This evening at 8.45 pm bt, Barcelona plays the second game of the Champions League group stage against Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk.
Both teams won their first match of the group stage. Barcelona 3-1 against Sporting Lisbon, Shakthar 1-2 against Basel. You can read a preview of the game here.Barcelona squad list: Valdés, Pinto, Alves, Márquez, Piqué, Puyol, Cáceres, Abidal, Xavi, Touré, Keita, Iniesta, Gudjohnsen, Busquets, Messi, Eto'o, Bojan, Henry, Pedro
Before (what are your expectations, your prediction, what should be the line-up,...), during and after the match, you can comment on the game here.
Posts
83 comments:
Several soucres claim (As) or suggest (Sport) that Pedro will play for Messi.
Serious test, no team likes to go and play Ukraine, mentally you should be really focused to pull it off. 0-1 would do for me.
?
--------------Valdes------------
------Marquez--Pique---Puyol----
-----------Yaya Toure-----------
-------------Xavi---------------
---Alves-----------------Iniesta-
-------Messi--------Henry-------
-------------Eto'o--------------
We will see Barcelona in Blue kits tonight;)
Shakhtar coach talking about the game, Shakhtar official website/ english:
http://shakhtar.com/en/news/7634
Eto'o should be dropped and fined/warned for missing the team event before the game... this is the sort of thing that happened under rijkard and it ruined our season.. it must be dealt with swiftly and decisively!!!!!!!
It won't be an easy game. Barca must not underestimate them. They're a squad whose players know each other very well all along with a few good Brazilians. I'd play something like:
------------Valdes-----------
Alves--Puyol--Marquez--Abidal
-------Xavi-------Yaya-------
Messi-----------------Iniesta
-------Eto'o-----Bojan-------
subs:Caceres,Henry,Keita
I prefer 4-4-2, so this would be something like that.
P.S. I got a question about some rumours I red today at goal.com. It's about Arteta (Everton) coming to Barca. Is it true or not? They said this info is from one of the Catalan sport papers. And yes, what about player from Ghana (I think)-Inkoom (right def). Can someone tell more about this? Thanks
Marc, I don't think eto will start this game anyway, to keep him fresh for the game against Atletico.
But I don't think eto case - if happened- was intentional, it happens, now of course pep will not pass it soft, but there is no need to make a big deal out if it :)
Valdez
Alves Pique Puyol Cáceres
Yaya Toure Keita
Messi Xavi Iniesta
Henry
what do you think???+?
Hy ramzi who should barca buy???+?
in january i think vargas
in summer di maria,diego,gai promoted and if its POSSIBLE Aguero
and sell:sylvinho,marquez,gudjohnsen,pinto
about selling.. we should sale slyvinho marquez pinto henry..buy benzema aguero. and ochoa .....thats legit..
...in: lahm,ribery,aguero,david silva...thiago
out: sylvinho,badjohnsen,henry...pedro
Hey Jester:)
Your selection is really good, if we will not rest any of puyol, Alves, Xavi, Messi, Iniesta.
I don't think pep will rest them all for this game, but may me two of them.
Regarding buying...
Hm...I may look boring but I don't think we need to buy any player in January, not good for the squad, and no good targets available, and i don't see urgent need for that.
Vargas was available to be bought last summer, instead he went to fiorentina, even if Barcelona want to buy him, they will not sell him after 4 months from getting him.
Even if he is a possibility, he is tied for CL, meaning he cant play for the team in CL, because he already played for fiorentina, I don't think Barcelona will buy players just for the liga.
As for next summer, still too early, lets enjoy the season we have now, and till summer, based on the current squad performance, and the Barcelona Athletic (youth) development, the team will set targets ;)
Pst...sylvinho and pinto have no market Value, so don't consider them on selling list...
valdes
pique marquez
cáceres abidal
toure yaya
s. busquets keita
messi a. iniesta
henry
ok Ramzi:-) but we need a good lb who can attack(who is pls tell)+whe need unleast
1 AM:Diego
1 LW:di Maria
ok that is only 3 players
henry is still god so why should we sell him give him guys one more year at least.
1 LB :???+?
1 AM :diego
1 Lw :di maria
and keep yaya
what do you think???+?
