To be a part of a fan base so devoid of patience is just insufferable, isn't it? That's exactly what I feel when I see the reaction of Barcelona fans after a loss.
Yes, the team has faltered to big losses against PSG and Real Madrid. And now there's hoards of these so called fans, questioning Xavi and the team's mentality.
Sometimes I'm just sorry to see this side of the Barca fans, who after a loss somehow criticize everything and everyone. Obviously a little patience would help.
Few snippets of my thoughts for those who can actually think reasonably.
1) This is the same Barca that did indeed produce a few comebacks this season. So, I don't think there's a need for anyone to actually question the mentality over the entire season. For this game? Yes absolutely it was not the way a top club and players should respond nor suffer such a lapse.
2) Against Girona, once Barca conceded the equalizer, the next goal came almost within 2 minutes. So hardly any time for the manager to do something, which I think is also almost impossible to foresee. This lies entirely with the players. Even for the first goal, they were caught off guard. Unacceptable, yes. But I don't think one game should generalize the whole team and season.
3) To people who're actually criticizing Xavi, what alternative do you propose? The manager is young, inexperienced. But he's also proven to be a capable one who navigate an impossible season, won the league next season and actually made us competitive again. Tbh, with the squad that we had, it was nothing but impossible. But he did it nonetheless, so I don't think questioning his ability makes sense. What this club lacked the most in the past years in consistency. By sacking Xavi, we're basically falling back into that same loop again. Just trust the process maybe?
4) Let's talk about the alternative for Xavi. Is there actually a manager available in the market who can take helm and play the way the club wants and benefits?
Tuchel? Tactical yes, but also very inconsistent and not really amicable in the dressing room.
Flick? Again, apart from the COVID UCL, he hasn't actually done anything of much notice. There's more horrible things on his resume than good ones.
Anyone else who can come in, take control of the dressing room with such charisma as Xavi, playing good football all while dealing with minimal funds is just very very hard to find at the moment. Also consider that we're lucky to have a manager who earns less than half of what other managers earn.
5) If it isn't widely known already, our major losses have come either due to injuries and unavailable players and the one other team which is Real Madrid. I don't think it even makes sense to decode the losses against Madrid. We need to accept the fact that they are simply on another level. Be it with their tactics, personnel, squad, finances, stability and more importantly their mentality to never give up that comes due to confidence.
You don't see Carlo out slogans after losing to Xavi's Barca which was a much smaller squad last season. Trust the process.
6) The squad currently lacks a proper spine. 4 crucial positions that form the spine GK, CB's, CDM and ST. I don't think we're equipped well enough in these areas to be even called a decent squad.
Mats isn't the guy he was that won us the UCL. And probably needs attention in about an year for reinforcements.
CB pairing is decent. But we're relying on a 17 year old and a weird Araujo who's been Soo inconsistent and errant this season.
CDM, the less we talk about this the better. For a club that always emphasized how good Busquets was, to not have planned for life without him is just utterly ridiculous. And it's also the position that needs immediate high quality addition.
ST, I won't be part of the crowd looking at Lewa and say that we're covered just because he's done well the last couple of months. Goals often make few people forget about how poor he has been overall throughout the season and why we are so far behind in the league to begin with. Highly underperforming and wasteful for 6-7 months. And the league won't forgive such inefficiency.
The club needs to fix and settle the spine to take the next step. So, does anyone actually believe or propose a manager (who isn't named a certain Jurgen Klopp) who would be willing to overtake poor squad and reach the current unrealistic expressions we have? I would be delighted to know if there's someone of that calibre.
So, I request and I hope that everyone pulls together. Support when we're down and not play the blame game everytime we lose. We aren't a club with just a couple of problems which can easily be solved in a short time. Curb your expectations, be patient until we are ready to take on more stronger squads. And most importantly trust the process and stop unfounded criticism. It's just more negative vibes to an already unbearable situation.
Visca el Barca.
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