47 responses so far ↓

• layi // Mar 18, 2008 at 0:58

  i’m starting to think you became a real barca fan after the 2006 triumph…..madrid deserve to be on top of barca becos theit players akways give their all even though they know deep down in their mind that barca are better and have more quality….even though we are stil in all 3 cups, its for certain we cant win any of the cups playin like this otherwise, football is finished

• Youssef Gazia // Mar 18, 2008 at 1:17

  I dont want it, but my heart belongs to Barca. Forever.

• Youssef Gazia // Mar 18, 2008 at 1:25

  The frustrating is that we have the exream potentain, and we cant use it.

• Nic // Mar 18, 2008 at 1:29

  Layi - please don’t start with the “real barça fan” rubbish. Nobody has to prove anything here on who is more of a fan than who.

  I do not see that complaining about my team louder than everyone else when they don’t win or play badly makes me a real fan. I remember how much people criticised Bobby Robson when he was coach here and the guy won three trophies in a year. Same happened with Van Gaal after winning the double in his first year. It is one of the saddest traits of fans of Barça. We support possibly the biggest club in the world with some fantastic players yet we prefer to always see the negative side.

  Just five or six years ago our midfield could be have been formed by Rochemback, Gabri, Gerard and Overmars. We should remember how much better we are than then.

• Varughese // Mar 18, 2008 at 2:29

  Come on Nic,
  the performance against almeria was as bad as it can get. madrid has lost there, then they weren’t over run by almeria side. just look at the way we scrambled to clear the chances each time almeria players came forward. how many time we passed properly. every team is trying to choke Barcelona for space and they are succeeding in it also. we have to admit that this is the real problem. every one say that if messi is there he will find a way through. but still the bigger teams are successfully will close Barca players down. how can you say that yesterday’s performance was not as bad as it we complain, i have a question just replace almeria with any of the big four from england and tell of what would have happened. it is not bad to accept sometimes the facts.

• Hilal // Mar 18, 2008 at 2:43

  Nic, I see your point, but to be fair this has been going on for a very long time now. I dont think we dont have a chance of winning anything this year and I dont think that is really the issue. Even if we went on to win a trophy or two the attitude of the players is all wrong and that is a fundamental problem that if not fixed now will haunt us for seasons to come. Yes we have a fantastic squad (which is why we are 2nd and not 4th), a lot better than a few years ago, but that only makes my point even more poignant! I am not critisizing our team or our manager for one or two games, we are talking about 18 months of below par performances with a few dazzles here and there, that is just not good enough! I am not saying we need to score 4 goals every game or always play amazing football, but lets see some desire and commitment from the players because at the moment that is severely lacking. Layi is right, Madrid are not as good, but they always seem to give 100% and they have a fire that we are completely lacking. If our players gave 100% and lost then i could not complain, but when they give 70% and lose and continue doing so it is just not right. Even when we have won this season I rarely remember thinking that our players gave it their all over 90 mins. We play well for a bit, score, relax and then concede….how many times has that happened this season!?! We need a new manager because clearly Rijkaard is incapable of motivating our players to play at their best.

• Nic // Mar 18, 2008 at 2:51

  Varughese - Calling a supposition a fact does not add weight to your argument. And how can you talk about accepting the facts when you begin with the sentence “the performance against almeria was as bad as it can get”.
  Drawing away to a team in the top half of the table when we are down to ten men is not as bad as it can get.
  Even with Cryuff, who some people would like to see return as coach, I remember Barça losing 5-0 at Racing Santander. Or losing at home to Lleida, or getting knocked out of the Champions League by CSKA Moscow. I could go on and on about times that were much worse in recent history.
  Yes, I agree that things will need to change in the summer but for chrissake people we are in three competitions with a chance. Get a grip

• Hilal // Mar 18, 2008 at 2:55

  Btw you are absolutely right about the defensive mid problem. We currently have a huge hole in the midfield and it is costing us dearly. Edmilson is awful and I would much rather put Iniesta there even if it limits his attacking capability. More bad news on the injuries front, I just read that Deco will be out for another 2 weeks. It has to be said that all these injuries cannot be down to simply bad luck, there are just too many and they seem neverending, one comes back another gets injured. They are mostly muscular injuries as well so it makes me think there is something wrong with the training/warming up routines.

