Ronald Koeman: A Complicated Story.

28 min readMay 5, 2021

Complicated is an understatement when analyzing Ronald Koeman’s time at Barcelona.

He started the season decently well. Wins here and there even a first win at Celta Vigo in years despite being a man down. However around November things started going south and by December I’d published this thread on my twitter account.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Ronald Koeman at Barcelona. A thread.</p>— TFP (@teenage_pundit) <a href=”https://twitter.com/teenage_pundit/status/1336615141463429120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset=”utf-8"></script>

However the situation improved. Messi turned his season around. Barca improved defensively in the 3–5–2(though they’re still to vulnerable to counterattacks it has not been a major problem to them bar 1 or 2 games).

Mingueza and Araujo were in top form. Pique,Alba and Busquets seemed to be rejuvenated. His tactics finally seemed to kick in defensively.

The midfield 3 rather than a double pivot also helped. Barca no longer looked toothless in possession and bar Real Madrid were finally able to break down teams with the same efficiency and danger that they always had.

They accounted for the weaknesses of their aging players. He found away to be dangerous in attack without a 9 thanks to the front two, and De Jong and Pedri.

He solved the width problem without losing too much in defense. He found a way to fit 3 number 10’s into the same team without crowding 1 area or losing width.

He’s given more game time to the youngsters. Araujo and Mingueza becoming major players. Pedri becoming a starter.

Good vein of form and players and fans alike happy at a point. So where does the complication come in.

Ronald Koeman is heavily flawed despite Barca’s form. I can list a few of those problems.

1. He trusts certain players when in reality he doesn’t need them.

It’s no secret that Ronald Koeman bases his lineups on his relations with a player more than their actual talent. Earlier in the season when Pjanic and Puig were heavily need, he froze them out.

He consistently gave Sergi Roberto,Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann game time when none of them were performing well and when Pique and Busquets were struggling he still didn’t look at that option to bench them.

Koeman’s given a lot of game time to youngsters but it’s blatantly obvious that it’s mainly because of injuries. Dest,Araujo,Mingueza,Pedri form the bulk of the youth minutes and of those players:

Dest came in mainly because Roberto was injured.
Araujo played his first game after Lenglet was suspended and became a consistent starter after Pique’s injury.
Mingueza came in due to injuries to both Araujo and Pique and only became a consistent starter after the switch to the back three.
Pedri was mainly to solve the creativity problem(which he has).

Roberto for example has been trusted in recent games. While Roberto is more involved in the game play than Dest he doesn’t offer anything else.

He’s a very poor one on one defender in contrast to Dest who is a world class one on defender.
He’s lost the same ball carrying ability he was known for in the past while Dest constantly carries the ball with energy and with purpose.
He leaves acres of space behind and does not use his pace to cover it while Dest always makes sure to at least get back into position to block crosses.
Through leaving more space in behind than usual he increases the workload of Mingueza,Araujo and Pique while Dest tries his best to reduce it.
He’s been wasteful in attack in recent games while Dest has done his best to make an impact.

Koeman trusting Roberto at the moment isn’t sensible. Especially considering Dest is one decent game away from regaining his pre April form.

There’s also Koeman trusting Pedri and Moriba over Puig. At the current moment both the two aren’t in great form while Puig the only player in the team capable of replacing them constantly watches on from the bench.

2. His lack of rotation.

People seem to believe that Barca lack options. That benching even a single player would ruin the balance of the team. But that’s false.

With Ter Stegen,Neto,Tenas and Pena Barca have 1 world class,1 top class and 2 talented young goalkeepers to serve them. However there’s little room for keeper rotation because Barca give away too many random chances for us to say let’s give this man some game time.

However I’ll get to the defense later.

With Araujo,Mingueza and Pique the only consistent center backs at Barca, Clement Lenglet has got game after game in that left center back spot. Now that’s not sensible.

There is benefit in having a left footed center back in the build up but at what cost. In games where Barca had it easy they could have tested out Arnau Comas of the B team.

He’s tall,good in the air, good at reading the game,strong,good on the ball, decently fast(used to negating counter attacks),good with both feet and basically has all the qualities you’d expect a La Masia center back to have.

Barca B generally don’t concede more than once per game. A good record to have especially considering how a team like Barca’s manages to concede two to even Getafe.

