about Araujo, Kounde, Balde, Cubarsi, Christensen ..etc here

Same group of defenders under Xavi who conceded 8 goals against Girona over 2 matches. 5 vs Villareal in a single match.4 vs Athletic Club in CDR elimination. 4 vs Real Madrid in the Supercops final. 4 vs PSG in the CL. 3 vs Granada at home etc..

It's because of these matches that we went trophyless in 23/24.

And was Xavi literally was the polar opposite of Flick and played more Simone/Valverde defensivive football.

At what point do we admit that these defenders aren't good enough?

 

[Messi983]

You are talking about Araujo, Kounde, Balde, Cubarsi, Christensen ..etc here

Same group of defenders under Xavi who conceded 8 goals against Girona over 2 matches. 5 vs Villareal in a single match.4 vs Athletic Club in CDR elimination. 4 vs Real Madrid in the Supercops final. 4 vs PSG in the CL. 3 vs Granada at home etc..

It's because of these matches that we went trophyless in 23/24.

And was Xavi literally was the polar opposite of Flick and played more Simone/Valverde defensivive football.

At what point do we admit that these defenders aren't good enough?

Also same group of players that conceded like 13 goals in 35 goals a season before?

I think if MATS would stay fit we would win the 23/24 La Liga too. Pena being a starter for 3 months ruined us.

 

[Raketa10]

I don't expect or want Flick to turn into a prime Mourinho over night. No coach will ever change his philosophy so dramatically.

I think just setting the backline 5 or 10m deeper would help a lot but we'll probably never see that.

We probably won't see that but we'll probably see his dismissal before the end of this season if he continues with this type of defending.

 

[Messi983]

We probably won't see that but we'll probably see his dismissal before the end of this season if he continues with this type of defending.

Unlikely. We don't have money to sack him and Laporta also won't want to admit he was wrong.

 

[Porque]

Bayern line away against PSG was high as duck.

Pressure was immense. Orange sauce cooked to perfection.

Compare with us, no one looks good physically right now apart from maaaaaybe Nicky Nicole on the prowl for a rebound.

Siiiiuuuuu.

 

[Raketa10]

You are talking about Araujo, Kounde, Balde, Cubarsi, Christensen ..etc here

Same group of defenders under Xavi who conceded 8 goals against Girona over 2 matches. 5 vs Villareal in a single match.4 vs Athletic Club in CDR elimination. 4 vs Real Madrid in the Supercops final. 4 vs PSG in the CL. 3 vs Granada at home etc..

It's because of these matches that we went trophyless in 23/24.

And was Xavi literally was the polar opposite of Flick and played more Simone/Valverde defensivive football.

At what point do we admit that these defenders aren't good enough?

No one is saying we have a world class defenders. However, playing a high line, without attackers and midfielders pressing is making things look even worse.

 

[Devils]

Also same group of players that conceded like 13 goals in 35 goals a season before?

I think if MATS would stay fit we would win the 23/24 La Liga too. Pena being a starter for 3 months ruined us.

So we have to go back 4 seasons for the last time these players were sound defensively. And to a season where MATS had the best performances in his career.

At some point you gotta cut your losses.

 

[Raketa10]

So we have to go back 4 seasons for the last time these players were sound defensively under these players. And to a season where MATS had the best performances in his careers.

At some point you gotta cut your losses.

And sign who and with what money? We have what we have and tactics should be adapted according to the situation. You can’t play a high line game without attackers and midfielders actually pressing. So you can either bench them, which is impossible because currently we have to many injured players or you can change the tactics. It's that simple.

Unlikely. We don't have money to sack him and Laporta also won't want to admit he was wrong.

If we continue to concede 3 or 4 goals against teams like Brugge, and all that during the election year, Laporta could be the first one to pull the forks out.

 

[Loki]

Pressing last season worked great, attackers put in a massive season, and his system was still shite defensively, allowing defensive teams like Inter and Atlatico to score 7 in 2 games in Barcelona.

His system is not sustainable. What he wants is unrealistic and unpractical.

Just forgetting the little thing, that this "unrealistic, unpractical and unsustainable" system brought us a demestic treble, 4 clasico trashings in a row and 2 minutes away from the CL final with a squad, many prophesied will struggle to reach top4 and compete in the EL. Not to mention a player like Rapha looked like a Ballon D'Or candidate, who also many fans called a failure transfer.

Always nice to pick things you don't like without looking at a bigger picture, that we were with PSG the most entertaining, sucessful and best team to watch over the entire season. That's not an opinion, thats a hard fact.

You're and many others who write like that just talk out of their ass. Fact is, this system needs specific requirements as any other needs. Flick chose this, our board chose him for this, so the work is now to make these requirements work again like last season. Nothing more to say for it.

PS: I said it a couple of times already. A physical state and problems can't be solved over 2 weeks like a tactical problem. This needs a longer period of time and people need to be patient.

Unrealistic is not the system, but the fans who are not patient and demand always successful brilliant football, especially from a team full of teenagers, that is under harsh financial restrictions since years, expecting never to have a bad form.

Unrealistic is expecting from an 18 year old Cubarsi to play like the best CBs in the world without ever having a bad form, completely ignoring that Barca's greatest in history were b-players or bench warmers at 18 years of age and started to play regulary 20+. These are unrealistic examples.

 

[RedxMAK]

Just forgetting the little thing, that this "unrealistic, unpractical and unsustainable" system brought us a demestic treble, 4 clasico trashings in a row and 2 minutes away from the CL final with a squad, many prophesied will struggle to reach top4 and compete in the EL. Not to mention a player like Rapha looked like a Ballon D'Or candidate, who also many fans called a failure transfer.

Always nice to pick things you don't like without looking at a bigger picture, that we were with PSG the most entertaining, sucessful and best team to watch over the entire season.

You're and many others who write like that just talk out of their ass. Fact is, this system needs specific requirements as any other needs. Flick chose this, our board chose him for this, so the work is now to make these requirements work again like last season. Nothing more to say for it.

I agree, I will put let’s say 80% of the blame on the players for their complacency and overconfidence. And the other on Flick for not being pragmatic when games are very hard to add a goal in like Inter 24/25 and PSG this season late on. I can see he can do that as proven by Newcastle game this szn but the players need to show their full commitment again.

 

[jamrock]

Many didn't call him a failed transfer & the few that did are idiots.

But flick did make him look like a monster though.

All that doesn't charge the fact that we've been shipping goals like a $3 hooker since last season & is caught up to us in the SF

 

[khaled_a_d]

Also same group of players that conceded like 13 goals in 35 goals a season before?

I think if MATS would stay fit we would win the 23/24 La Liga too. Pena being a starter for 3 months ruined us.

In the same season we conceded 4 against RM in CDR, 12 goals in 6 matches in CL group stage,4 against Manu.

In La liga, Ter Stegen actually had one of the greatest performances of a GK in our history. He conceded like 73% or something of the xG faced (that is the shots he faced) and the team has drastically outperformed their xG on both ends that season.
This could have been explained that they were studying attackers and giving them chances they aren't good at, but considering it was one season thing, only in Liga, it is an unlikely explanation atm.

Also, Christensen was cooked physically since then, Araujo clearly lost a step with all those hamstring injuries. Those 2 were the main defensive core.

Oh, and the team had the likes of Busquets, Alba and Pique, the amigos you hated most, who provided guidance and experience to those young players.

It isn't really "same group"

 

[Barcaman]

Could be fatigue, complacency, depth etc. There has to be a reason for the huge drop off in form this season compared to last. We don't look like the same team.

During summer they all started talking about Balloon d Or. All the media hype got to their heads.