I think that our ultimate target should be Aguero.
Just imagine:
Aguero-Eto-Messi
If he is not on the market we should go for Benzema who can play also on wing but the middle is his favour position (we dont want another Henry).
About this game,I think that draw would not be bad at all but I expect a close victory.
Més que un club!!!
OFFICIAL LINEUP!!!
VALDES
ALVES-PIQUE-MARQUEZ-PUYOL
KEITA
XAVI TOURE
INIESTA HENRY
ETO'O
barca should buy Chivu !!!!!
valdes
alves marquez pique puyol
toure keita
xavi
henry eto iniesta
may be iniesta will play as a forth midfielder with two strikers upfront...
jester:
lahm, vargas, and clichy...if u insist:)
but i believe we already have Caceres and henrique, lets hope till the end of the season they become better than all the ones I mentioned;)
Chivu also of course:)
You should probably change Touré and Keita there. Leaving Messi out, but all the others are there.
what do you say about moutinho??
ok thanx ramzi.
Keep faith!!!+!
we win
i trust them until end
visca él barca !!!+!
At the start of the summer, you could have pleaded for Chivu or Moutinho, but now there's no chance we go after one of those two since we have enough central defebders and midfielders, Coco.
If it's not a 3-4-3 than it will be a 3-5-2 which I am hoping for. Would look something like this:
-------Valdés
--Marquez Pique Puyol
---------Touré
Alves-Xavi-Keita-Iniesta
-----Etó'o--Henry
chivu can play left defender:D
i don' like abidal!
Interesting thought but Inter won't let him go, coco!
do you know any link where can whatch the match???+?
pls tell!!!+!
hey did anyone notice that the vedio feed sucks i think its internet ! sent or something
rojadirecta.com always does the trick for me...
howard web was in the pub next to my house. He left the yellow & red cards. Dont blame him.
I am happy for both BARCA and PIQUE. He has made me glad
xtra scrappy.
damm were Losing 1-0 we need to wake up... get messi and bojan in their...!!
Puyol alway's at fault yet again for the goal,we should get rid of him in the winter!!
well barca doing grate job 1 shot per 45 mins :)) i knew this match going to be disaster. well atleast first half was. we are stuck in the midfeald , xavi iniesta keita always unther presure, they don't have space, and when they don't have space they can't creat anything. i think messi would do the trick because he can take 2-3 defenders easly by him self, and that's creats space for other players. i realy don't see any individualism from any player that played in first half.
Amnot happy we conceded the goal but imagine if Abidal was on the pitch, I am sure he wouls have needed security to protect him form "guys" who would blame him!! i never supported playing back 3. play ur back 4 and play Abidal on the left. I hope we win
great first half finaly we have a team that can defend its gona be intresting to see how they do next half i have faith in guradiola...
wow...I have no faith in Guardiola!!!
I think at best he is preventing the team from developing a rythm. he seems to be listening to bloggers and the media and manages the team like a fantasy football coach.
shyt!!!
make people go through a difficult evening every game day
If Stupid guardiola played the team like this we won it for sure
Valdez
alves pique puyol cáceres
yaya keita
messi xavi iniesta
henry/bojan
subs
keita->marquez
henry->bojan/eto'o
messi->busquets
for sure we won it
MESSI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!2-1
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZZZOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
1-2 MESSSSSIIIIIIIIII!!!!
Wow what an escape. Iniesta should have gotten a penalty but still, that's how Champions escape when they're not playing well.
amazing amazing messi messi messi visca el barza!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yeah
like i said at the end of the first half i have faith in guardiola !!!!!! and my faith was true 2 goals we Win to all you out there that think he is a bad coach he slapped THE SHIT OUT OF YOU ............... BARCAAAAAA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww what a game ... thank you guardiola ....
guardiola had luck
i think
what you think???+?
messi is the man of the match
i am getting really tired of waiting till 94+ to win but a win is a win so its ok,barca fans will live 3 years less but we got the 3 points.
luck wont always be on our side,i just dont get it ,till now we had only bad luck and injuries and in the final 2-3 weeks its like a peguion took a shit on us,we are raining goals in the final minutes.lets hope good luck stays with us,and offcourse messi stays injury free(also give bojan more time ,and sell henry fast)
Messi PURE South American Talent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Que grande!!!!!!!!!
