Next Wednesday Barça face an important Champions League game with Rangers, but due to the demands of TV companies and lack of support from the Spanish Football Federation their preparation will be less than ideal.

First they were asked to play at Valladolid at 10pm on a Thursday evening, this being a few days after the clocks went back meant that it would seem like kicking off at 11pm and finishing the game just before 1am. This is no excuse for not winning as it was the same for the Valladolid players, but it is not an ideal situation with two games in the following six days.

Having played on Thursday Barça are forced to play their weekend fixture with Betis on Sunday. Spain’s other Champions League teams, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia all get to play on Saturday. Opponents Rangers also play on Saturday and will have 28 hours more time than Barça to recover and prepare for the game at Camp Nou.

This may just sound like a big moan, I don’t agree with the “everyone is out to get us” attitude of some Barça fans, and I admit I’m not in the best mood after yesterday’s poor performance. Whatever the case, I find it difficult to understand how the Spanish Football Federation doesn’t do more to help its clubs in Europe.