• robert // Mar 18, 2008 at 3:03

  dont worry anyone real is not playin good neither theyll lose more games an we have a chance on winning the derby too so we stii can do it….keep the faith

• FCB - Canada // Mar 18, 2008 at 4:09

  Pretty much agree with Hilal. With regards to training I think something is lacking. If I remember correctly when Giuly (who I liked) left, he had commented saying something to the effect that his new team (AS Roma) was more demanding on physical training, rather than focusing on passing and technique all the time at Barca. He said he preferred Roma’s way.

• Varughese // Mar 18, 2008 at 4:24

  Drawing against a team which is in the top half of table may be good, was that the need of hour. almeria is a well organised side, but this Barcelona side is expected to get past them. i don’t see your point of saying that its the red card which changed the match. after the second goal we were in control of game for a brief period. we were then slowly losing control and at that point the red card came. trust me even without that red card we would have conceded the goal.

• Youssef Gazia // Mar 18, 2008 at 4:31

  :@ REAL MADRID LOST 2-0 FROM ALMERIA!! If we panic and do all this dreama when we loose from almeria, what will we do if we loose a champion league final?

• FCB - Canada // Mar 18, 2008 at 5:06

  We aren’t going to make the finals. I would say that they do put in a better performance in CL for some strange reason so there is hope there. Maybe it’s because they wanna win it for Titi (has he won a CL trophy?). Who knows…

• Merv // Mar 18, 2008 at 6:10

  I agree with the article. What other Club can say they are still in contention for three trophies? Obviously Barca aren’t playing as bad as everyone seems to think or else this wouldn’t be so.

  It’s been a long season and I think it’s showing. Not only with the players but with the fans as well. I haven’t been a Barca fan as long as most on this board I am sure. I don’t even live anywhere near Barcelona. Perhaps I’ll be crucified for even posting my opinion on this particular subject for that matter. So be it. I have to say that I certainly feel the strain of throwing my support behind such a wonderful team. The weekly or even daily ups and downs from the media, the talk of crisis and turmoil, the fans calling their team’s players clowns and worse, everyone calling for the coach’s head. That is until Barca win a game and close the deficit on Real Madrid. Then everyone changes their tune for a day or two. Or until the next game. It’s enough to make my head spin and my heart weary. Perhaps I’m a glutton for punishment as I read most online articles, blogs and newspapers relating to my favorite team and with them everyone’s opinions.

  It is easier to support a team when they are winning but it shows more character to still support that team when they are stumbling.

  Perhaps the fans should ask themselves why they support Barca? Is it a family tradition? Historic connections? Location? Bragging rights to one of the biggest Clubs in the world?

  As for myself, no one in my family watches football, I’ve only been a supporter myself for almost two years, I live far removed from any superior league, and if I were to try and brag about Barca’s accomplishments to anyone in my town I would get a dumbfounded expression for my troubles.

  I support Barca because one day I happened to come across a match on TV and because there was nothing better to watch, I sat and was amazed. I didn’t know an Eto’o from a Ronaldinho. I couldn’t even pronounce most of the player’s names. Didn’t know the rules of the game even. But I was enthralled. There was an overabundance of passion, skill, joy and also a sense fair play. It moved me, made me teary-eyed and lifted my spirit. I knew I wanted to be a part of this sport. I watched other matches and other teams only to quickly find out that not all teams are of the same quality.

  Barcelona is my team because my heart tells me so. It’s very elemental.

  The League is not decided until the final whistle blows during Barca’s last match. That’s just the way it is. Not an assumption but fact.

  As some fans say they pay the teams wages let me just say this, you will get better results from your employees by empowering them than by berating them.

