5 reasons we lost la liga

[barcajoe]

iiiin one

paying stupid money for cesc who left barca in the first place for money. then trying to fit him in. he's a good player, may even end up one of our greats if he becomes more consistent, but he disrupted our team this year strategically. we've had plenty of intermittent genius's at barca, peps team is built on consistency, cesc is not.

iiiin two

the refs, i like peps attitude, don't blame the refs for mistakes in a match, things balance them self out over a season. but this year they didn't, this year we are in the red on the luck chart, and real are in the black. we might win la liga with one crappy chart but not both.

iiiin three

injury, not the ones all teams get, pep takes a risk every year on a small squad having a tighter camaraderie than a large one. its a gamble that has benefited us in the past, so i cant complain about the negative effects of such a risky strategy when it goes belly up. the injury im talking about is Vilanovas hospital scare, only cost one la liga game, but the ripples after? even without the ripples one game could of changed the shape of el clasico.

iiiin four

messi, say wha? yeah, he doesn't seem himself. maybe he's maturing as a human being and will look more serious from now on, but he looks a little sad. like off the pitch worries sad for much of this season. like if he didn't have the worries he might be even better, which is kind of a scary thought.

and bullys star prize

Shakira. yeh i know the hips don't lie, id love to interrogate them to find out, but she turned peqenbauer into peqensour this year. we need more ugly defenders, lets get something real ugly this year for defence, something only a true fan could love, lol, they're cheaper too.



.......so after that middle of the night depression fuelled rant, ........what's your 5 reasons ?

(oh and rizla, cheers for the linkey)

[LeeRomeno]

i dont really agree with majority of your reasons:
1) buying cesc was good business, Pep didnt buy him and then try to find a spot on him in squad, he bought him as he thought he could bring something else to our game and his mental connection with Messi has brought so many great goals this season. Same as with Sanchez, who brought straightforward speed and versatility up front+ they both like to score vs Real, only a good quality.

2) blaming refs is stupid, i do believe we got away with many things due to refs this season, perhaps less then Real, but in reality, its the 3+ ranked teams who really suffered most from ref desicions.

3) only one i agree, if you compare the quality players on Real and on our team, they have much bigger bench, but it has really been the case ever since Pep took over.

4) come on, Messi has had his best season ever, ridiculous to complain about him. He is human after all and just getting tired near the end of season.

5) Thats ridiculous, even if Shakira did manage to break Pique mentally, Mascherano has been there to cover and we had Puyol back for majority of season, a luxury we didnt last year.

As for my reasons:
a) Small bench - clearly the main thingy, our La Masia guys who get a game or 2 occasionally are not yet up to level with first team and need to learn more, Cuenca/Tello etc all had their moments, but they need more time. Cant really compare them to guys like Sahin, who has been a sub for entire season for Real and who previously was voted best player in Bundesliga or smth. THats a different sign of quality. Even attack subs like Callejon or rotating Benzema/Higuain (2 top strikers in the world) shows how much bigger bench they have.

b) Opponents learn our style better and better and know how to defend against it. It was shown in many games, they are willing to give us possession, but at a certain place on the field and rely on counters. OUr style was bound to be broken at some point. I know Pep has tried overcoming it by changing formations, introducing more through-balls etc, but overall, we are not as unstoppable as we have been before.

c) Injuries - critical injuries to Afellay/Villa/Abidal etc didnt help at all, also Xavi has had issues with his injuries, Iniesta has been out as always. It wouldnt hurt a big bench, but surely did us.

d) Mourinhos second season - yes i know it sounds stupid, but in reality, although we have been a bit worse this season, Real has been really alot better. They have already broken the most goals scored record, they have made it to semis in CL etc. Mourinho is a dirty rat, but all his actions, blaming refs and other sht has resulted in what we have seen this season. And its exactly as he has claimed his wins before. Did it with Inter, Chelsea, Porto. FIrst year he is taken as an idiot and critisised alot, but his mind-games eventually start having an effect on refs as well as the team.

e) Real just wanted it more - say what you want, but Pep did concede the title already a while ago, i am sure this mentality also carried to the team. We havent been as hungry as Real has been, which is no wonder, after all , we have won almost all there is to win in last 3 years, time to end at some point, cannot go on winning forever.

[Smiler]

I think its quite straight forward why we lost La Liga. Last season we Messi, Pedro and Villa all scoring 20+ goals. This season we've had Messi only. Madrid have had 3 players + ronaldo managing to score more than 20. If Messi's not scoring, this season, you wonder where the goals are going to come from.

Blame the crazy pre-season trip to America when the squad was blatently not fit. This is where the early injuries to Sanchez, Pedro and Iniesta originated from, coupled with the stress fracture that Villa had been suffering from long before his leg finally gave out in Japan.

Next season, following a sensible pre-season, Villa will be fit, Sanchez and Cesc will be fit and have had the benefit of a proper pre-season, learning the 'Barca way' of doing things.

