Xavi Hernández

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Messi983

Senior Member
Barca fans are smarter. They know what Pep did can't be repeated. It's a stellar dream-team nobody can even assemble because most of the players were part of a golden internal generation.

They just want the team to play better. That's all. It's doable because we play like shit. Xavi will come after serial CL humiliations, losing campaigns with 0 big titles in 3 years, if it's the pressure he's worried about I think fans will be patient. They got used to playing like shit already.

He can't play worse than just have a few CBs and a disaster CF trying to play Moyes-ball vs Granada.

Sorry to say this as I think you're one of the better posters here (although I don't always agree with your opinions but that's ok) but you sound a bit naive here and Xavi knows this fan base and what would be demanded from him from day 1 better than any of us.

He alone wouldn't be happy just by making us play a better football (which I agree he could do) if he couldn't back that up with winning important trophies as well. You can play as esthetically pleasing as you like if you're a coach you won't survive more than one trophyless season here.
 

Rassvet

Well-known member
And in doing so he would be completely correct!

Why you disrespecting Busi like that by implying the team should only be built around him until then? You think he will suddenly lose his footballing brain once he turns 40? Don’t make me laugh

He doesn’t rely on pace or athleticism, so I don’t see why he can’t be the fulcrum of our team until his mid 50s,
 

Bobo32

Senior Member
Why you disrespecting Busi like that by implying the team should only be built around him until then? You think he will suddenly lose his footballing brain once he turns 40? Don’t make me laugh

He doesn’t rely on pace or athleticism, so I don’t see why he can’t be the fulcrum of our team until his mid 50s,

Let's wait 7 years and make new assessments then - much can happen!
So far, he is much superior to either Frenkie or Nico, or other alternatives I can think of.
 

Bobo32

Senior Member
Someone said in some thread, maybe this, the other day, that Xavi is too passive and doesn't want the team to shoot and it doesn't work anymore as "football has progressed", I thought of that video then...
Xavi is intelligent and can see when things work or doesn't work.
It is very easy to see that he gets his team to work very well, just in these short videos of sequences: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LTKFBZC8mc
 

Porque

Senior Member
Can anyone tell me what would be the difference between sacking Koeman now and sacking him in the summer?

The difference is 5 official games.

Is it a case that we can actually afford to do it now?

Or are we just deflecting from the issues at hand again and in the end Koeman will stay, because we can't afford to both sack him and pay for a viable replacement.

Groundhog day.
 

Bobo32

Senior Member
Can anyone tell me what would be the difference between sacking Koeman now and sacking him in the summer?

The difference is 5 official games.

Is it a case that we can actually afford to do it now?

Or are we just deflecting from the issues at hand again and in the end Koeman will stay, because we can't afford to both sack him and pay for a viable replacement.

Groundhog day.

Yeah I don't know, I thought Laporta wanted even more support for the decision, as Koeman strangely had and even still has some support among sectors of fans.
Maybe he has some info about some coach being available after a certain date?
Maybe he wants to wait Koeman out, counting on him to resign?
I doubt the money could be the problem? They are talking about spending pretty big already in winter...
 

serghei

Senior Member
If that is what you see Barca, you have a rather weird perspective. Barca isn't a place where coaches come and experiment for years pressure-free. Xavi can come and test his ideas but must deliver at the same time. Otherwise, folks will turn on him and if not him (because he's a legend yada yada) on the board. Expectations are lower, nobody expects us to win the CL, but the new coach will be expected to compete for the league after our first normal window.

So, this pressure-free Barca where local kids play, flowers blossom and we all listen to California dreamin' doesn't really exist. Also, we'd have to be dumb to trust a stubborn manager with huge ego with a few years' time to do his magic. Since we don't know if he's got any.

The first normal window will come 2 years from now. Next summer we won't do shit on the transfer window. To ask him to win titles, you have to give him players. The only thing you can ask of Xavi currently, and Koeman, and whoever might be the manager, is for the team to show a progression arch. And to play good football against inferior sides to us, consistently. And we build from that, but it will be a slow progression without the needed boost of some top transfers. If we will struggle to beat Granada and such, Xavi for sure will get heat from fans and board alike. But otherwise, no, I don't think he will, and he shouldn't. There's no magic formula here.

We have to be realistic here.

Sorry to say this as I think you're one of the better posters here (although I don't always agree with your opinions but that's ok) but you sound a bit naive here and Xavi knows this fan base and what would be demanded from him from day 1 better than any of us.