He’s not world class but worth the try. The more options you have the merrier. Plus if he’s not ready for the top level yet so be it. Youngsters can always improve. Mingueza went from the B team bench to A team starter.

Our midfield has been in unquestionable form. But it is no secret that our midfield has needed rest. With Puig,Pjanic,Jandro,Moriba and Nico Gonzalez all available our midfield should be rotating consistently.

Puig especially. He’s just as good as Pedri arguably even better but even when Pedri has needed rest, Koeman has not turned to him. But we’ll get to that later.

Rotation in midfield is especially key. All the Barca midfielders mentioned above are either world class players or world class young talents. Giving them game time is key especially if we’re to maintain our team for the title race.

It’s no secret that Barca have looked tired in recent games. There’s spells of 20 mins or so where Barca look slow. It’s normal for every team but we have to realize that the lesser the fatigue the more the chances of winning the league.

Koeman himself said the team that copes best physically and mentally will win the league. Going back on his own word?

Another problem of rotation is with Busquets and Pique. They’re still capable of putting in world class performances. But they’re not at the same level they were 3–5 yrs ago.

They should be maintained. Only for the important games where their experience will prove key to Barcelona’s team.

Barcelona do not have the privilege of not rotating. Yes it maintains the balance of the side, but it is rotation that maintains the squad. Rotation helps you see who can give you what and where and how can he do it?

Rotation improves players in multiple roles. Example, Frenkie De Jong. He plays as an interior in a midfield three. However he should be used more as a 6. Especially considering that if he finds comfort in the role,we won’t have to depend on Busquets anymore.

Rotation is what develops youngsters. Rotation prevents complacency. The biggest problem in Barcelona the past few years has been a lack of rotation.

One of the reasons why Barcelona player’s levels dropped so suddenly was because of a lack of competition. If you know you don’t need to fight for your place you won’t push yourself as much.

The only way for players to push themselves without competition is if the coach demands them to do so. Valverde and Setien were like aging grandfathers. They didn’t seem bothered by it.

Koeman meanwhile is to scared of rotation. Once something looks like it’s working he sticks with it. Afraid to try out new things.

3. His in-game management.

Though it’s been less of a problem in recent games, it’s no secret that Ronald Koeman is incapable of coping when his game plan is thwarted. That counted with the fact that it’s not always hard to do so.

The best example being the Granada game, Granada scored, he took of Busquets.

No control over the pace of the game,they lose the ball — counter attack — 2–1 to Granada.

It’s happened in multiple games earlier this season before our great run of form. He’s also been a bit lucky that when in need, Messi and Griezmann have saved the team this season.

In games where we could have easily lost, they turned up.

However it is no secret that Koeman has unbalanced the team in some games and even when he’s made the right sub there are times when he’s waited till there’s 15 or less minutes left to do so.

When there’s less time to make something happen and the opposition team can just sit back and make you suffer for 20 or so minutes when you could have made the change earlier.

4. He still has not been able to reduce Messi dependencia.

Messi being top scorer and top assister in La Liga and for Barcelona is not impossible. He is the best in the business.

But no Barcelona player has scored more than 13 league goals other than Messi. With Antionne Griezmann the next best on 12.

Another place where rotation could solve a problem. Barca already score a lot of goals. They’re on 80. 19 More than the next highest scorer Atletico Madrid. But they suffer from a major problem.

Messi and Griezmann have scored 40goals between them. That’s 50 percent of their goals by two people. Which is where Koeman could have helped.

There are only three players at Barcelona currently with enough of a goal threat to ease the pain on those two. Ousmane Dembele,Francisco Trincao and Ansu Fati.

Arguments could be made for Konrad De La Fuente and Alex Collado but I believe they’re more creative than goal-scoring. There’s also Martin Braithwaite but he’s to wasteful.

Ansu Fati had started the season well, but an 8 month injury layoff curtailed it. Now, Ousmane Dembele has served them when needed though not always. Some argue he’s also been wasteful in attack.

Trincao meanwhile has struggled to find his shooting boots. However, I think Koeman can work on those two in the training ground. In games where Messi and Griezmann have not been able to provide, other than Dembele Barca haven’t had any scorers.

One thing about La Liga this season is that most of the other teams don’t have goals in their arsenal. If you can outscore them with a semi decent defense, the better.