We also need to sort out the back four. A left back and centre back are a must unless Pique can knuckle down and start being a footballer again instead of a pop stars boyfriend.

[barcajoe]

i dont really agree with majority of your reasons:.

....oh dont mind me, i just needed to rant, but i am interested in hearing other fans reasons even if they arent as leftfield as mine, lol.

[Zincubus]

Why didn't Puyol just boot the ball away ??

Why try and "protect it" on the goal line ??

Just don't get it .

[Blair]

I haven't posted on here for what seems a very long time due to varying reasons but I've managed to watch our last few games, and on the whole several things surrounding the team seem to be glaringly obvious.

For a start, I'll state the obvious: we've been horrendous compared to the standards we've set in recent seasons. Off the top of my head, the results in the league against Sociedad, Getafe, and Osasuna were embarrassing. Letting go of a two-goal lead against Sociedad, then letting Getafe score with their only shot on target in 90 minutes, then getting absolutely mauled by Osasuna? Unacceptable for a squad of this calibre. The away form this season, for some reason or another, has completely deserted us. The Chelsea match, last week, however, was a painful one to take. To absolutely dominate them in terms of possession and create so many chances, and still come away with a 1-0 defeat, would have been incomprehendable if we'd had certain players from the past few years in the squad this year. After watching that match, I already knew what the outcome of Saturday's match would be.

Yes, I do realise that fatigue has played a crucial factor in jaded performances being so abundant this season. It's understandable given the fact this squad of players have essentially been going non-stop through Euro 2008, Confederations Cup 2009, WC 2010, and then the (IMO, pointless) tour last summer. However, given the budget that was dished out at the start of the season to Pep, to only bring in Cesc and Alexis is criminal. Granted, the camaraderie that has been created in such a small squad has contributed significantly to our recent success but what has it cost us this season? There have been times when we have looked utterly devoid of ideas, other times we have looked amateurish in our attempts to defend. As much as I idolise Carles Puyol, what in God's name was he doing for Khedira's goal on Saturday?

The over-reliance on youth may seem like a romantic and unique concept to some but the rate at which Cuenca and Tello have been deployed this season, I believe to be detrimental. Bojan was blooded in young and effectively dropped in at the deep end, and look how he turned out. I have no doubt that Cuenca and Tello will go on to become great footballer, perhaps not with Barca, but the pressure being placed on them at the moment is far, far too much for my liking. Some may disagree, and I do understand that we have little option but to play them. However, spunking €50m+ on two players who have been either injured half the season or drastically out form (1 goal in the last 20 games for Cesc), then that's where I have a problem.

We miss Villa. At times I was critical of him due to not really hitting the same sort of goal tallies as his Valencia days. Being played out wide doesn't help this, but in saying that he plays that position for the Spanish NT without any problem. His general link up play, his movement (despite being offside several times each match, it seemed) is world class. His finishing was always there in the big games - Manita, and CL final being the standouts for me.

We miss Afellay. Yeah, a bit part player last year but his confidence in the games against Madrid was soaring. Changing the game in the second leg of the SF last season will live long in my memory. He also cost €3m, which is an utter bargain.

We miss Abidal. I had my doubts that this may have been his last season, anyway, but I imagine the tumour saga caught the squad off guard and hit a lot of them mentally. On the pitch, he was an absolute rock but I sadly fear we've saw the last of him in the blaugrana. Adriano is nowhere near an adequate enough replacement but at least he gives it 100%.

We miss Piqué of old, when he resembled Beckenbauer and defenders of that vintage. Now, he seems to self-involved in Shakira, or making the headlines as the popstar's boyfriend as someone else on here put it. I still maintain his vision, passing, tactical awareness and general all-round play could see him be one of the greatest of all time but he's drastically off form and needs a serious reality check.

Most of all, we miss a centre-forward, a natural finisher. Bojan, for all of his faults and his severe confidence crisis, at least was a natural finisher. Eto'o's conversion rate probably wasn't the best in the world but he was an absolute goal machine. The over-reliance on Messi this season is staggering and in order to compete I genuinely believe we need 3 natural finishers here. We're 2/3 of the way there, once Villa returns.

I know I'm ranting on a bit here, but I'll finish with this: I think if we don't make the Champions League final it'll be the end of the Guardiola era. Personally I would love to see him stay for a lot longer and try and bring through the next generation (Delofelu, Dougou, etc.) and win more CL, but he's like a caged animal. Let's just focus on bringing in the CL and CdR, then we can discuss the future in greater depth.

Visca el Barça.

[matfcb]

I haven't posted on here for what seems a very long time due to varying reasons but I've managed to watch our last few games, and on the whole several things surrounding the team seem to be glaringly obvious.