  This is in no way directed at anyone and I hope I don’t come across as being insolent and over emotional girl. I just think some fans need to get back in touch with what made them a fan in the first place.

  Nic - do we know what is wrong with Rafa? I originally thought he suffered from a bruised foot. I haven’t heard anything else on his condition. Do you have any more information? And sorry for the exceedingly long post. :/

• Blaugrana // Mar 18, 2008 at 6:47

  Guys ok thanx we drew to almeria and cudn’t cut to 5points,but naw we are in a situation we must thnk abot valencia,shalke&valladolid and kip the faith jiz guys wts wrng wth you

• layi // Mar 18, 2008 at 7:51

  nic, i was barely kidding with what i said, i hav no business with when u became i barca fan. all that matters is that we are fans real barca fan rubbish, i was just meant to tell you to compare our performances of 2006 with nowadays.

  merv, you said ‘There was an overabundance of passion, skill, joy and also a sense of fair play. It moved me, made me teary-eyed and lifted my spirit’. do u still get to see all those?

• voonte // Mar 18, 2008 at 11:19

  Nic, great post and I’m glad you don’t lose your head.

  I’m quite amazed by the lack of faith and the amount of whining that’s going on here by some. Sure, the last game was not good, and this season has been really tough for barca, but with plenty of the key players injured, facing a strong team and then a red card, it’s impressive to still make a draw. Seeing comments like “barca isn’t worth winning the league” is a comment by a spoiled person, who takes barcelona for granted. They can’t always win with style. In fact, they can’t always win either. I can’t see how Real Madrid would be anymore worth winning the league, seeing how they play.

• blaugranaboy // Mar 18, 2008 at 11:28

  i think being a life time fan is very important but whatever, not everyone can be born or have real connections to the club so ill let that go. but Hilal and varughese are ABSOLUTELY correct, and i love how varughese has been adamant to reply to comments. look, all they said is totally right so im not going to repeat much of it. but here are some simple truths that demonstrates the seriousness of our problem. u comment that our team has improved since the days of all the dutchiesm, rivaldo, pep guardiola, luis enrique and that, but one thing that isnt true was in those days the players still gave their all every match and would on occassion play inspiritng football. now players of better pedigree are wasting it with a lack of effort and interest. but the main thing to think about is, how did barca play in rijkaards first 2.5 seasons???? that stuff was just unbelivable. they would score freely, 3 or 4 a game. it was the most joyful football ive ever watched, hence many converted barca fans. there is NOOOOOOO reason that cant play like that again. they still have the skill, in fact the squad has improved. still have the intelligence. same manager. so the problme is obviously hte players mental state or the manager. and another vaughese was right again about almeria. SO WHAT they beat Madrid, SO WHAT they are 8th. We are BARCA, a European powerhouse, and we NEEDED to win, it was a crucial game and they couldnt bring themselves to do so. thats the problem. look at liverpool, a team with FAR less talented players, struggling domestically, but when they NEED to win, when they needed 3 straight wins in the group this year, they ignored all the media, all the critics, the manager and boardroom drama, and got the job done. that was against large european clubs. ur telling me we shouldnt expect 3 pts against almeria?? please. but the biggest truth in all this was that the almeria game was not some one off thing. like has been said, its over 18 MONTHS!!! this form already lost us the leauge last year, which we handed to Madrid, the european super cup, out the CL with a home defeat. it’s quite likely we wont win anything year anything, maybe Copa, but any proper Spanish fan knows that means next to nothing. so can someone tell me there isnt a problem?

  the reason its been so tough the last few weeks was that the team gave us hope. they played a few games pretty well and cut the gap to 2 pts!!! and just like that, its back to 2 loses and a draw, 7 pts away. its been an emotional rollercoaster. nevertheless, ill watch every week, ill read the articles every day, but bottomline, im sick of watching my tv and being sad and frustrated with the performances.

• blaugranaboy // Mar 18, 2008 at 11:29

  sorry i meant to say in the old days they DID give 100%

• blaugranaboy // Mar 18, 2008 at 11:39

  and i just caught a bit of a logical flaw in my arugment. about still having rijkaard. im saying that he should still be able to implement the tactics that were so effective and inspiring. but being that he isnt and apparently cant, means he could be part of the problem.