He’s tried to work on this with Frenkie De Jong and Pedri making runs into the box. However the only midfielders at Barca with real danger in front of goal are Moriba and Puig.

Moriba and Puig aren’t super efficient but unlike Pedri, they have the confidence and unlike Frenkie they tend to be better shot takers.

Frenkie tries to caress the ball into the back of the net, meanwhile the other two tend to go more for power. This could also be worked on on the training pitch. Barca should be hitting 100 goals per season at this point.

Messi has over performed his expected goals massively. Griezmann meanwhile has stopped missing chances as much. The two have missed a combined 23 big chances this season with majority of them coming before the turn of the year.

They’ve definitely become more efficient but they could use some help.

Messi,Griezmann and Alba have created a combined 40 big chances this season. However, they have only 21 assists combined.

Here’s some context, other than the Real Madrid game at the Camp Nou, all the games Barca have lost this season have been by a 1 goal margin. Not to mention 5 draws.

10 extra goals,10 chances scored in 10 games could have meant Barca being 13 points clear at the top of the table. Koeman will have to hope Barca’s finishing can momentarily improve the 4 games remaining because they will need it.

65 big chances missed. The most in La Liga. However 80 goals scored from 68 expected goals.(mostly due to Messi). Essentially there’s only one efficient finisher at Barca at the moment. If Barca scored just 10 of these big chances that’s at least 5 more points.

They have to hope Sevilla win against Real and they have to win all their games when they only have two finishers. It’s a dangerous game Barca are playing.

They wasted at least 3 big chances in each of the Granada and Valencia games and those are two examples only. The team needs to work on it’s finishing. Especially considering there’s no nine for Barca.(Braithwaite being unable to serve the team).

Creative problems however were reduced thankfully. Though Barca could make better use of their non-existent right wing.

Messi dependencia however still shows it’s head in difficult games. E.g Real Madrid,PSG,Granada loss,Valencia two days ago.

Is it large no. Is it still there- yes.

Other than working on the players finishing, he could work on their mentality. It’s not impossible to see Barca players lose energy in difficult games. Messi and Griezmann seem to be the only ones willing to push on till the 90th minute.

5. His defensive tactics.

The above picture has been a big part of Barca’s great run since December. They concede a lot so they have to outscore other teams. 5–3,5–2,4–2,3–2.

33 goals conceded from 37 expected. In terms of expected goals Barca have the 6th best defense in La Liga. 37 expected goals. That’s 4 more than any other top 4 team in La Liga.

33 goals conceded. 4th best in La Liga. Still however it’s 6 more than any other side in the top 4. Barca’s defense doesn’t match that of their fellow title challengers.

We could count the defensive mistakes. Lenglet in both legs against Cadiz,Neto against Alaves,Pique vs Atletico but it doesn’t change the fact that Barca are week defensively.

Note to mention Ter Stegen’s drop in form this season. He’s not matched the same goal preventing ability he had last season(when Barca’s defense was worse).

Barca’s weakness on the counter attack is too great. All sides that can counter attack well have scored at least once or twice against Barcelona.

It’s not that Barca’s defenders are not great but the team hasn’t been set up to cope well with counters even with a back three and two defensively solid midfielders.
Examples:

April : Granada,Villareal,Getafe,Real Madrid= 4points lost. 3 at Granada,1 at Madrid(could have easily prevented the Benzema goal plus both Granada goals were preventable.)
February : Cadiz,PSG,Granada,Betis(Lenglet could also be considered accountable but eitherway that was still poor defending from Barcelona.)That’s 1 point and a potential UCL quarter final.
January : Bilbao
December : Eibar,Valencia,Sociedad,Juventus,Cadiz. That’s 5 points plus a UCL group topper that would have meant an easier route to the quarters.
November : Atletico(mainly Pique but Barca could have got something in that match considering that they were dominant),Betis,Kyiv.
October : Alaves(worst way to drop points ever. 2 points sent away just like that),Ferencvaros,Getafe,Real Madrid(again Modric and Valverde goals easily preventable. Not to mention the penalty). Getafe(3 points down the drain to a team currently in 15th.)

That’s about 17 points lost just on the counter attack. Just five, only five, would have been enough to give Barca a firm hold on the league title. Most of the dropped points are earlier in the season mainly because Barca’s attack improved massively.

