Barça Needs To Clean House.

Barça’s disappointing culmination on what seemed to be a promising season is coming to a bitter end. The hopes of capturing the league crown remain miraculous at best since it is no longer in their hands. With the FIFA transfer ban on hiatus now, the club can make new signings. If the club’s proclamation that new players will be bought is true, then it’s time they clean house; from top to bottom.

This season has been a roller coaster for Barça fans with lots of highs and lows. It was also nostalgic to the 2003-2004 and the 2006-2007 seasons to which I alluded to earlier in the season. 2003-2004 saw two new managers, Frank Rijkaard and Carlos Queiroz, take charge at Barça and Madrid, while 2006-2007 was a nightmare of a season for the Blaugrana where they saw their lead atop of the standings disappear down the stretch and finish runners-up.

I gave Tata Martino the benefit of the doubt earlier in the season but that sailed away following his questionable decisions that saw this team squander their five point lead atop of the standings and kiss good bye to any chance of silverware the past few weeks. Clearly, this hiring has back fired and is yet another black eye for Sandro Rosell who made the decision to hire Tata in the first place. To be fair to Tata, he did request new players which were never provided, much like what Carlos Queiroz endured back in 2003-2004. They both squandered big leads atop of the standings down the stretch, lost in the Copa del Rey Final and exited the Champions League prematurely. Now, Tata falls on the sword that was set in place by this board. In order to go forward, we still need someone new to manage these players and someone who has ties to the club.

Speaking of players, I have been always of the opinion that this team needed to be gutted for a long time. This team could easily see over ten players leave in the summer. Puyol already indicated his career as a Barça player was over and Valdés had his bags packed since last season before he suffered his injury. Injured players such as Jonathan Dos Santos, Afellay, and Cuenca are also surplus to requirements. It’s also time for the club to look into cashing in on Tello, Alex Song, Mascherano and Alexis. Tello hardly plays and if Deulofeu returns from his loan spell at Everton; then he should be getting those minutes instead. As for Alex Song, it was doomed from the start and if Napoli want him, and Mascherano, then cash in on them. Mascherano has played his heart out for the club but is not a defender and will hardly feature as Busquets’s substitute. There’s already talk of Alexis joining Juventus and after three years, it’s time to cut our losses and realize he has the energy of Eto’o but is not a factor against defensive minded teams. There are some fans who are also considering selling Cesc and I can’t blame them after he managed to pull off his disappearing act in the second half of a season for three straight years now. As for Dani Alves, he no longer is the player he once was and his mouth seems to be turning off the fans more than his endless crosses to no one and that could be his final season as a Barça player.

 Thus, that’s eleven players who might not be a part of this team next season. However, before we discuss which players come in to reshape this team, we need to discuss the resignation of this board first. Current Barça president Bartomeu and his board need to resign after sitting on their thumbs and not reinforcing this squad when it was obvious last season. Zubizarreta has done an abysmal job when it comes to signing players and by all means should not be entrusted in future transfers. No, if a revolution is needed, then it needs to start from the top with the board stepping down and allowing someone competent to come in and hire a new manager and have a competent sporting director who knows how to scout and sign players to strengthen this team again. Unless that happens, this team will not progress and just continue to frustrate the Blaugrana faithful and squander the talents of Iniesta and Messi.

Should Barça Seek Reinforcements This Transfer Window?

 Barça’s recent struggles against defensive minded teams have reignited concerns about this team’s ability to compete for titles down the stretch. The areas of concern range from not having adequate depth in case of injuries along with the lack of having a Plan B for teams that park the bus. With Champions League clashes against Manchester City on the horizon, perhaps Barça need to look into getting some players through transfers or on loan during this winter transfer period.

Barça‘s scoreless draw against Atlético Madrid and their recent 1-1 draw to Levante saw them drop points against teams willing to sit back and relinquish possession. Sadly, all that possession didn’t result in numerous scoring chances. This has been a common trend that the Blaugrana have encountered over the years without much success.

These matches are even more difficult when key players are missing. Barça were without Dani Alves, Iniesta and Neymar against Levante while Messi and Neymar came off the bench in the second half against Atlético. It is tough to fathom how this team can cope with more injuries and then expect the likes of Tello and Sergi Roberto to be considered adequate replacements. They are not and that’s clearly a drop in quality.