• Nic // Mar 18, 2008 at 12:43

  For those who are living in the past I agree that 2004/5 and 2005/6 were two excellent seasons. If you look at the statistics,however, you will see that Barça did not score 3 or 4 goals in every game. There were still disappointing defeats and games when it seemed the team did not give 100%. (Anyone remember the 3-0 defeat at Villarreal?). I think the team was better then mainly through the extraordinary work put in by Deco who is indeed nowhere near as good now. Ronaldinho of course was giving us magic most weeks and Eto’o was…well, Eto’o, like he still is. However, they were only truly fantastic for about two months in October and November 2005, towards the end of the 2005/2006 was not one of the best periods for football played, the Champions League final was quite disappointing as far as the performance went, but hey, when you win a final you don’t complain. The semi final win over Milan was far from pretty too. At that time people complained about players like Motta, Belletti and Van Bommel who have since been sold because they weren’t good enough, I’m sure there will be a few getting the boot this summer.

  Merv - Thanks for a great post. You can write as much as you like. Marquez is suffering an “edema oseo” in his foot (I can’t find a translation). I understand it is some kind of bruise inside the bone. It is supposed to be very painful and the time of recovery can vary a lot, so I suppose we will just have to be patient.

• Hilal // Mar 18, 2008 at 12:57

  voonte, I think you misunderstand: “Barca isnt worth winning the league” is not a comment made because of a lack of style or even for losing. All teams lost, even the best of the best, that is not a problem. Sometimes you cannot play with style and flair, that is not a problem either. In fact I would prefer a team that could grind out results as well as producing the style and scoring 3 or 4 goals a game. What I cannot and will not accept is a lazy team. A team of players that seem to think they can get away with not playing at 100% ALL THE TIME. That is not acceptable and if I am spoilt for expecting players (who get a ridiculous sum of money) to give their all every time they walk on the pitch then I am spoilt.

  BlaaugranaBoy gave the perferct example with Liverpool. Personally I do not like Liverpool at all, I hate they way they play football, I think its boring. However I cannot ever fault their attitude, even on days when they lose they still give it their all and ultimately that means they will win more than they lose. Last year they beat us (without torres) when on paper we should have won. We bettered them in pretty much every single position on the pitch (except goal keeper) and yet the beat us AT HOME. That was due to a desire and passion that we were lacking and that we are still lacking. Can you imagine what we could achieve if our players, with all their skill and ability, played with the same passion, desire and commitment that Liverpool played with? We would be unstoppable, like we were two years ago when we did play with heart and desire.

  Oh and nobody said Madrid deserve it more, but we certainly do not deserve it either. If anybody deserves it this season it is Villareal. Watch how they play, full of desire and commitment!

• Speeka // Mar 18, 2008 at 12:59

  Wow you can really tell who the Novice Barca fans are on this blog.Most of you are clueless about La Liga & i aint gonna fill you in on it either.
  If you really want to cut your wrists then read about Heather Mills divorce settlement, or beter still, look at how much the “top” players are earning:

  Worlds top twenty earners! :
  Kaka (AC Milan) - £143,438 a week
  Ronaldinho (Barcelona) - £135,788 a week
  Frank Lampard (Chelsea) - £130,050 a week
  John Terry (Chelsea) - £130,050 a week
  Fernando Torres (Liverpool) - £126,255 a week
  Andriy Shevchenko (Chelsea) - £124, 313 a week
  Michael Ballack (Chelsea) - £124, 313 a week
  Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd) - £122,400 a week
  Thierry Henry (Barelona) - £122,400 a week
  Steven Gerard (Liverpool) - £122,400 a week
  Dider Drogba (Chelsea) - £117,619 a week
  Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) - £116,663 a week
  Iker Casillas (Real Madrid) - £114,570 a week
  Michael Owen (Newcastle) - £107,100 a week
  Sol Campbell (Portsmouth) - £105, 188 a week
  Raul (Real Madrid) - £102,319 a week
  Ruud van Nistlerooy (Real Madrid) - £102,319 a week
  Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd) - £96,581 a week
  Darren Bent (Tottenham) - £94,669 a week
  Carlos Tevez (Man Utd) - £93,713 a week

  Prices in pounds sterling for those of you who dont know.