It seems after the last three games including this one we cannot lose or even draw.
We are scoring important goals in the very last minutes but I wont call this a luck.
Luck can be one or twice bit three times no way.
Let just keep it going.
And of course,Messi is the man of the match and the best player in the world.
Més que un club!!!
If we had been pressing all of the second half then I'd agree with you. But before the Messi goal it didn't really look like we had much going. They followed their gameplan and tried to muscle our midfield out of the game.
The first goal was definitely a lucky break for us, something we usually see out of Valdes. Messi was completely class though. We got roughed up a bit this game and when the ref is allowing this style of play we have to find another way to deal with it.
Good job Pepe & Messi ..
Guys , look at player stats
http://uploads.screenshot-program.com/upl9493836789.jpg
Look at puyol passes , Abidal's were not worse !
& the goal is puyol's foult not Abidal ,
If Abidal was in place of Puyol, what would you say?
Great match. For the people who are saying we did'nt play that well only towards the end: Please keep in mind guys that we are playing an away match against a team who are extremly strong when playing on their ground. Im quite surprized how we pulled a win, Guardiola made the right substitutions in the right time, so props for that.
Alves was a beast, you can't really blame the guy, he was playing against someones 3 times his size, yet he made some good tackles, took so many blows to the face and head.
@Jester .. I like your idea of the Summer transfer, but I think if we can only change our whole left wing our team would be complete. I'd take Angel Di Maria, and a Good Left back :)
@Romyan Dude Abidal did'nt even play today :S
Visca EL Barca !!
I am lucky I don't have to write a game report:)
Thats another game to forget
FCBFan,
Just because it was a tough game to play doesn't mean we played well. We didn't. We knew it was going to be tough, and we didn't rise to the occasion.
They had superior tactics and our class could not compensate for it. We lost our composure earlier on. We could not penetrate their midfield so we started lobbing aimless balls down to their central defense.
We should have played Busquets and 1 Striker. It's pretty clear Iniesta is not only our best option at left wing, he's also most effective when he's playing left wing. We really needed midfield help today, Henry/Eto'o were completely isolated.
As for Angel Di Maria, he has scored 1 league goal in 36 matches for Benfica. 2 goals for Argentina-U23 doesn't make him world class. He's not ready for Barca yet.
and Romyan is saying if Abidal had played today and played the way Puyol did we would be much harsher in our criticism.
By the way I don't necessarily agree with Romyan. Puyol's being played out of position and he has quite a few good games before he has a shaky one, whereas we're surprised whenever Abidal has a confident performance.
The problem was not just the offense (strikers).. it was the defense structure and its selection, and the midfielders roles on the field, We fall in shakhtar trap and we played their game and tempo, which is not only the game that don’t suit us, but it also burn our energy like hell, believe me while watching the game and after 30 minutes I was hoping they don’t end the game hitting 3 goals, don’t let the possession and flashy show fools u.
I will start thinking of Atletico game, thats a big test no doubt...
phew!! this is getting too intense. i think the drama of the last few minutes and the magic of messi might have successfully changed my opinion of the performance, as that for me was the worst performance i've seen from barca in quite a while. still no one can doubt the spirit guardiola is getting into the players.
sign of a good manager, completely messed up the tactics/system but made the right changes to get a result. another sign that we are improving from the last two seasons, then if we played badly we did not win, period. although we much prefer the sporting games to know that if the team does play crap, they have what it takes now to grind out a result.
p.s also like what guardiola is doing with bojan against teams that play 10 behind the ball, if teams play like this they use lots of energy, pep waits till their knackered and then brings on bojan to run em ragged, seems to be working.
@FCBFan
hehe,
I know,
but im comparing their performance in different games, abidal had a bad number of bad passes & they blame him for that,
the why not puyol today?
this is one of the worst game
i've ever seen!
charles and jester wtf is wrong with you?? we have almost lost a game and you were out with the bazukas and shooting left and right..
"WHY IS QUARDIOLA STUPID"??
