Real Sociedad 1, Barça 4, aka ‘The Fati Show’

Individual brilliance is a wonderful thing. Barça and the narrative around the club is that team football, intricate passing and movements that create lovely goals are the desired effect. Wins that are a consequence of individual brilliance are fine, but not ideal. Yet even those great Guardiola teams were absolutely stuffed with individual brilliance. The… Continue reading Real Sociedad 1, Barça 4, aka ‘The Fati Show’

FC Barcelona is a mess

Situation: You have a job. Your boss just bought a Ferrari, a posh new condominum and some new custom suits. He walks over to you, shooting the French cuffs on his perfectly fitted shirt, and says: “So, we’re having some difficulties. I know you’ve been overworked lately, and we need to hire someone to help… Continue reading FC Barcelona is a mess

Season preview, aka ‘All the levers for all the marbles’

Gulp. In thinking of a single-word depiction of feelings entering this new football season that kicks off Saturday against Rayo Vallecano, that simple word comes to mind. Apprehension, nervousness, risk and excitement exist in equal measures as Barça laces up the boots for real this time. We know about the levers, so many levers, all… Continue reading Season preview, aka ‘All the levers for all the marbles’

Barcelona, finances and everybody’s right

The new pre-season sport is speculating about the finances of FC Barcelona. There are endless arguments, pooh-poohing of other people, even those not named Winnie. Lines are drawn, battlements mounted and at the end of it all, the essential reality is that everybody is right. Why? Because nobody knows the truth. Well, except Laporta and… Continue reading Barcelona, finances and everybody’s right

Barça, tribalism, ‘truth’ and reality

It’s been fascinating to watch the feeding frenzy resulting in a Tweet from New York Times journalist Tariq Panja about the FC Barcelona governance model. In that Tweet, Panja said “Under this model successive presidents are able to make financial decisions without any personal consequences.” This isn’t wrong. What happened is that wagons were circled,… Continue reading Barça, tribalism, ‘truth’ and reality