Doesn’t change the fact that Barca’s defense needs work. Work that is more than just personnel. Barca’s personnel are fine, but they lack indoctrination and drive.

Mingueza and Araujo have played well but that’s because they’re fighting for a spot in the team. Complacency meanwhile shows every time Lenglet plays. He always had mistakes but he’s been extra clumsy this season.

Since his sending off at Celta Vigo in the start of the season(though he isn’t to blame for that 100%) he’s been making mistakes consistently. The back three was meant to give Alba security to go forward but he hasn’t.

Pique meanwhile has shown time and again why he shouldn’t be a starter. In some games his experience shows. It serves the team well. But in others his age shows and it harms the team. He shouldn’t be starting every match only those in which his input is needed.

Barca leave so much space for counter attacking teams. They still have a tendency to leave large gaps between midfield and defense though their pressing has improved. The teams defenders are less pro active which is dangerous.

Many La Liga teams are left sided so the duty falls on Dest to do most of the heavy lifting. He does it decently well but he could use some help. On the left side however Alba still does poorly in defense and as Real Madrid showed Barca’s left side is defensively non-existent with Lenglet behind Alba.

Which raises the question. Why not use Mingueza (who is used to playing on the left) there and Araujo on the right side with Pique through the middle? Lenglet is in bad form. Umtiti hasn’t impressed when he’s played so why not.

Try out Comas even. He’s talented. Here is another place rotation and being willing to try new things could have helped Barca.

6. His ego and player relations.

Ronald Koeman arrived at Barca. He found Riqui Puig. The best young midfielder at Barcelona and the most in form midfielder at Barcelona.

A fan favorite, a La Masia graduate, already performing in La Liga, even in big games like vs Atletico Madrid. With confidence, real creativity,pressing ability,passing ability second only to Lionel Messi and Busquets,vision, dribbling and enough energy to spark the team into life Riqui Puig is a profile Barca can’t afford to waste.

And the fear that he’ll become a Thiago Alcantara is very much there. Thiago Alcantara left Barca for Bayern in 2013 as Pep Guardiola’s first signing as Bayern manager.

Since then despite injuries Thiago Alcantara has been world class every time he’s played and his return was pivotal to their Champions League. Dominating Barca’s midfield in their 8–2 embarrassment.

The biggest problem with Puig isn’t even ‘fanboying’ or anything that leads to it. For example since the international break in late March, Pedri has looked tired and he hasn’t been creating as many chances or been as lively.

Barca’s other interior, Frenkie De Jong is on the form of his life but Pedri has not. The Barca team all round seems to have lost a step due to fatigue. This is the biggest problem brought about by a lack of rotation.

When your squad is fatigued and needs a bit of spark from the bench, your players are not fresh enough to do so. They’re not lively enough to do so. They’re then forced onto the pitch and if they don’t hit the ground running they look like bad players.

However, Riqui Puig doesn’t suffer from this. Every time he’s played, he’s looked like he’s on the best form of his life. Always sharp, always pushing the team forth.

Koeman’s justifications of playing Puig are that he’s not a hard worker and he’s poor defensively. This is false. A kid with this much energy and as effective a presser as he is he helps the team defensively as he can counter press very well.

Also in a more defensive setup, Koeman the coach,could train him to hold his position and mark like say Pedri does(which is also something that was clearly taught to him by another coach before he left Barcelona.)

Send Puig out on loan and it fails,Koeman might seem to have made the right choice but he’ll potentially have destroyed the career of a top player. Send Puig out on loan and it works, Koeman may look bad and be humbled into playing him but it’ll work out so the story will be buried quickly.

If Koeman is all about maintaining Barcelona culture and giving chances to youth, he shouldn’t do is selectively. Puig is not even a stubborn player.

Imagine Barcelona signs Neymar. A person with a world famous, planetary sized ego. Koeman will bench on of the best players in the world because of ego.

Koeman’s treatment of Oumar Niasse and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the past is evidence enough that this is a man who’ll do his best to make a player’s life miserable just to prove a point.

He freezed out Niasse when Everton needed goals due to Lukaku’s departure. Lack of goals and Koeman’s inability to set his teams up well defensively got Everton to 18th and him sacked.

He couldn’t freeze out a player of a high profile like Zlatan but it is no secret that the two had problems. Even at the height of Pep’s problems with Eto’o and Yaya Toure he never froze them out.

