You may say so. But in every field there are some unwritten rules. And the players have enough power these days to decide if they want to play to their best or not. Tactics, coaches, fans, titles...all will be irrelevant to the players' wills.
It's not as trivial as this. There are powers in every club. Not saying clans (which also exist) in the dressing rooms. And they have enough power to show their discomfort in certain ways. I definitely don't find these recent poor performances normal. Even against Almeria the team wasn't sharp...
A coach losing his players' respect is hardly fixable. They play so bad and continue to do so to eventually kick him out. Not saying it's happening between Tata and the players. Just recent performances is causing these questions to rise.
You don't get Vidal just to not overplay Xavi. He comes to play regularly, and either It's him who has to be a starter or Xavi. And none settle for a part time role.
I couldn't care less what results Argentina get in friendlies. World Cup is all I care about. Argentina were beating teams left and right in the friendlies before every World Cup, then when the WC arrived the Quarter final was the farthest stage they could go.