"WHY YOU DO NOT HAVE FAITH IN HIM"??
if after a game that we won eventualy you guys speek like this for the manager what will you say if we actualy make a los or two??
YES YOU GUYS ARE THE CLEVEREST AND BEST MANAGERS OF ALL TIME..
who said that if BARCA played with your system would have won?? or even drawn the game??
you say you are barca faithfuls?? but i do not think you care about BARCELONA not even a bit!!
if you where, you would not have spoken the things you said!! atlest not now!!
anw i trully hope that you are the minority in here!!
Thank god that was a close one!!! Again the defence is a bit of a worry to say the least.. Offensive wise an average game until Messi came on, what a miss by Henry in 1st half and even a worse one by Eto'o in 2nd half. We better pull up our socks before the saturday's game.
@James
IMO if we played like this at home it would be a disgrace, We pulled a win and people are still complaining, we're playing out of our ground with the whole stadium cheering on the other team what else would you expect? I still don't know why some of you were expecting us to TEAR them apart, it just won't happen.
This was like playing Celtic in Celtic park .. Tough team on their ground, plus keep in mind we did'nt even start our strongest, keeping Messi on the bench. So I'd take the 1-2 win anyday without complaining ..
ABout Angel Di Maria, man he is only 20 .. If you want a player who scores a goal for his team in every match (Augero for example) Would cost us no less than 50million. Pique and Caceres did'nt prove anything yet, but we bought them because they are young, it's all about potential. At 20 years old you will have so many years to reach your best, plus he has an amazing understanding with Messi.
P.S - Sorry kind of misunderstood what romyan said.
It's not just empty complaining. If you want an objective analysis of how we played, we got outdone by their tactics. We clearly didn't play well and were lucky to escape with the win.
Of course home pitch plays a role, but only in terms of rallying the players and maybe swaying the officials slightly on 50-50 plays. Just because we won doesn't mean we can excuse this as a good performance. If anything we did what the critics said we were going to do, which is not much. That's not a good thing, as a world class team we should have played far better.
I agree with you that we didn't have our strongest team on the pitch. That was a poor choice on Pep's part as well, playing with 2 strikers and having Iniesta push up on the wings, our midfield was completely undone, leaving the strikers isolated.
Just because we're pointing out our mistakes it doesn't mean we're berating our players. It just means we have things to improve on. If we take the win and pretend we played a great game and not fix the obvious shortcomings. Next time luck might not be on our side. Then we'll hear talks of 'crisis' from fair weather fans again.
I still don't agree with you on di Maria. Why would we spend 20 million on an unproven talent on our left wing when we sold dos Santos who's equally talented and even younger but unproven for 6+8? We also had to give up Iago another talented young left winger due to lack of playing time. We have no playing time for Jeffren on the first team either, not to mention we have Guy Asulin waiting in the wings. Unless the guy we buy is good enough to be in our starting XI it's really pointless, and in fact counter-productive.
KEMPE, I appreciate your openion, but I smell u have some bad feelings toward ur friend ramzi now :))
well if u follow some of what i write on this blog, u will be sure that no one on this planet support Pep the way i do, I have been criticized for that so often here, being a blind defender for the coach and the players just because they are playing for Barcelona - may be those who wrote that raise there hands here ;)
I still support him and believe he is a good choice, but that doesn't mean that we don't point out defects, there were defects today, and as usual I have nothing to do with the result
if we lost, may be i wouldn't comment (previous games prove so), but now that we won, its good to learn lessons.
and my friend, don't underestimate Yourself or others, u c, thats one thing i like about mourinho in one of his last interviews he was asked by a reporter "do u think u r the best coach?"
he answered "i don't know if i am the best but i don't think there is anyone better than me"
the reporter was looking at him with astonishment so mourinho asked the reporter" do u think there is a reporter better than u?"
the reporter nodded his head with a yes,
Mouri asked with surprise"u think there are reporters better than u?"
the reporter said "yes" so mouri answered "then i don't want to answer ur questions, i only want the best reporter to question me!"