Ego as a manager has got Mourinho , a legendary manager fired thrice since he left Real Madrid in 2013. The players have not turned on Koeman yet but it’s mainly because he’s a club legend and played a big part in the club’s history.

Pjanic is another. It’s also saddening that this is a player on 7million a year unlike Puig. He should be used. He can serve the team in every midfield position. He’s world class,experienced and not yet in his decline.

8. Koeman’s record in big games is terrible.

Here’s what people need to understand. A big game is not any game against a team worth their salt. This is a game against a title challenging side or a major European team.

The EPL top 4,Juve,Inter,AC Milan,Atleti,Real Madrid,PSG, Sevilla,Dortmund and Bayern. You could make a case for Arsenal and Spurs(who were not part of the EPL top 4 last season.)

This are the teams that Barca needs to beat(maybe not AC now but considering how they’re moving it’s a year or two before they’re back.)

Now let’s look at it.

Exhibit A : Draw to Sevilla. Terrible defending of a set piece and minimal chance creation all round. Poor midfield pairing a heavy contributor.
Exhibit B : 2–0 win at Juve away. Good performance. Took advantage of a weak Juve side.(1/15)
Exhibit C : 3–1 Classico loss. Poor pressing,poor defending,poor setup,poor lineup,poor in game management, everything was just terrible against a side that sets out only to win the games they know they can lose. That to Zidane’s Real is like telling them take the league title.
Exhibit D : 1–0 Loss to Atletico Madrid. While it was a Pique mistake,it has to be said Barca looked toothless in attack.
Exhibit E : 3–0 loss to Juve. Toothless in attack yet again. Poor defense yet again, lost to a very beatable Juve side. Cost Barca an easier tie in the round of 16.(yes Barca would have beaten Porto. They lack in attack, Barca don’t and while well drilled in defense as Man City proved, they can be broken down and that for Barca is enough.)
Exhibit F : Not really counting the Super Cup but Barca still handed a title to Bilbao. Though I won’t blame Koeman as much on this one.
Exhibit G : 2–0 win at Sevilla. Commendable. Good scoreline,clean sheet, gained one on a title contender.(2/15)
Exhibit H : 3–2 loss to Sevilla 1st leg. Won’t really blame though,the team could have done a bit better.
Exhibit I : 3–0 win against Sevilla. The team did better and it showed.(3/15)
Exhibit J : 4–1 loss to PSG. Won’t blame Lenglet for this one. How do you face Mbappe and have no counter plan whatsoever? PSG may have knocked out Bayern and Navas had a legendary game against both FCB’s but it doesn’t change the fact that better defending and that PSG game turns from a 5–2 humbling to a scruffy 3–2.
Exhibit K : 1–1PSG. Decent game. As for the finishing, can’t blame Koeman. Who’d have expected Messi and Dembele to miss that many chances?(3.5/15)
Exhibit L : 2–1 loss to Real Madrid. Poor defending on that 1st goal. Toothless in attack again. No counter plan to Madrid whatsoever. Messi dependencia in the end. 2 losses to a weakened Madrid side.
Exhibit M : 4–0 Copa Del Rey Final win against Bilbao. Bilbao don’t fit the criteria but it was a final. Masterclass from the Dutchman. I’ll give him that. Everyone looked sharp. Everyone looked raring to go for more. It was a great performance all round and one that hasn’t been matched by Barca probably since the Enrique era.(4.5/15)
Exhibit N : 2–1 loss to Granada. Doesn’t fit the criteria of the big game but considering it was a match in which Barca had the chance to go top. They should have done a lot better. Barca needed 1 more goal to seal the match but rather than try to maintain Barca’s domination Koeman unbalanced the team. Destroyed Barca’s control over the match.
Exhibit O : Vs Atletico on Saturday. With the opportunity to gain the upper hand, he’ll have to win this game. He can’t afford to play Sergi Roberto here. He can’t afford to condone mediocrity here. He’ll have to bring his A game and hope his team are on it’s a game.(5/15)

That’s a 33 % record in big games. It could be less cause he got a .5 for the yet to be played Altetico game. But even so, of 15 games he’s got his tactics right for only 5.

The 6th one is do or die. Considering the Classico was also do or die, I don’t have high hopes for him.

And this big game record leads us to his next and worst flaw in my opinion.