For a start, I'll state the obvious: we've been horrendous compared to the standards we've set in recent seasons. Off the top of my head, the results in the league against Sociedad, Getafe, and Osasuna were embarrassing. Letting go of a two-goal lead against Sociedad, then letting Getafe score with their only shot on target in 90 minutes, then getting absolutely mauled by Osasuna? Unacceptable for a squad of this calibre. The away form this season, for some reason or another, has completely deserted us. The Chelsea match, last week, however, was a painful one to take. To absolutely dominate them in terms of possession and create so many chances, and still come away with a 1-0 defeat, would have been incomprehendable if we'd had certain players from the past few years in the squad this year. After watching that match, I already knew what the outcome of Saturday's match would be.

Yes, I do realise that fatigue has played a crucial factor in jaded performances being so abundant this season. It's understandable given the fact this squad of players have essentially been going non-stop through Euro 2008, Confederations Cup 2009, WC 2010, and then the (IMO, pointless) tour last summer. However, given the budget that was dished out at the start of the season to Pep, to only bring in Cesc and Alexis is criminal. Granted, the camaraderie that has been created in such a small squad has contributed significantly to our recent success but what has it cost us this season? There have been times when we have looked utterly devoid of ideas, other times we have looked amateurish in our attempts to defend. As much as I idolise Carles Puyol, what in God's name was he doing for Khedira's goal on Saturday?

The over-reliance on youth may seem like a romantic and unique concept to some but the rate at which Cuenca and Tello have been deployed this season, I believe to be detrimental. Bojan was blooded in young and effectively dropped in at the deep end, and look how he turned out. I have no doubt that Cuenca and Tello will go on to become great footballer, perhaps not with Barca, but the pressure being placed on them at the moment is far, far too much for my liking. Some may disagree, and I do understand that we have little option but to play them. However, spunking €50m+ on two players who have been either injured half the season or drastically out form (1 goal in the last 20 games for Cesc), then that's where I have a problem.

We miss Villa. At times I was critical of him due to not really hitting the same sort of goal tallies as his Valencia days. Being played out wide doesn't help this, but in saying that he plays that position for the Spanish NT without any problem. His general link up play, his movement (despite being offside several times each match, it seemed) is world class. His finishing was always there in the big games - Manita, and CL final being the standouts for me.

We miss Afellay. Yeah, a bit part player last year but his confidence in the games against Madrid was soaring. Changing the game in the second leg of the SF last season will live long in my memory. He also cost €3m, which is an utter bargain.

We miss Abidal. I had my doubts that this may have been his last season, anyway, but I imagine the tumour saga caught the squad off guard and hit a lot of them mentally. On the pitch, he was an absolute rock but I sadly fear we've saw the last of him in the blaugrana. Adriano is nowhere near an adequate enough replacement but at least he gives it 100%.

We miss Piqué of old, when he resembled Beckenbauer and defenders of that vintage. Now, he seems to self-involved in Shakira, or making the headlines as the popstar's boyfriend as someone else on here put it. I still maintain his vision, passing, tactical awareness and general all-round play could see him be one of the greatest of all time but he's drastically off form and needs a serious reality check.

Most of all, we miss a centre-forward, a natural finisher. Bojan, for all of his faults and his severe confidence crisis, at least was a natural finisher. Eto'o's conversion rate probably wasn't the best in the world but he was an absolute goal machine. The over-reliance on Messi this season is staggering and in order to compete I genuinely believe we need 3 natural finishers here. We're 2/3 of the way there, once Villa returns.

I know I'm ranting on a bit here, but I'll finish with this: I think if we don't make the Champions League final it'll be the end of the Guardiola era. Personally I would love to see him stay for a lot longer and try and bring through the next generation (Delofelu, Dougou, etc.) and win more CL, but he's like a caged animal. Let's just focus on bringing in the CL and CdR, then we can discuss the future in greater depth.

Visca el Barça.

Great post, I agree with almost everything. I will post my thoughts on this season after Chelsea game. Let's hope we will have better spirits tomorrow

[barcajoe]

I know I'm ranting on a bit here, but I'll finish with this: I think if we don't make the Champions League final it'll be the end of the Guardiola era.

Visca el Barça.

....my big fear is if we win the CL he could leave, can't see him going otherwise.

[Art Deco]

It's simple why we collapsed this season (judging by outrageous Barca standards obviously)

1) Awful away form (probably due in part to #2 below).

Barcelona = 5 away draws and 2 losses
Madrid = 2 away draws and 1 loss

Those 9 away points dropped was the difference this season. Simple as that.

2) Over reliance on Lionel Messi to CREATE AND SCORE. Pedro and Villa were key goal scorers last year with 20+ goals each. They combined for only 8 league goals this year.

Alexis and Fabregas picked up some of the slack, but 14 goals from our second highest goal scorer is simply not enough.

[maher]

I have read all the lines above and I think that disadvantages of over reliance on messi are coming up. every time i see messi without the ball, i talk to the player whos got the ball and ask him to pass it to him (lool). which is totally wrong and i hope we sign a striker next season like eto