re: Bayern Munchen vs Barcelona (Agg 4-0)

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Müller apologized for giving his post match presser drunk on an empty stomach and Javi had to call a taxi to take him to the hotel bc he got left at the stadium lol

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but nothing will top david luiz

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Tito´s a good corch. Really. They´ll be alright. Look for some important signings.

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He was in over his head this season. Should improve next season I figure. Need to make a big bid for Kompany, Agger or Hummels.

Like I said, if he gives the team back to Xavi, rather than Messi, many things will be fall into place.

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and they need to offload dead weight. like cesc.


back to Arsenal right

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I mean just as a favor to Barca we could maybe take him off their hands.

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i'm not sure what all the fuss is about honestly

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It started against Milan.

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If there is a major problem with giving the team to Messi, it is that he is a human and can get hurt.

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There's more to it than that. If you can stay extremely disciplined and devote numbers to closing down Messi, you can push him to the periphery and keep him relatively quiet (as you can any player who has ever, and probably will ever, play(ed) the game). Barcelona hasn't really had an answer for that strategy against extremely high quality (Celtic excluded) teams this season, and to be clear, I think that people are judging Barcelona relative to previous Barcelonas, not to the rest of the field.

Now, whether or not that's a symptom of something systemic or simply a hiccup, I don't think anyone can say definitively.

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though maybe I lean to a different side on how to respond to that.

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Nah, I honestly think that they'll make a purchase or two and be fine.

Tito has essentially streamlined Pep's system. This has done two things:

#1 Allow Barcelona to rape the league by scoring a ton more goals

#2 Cause Barcelona to concede the most amount of goals in a league campaign since before Pep

This can entirely be pinned down on a couple things that Tito has changed.

First and foremost, he has taken the team from Xavi and given it to Messi. It is very much a "give Messi the ball" team at this point, which is good because, as aforementioned, it has allowed them to score more goals than they have in a long time. But it is terrible because it has pushed them away from the foundations Pep laid which made the club so dominant for the past several seasons.

This, in my opinion, can be blamed almost entirely on the Chelsea tie from last season's CL. After that match, many people came away saying how ineffective Barça were against a quality opponent who squeezed the pitch. There were a lot of cries for a more entertaining team who could score at will. Tito obliged and here we stand.

What people don't realize though is that Tito's Barça doesn't even play a possession system anymore. Sure, they may win statistical possession, but that is solely because they have an entire better XI than 9/10 squads they face.

Under Pep, possession wasn't the name of the game. Believe it or not it wasn't the central idea to their identity. It just happened to be an instrument they used to win matches. Pep's squads used possession in a methodical manner to gain numerical advantages, twist the opposition out of shape and, most importantly, prepare them for life without the ball. Xavi organized the players and then poked and prodded until an advantage was won and a shot was put on goal.

If the ball was lost, it was almost instantly won back thanks to the organization and pressing of the Barça players. This has literally disappeared under Tito. Because he has shifted the emphasis to offensive proficiency through Messi, the team is rarely organized in the opponent's third. Which means that when they lose the ball, they have to work much harder to attempt to win it back. This has directly resulted in the increase in goals allowed by Barcelona this season.

Bayern, and Milan to a less effective manner, have the blueprint to beat this team. Jupp pushed a high line, squeezing Messi further up the pitch, and put Javi on Iniesta, effectively removing Barcelona's entire attack. WIthout Xavi pulling the strings, Barça were unable to break down the Bayern defense, the ball was lost in the wrong places, and Barça subsequently got skinned defensively.

TL;DR: Pep's teams were dominant against big clubs, but often ineffective against smaller ones. Tito's team destroys the smaller clubs, but struggles with the bigger clubs. The team needs to be given back to Xavi, but Barça certainly need to sign a world class CB in addition to that.

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Say goodbye to Cesc

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Wut? Cesc is heir apparent in the midfield. This particular season hasn't been great for him, but that isn't really his fault. Tito has used him mostly as the 12th man, and all over the field.

lol