• Oliver Fowler // Mar 18, 2008 at 13:20

  I have a feeling that this season is going to take a twist in Barca’s favour. The European Cup is a distinct possibility and I’ve a sneaky feeling that they are going to be the stronger in the La Liga run-in.

  It’s going to get exciting!

• Shahenshah // Mar 18, 2008 at 16:19

  I dont see how the game against Almeria was a disaster. We cut the lead by a point. Yes 1 point but its better than nothing.

  Barcelona actually defended very well against Almeria. If it werent for Puyol, Thuram and Milito, the scoreline would have been way different.

  Almeria was not a physically strong team but they made up for it using their brains. What can you say? Football is actually a game of strategy not just “kick the ball to the other side”

  They completely smothered Madrid not giving them room to breath. Against Barcelona they scored off two corners. Scoring twice like that isnt coincidence but well worked strategy. Almeria must have stayed up and practiced those corners till their eyes bled.

  Games are tragically won and lost through corners. Remember the CL final in 1999. Undeserved win.

  Even if they lacked motivation for the better part of the season, two defeats and a tie should be extra extra motivation for them to go give Valencia a hard time.

  I too was flustered, infuriated and disappointed but there is no point in supporting a team if you cant stay with them during the rough times and stop believing they can turn things around.

  Patience is key fellas. Back in motherland they say “The fruit of patience is often sweet”

  Its an uphill climb. Once we cross it the ride down is going to be worth it.

• Varughese // Mar 18, 2008 at 16:37

  Its really sad that we guys when criticize the team are being branded as some stupid guys mumbling. whatever i have said in this post is related to the last three match. i don’t have a problem with Barcelona losing or not winning, but i will rather prefer to call a spade a spade. our passing in the last game was pathetic. i don’t know why you guys can’t see it. this has been the pattern in the last some matches. that was the only fact which i was trying to emphasize in my early
  comments. and one more thing you can’t brand as a less Barcelona fan just because we criticize and point out the problems.

• Shahenshah // Mar 18, 2008 at 17:07

  Yes i know the passing was god awful and they gave the ball way too many times.

  It took Xavi ten minutes to get into the game.

  Gudjohnsen was just too lazy to run to a ball when passed to him. Thuram was pissed when gudjohnsen didnt run to his pass and let the opposition have it.

  Criticizing past performances is one thing but blatantly giving up hope is completely different.

  I am not saying any of you are bad fans, just distraught and frustrated.

  The season is not over yet. There is still some hope.

• Hilal // Mar 18, 2008 at 17:38

  Shahenshah I see where you are coming from and I have not given up hope….far from it. I still think we are capable of winning the league and possiblly the CL as well. My worry is not that we wont win anything this season, my worry is that the general attitude, the general spirit of the team is all wrong. Even if we win all 3 competitions this season would that really solve these problems. It would give the players a false sense of accomplishment. My argument is not that the season is lost but that the team needs some fundamental changes to get back to its best, whether or not we end up winning anything.

  Our squad is full of such phenomenal players that I believe we can win things playing at nowhere near our full potential and I think they believe that too. As everybody is so happy to point out we are one of the only teams still able to win 3 trophies this season and that is with a squad not playing at its best, with players not giving their all on the pitch and with a manager who has clearly run out of ideas. All i am saying is that imagine what we could achieve if we got rid of the dead weight, we got a new manager with fresh ideas who is able to motivate our team and we got that fighting spirit back! We would be unstoppable!

  My biggest worry is not that we DONT win something but that we do win something and then nothing changes next season. That to me is a lot scarier than not winning anything and actually making the changes that need to be made!