These matches also displayed the team’s lack of a Plan B when they face teams content to sit back and absorb the pressure. Barça control possession without creating many scoring chances and the opponents try to catch Barça off guard and score on a counter attack. The fact that Barça have also conceded six goals from corner kicks also indicates that they have another area of weakness that needs to be resolved.

So perhaps the club needs to address both issues and look into making some moves during this winter transfer period. I grew up watching the club with forwards who were aerial threats such as Julio Salinas and Patrick Kluivert so perhaps they should make a move for someone like Miroslav Klose or Christian Benteke who could make Tata Martino’s tinkering with the long balls more effective. Their presence would attract the attention of defenders who could clear up space for other players much like Fernando Llorente did for Spain against Portugal in their World Cup clash. 

Furthermore, the club needs to add a center back to ensure they have adequate defending down the stretch. Mascherano is no center back and with Puyol still not fully fit, or dependable for that matter, the team is left with only Pique and Bartra as their only valid options. If one of them goes down with an injury, then the team is in a world of hurt. The team might also want to look into signing an actual winger to provide crosses seeing as Tello, Pedro and Alexis are not wingers either. Then again, Afellay is back from injury and he would fit in quite nicely under Tata’s style.

I did not expect the club to make a push for Mata but that would have been interesting to see him come in and share time with one of the midfielders over Sergi Roberto. Winter transfer period is not historically a time Barça signs players but perhaps they can catch lightning in a bottle again like they did when they added Edgar Davids during the 2003-2004 season. Ultimately, Barça cannot keep relying on the same old strategy without changing some ingredients along with bringing in some new faces or else they are going to make their second half of the season more interesting than it should be.

In Tito We Trust?

Tito Vilanova’s first year as manager saw him recapture the league title from Real Madrid. Finishing with 100 points and 15 points ahead of Real Madrid were a historic first for the club. Nevertheless, there are issues swirling over the club regarding Tito Vilanova and if he is the right managerial choice? Issues range from not resting his players, ignoring the bench and the younger players and his overall health? Thu, is Tito still the man to lead this club?

Without a doubt, Tito is going to be managing FC Barcelona next season. His first year was successful what with the club recapturing the league crown from arch rivals Real Madrid in historic fashion. The 100 point milestone and finishing 15 points ahead second place Real Madrid was one for the ages. Yet, the season ended on a sour note following Barça’s elimination by Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey Semi-Finals and getting hammered by Bayern Munich 7-0 aggregate in UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals. Doubts remain about whether he is the right manager to lead the club due to issues regarding his tactics, lineup selections, health, transfer plans and his handling of Barça B players have warranted plenty of second guessing.

The most important issue is his health. Tito’s first year put his health back in the spotlight when he had to seek medical treatment in New York. Fortunately, he was able to return and finish the season as FC Barcelona’s manager.  However, there will be lingering doubts of whether Tito’s health will suffer a setback just as it did last season. The club perhaps addressed that when they signed Girona’s manager, Rubi, to be one of Tito’s assistants for next season. The train of thought is that Rubi would step in, instead of Jordi Roura, if Tito would have to take another medical leave of absence. However, will that be a step in the right direction if we witness the club struggling again while Tito is in New York?

The other issue is Tito’s style of coaching. The transition from Pep Guardiola to Tito Vilanova saw the team change their style a bit and be a bit more direct. Their defending though regressed as they leaked plenty soft goals far too often.  Yes, they did end up winning the league title and made it to the semi-finals of both Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League.

Yet, questions still linger about his coaching. Tito stepping into the shoes of Pep Guardiola reminded me a lot of Barry Switzer taking over of the NFL Dallas Cowboys from Jimmy Johnson. Jimmy Johnson had taken his team, from being an irrelevant team, to two consecutive titles before leaving on bad terms with the team owner Jerry Jones. Barry Switzer came in and won the title in his second year. However, Switzer’s accomplishment was downplayed because of the talented players he inherited from Johnson. The same argument could be made for Vilanova.

Barça’s great start to their league campaign was simply one for the ages. Barça managed to record 55 points out of a possible 57 from their first 19 league matches. Tito received a lot of the acclaim for that feat but the players also played a significant role in that achievement. Graham Hunter indicated that Barça players were still upset at how they lost the league to Mourinho’s Real Madrid and during the preseason, they “made an informal pact” to seek revenge on all those clubs that they dropped points to away during that 2011-2012 season. So was it the Tito factor or Barça players hell-bent on revenge factor?

