Xavi Hernández

Andresito said:

Backroom staff is almost always connected to the coach. Not the first time a family member is part of one.

Not like Oscar is the reason why we play so bad.

You're making a mountain out of a molehill. I've noticed your hatred against Xavi recently, but this 'issue' ain't it.

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Never said it was first time family member has been one but it can be that team is not up to scratch and under qualified for that role.

Aye 'hate' Xavi. Top stuff as usual.

This 'issue' when see way team is playing and who Xavi has around him may well be part of it. You have no clue.

Try to compare it to Tito again..

mc_lovin said:

Look no further than Ancelotti.

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Irrelevant unless saying no other coach chooses family members or all family members are equally qualified for the role.

Barcaman said:

We have to sit tight and wait. No point of talking about new manager this soon. We looked bad under Rijkaard too for the first half of the season but Laporta's patience paid off immensely.

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Of course. I don't think we should replace Xavi unless we'd completely bottle it and won't qualify for the CL. Then I would consider a change but in the end still stay with him imo. It's not like there are proven coaches out there waiting for Laporta's call so sticking with Xavi is not only our best option right now but probably the only one unless we want to gamble again with an unproven coach. But I'd prefer to give a chance to Xavi to finish what he started.

We all knew this rebuild will take more than a year. He's done some good things but also shown a few red flags lately. Last few games were not all that much different to the ones under Koeman at the start of the season but we have (at least on paper) better team now, especially forwards.

Hopefully he'll learn from his mistakes and getting players like Kessie and Christensen will limit minutes of Busi and Pique. I don't expect Xavi will ever fully drop his amigos but they should never play 90 minutes every three days.

JamDav1982 said:

Never said it was first time family member has been one but it can be that team is not up to scratch and under qualified for that role.

Aye 'hate' Xavi. Top stuff as usual.

This 'issue' when see way team is playing and who Xavi has around him may well be part of it. You have no clue.

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Because we played such good football under mastermind Schreuder and legend Larsson.

Putting too much responsibility on the assistant. Why isn't Alegre mentioned here? Is his CV good enough?

Andresito said:

Because we played such good football under mastermind Schreuder and legend Larsson.

Putting too much responsibility on the assistant. Why isn't Alegre mentioned here? Is his CV good enough?

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Terrible comeback.

Questioning what Xavis brother has done to be qualifed of that role and input in first team doesnt mean every other assistant will work and make Barca play great football either.

Under those rules there is no assistant that can be under qualified and all needs is trust from coach.

Nah the coaching team matters in big way.

JamDav1982 said:

Irrelevant unless saying no other coach chooses family members or all family members are equally qualified for the role.

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The truth is we have little to no insight how qualified his brother is.

It's Xavi's responsibility and he will be rated according to results. At the moment he doesn't make the best impression, before the break he did. The season will be rated as a whole. A lot for me depends on where we finish. 2nd place is a job well done.

mc_lovin said:

The truth is we have little to no insight how qualified his brother is.

It's Xavi's responsibility and he will be rated according to results. At the moment he doesn't make the best impression, before the break he did. The season will be rated as a whole. A lot for me depends on where we finish. 2nd place is a job well done.

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I agree that back room team will be determined on how much of success first team is but still can question what some in roles have proven to get them other than their bloodline. Type of questions will crop up when look as tactically poor as have recently. Will all go quickly if they get back on track and start next season well. Type pf questions and points get made when fans frustrated by club/team.

Getting second is decent but there needs to be progression also and have long been favs for second now so that part should be done unless they fuck it from here.

It is like last season.. finishing third and challenging for title with a cup would have looked tasty in Sept/Oct time but by end of season it felt a let down when same issues occurred as always have at Barca in recent years.

JamDav1982 said:

Terrible comeback.

Questioning what Xavis brother has done to be qualifed of that role and input in first team doesnt mean every other assistant will work and make Barca play great football either.

Under those rules there is no assistant that can be under qualified and all needs is trust from coach.

Nah the coaching team matters in big way.

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What he's done is subjective, to Xavi it may be a lot, to us not very impressive. I don't think this is a case of charity.

Oscar isn't sitting on his arse for the full 90 minutes, he's actually involved in the discussions with Xavi, which shows that he at least has some sort of quality that Xavi appreciates. Not like they're discussing what to get mama Hernandez for her birthday.

The question of his brother is raised out of frustration from how team have been playing lately and how awful they look tactically.

Could be his brother is well worth his place and will prove it who knows but I dont accept can point to likes of Ancelotti son as much of an argument that its just the way it is an cant be questioned.

Genuinely have no idea what coaching badges Xavis brother has or when/where he got them but for Ancelotti son for example from early age seemed to want to get into this side of it.

No doubt with huge leg up due to who his father was. Got a sports degree, obtained UEFA coaching license, started under father as fitness coach presumably until proven could take on more etc and at Real now having worked at PSG, Bayern, Everton and Real.

The other issue is Ancelotti is experienced, knows coaching at this level, has his own ideas and doesnt need what most novice coaches at first job in europe would need or look for.