9. He can’t bring what the fans and the club want.

Winning titles is hard. Messi himself said it. Barca shouldn’t take La Liga for granted and in the last 2 years it showed. For the longest time the only real challenger was Real Madrid.

But as the Atleti’s players move into their respective primes and Sevilla continue assembling a strong consistent team. La Liga has more challengers.

Atletico were always challengers but in the past two years they’ve assembled a squad that can beat anyone in Europe on form. Not if they get the chance but in form.

They are currently looking to win La Liga and then they can look. They can consider themselves a super power. They may still lack in some areas but they are worthy contenders to both the La Liga and even the UCL.

Sevilla were always a strong side but this season they have shown that they can at least push the ‘Big 3’.

La Liga is even harder to win now more than ever. To make it worse, Real Madrid are for the first time in a long while taking the La Liga title race seriously.

Even with 4 UCL’s in since they last defended a La Liga title in 2008, Real Madrid’s league record since then has been abysmal. Barca have won 3 UCL’s since then and it could also have been 4.

It’s not like they’re an abysmal team however Barca have won 8 of the 12 available. The UCL record shows that the two teams should be more evenly matched. However that’s all changed.

Zidane’s had only 3 full seasons at Real Madrid with the 15–16 and 18–19 ones seeing him replace a departed coach. However in 2/3 League titles is proof enough that whether in Europe or in Spain Zidane means business.

He could easily make it 3/4. Not to mention he’s won the UCL in 2/3 full seasons at Real Madrid. The only trophy he seemingly doesn’t take seriously is the Copa Del Rey as he’s also won the Spanish Super Cup twice.

Back to Barca however and speaking of the Copa Del Rey, Real and Atletico may not take it seriously. But as Valencia proved, it’s not always going to be a walk in the park for Barca. They also lost the Super Cup to Bilbao and Atleti.

Essentially, long gone are the years where Barca could sit back and only worry about the UCL. Not that Mourinho and Pep didn’t have heated title races but it can’t be a secret that prior to 2013 Barca and Real were unchallenged.

Post then however Atleti have had 2 top two finishes and a title and could win another or finish in the top 2 a 3 rd time. Sevilla could also have easily made the top 3 recently.

Long gone are the years where they would win every Copa Del Rey that they didn’t meet Real in the final. In fact the only such case prior to 2019 was in 2013 where they didn’t even reach the final.

Koeman has delivered a Copa Del Rey and he could still deliver a league title but then that sends us to the next thing. The thing that has eluded Barca for 7 years. The Champions League.

Barca need a UCL win and they want it fast. Now can Barca win a UCL with one of the youngest teams in Europe? Definitely. As history would tell, youth is often a benefit in club football.

Plus Barca’s squad needs two things, motivation,indoctrination ,strictness and consistency to win a UCL.

I always like to give an example of Liverpool. In 2019, they may not have been better than Barca or PSG or Bayern or Man City but they beat 2 of those teams(I’ll get to that Barca game) on route to the final.

Barca’s squad in my opinion is just as good.

Just look at it.

Alisson < => Ter Stegen plus one can’t rule out Barca signing a competitor for him.
Trent < => Dest who has just as much potential and Emerson who’s joining soon.
Van Dijk < => Barca could sign fellow Dutchman De Ligt plus Araujo and Mingueza could develop into what they need as Pique has aged and can’t serve them as well.
Gomez < => Araujo,Mingueza,Garcia(who’s joining) plus there’s still more from the academy.
Robertson < = > Alba who if on form is better than him.
Fabinho < = > Busquets and De Jong who are both better. Plus Jandro could come from the academy.
Wijnaldum < = > Pedri,Moriba and De Jong
Henderson < = > Nico Gonzalez,Puig,De Jong.
Salah < = > Messi. Speaks for itself really.
Firmino < = > Dembele,Fati and potentially Aguero who are all better.
Mane < = > Griezmann and potentially Haaland who can both match his level.

Essentially Barca though with a young team are 2 signings away from assembling a team better than that Liverpool team and with enough depth to beat any side with any lineup.

Depth, to a coach who is afraid of rotation. That’s like a blade to a warrior afraid of blood.

Another thing. Look at Real Madrid. They were not miles better than the teams they knocked out in some of these UCL’s. But they set their team up right and beat them fair and square.(controversial referee calls aside.)