meaning, what is a must, is that we respect pep, but I don't c myself (for example) as a stupid football fan compared to him:) (regardless of the fact that i study the game also), but even since before, and I don't recommend that anyone feel its wrong to express if he feel pep did something wrong, even if he is the most experienced and the most educated in the game (no one can doubt that), but more educated and experienced doesn't mean - as a must- being better, or else we have to agree with those who say he is too young to coach the team, we both know there are more experienced and educated coaches in the world right? so don't put that idea in ur mind and release ur thoughts:)
we never know what system will work or not, but its important to build our evaluation on a systematic scale so we don't get drifted to emotional reactions, Thats what i am trying to do...
so if pep who is the most experienced and educated have those who oppose his system then we will all have that.
knowing that what i am trying is more to understand his system, the one that he used against sporting, and for some reasons he changed later, defensively, the reason why if u decided not to rotate any way, why putting payol as a left back (not even a 3rd CB), while u have abidal outside, and y playing the tempo that suit shakhtar perfectly, and so many other questions that its not a crime to ask:) And I always mention in my views that pep probably have a reason, but i don't understand it, and sometimes I tell my opinion and say "but pep did the other thing because he was taking this and that in his account"
But as I mentioned before, its good it ended with a win, 6 points we have already, we will be relaxed and hope till next game against shakhtar we will be qualified already (it come between Valencia and Real), looking forward for atletico game and I want u , kempe to give me ur opinion about my preview for atletico game;) Criticize it badly if u don't like it, no worries;)
it will be posted in couple of days:)
Hi guys hope everyone is fine,
here are your goals:
0-1
http://www.zshare.net/video/19778378b679be6e/
1-1
http://www.zshare.net/video/19779278e9bd0194/
2-1
http://www.zshare.net/video/19779961779718ff/
enjoy your time!!!!!!!!!
Simply put, we were an exhausted side, which played right into their hands. Every guy who played the entire Espanyol match had the stank out there. Messi came in with enough time to get warm and do some damage, which is how the other players should have been used. A healthy Hleb means that we can rest Xavi, but Hleb is still recovering.
Both Henry and Eto'o should have taken their chances. If Henry wants to be central striker, take the chance and score the damn goal. Hitting it right at the keeper is just absurd. And Eto'o seemed to almost be trying NOT to score with that amazing chance.
And did I miss it, or did anyone note that Pique's lazy-ass heading of the ball right into the path of the charging defender made Puyol's already difficult job impossible.
The people who say that Abidal would have needed bodyguards upon his return to Barcelona had he played like Puyol did today, are spot on. Marquez was our best defender today.
Guardiola's subs were obvious, and clearly made with the intent of winning the match. Messi got just enough time to run on adrenaline. Perfect. Krkic was daisy-fresh, and showed it. Once the movement began from our attackers, Shakhar was doomed.
Oh. Christian Chivu was all but here, but the deal didn't happen. He dithered, then used us to drive up his price with Inter.
As far as buying and selling in January, I say nobody. Anybody who can help our side with the big prize (Champions League) has already played for another side.
I'd like to try prising Theo Walcott loose over the summer. We need for-real pace. And it kills me to say this, but given the development of Busquets, perhaps Yaya (I'm going to be struck down for saying this....sorry, Blaugrana Gods) could be used as bait in the transaction.
But Arsenal are crazy if they sell Walcott, who is going to be one of the most exciting players in the game.
Guardiola's program isn't really expected to gel until the second half of the season. Why dismantle it by selling players before it has a chance to come together?
We've won five games in a row, and who cares how we won them. Let's take our gift horse for a canter.
Kxevin, I agree...The team was exhausted, what we were aware before the game, and we played the worst tempo for that condition.
lets hope the rehabilitation before Saturday work well...
Whatever the play, I always sign for a 1-2 in Ukraine. Third time we played there, first win. You also see other teams struggling a lot in Eastern Europe. Atletico is a totally different game, so I don't worry about that.
This wins was probably crucial for first place. Now Sporting and Shakhtar will battle it out in the next two games while we face Basel twice. We just have to go for six points and after those two games we can look behind and see what's going on there.
Although i liked the way we stole the game it's clear guys that we won't
get any trophies this year.
Pep doesn't know what to do, he is
trying different things all the time
and he is too inexperienced for a team like Barca.
