Barça begins the Quique Setién era.

Well, it finally happened. FC Barcelona fired Ernesto Valverde on Monday and brough in Quique Setién as the club’s newest manager. Things had to change and Barça finally decided to become proactive by being reactive and firing Valverde following their loss to Atletico Madrid in the revamped Spanish Super Cup. Valverde’s era was bittersweet with some success but the disappointments will haunt him forever. Quique Setién now is the man to lead the charge and it won’t be easy.

We really were spoilt under the presidency of Joan Laporta. During his reign, the Blaugrana only had two managers, Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola. Since then, the Blaugrana have had five different managers. Elections are not that far away so we shall see if Quique Setién will still be the manager by then. For the time being, he has a tough task of rejuvenating a team that has slept walk this season.

Time will tell if Quique Setién was the right hire or not. Valverde came highly rated by many and in the end, many were glad to see him leave. He is already facing one difficult task of finding out what is the best formation and lineup for this team. The absence of Luis Suárez, out with an injury, and Carles Aleñá, out on loan, leaves him somewhat shorthanded. The first area of concern is whether the board will support Quique Setién or work against him. Will they bring him the players he wants or will they sign players they want without his input or approval?

With Suárez out, it’s time for Griezmann to shine but will others also step up? The team has regressed defensively and Setién will not only have to address that issue, but also improve their mental confidence which has become an issue when things don’t go their way. Hopefully Setién will also entrust La Masia and give more minutes to Barça B players such as Riqui Puig with the first team. It’s foolish to expect a quick turn around under Setién but it does feel good to feel optimistic about Barca again.

Barça, Just OK is Not OK!

FC Barcelona are in first place in both the Spanish League and in their Champions League group. Even though they look good in the standings, their performance hasn’t been good at all. Barça still have issues to resolve and hopefully they can get it together after the international break or else we risk witnessing another disappointing season.

Even though the results do not show it, Barça keep regressing under Ernesto Valverde. The defense keeps leaking goals and the offense looks predictable, which is extremely reliant on Messi. The Blaugrana resemble a car in dire need of a tune-up as they struggle to fire on all cylinders. New signing Griezmann is struggling to click with the team, especially with Messi.

The bigger concern is whether Valverde can actually get the team to play better. Not one player has improved under his helm, so how can we expect him to improve the team. The blame doesn’t fall entirely on him seeing as the players also bear a brunt of the blame. Perhaps Pique needs to cutback on his non-football activities and focus on playing football and rest. Also, it would be nice to figure out why so many Barça players are coming down with muscle injuries.

It’s still early into the season, but Barça being just OK is not OK. Things have to change or else they will be heading towards another disappointing finish. The Blaugrana have been fortunate that Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid have also stumbled early on into the season but eventually one of them will get hot and if Barça don’t get their act together, they may have more concerns than just coming up short in Europe.

Time to fire Valverde now.

Barça’s once promising season went from treble dreams to a bitter nightmare end following their disappointing and gut-wrenching losses to Liverpool and Valencia in both Champions League and Copa del Rey. Blowing a three-goal lead in the Champions League in back to back seasons and then coming up flat against Valencia in the Copa del Rey can only mean one thing; it’s time for Valverde to go.

Valverde may be a good person but his time as Barça’s manager needs to end. Barça have been embarrassed twice in the Champions League under him by blowing back to back 3 goal aggregate leads. He was spared last season thanks to a domestic double where Barça only lost once in the league. However, this season turned out worse than last season.

Unfortunately, the club seems happy to keep Valverde around. After the 2-1 Copa del Rey Final loss to Valencia on Saturday, FC Barcelona’s president Josep Bartomeu defended Valverde and indicated that Valverde’s job was safe. “Valverde: He has a contract, he's the coach. This defeat is not the manager's fault. We had a lot of chances but the ball wouldn't go in. Sometimes you have all the shots, but what counts is scoring goals,” said Bartomeu.



Valverde has to be fired and hope the club can hire someone who for once will not waste Messi’s talents. His coaching is uninspiring and the fact is that he keeps getting outcoached in big games and Messi’s brilliance has saved him from further humiliation thus far. There is no defense in bringing Valverde back next season. He has shown that he is not a visionary with an inspiring project. Furthermore, he has not shown any confidence in our La Masia homegrown talent and has not shown he is true to the club’s DNA with his formations and strategy.


Valverde is the second highest paid manager in Europe and has not justified earning €23 million a year. He has shown he’s not up to the task nor is willing to improve. The club made a mistake in hiring him and need to rectify this mistake by hiring him now.