They had both the tactics and mentality to do so. Koeman might have the mentality. He won every title available to him as a player bar the World Cup. But does he have the tactics?

Let’s even ignore his inability to make maximum use of the squad. Can he make maximum use of his players qualities?

Look at Pep for example. He has Phil Foden. Foden has all the qualities and his favored position is in midfield. Pep however has nurtured him to be a right winger,left winger and false nine.

Pep has also done this with Bernardo Silva and Ferran Torres and to some extent Zinchenko and Gundogan. He’s maximized their abilities in multiple positions while still giving them enough game time in their favored positions.

Can Koeman do that? Moriba,Pedri,Frenkie,Nico Gonzalez,Riqui Puig(if he drops his agenda against him),Oscar Mingueza,Sergino Dest,Ansu Fati,Alex Collado,Ousmane Dembele,Francisco Trincao.

Can he make use of their versatility in skill set? Or will he just use them in one way and let all the other qualities go to waste until injuries and suspensions hit?

Let’s go back to the tactics. With his poor performances already, can he take Barcelona to a final? Can he meet the likes of Zidane,Simeone,Guardiola, Nagelsmann,Pochettino,Gasperini,Ten Hag,Klopp,Tuchel and more and win.

Or will he just leave his team toothless and defensively exposed like he has time and time again. The fans and the board know that this team is due a Champions League.

With Messi to stay for two more years at the minimum, the least they can do is hand him that elusive fifth Champions League medal.

Or will he be like other coaches before him. Enrique did well with the squad and even when he was knocked out it wasn’t humiliating.

However, since his departure it has been. Rome, Anfield,Lisbon against Bayern. Blame the players but blame the manager too. Conceding 8 was unexpected. 4 to a Liverpool team that for 135 of the 180 minutes they had dominated and kept out. 3 to Roma of all people.

It’s not sensible. It’s not a good look. It’s not worth it. Especially Anfield. Barca had all the tools to win a treble. Then in 2 games Valverde despite Messi doing everything possible to win it, choked.

He had zero counter for Liverpool and Valencia. And Koeman shows that he also has none in his bag of tricks to out muscle the big guns.

A UCL win in the next two years is very much possible. But not with Koeman.

He can’t maximize the potential of the squad and no UCL bar 2012 has been won without a tactically astute manager at the helm.

So what are the positives for Ronald Koeman at Barca?

We have to highlight the good. I am not a Koeman fan but give credit where credit is due.

1. He’s over-archived with this Barca team.

Barcelona’s season seemed to be doomed at a point. Losses in every big game, 15 th placed at a point and 13 points behind Atletico for majority of the season and struggling to find their way.

Scoring goals was an issue in some games. Creating chances as well. Barca seemed unable to take the driver’s seat in many games.

However with the new system that seemed to have revived Busquets,fit Griezmann,Frenkie,Dest and Alba perfectly, Barca went on one of the best winning runs in Europe.

Messi looked happy, Barca were winning,scoring and more importantly moving up the table. In the Copa Del Rey, Barca pulled of multiple comebacks and won the tournament with a magical final performance.

There’s a potential league title and he might fluke a champions league. Who knows? Form will tell.

2. He’s improved where Setien and Valverde failed.

Koeman may have repeated a number of their mistakes but he has improved on many.

Unlike both, he seems to get the team to play for him. Unlike both he seems to understand the value of width. Unlike both he has improved Barca’s pressing. Unlike both, he seems to have understood the system that best fits the aged players like Busquets and Pique.

Unlike Valverde, he values youth(bar Puig). Unlike both he reduced Messi dependencia. Unlike both he’s the first manager at Barca to give them the intensity required to beat 85% of La Liga teams.

Where the players had problems with Setien, the players are willing to work for Koeman. Where Valverde and Setien seemed to struggle to find solutions, Koeman has(bar defending counter attacks of course.)

3. He’s made use of the youth.

Since Pep, Barca fans have been clamoring for a coach who at least gave chances to youngsters. Despite having a strong first team, Barca always gave chances to young players.

However since Guardiola’s departure that has changed. In the last 6 years they’ve spent a billion in transfer fees since 2015. They’ve also let go off Grimaldo,Traore,Thiago,Olmo,Garcia,Simmons and many more.

All those people could have served Barca more than some of the players they signed. Koeman however values youngsters more than ever. Though that is mainly due to specific factors it’s still a plus.