We have the best(and some of the best)player(s) in the world and it's a shame that these players don't win trophies.
It's time for Barca to get a higher
profile get a big coach get a big keeper(for the love of god!).
We can't affort to lose seasons like this.....
Well nico, now thats a little bit too harsh bro:)
I think its not fair after all the changes made in the Squad to be so demanding since the first moment.
Rijkard was not much more experienced when he took Barcelona job, and even though he is not my favorite, but no one can deny the successful era he had.
The team need time to gel, and pep need his time to create the chemistry needed, and even though I wasn't so impressed last night, but you could see some positives to build over.
Pep , if it clicked for him, can write himself in the honor book of barcelona, and it will need more than one difficult game on a difficult field, to make me change my mind.
Pst...I like the fact that he had the well to pull both henry and eto out! not lot of"big names" coaches dare to do that.
Like after the 1-6 against Sporting we shouldn't say we will win everyting, now we shouldn't say we win nothing.
I can't understand anyone would think we would blew Shaktar away. That's now how it works over there. Saw Madrid suffering against Zenit, saw Arsenal against Kiev?
I also have some doubts on Guardiola constantly changing players and systems, but let the guy do his job, he's doing fairly well until now.
Ramzi Barca should not be a training ground for future coaches or future goalies we need results right f*****
now.
We don't have the luxury of giving
time for players/coaches to evolve through the first 11.
We have Barca b and the bench for that.
TO RAMSI
when i said anything about you??
i have never disagred with you in any of the things you said!!
in the other hand i kinda like your enthousiasm and your idias!!
some of them are a little out there but is your oppinion and i will die to protect the right you have to say it!! not that i disagree with anything as i allready said but even if.. anw pls tell me what i said that made you say that i have bad feelings about you.. something witch is not true in any way.. i do not even know you!! i have just spoken against tha way that james and charls have spoken erlier!! if you go up you will see there comments..
KEMPE...I saw there comments now:)
I read some things you wrote about "other systems" and i was sleepy, so mixed up things:)
I drop my case.
Now for nico...
I like the flammable driven fans like u, You are actually the ones that make this game as wonderful as it is, as long as you dont turn to become a "Boixos Nois" or something:)
Now regarding patience and time Vs titles Vs big managers, let me tell you how I see it...
Isnt arsen winger a big name? when was it the last time he won a title?how long it took him to win his first? and what about his patience with his squad?
Do you have a name in mind that can guarantee titles for Barcelona from the first moment?
what do u think of Maourinho (another big name) start with inter? the transfers he made? Though look exciting but u may get surprised of the return by the end of the season, even though he already have an accomplished squad that already won titles even with...with...Mancini - no offense!
To be continued on next post (I reallt need to work on briefing...)
Coaches need time, whether big ones or small ones, all need time, now i always said there will never be an Alex ferguson in spain (no coach can survive that long), but will you complain if pep achieved for barcelona what Alex achieved for Man UTD? he is a big name isn't he? well i pasted this text from a site that talk about Alex career, i guess it will be interesting to read:
"1986-90: Dodgey beginnings:
Ferguson's first job was to lift United away from the foot of the table after Ron Atkinson had steered the club to trouble.This he accomplished, but problems remained, United's reputation as a boozing club was not without foundation and Alex tackled the situation head-on. In addition, he revamped the youth team system, a decision that would repay a hundred fold.He paid minute attention to every detail of club life, first to arrive and last to leave was his attiude. Mark Hughes returned from Barcelona Steve Bruce , Brian McClair , Gary Pallister and Paul Ince arrived but United were adrift of champions Liverpool. Though finishing an admirable second in 1988, 1989 brought dour anti-climax as the reds finished 11th. The side was hard working, methodical,and dull, while Fergie's cautious approach did not win the fans over.There was doubt over whether Fergie had what it took to be a United manager.
