Hans-Dieter Flick

Belletti is next, we always try someone linked to the club first and he's been doing a solid job with the youth.

Anyone it is, after flick we'll have to get use to having more pedestrian managers like valverde, unless they take a risk with someone like Conte who has personality.

What Flick has shown us so far, he deserves to have a budget where La Liga registration will not be an issue.

Need the Camp Nou $$$ as soon as possible

One of the things I was curious about - after the game winning goal by PSG, the camera panned to him and he was seen yelling something and gesturing.

Now, while that is normal when you lose at the end like that, what I'd like to know is who or what he was pissed about. Was he pointing at someone in defense for an individual mistake, was he pointing at the defense for not maintaining a good line or was he yelling about the press?

Reason I'm curious is that if he's just pissed the defense was holding too high a line, then it's the players who made an error and can learn. But if he was not happy with the pressing, I think that's less good news - because it's clear that we were tired and we weren't able to press well at all in that second half. So just yelling about not having intensity doesn't help - sometimes you need to see that it's not there and adjust accordingly.

I like flick and happy to give him time. It's just that in his second year, the fact that the team still plays a suicidal high line with ZERO pressure on the ball as a general tactic....I find this concerning. I understand it may happen every now and then but it's been happening consistently and I am not sure if that he's willing to see it or address it. Your response cannot just be 'nope you gotta press all the time'. It's just not possible.

TSFP is back on YT. Sid discusses the Sevilla game. Starts @ 3.00

Listen that earlier, they key statement is

"It's not about the high line, it's about how & when it's implemented".

Everyone seems to get this except the flick crowd on here.

Don't change, just be more situationally aware as a team and it starts with the coach.

Yep, Kane figured it out in the first 20 mins of that Bayern game.

We were lucky that Raphinha went beast mode and overwhelmed Bayern.

Fati_Future_BallonDor said:

Give us Pique, Puyol, Alves, Alba and we would kill with the high line

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Ooooh, god forbid. I dont want to see a lazy-ass Pique in the Barca lineup.

Just tried the formation I've been suggesting on FIFA, gavi at 10 and raphinha as striker.

COOKED, worked in every way I expected

Raphinha could not be stopped on the counter.

The Midfield was dominant because gavi could drop back.

Fifa = real life

Do it flick.

Fati_Future_BallonDor said:

Last season before every nt break: '2 weeks no Hansi football guys '

This season: ...

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Good point. This time international break came to rescue us.

soul24rage said:

What Flick has shown us so far, he deserves to have a budget where La Liga registration will not be an issue.

Need the Camp Nou $$$ as soon as possible

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Great point and he definitely deserves it. We need to give him a chance to shine.

He did well with what I consider a lesser squad than some others in Europe last season. He had them playing well. He also barely got any new players in this summer, which must be factored into account.

However, I do not believe he will be there long-term, as he just does not seem to be someone who will stay at one place for many years and build a legacy. I also believe he's been dodgy tactically in recent games I have watched. Just distances between players and the set up not looking right. PSG had far far too much space in between the lines. I even thought there were warning signs against Newcastle.

The two losses were tough, but I did see the Sevilla one coming (was one of only 1 percent on Superbru to correctly predict a Sevilla win, have the proof if anyone doubts it) and he needs to sort them out very quickly. I want Barca to win trophies this season but Real Madrid are looking strong (Atletico game apart) and PSG still seem to be the team to beat in Europe.

I think it's gonna be hard, and might go tits up, I have to be honest. But I am a bit of a pessimist.

Givenchy said:

Actually agree with you here and I said this before many seasons ago, Barca just don't do pragmatic. Under Flick it's even more apparant and thus we are the neutrals dream to watch. We could blow a team away 7-0, it could be 5-4 madness or we get stuffed but there aren't many calm, boring games.

Winning ugly is something Madrid have down to a fine art in their CL wins and its necessary in knockout football.

I was pissed about PSG and even more fucked off about Sevilla game but at the end of the day, I wouldn't change anything about this club or Flick, it's a rollercoaster ride but it's worth watching. Barca won't change.

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Don't get me wrong, Flick raised this team to CL contenders., this is huge improvement. That is why I am a bit angry, as I see us there or close but missing. With coaches before i didn't even see a chance so I was calm.
Any yes, RM would also be my example of team that somehow finds a way to win, that is why they almost have easier time wining CL than La liga, you can't "fake" it for 30+ rounds but for tournament it is perfect. I don't want us to change 180 degrees but just add some pragmatism now and then.

Gaudi said:

Don't get me wrong, Flick raised this team to CL contenders., this is huge improvement. That is why I am a bit angry, as I see us there or close but missing. With coaches before i didn't even see a chance so I was calm.
Any yes, RM would also be my example of team that somehow finds a way to win, that is why they almost have easier time wining CL than La liga, you can't "fake" it for 30+ rounds but for tournament it is perfect. I don't want us to change 180 degrees but just add some pragmatism now and then.

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With Xavi we got dumped by PSG in the quarters the year before and one could argue we would have made it to the semis if Araujo wouldn't have been sent off.
We got an easier draw last year. If we were on the other side of the draw we get Liverpool/PSG, it's probably an early exit and talks of not being contenders.

I get it why people felt different last season, with the results and roller-coaster football we were playing. But Barca has always been there or thereabouts . Bar the two years of being eliminated from the group stages of course.

Kroos' take on Flickball:

🚨🗣️ Toni Kroos: "Barcelona have one of the most attractive styles, if not the most attractive in all of Europe, but I think they take too many risks."

"On a bad day for Pedri or Lamine or Raphinha, any team can hurt them and beat them, you can knock them out of the Champions League. That happened last season against Inter, and this season, they will come up against a team of that type that knocks them out."

"Starting from the seventy-fifth minute you notice that everyone is more fatigued, and you see them not changing their style to close the spaces. If you're tired and don't change your way of playing, it becomes very obvious how exposed you are."

Thoughts?