• blaugranaboy // Mar 18, 2008 at 17:53

  i gotta come back in a support u varughese. and i see all the problems you see just as clearly. the passing was terrible. and i dont see how u thought we defended well??? that was beyond me. and just because you worry and you bitch has nothing to do with not supporting your team. im still gonna watch every game and feel the emotions. commenting on your team shows your care!!! what? are u suppose to only write good things even when they are bad? if everyone jsut said it was fine, the problem would be overlook and never solved!! look the fact ,is even the camp nou faithfull have lost patience, the boixos nois have been booing the team on several occasions. they are barca till they die, they arent switching teams, just showing their emotions and stressing the truth, which is poor play. frankly, any people who think that pointing out the weaknesses in their team means your not a true supporter, id bet they are the kind that hop from team to team, wherever the grass is greener.

• Shahenshah // Mar 18, 2008 at 18:54

  I understand what you guys are saying. I am not saying any of you are horrid supporters or bandwagoners.

  Rijkaard is trying to do what he can of the incomplete squad he has at hand. Things would have been alot different if it werent for injuries in this season and last.

  Certainly, I am not overlooking any of their negatives either but we have to realize it was a game, without many of our starters, away to a smart Almeria who knew when to strike.

  The defending was quite decent, the only thing we lacked in that game was a proper midfield and attack, as a result the distribution and finishing was totally lack lustre.

  Edmilson gave the ball away more than Toure has in his lifetime

  Gudjohnsen never jumps for the ball in the air. Isnt that what people are supposed to do in the midfield? Instead he just held his hands to his head and ducked for cover.

  Xavi never really got into the game till around the 15th minute

  Both goals would have been avoided if Abidal was quick on his feet and not caught off guard.

  I am not gonna lie, I started following Barcelona in 06/07 season so I never watched them in 05/06 and perhaps thats the reason I dont share the same insight as you guys.

  Regardless, what I am trying to convey is every team has been through rough patches like these even the likes of Barcelona. What makes them the blaugrana we know is their ability to shake it off and come back strong.

  The season is not over yet and I am hoping that the team realizes what they are doing with their lives and start taking responsibility.

• Shakalero // Mar 18, 2008 at 20:00

  I’m very happy that we are still competing for 3 cups, but it looks like we are paying a high price with all those injuries.
  If I would have to bet which cup are we going to win, I would bet for Copa del Rey, but that’s not the one we wanted from the beginning of the season. That’s just an extra from the other 2. I feel that the other teams already know how to play us, and we don’t change.
  Oh well, I’m a Barca fan forever, and I will support them anyways, but I just wish that they make me happy at the end of the season.

• blaugranaboy // Mar 18, 2008 at 20:02

  alright, shaneshah, your comments make more sense now. but i think ur missing slightly that most this commentary isnt about the almeria game. the almeria game was just another perfect example of nearly 2 years of usually shameful, disappointing performances. i can see ur argument about not having a full squad, but think about it. barca put on the field 11 internationals, well known, well paid experienced players. ask football fans to name 2 players on almeria, i guarantee 95% will have no answer. that not to say that small teams deserve no respect or that they are a bad team, but lets be serious, there is no comparison. the only real people missed were messi and yaya. dinho hasnt been good, despite some effort in his games, deco has been miserable all year. he has mentally checked out, friends of mine in Barcelona say he is always out at clubs, get drunk. so really, is not having messi and yaya really a good enough excuse. but like i said, the harsh words against the performance are really just frustration that has been building for years.

• Hilal // Mar 18, 2008 at 20:26

  Sorry Shahenshah but I cannot accept your arguament that injuries are the problem. Yes we have had a lot of injuries this season, and yes they are very unfortunate, but that does not mean we can accept what we are seeing at the moment. Almeria was a tough game against a rough opponent but we still should have won with the players we had on the pitch. If this was the only draw of this nature then I would let it go, but how many draws like this have we had this season!?!?!