Furthermore, one of the main criticisms of Tito’s coaching was his lack of plan B. Many times, we saw Tito stick with the same plan and just switch players. That was evident while he was away in New York and after he returned to the dugout.  Many thought that Roura was not up to the task of coaching this talented bunch of players but Tito’s coaching after his return just made it seem obvious that Tito was the one calling the shots at all times. However, his management was met with many second guessing.

For far too long, the Blaugrana faithful have witnessed their team struggle in the second half of the season. Players were fatigued and on the brink of exhaustion brought on from appearing in too many matches. The lack of players’ rotation and resting of key players were on display when Bayern Munich destroyed Barça in both legs of their UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals.  To many, that could have been avoided just by Tito rotating his squad more often, especially after the title had been somewhat secured halfway through the season once Barça enjoyed a 12 point lead over Real Madrid.

Moreover, Tito’s treatment of the Barça B players and his bench bordered on the line of stubbornness or neglectful. There was no reason that Messi should have featured in insignificant matches such as the final group stage match against Benfica were he suffered an injury scare or playing him so soon after returning from international duty. Why didn’t the likes of Bartra, Montoya, and Tello play more often? Tello did not feature against Bayern Munich and wasn’t even on the bench for the 1st leg, played only 10 minutes against PSG and a total of 35 minutes in the Cup and league Clásico encounters that fell on the same week back in late February/early March.

Another negative lasting impact from that Bayern Munich drubbing was Vilanova waiting till the 83rd minute before he made his first substitution when Barça were down 4-0. Was that a testament to his lack of faith in his bench, and if so, will that change next season? Why did he not make his changes sooner and keep the score at a respectable level rather than trust his men and watch them surrender two more goals?  Additionally, why did he not play the younger players in the second leg that had the energy to perhaps rise to the occasion? Tito did not give the start to Tello, Montoya and Thiago and instead opted to go with the likes of Xavi who had already thrown in the towel after the first leg when he admitted that a comeback was “practically impossible”.

Speaking of Thiago, Barça are now about to lose him to Manchester United because his buy-out clause went from €90 million to €18 million because of a contract clause was not triggered after he failed to complete 60% of Barça’s games. Thiago was not too pleased with the lack of playing time from Tito, and the club now faces the possibility of losing a prized gem for a low amount because someone did not read the fine print. Thiago is not alone with the likes of Tello, Bartra, and diamond in the rough Gerard Deulofeu also rumored to be going on loan to other teams.

Finally, the other issue of concern is Tito’s taste for players during the transfer window period. Barça’s need for a center back was obvious last summer and yet the club signed Alex Song. The project to see the defensive midfielder perform as a center back was a failure and with Puyol’s health and career in doubt, along with the club not bringing back Abidal, center back position has to be addressed. Word has it that Tito only wants Thiago Silva and is not considering any other player. If true, then his fixation with the Brazilian center back is a big cause of alarm when you take into consideration the player’s age, price tag and history of injuries.  You would expect a manager to be open-minded and look at the big picture.

Next season will be very interesting indeed. The tide has shifted this summer since Barça’s opponents have improved with the likes of Bayern Munich hiring Guardiola, Manchester City hiring Manuel Pellegrini, Chelsea has Mourinho back, and Real Madrid hiring Carlo Ancelotti. The competition has improved and Barça, along with their fans, will discover whether they have the right man to lead them.  Thu, is Tito still the man to lead this club? Hopefully Tito learned from his first season in charge.  If not, then Barça face the risk of playing catch up by searching for a new manager and wasting away the talents of Messi and company.

In La Masia We Trust?

For years, many praised FC Barcelona’s youth academy as the back bone behind their success. The club has always made a point of having players from the youth setup be a part of the first team. Us fans have always pointed to the likes of Puyol, Xavi, Valdés, Iniesta, Messi, Pedro and Busquets as players who came through the La Masia ranks to become starters and key players in many triumphs. However, it seems that the talk of La Masia being significant is becoming more of folklore and a great marketing gimmick than actual fact. Worst of all, it seems that La Masia is becoming more and more irrelevant for Barça.