Xavi is starting to come across in same way club has for years. Insular, wont accept the basic ideas of what other top clubs have and think they are unique. Having a coach who is your brother and no experience in top level can all feed into same issues.

Andresito said:

What he's done is subjective, to Xavi it may be a lot, to us not very impressive. I don't think this is a case of charity.

Oscar isn't sitting on his arse for the full 90 minutes, he's actually involved in the discussions with Xavi, which shows that he at least has some sort of quality that Xavi appreciates. Not like they're discussing what to get mama Hernandez for her birthday.

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Strange point to make when I said he is indeed having input tactically and that is part of question. What has he done in football to have that input?

Also said Xavi trusts him no doubt and never claimed it is charity.

Arguing points that have not been made and opposite has been said.

For me your Tito and Ancelotti points are poor and not relevant to same extent due to points given.

JamDav1982 said:

Strange point to make when I said he is indeed having input tactically and that is part of question. What has he done in football to have that input?

Also said Xavi trusts him no doubt and never claimed it is charity.

Arguing points that have not been made and opposite has been said.

For me your Tito and Ancelotti points are poor and not relevant to same extent due to points given.

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We don't know how talented he is, only Xavi does. It is a fair question to raise I'll give you that, but for me it's a non-issue at the moment. Xavi been working with him for 7+ years and they've been successful together, so there's that when it comes to experience.

If he truly is incompetent I think it's an extremely small part of the current problem. Not like Schreuder and Larsson fixed all of Koeman's issues by default.

Andresito said:

We don't know how talented he is, only Xavi does. It is a fair question to raise I'll give you that, but for me it's a non-issue at the moment. Xavi been working with him for 7+ years and they've been successful together, so there's that when it comes to experience.

If he truly is incompetent I think it's an extremely small part of the current problem. Not like Schreuder and Larsson fixed all of Koeman's issues by default.

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Thats my question. What has he done to get the role and it is important role when a first time coach at a big club? The fact we dont know answers the question really. Not much on face of it so we have to hope Xavi gets it right behind scenes.

Again... not saying top assistants solve all issues either but backroom staff are hugely important particularly for new coaches.

Barca have an assistant who cant even tell if wanted to ever get involved in football or had any experience in sport let alone top football until 40s.

We are probably going to stumble over the line. But until we've had a rest, reset, and pre-season with a squad a bit closer to how Xavi envisions it, I'll reserve judgment.

It's been a mixture of the good, the bad, and the ugly so far. A major concern is Xavi's somewhat reluctance/inability to see the current setup isn't working.

Messi983 said:

Of course. I don't think we should replace Xavi unless we'd completely bottle it and won't qualify for the CL. Then I would consider a change but in the end still stay with him imo. It's not like there are proven coaches out there waiting for Laporta's call so sticking with Xavi is not only our best option right now but probably the only one unless we want to gamble again with an unproven coach. But I'd prefer to give a chance to Xavi to finish what he started.

We all knew this rebuild will take more than a year. He's done some good things but also shown a few red flags lately. Last few games were not all that much different to the ones under Koeman at the start of the season but we have (at least on paper) better team now, especially forwards.

Hopefully he'll learn from his mistakes and getting players like Kessie and Christensen will limit minutes of Busi and Pique. I don't expect Xavi will ever fully drop his amigos but they should never play 90 minutes every three days.

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I agree. But while Xavi did show some problems lately and some results resemble Koemans's this season, we should also remember that when things were going well, we did score 4 goals against Atletico, and 4 against Real Madrid, having beaten them both with an inferior team compared to them, something Koeman never did. Man lost almost all duels against these teams if I remember right.

Makes no sense to believe Xavi was great then, and now suddenly he doesn't know what he's doing. It's way more likely that some average players played well above their potential during those months and implemented well the tactical plan, and now they're playing below it. Their normal level is somewhere between the 4-2 and 4-0 with Atletico and Real Madrid, and the current bad form. Not terrible players, but not great either. Still, a top manager should adapt to the players he has, and adjust accordingly, so obviously Xavi is to blame as well for the recent string of bad results. Even admitted it himself publicly several times.

I'd have no problems replacing Xavi with a tier A manager like a Klopp, or a Guardiola, but I'm also realistic and know there are zero chances of that happening.

serghei said:

He needs to change the dynamic of the front three and midfield as well. He's playing an outdated version of the 4-3-3 from the Van Gaal days. We look similar to Van Gaal United in approach, and far off from the dynamic and fluid 4-3-3s of Pep and Klopp.

We don't have the star players to make this system work, so we need more movement (in all registers really, speed, duration, and variation) to help out when in possession. Nothing good will happen if you let Araujo for example pass the ball without A LOT of assistance from most players around him. The same goes for other players. Individually they are nothing special, except for Pedri who at least is near that level technically. Can't hold a candle to players we had in the past like Ronnie, Messi, Deco, Henry.

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Funny enough, I always thought Xavi had a great admiration to LVG even more than Pep. The way he talked about him (when he ladt coached him when he was 23) was with huge respect and talking about how they didn't understand him but he always proved correct.
Very few coaches had such influence on so many future coaches, from Pep to Mourinho to no now Xavi.