  If anything all these injuries have exposed Rijkaards weaknesses. He is incapable of adapting his tactics to suit the squad at his disposal. 4-3-3 is a fantastic formation IF Eto’o is playing up front and IF we have two wingers. It does not work with 3 strikers (Eto’o, Henry, Bojan), or 3 wingers(Messi, Ronaldinho, Iniesta) this has been proven OVER and OVER in the last 18 months. Why is he so incapable of trying something different when we have injuries that mean playing 4-3-3 would result in our best players being out of position. There was a month where Messi was playing up front, that is just ludicrous. Henry on the left is a waste of talent and against Athletico Madrid he decided to play Ronaldinho in the middle and Et’o out on the right (what??). Its mindboggling sometimes the positions which he plays our forwards in. He wants to try anything and everything to make 4-3-3 work in a situation where it would be better to try something else. Against Almeria we didnt have any natural wingers, we were playing 2 natural strikers and a midfielder up front (Iniesta, Eto’o, Bojan). Why not try 4-4-2 with Eto’o and Henry/Bojan up front and put Iniesta where he belongs? That way you are getting the BEST out of ALL the players instead of playing two of them out of position just to accommodate 4-3-3. On top of the fact that you would be getting the best out of the players playing 4-4-2 would leave the opposition in a complete mess. Every manager who plays Barca knows for months in advance that 4-3-3 is going to be the formation, not only that, they know how we are going to try and work the ball into the box. They can spend a lot of time preparing themselves and that is exactly what they do and the result is that we get stuck. Change it up a bit and I guarantee that the opposition will not know what is going on. Sorry to all the Rijkaard supporters out there but we need a new manager its as simple as that. EVERYTHING stems from him, the lack of motivation, the awful substitutions in games, the lack of anything surprising or new, not to mention all of the crazy tactical decisions above.

• Shahenshah // Mar 18, 2008 at 21:10

  Thats exactly why injuries are ruining Barcelona.

  If it werent for injuries Rijkaard would have not decided to pull off something crazy like putting messi and ronaldinho in the centre and then Eto’o and Ronaldinho on the right.

  He did try to change up things but they failed miserably against Altetico and especially in the first half against Villareal. There was no one on the right against Villareal because Ronaldinho preferred to stick two steps behind Eto’o

  I am sure Rijkaard had something in mind and something else happened on the field.

  Its certainly not the first time Rijkaard did something crazy like this. Last year at one point he switched to a 3-4-3. He quickly changed it back though after the defence couldnt handle the pressure.

  I dont know if Rijkaard will go through a formation overhaul. He is dutch and 4-3-3 is usually in their footballing pedigree.

• kuga // Mar 18, 2008 at 21:11

  i agree with hilal… everybody knows how barca plays….thats y its easy to stop barca from scoring…
  i admire the way of barca’s free flow pass…but sometimes…they hold the ball too long ..and end up loosing an opportunity..
  look at arsenals free flow pass…
  the pass the ball so quickly..even b4 the defend got a chance to mark his man….

• layi // Mar 18, 2008 at 22:30

  we criticize cos we don’t want another short era…everybody can remember how it was before rijkaard, nobody wants to go back to that stage thats why i will like the attitude/mentality problem to stop now. football is so competitive theses days, we can afford to be lazy, like hilal snd co said, its not only the almeria game, its been like that for the last 18 months

  even if i wont blame rijkaard for his tactics which is a personal thing for different people, i think he must get the right mentality to this players about givin their all in every match. just imagine what we can achieve

• layi // Mar 18, 2008 at 22:32

  xavi said after the match that they watched almeria’s tapes b4 the match and they saw that most of thier goals came from set-pices, upon all they scored 2 goals against us from set-pieces…what do you think that means?

• Shahenshah // Mar 18, 2008 at 22:48

  damn serious? wow

• Jordi-FCB // Mar 19, 2008 at 0:58

  layi being a real fan of Barca at this time is nothing we are second in the league, in the champions league quater-finals and the Copa Del Rei semi-finals. If you were a fan back in the early 2000’s then you will realise this standered is pretty good considering Barca’s recent years. I admit I’m very angry but I’m still trying to be optimistic, I just think that supporters have become to used with the continuouis victories in style lets face it since the 2003-04 season untill 2006-07 our football was brilliant! Best in the World!