Popular performers such as Whiteside , McGrath and Gordon Strachan departed- but by January 1990 United were struggling at the foot of the table and chants of 'Fergie Out' began to issue from stands and terraces, especially after a 5-1 defeat to Man City. Martin Edwards always denies it, but Fergie's job was on a knife-edge and it all came to a head in the 3rd Round FA Cup game away to Nottingham Forest.If United lost Fergie would have been sacked, no question about it. If the same situation had been in today's high pressure football world Fergie would have gone long before then.However,luckily for United, despite a disallowed Forest goal, Mark Robbins struck the winner and United had a narrow 1-0 win. United went on to win the FA Cup that season, playing every round away from home. Fergie had now some breathing space with the fans and board alike."
Well said Ramzi. Im sick of seeing impatient Barca fans who want perfect results immediately. Football does not work like that, it takes time and patience to build a side that can win the league/CL. In fact I am surprised we have done as well as we have so far and to be honest I expected a few more bad results than we have gotten. The fact that Guardiola can play around with his formations, try things out, have them go wrong and still manage to save a game speaks volumes about not only him but our players as well. You can talk about luck all you want but it was a goal of pure class that won the game yesterday. Shaktar were cheap and dirty the entire game and they got what they deserved in the end....more karma than luck!
To walk away with a draw would have been a good result, but a win is excellent. Stop complaining and be happy with a good result. I for one am extra happy that we were able to win while playing badly, that is the sign of a trophy winning side. We cannot always play well, we cannot always destroy our opposition so if we can still win when we play as badly as we did yesterday, well it can only mean good things.
Guardiola is trying different things because that's a coach's job. If you watch an NFL game, it's a constant battle of changes, tactics and schemes being hatched to counter another scheme. That was my biggest complaint against Rijkaard: his scheme never changed, his players never changed, his attack never changed.
Guardiola has a much better sense of the game, and who needs to come in to make a difference and does the attack need changing. This is the second match in a row in which he has made a difference through changes in personnel and attacking mentality.
These are the hallmarks of a coach who does indeed know what he's doing. Width is the way to battle defense in depth. Iniesta wasn't enough, so Krkic came in to pick at the lock from the right, which led to the goal. It also freed up Xavi in the center, so that he could make the pass to a constantly moving Messi.
Guardiola knows exactly what he's doing.
More importantly, the guys are killing themselves for each other, playing their hearts out. Henry was tired, but he was trying. Same with Eto'o. It's a TEAM out there this season. We might not grab silver, but it won't be because the coach doesn't know what he's doing, or that the players don't have quality.
I'm with Ramzi. I wouldn't have expected a 5-win streak with a new coach and a heavy rotation, this early in the season. Things are looking good.
Hope you're right guys the big and tough games are coming.
I can't say i'm optimistic right now but i can say i'm always blaugrana!
"That was my biggest complaint against Rijkaard: his scheme never changed, his players never changed, his attack never changed."
I agree, it's good to see that's he's trying new things and he really goes for it when it's needed and doesn't just do the player-for-player change but changes the system by throwing in another player.
But maybe he's doing it too much. Guardiola also changes when things are going good and sometimes he looks like just changing things or players for the sake of it. I'm just hoping he's working towards a fixed scheme and 8-9 fixed players.
imo.. its about time dat guadiola choose the first 11..if he continue changing the players position in everygame i dont thing barca will last 4 long this season.
he has done enough experiment!!!
did anybody saw zenit vs. madrid?...arshawin was killing madrid defence..mack my words!!.if arshawin is able to destroy madrid in bernabeu stadium he will shook the world again and barca will start hunting him again!!
I don't think that there should be a definite first 11. If Guardiola has the horses, and said horses are confronting different courses, why not pick the ones that are best for the terrain?
Rotation is the key to a successful season. Last year, the same starting 11 broke down over contesting for silver on 3 fronts.
I would much rather work faces in now, so that they are ready, rather than shoving them in when they haven't seen real match action.
Right now, Guardiola is experimenting a lot, so it might seem as if he is making changes just for the hell of it. But it's clearly to see how certain combinations work.
Versatility wins matches. I didn't even mind seeing the long balls to Henry. It's a different tactic than trying to pass the ball into the net all the time.
(Rotation) = (bad performance) is not a definite equation, actually the problem in shakhtar game was the lack of rotation, but you can give pep the excuse that Hleb is injured, pedro need some more time to be able to take responsibilities, so as caceres. But all that will come.
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