Barça fans, myself included, always relished mocking Real Madrid and their lack of belief in their youth setup. They had plenty of talented players in their academy but would end up selling them to other teams and not using them i.e., Soldado, Borja Valero, Negredo, and Mata just to name a few. Ultimately, Real Madrid have been financing their youth setup by selling their young talent and not profiting from these players on the pitch instead.

Back in November, history was made when Barça had an entire team on the pitch who came through the youth academy. For years, many praised FC Barcelona’s youth academy as the back bone behind their success. The club has always made a point of having players from the youth setup be a part of the first team with the likes of Puyol, Xavi, Valdés, Iniesta, Messi, Pedro and Busquets as players who came through the La Masia ranks to become starters and key players in many triumphs. Nevertheless, Barça seems to be following in their footsteps in terms of neglecting their youth. They may not be cashing in on them, as their arch rivals would, thanks to the loans deals with buy back clauses as was the case recently with Botia and Romeu. There was no strong likelihood that Barça ever planned to buy back Botia when he was on loan with Sevilla and now plies his craft for Sevilla while Romeu is still with Chelsea and he indicated he was in no hurry to return to Barça.

Back in February, I complained about how Barça was treating its youth players by promising them promotion to the first team without providing them adequate playing time. I argued that this was not helping them mature as players, but instead regress. Well, it looks like the powers that be at Barça realized the error of their ways and will implement another strategy. Thus, players such as Gerard Deulofeu, Montoya, Bartra and even Tello might be loaned out to other clubs to gain experience if rumors are to be believed. It sure beats sitting on the bench or in the stands.

On the other hand, this might not be a long-term problem. La Masia is being horribly mismanaged by the current regime. Under the supervision of Amor and the coaching of Eusebio, the quality of Barça B has regressed. Barça B finished their league campaign in the second division in 9th place; one place behind Real Madrid B. They managed to win 15 games out of 42 matches with only 4 victories in the final 19 matches. Tito hardly called up players from the B team to play with the first team so Eusebio had a full team to coach all season long.

Eusebio’s coaching of Barça B has been met with wide criticism. The criticism stems from not having the team play the right way; not getting the best out of his players; and not even using the players he is presented with. The club signed Edgar Ié and Agostinho Cá from Sporting Lisbon yet Edgar only began to feature recently after being medically cleared back in the fall while no one can really recall how many times Agostinho Cá has played. The fact that Eusebio was given another year extension just indicates that the club is completely out of touch with the youth setup or just don’t care.

10 players are rumored to be leaving the B team next season, including starlet Muniesa who was once considered a future defender on the first team. Then again, only Bartra and Montoya seemed to be the only graduates since Oleguer to be promoted and remain with the first team as defenders. On the other hand, those two might not be with the team next season. It does beg the question as to why haven’t Barça developed defenders, especially center-backs, from the youth setup.

Tito is not blameless in this matter either. His predecessor, Guardiola, always made it a habit of calling up Barça B players to train with the first team and also make an appearance with the first team. In his four seasons with the club, Guardiola called up youth players for the final league games once the league had been decided. During the treble season, Botia, Abraham, and Xavi Torres appeared in the final league match. Two years later, Romeu, Bartra, Fontas, and Jonathan Dos Santos got the same opportunity and at the end of last season, Pep had to rely on B players such as Cuenca and Tello because of injuries to others, and Bartra and Montoya also got to feature a bit. The only exception was the 2009-2010 season, where the league was won on the final match day.

Yet, Tito opted to stick with his regulars even though the league had been decided back in the spring, and some would say since December. With the league safely assured, where were the minutes for Gerard Deulofeu, Sergi Roberto, Rafinha, Ilie, and Dongou? Better yet, where were the minutes for Tello, Thiago, Montoya and Bartra but that’s another discussion.

When the club closed down the old Masia building and built a new facility, I wasn’t expecting the doors to also be slamming shut on Barça B players’ hopes of getting into the first team. As for the argument that there is no space for the current B players for the first team, then why is the club rumored to be signing players from other teams again such as Neymar. Unfortunately, this club has had mixed success with their transfers during the Rosell era so why not focus on players who know the system and will not cost a fortune. It should not be about marketability, but about performance.