He alone wouldn't be happy just by making us play a better football (which I agree he could do) if he couldn't back that up with winning important trophies as well. You can play as esthetically pleasing as you like if you're a coach you won't survive more than one trophyless season here.

You can't win important trophies with a raw squad that you can only fill with free transfers or players nobody else wants. It will take years for us to be able to sign 2-3 class players to complete the team. Until then, he will have to do with what he has, and we will have to lower our expectations, which we already did to a great extent.

The fanbase is delusional if they don't realize that the club can't burn stages by spending big. There's no money. It will take years for us to challenge again. In these years, patience will be key. If we keep changing managers every season we'll do jack shit.
 
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serghei

Senior Member
Because it was La Masia players, which is against being smarter.
barca fans are some of the most arrogant and delusional fans, and for sure the most purists among top clubs.
Sure, they won't rush Xavi but that will be for what? couple of months? a year? And then they will turn against him as usual.

There is no 2-3 years of patience, very few Barca coaches even finish 3rd years and in most cases it is those who wins CL or win few Liga titles early on.

Normally, yea, but tbh, a club in economical turmoil that basically has to beg players to reduce their wages to register some free signings is not really operating on normal scenario. When you have exceptionally bad stuff going on, you need to trim down on those fair-weather expectations.

I'm all for signing some top players and challenging for the title. But without those transfers, it's not possible, certainly not in the near future (2 years). I've seen Madrid recently, they are seriously on the up, and bar some meltdown they will win this league by 8+ points advantage. If they get Mbappe on a free, they will still have money to spend (we better pray they don't get Haaland too). And a top manager, and signed a class player in Camavinga.
 
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khaled_a_d

Senior Member
Normally, yea, but tbh, a club in economical turmoil that basically has to beg players to reduce their wages to register some free signings is not really operating on normal scenario. When you have exceptionally bad stuff going on, you need to trim down on those fair-weather expectations.

I'm all for signing some top players and challenging for the title. But without those transfers, it's not possible, certainly not in the near future (2 years). I've seen Madrid recently, they are seriously on the up, and bar some meltdown they will win this league by 8+ points advantage. If they get Mbappe on a free, they will still have money to spend (we better pray they don't get Haaland too). And a top manager, and signed a class player in Camavinga.

I don't disagree with any of this tbh, I just disagree that the fans will see it this way.
There will be sooner or later talks about why we turned down CVC, why we don't sell assets etc in order to fund transfers.
One thing Messigian once said about that deal that caught my eyes (during his rant after Messi departure) : why should I care about 50 years deal, I want to see the team wins and I want it now.
This is one thing I think many football fans agree with even if they don't say out loud, football is entertainment and clubs aren't some sort of a nation where fans will accept making sacrifices for sake of future generation.
Laporta, for all his shortcomings, aren't like that; he is the one who made presidents only able to have 2 terms iirc, and now he is going to make a vote to decrease term to 5 years, which in both cases was against his own interest. Same with rejecting CVC deal.
But at the end, he needs stability in order to fix things, because right now he is in the same situation as of Koeman, and will have to bring at least a Liga title in order to stabilize things for the board and the club.
If he brings Xavi in and he doesn't deliver in his 2nd year, Laporta himself might not survive which will do the same for Xavi.
 

vegitot

Senior Member
Khaled is right. People vote for Laporta also expect he will bring success like he did in his first term. No way Laporta will give Xavi 2-3 seasons without winning anything big like Liga or UCL. Imagine 2-3 more years of Madrid laughing at you.
 

jairzinho

Senior Member
The first normal window will come 2 years from now. Next summer we won't do shit on the transfer window. To ask him to win titles, you have to give him players. The only thing you can ask of Xavi currently, and Koeman, and whoever might be the manager, is for the team to show a progression arch. And to play good football against inferior sides to us, consistently. And we build from that, but it will be a slow progression without the needed boost of some top transfers. If we will struggle to beat Granada and such, Xavi for sure will get heat from fans and board alike. But otherwise, no, I don't think he will, and he shouldn't. There's no magic formula here.

You can't expect titles and a progression arch without adding quality players, regardless of who that manager might be. It's unrealistic. Especially if the best attackers are injured. If Xavi is going to work, you need to at least give the guy something to work with and also set realistic targets, based on the quality of the squad and the availability of players.
 
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