They also went those six consecutive seasons where they got knocked out in the Round of 16. But they have always qualified for the Champions League since non-league champions were admitted into the competition (1997-98). In that same time frame Barca have failed to qualify for the Champions League just once. That was in the 2002-03 La Liga season (finished sixth). Gaspart voluntarily stepped down in February 2003, smack in the middle of that poor campaign. Hopefully, poor results won't be required to make this regime realize how f*cked up they've made this club. Or to get them ousted. (my first post in this thread )
Prediction thread for new season just posted, please put in votes before first Liga match kicks off on the 20th to be eligible for all points!
True, but competing means more to him I'd imagine. Even indirectly, a player of his caliber puts a lot of pressure on management to win now at all costs. I'm not saying they did a good job of it but I expect that's at least part of why they went away from Masia.
Let's make it good practice to go over to the MOTM thread and vote for your top 3 performers. I think too many people watch for the result, and when it's not a win, then they automatically discount the whole team as utter shite. However, it's important to recognize who's been fighting every match, if for nothing else than play down the pessimism about the team.
vs Betis i would go with: -----Denis------Alcacer-------Messi------ -----------Roberto---Rakitic-------------- Alba-----------Busquets--------Semedo ------------Umtiti-----Masche------------- -----------------TerStegen------------------ toughest choice being Denis vs Deulofeu on the left