Overall, this club would not be where it is today without its youth players. It was Puyol who was leading the team over the years. It was Valdés who came up big with key stops in those Champions League finals. It was Iniesta who scored that wonder goal against Chelsea. It was Busquets who filled in the midfield when Yaya had to play center back along with Pique in that Rome Final. It was Pedro who scored those big goals in important finals. Oh yeah, there is also this little guy who came through La Masia and became one of the greatest to ever play the game.

In conclusion, this club better pay attention to what is going on with Barça B. They cannot neglect its current state or else the club’s future will severely impacted. The foundation has been set for a prosperous future for Barça and they cannot afford to ignore it or mistreat it. If Barça fails to maintain the quality and integrity of La Masia, then the repercussions will be felt for many years. The club cannot afford to make La Masia irrelevant or just some marketing gimmick. This club is where it is today because of La Masia and the club best not forget it.

 

Barça Needs To Re-examine Its Youth Policy.

Barça keeps praising the fact that their recent success is because of its reliance on its youth setup. Puyol, Xavi, Valdés, Iniesta and Messi all came through La Masia and helped the club become what it is today. However, young players who have been promoted to the first team from the youth setup recently have been ignored and neglected and this is a worrying trend that might become a problem in the near future.

This season was the commencement of a new era following the departure of Pep Guardiola. Tito Vilanova has stepped in and done well after the disappointing result in the Supercopa. The league is basically theirs to lose while they continue their quest for the treble. With such a commanding lead atop of the standings, one would expect Tito and his assistant, and current interim manager, Jordi Roura to rotate the players into the starting lineups.

Although rotations have been occurring with everyone, not named Messi ,being rested occasionally, a certain group of players have been slighted. Barça B defenders Montoya and Bartra seem to have been left out of the mix. They had featured occasionally a few months ago but neither has seen minutes in 2013.

These players are considered first team players and not Barça B players. Thus, they cannot feature for the B team anymore. However, if they are not even dressing for games, their talents are going to waste. This a pressing concern because the club has made it a habit to hold on to Barça B players by promoting them to the first team. However, that tactic appears to be stunting player development rather than aiding it.

Jonathan Dos Santos is a perfect example of promoting a Barça B player to the first team when the possibility of him playing is impossible. He is a midfielder who has the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Cesc, Song and Thiago ahead of him so minutes were going to be hard to come by. He could have went on loan to another team but refused to do so. That was a mistake on his part as he is basically forced himself out of action. Cuenca played it smart after he accepted to go Ajax Amsterdam on loan than stick around and fight for scraps of minutes. Jonathan Dos Santos should have done the same.

Nevertheless, Montoya and Bartra do not face the same the logjam in their respective positions. Montoya is a brilliant fullback who has to contend with Jordi Alba, Adriano and Dani Alves for minutes. There was no excuse not to see him start a few games here and there recently in order to give those three full backs a breather. Bartra is an up and coming center back who will obviously take a back seat to Puyol, Pique and Mascherano in his respective position. However, the minutes have been hard to come by for him when the club’s league position allows for it. Yesterday was the perfect example where Bartra could have started against a Granada side that had only scored 22 goals in 23 matches. Instead, Bartra found himself sitting in the stands.

These two defenders should be playing more often to gain experience so they can be ready to leap into action in case a player suffers an emergency. Instead, they are being left out of the lineup and are collecting rust. These were players who were promoted and cannot find minutes. The big cause for concern is that the club will be repeating the same mistake next season if the stories are true that Sergi Roberto and Thiago’s brother, Rafinha, will be promoted next season.

Barça needs to stop putting in the players’ contracts these conditions that promise B players to be promoted to the first team. Their promotion is met with plenty of sitting around and lack of playing time. This also affects Barça B when they keep losing their best players to the first team and suffer without those players who would be gaining plenty of minutes over sitting in the stands.

If Barça is that concerned about losing their young players, then they need to re-examine their policy. Promotion without gaining experience is not a step forward. Perhaps the club has to accept that the only way to keep players happy and gain experience through minutes is by loaning them out.  If staying with Barça B is not an option, then loaning them out to other clubs should be looked into. I don’t want to see Bartra, Montoya, Tello, Sergi Roberto and Rafinha sitting on the bench or in the stands next season. Experience is the best form of education and these players will never excel if they continue to be given few minutes here and there.