SO DO THOSE GOOD OUT WEIGH THE BAD?

No. I don’t think so. Even without counting the other flaws the fact that he’ll most probably get knocked out at the quarters of the UCL year on year is worse than ever.

Garcia Pimienta and Xavi Hernandez despite their inexperience could deliver more in the league and in big games. They don’t even need to improve the team offensively just defensively.

It is in the champions league that Koeman will prove he is worth his salt. It is the UCL that makes people speak of a manager as the best in the world or legendary.

A manager who doesn’t seem to be capable of making it past the quarters is not it. The UCL is not paramount to Barca because it’s more prestigious or more competitive but because it’s more economic.

Being in the UCL is a lot of money however, winning it is even more money.

There’s the 100 plus million you receive from UEFA.(bound to increase with the new format.)
There’s the rise of sponsorship deals as they fight to have a connection to Europe’s best team.
There’s the increase of tv money just so that people can watch, this team.

No team has won the Champions League without making a profit. And Barca need to make that profit. 1 billion debt is dangerous. The threat of disappearing for 10 yrs like the two Milan sides is very much there.

They can clear it through the maintaining their status in Spain and getting consistent UCL football plus lower wage bills,better transfer policy and player sales.

However a Champions League win would do wonders for them financially and ease the pressure. A UCL win means Barcelona’s annual revenue of 750 million on average could increase to 900 million.

Koeman can’t bring that at the moment. Not with his poor defensive tactics, poor in game management,stubbornness,ego,player agendas,fear of rotation and inability to make maximum use of the players.

DO I THINK HE SHOULD BE FIRED?

I don’t like Koeman, in the slightest. But he’s improved Barca compared to Setien and Valverde(bar big games and the UCL) and he’s shown he can win titles domestically.

He’s shown he can make use of youth and develop them to a decent level. He’s the ideal transitional coach. Sort of like Ranieri.

He’s only got 1 year left on his contract. In that 1 year, Barca could confirm whether Pep is going to come back or Xavi will be given a chance or Garcia Pimienta or even he could work on his flaws and continue.

I however do not believe that Koeman as he is now should be given an extension at Barcelona. No good thing about lining someone up to be fired. Let him win a league title then leave while the fans still tolerate him.

The pain of firing a legend, especially one as great as Koeman isn’t worth being felt. Better he see out his contract which would be financially viable and move with his head held high.

WHO SHOULD REPLACE HIM?

Many people have argued, that after Valverde and Setien Barcelona should stop looking at unproven managers. But the two candidates I am presenting are perfect for the club.

They understand the values and style of the club as they are both Barcelona bred through and through. Both are Catalan, Barcelona born,passed through the Barcelona academy. Pimienta
They play the style of play of the club. Tiki taka the way Pep,Cruyff and Rijkaard did it may never succeed in this time and day, but an evolved version of it is what Barcelona need and these two can offer it.
Both can serve for long. Pimienta may be 47 which today is old for a manager but he can serve the club for at least 3 years then Xavi takes over and Pimienta moves further up the board as a director or something of the sort.
Both lack the flaws I have stated above. Both lack the flaws of Setien and Valverde and most importantly both coaches would be cheap to acquire so if they fail to succeed it can be a low risk-high reward move.

The mistake at Barca was not hiring poor coaches per say but it was hiring decent coaches, expecting all of them to blow up.

One of the reasons why Rijkaard,Guardiola and Enrique succeeded is because they all setup the team well and accounted for all it’s weaknesses and maximized it’s strengths.

Unproven isn’t a problem, unprepared is. Barcelona’s defense was never their strongest asset as with many great teams, but since Enrique left Barca’s defending has let them down myriad times.

Well structured deep blocks were always a problem for Barca but Barca since Enrique left found themselves struggling to create chances against relegation sides even.

Deep block or not you can at least beat a team in 19th properly and comprehensively not a scrappy 1–0 or 2–1. Or a 1 goal game until you seal it in the 90th and get a 5 th in the 94th to make it look like you were dominant.

These two coaches above while at a lower level I’ll admit have shown they’re worth their salt. In fact the only challenge left for them is for Garcia Pimienta to qualify to Segunda A or La Liga Smartbank and for Xavi to win the Asian Champions League. Both of which can happen soon.

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