  JO SOC BARCELONISTA FINS L’MORT!

• layi // Mar 19, 2008 at 1:03

  i dont understand what u are trying to say, jordi

• Varughese // Mar 19, 2008 at 1:23

  OK there are some major points. i do agree to a huge extent that injuries to our players are one big problem. but now that’s something you can’t change. they have to deal with it. i have no problem to digest the fact that almeria beat us. but for me the fact which bothers we looked like a completely disorganised side there. as far as being optimistic, i am still very optimistic - that’s the precise reason why every time i get up early morning 1.30 just to catch Barca live. i am really frustrated but still will not miss a single match because i hope them to give 100 percent next time.

• Hilal // Mar 19, 2008 at 2:03

  Yes Shahenshah and that is my point exactly. Rijkaard is a good manager when he has his full squad available, but throw in a few injuries and he does not know how to react (same thing happened last season). A great manager knows how to adapt his game when he is faced with serious injuries. When we are at full strength then let him play 4-3-3, it works when all our players are fit and on form. When it does not work, because we have so many injuries, he needs to try something different. Injuries are a part of football so a manager who cannot adapt his tactics to cope with those injuries is destined to fail. Saying that the season is a failure because of injuries is not a valid excuse because a good enough manager would still cope, especially when he has some of the players Rijkaard has at his disposal. Even with all injuries we can still field an exceptional team, they are just not suited to a 4-3-3.

  Another reason why 4-3-3 worked so well two years ago is that we had Guily who was a REAL winger, we dont have that anymore. I remember whenever we would run out of ideas Rijkaard would just put on Guily and he would make run after run down that right and fly the ball into the box. Messi is more like Ronnie, he likes to cut in and shoot, which is great, but we could use another option.

• blaugranafan // Mar 19, 2008 at 2:41

  May I suggest that we be careful when throwing around accusations of who is a real fan and who isn’t… I was in London watching Barca during a CL game last year when a Catalan at the pub told me I wasn’t a ‘real fan.’ I didn’t appreciate that, and it didn’t reflect well on him or the club. In fact, he was ultimately a jack*ss since I could name the whole roster and some B team players, and he didn’t really follow the club. He just lived in Barcelona and followed the team peripherally, which somehow made him a more ‘real’ fan in his eyes.

  We all want the best for Barca, but there are many different, but equally justifiable, perceptions on the club’s performance, what direction the club should go in, etc. For me, it’s very reasonable to expect the best club on paper to outperform other clubs, and while we should support the team (and I am convinced that all of us do support the team, in our own way), we should not diminish our expectations.

• Morzzan // Mar 19, 2008 at 3:52

  Whats the big deal? We drew, so? Atleast we didnt lose!!! Almeria played some smart football, we didnt thats all.

• Rafael // Mar 19, 2008 at 8:06

  I still love Barca no matter what!

  The team just needs to have focus within the club and believe in eachother. All the media is just turning team mates onto eachother!!’

  I think Barcelona will win the CL but not too sure about La Liga.

• John // Mar 19, 2008 at 17:33

  Nic,

  Has any 0f this come out in the press in spain…

  http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11827_3316412,00.html

  Are the press in spain saying the same things?

• Nic // Mar 19, 2008 at 18:32

  John - There is nothing in the Spanish press. The rumours about Ronaldinho however are constant, I’ve learned to ignore them as they are never proven. The quote about Robinho from Graham Hunter shows pretty poor journalism as the Robinho party incident happened this season when Schuster, not Capello, was in charge. It was before they lost to Espanyol in October. The most important thing to remember is that Skysports talk a lot of rubbish, it was them that started the ridiculous story last year that Barça were going to swap Eto’o for Henry AND pay seventeen million pounds to Arsenal. I’d ignore it.

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