SirBalon

Nobody knows what could happen with any coach big or small, experienced or inexperienced mate. What I personally think though is that we do need someone the players respect massively and this comes from a big name with a decent amount of experience. Many of our present players need to believe the club is looking to go forward and not to bring in a man that will be submissive (to the board) so as to get his big chance at a major brand name. I may be wrong, probably am... But that's how I feel. The problem is that if its true we have very little to spend respective of today's crazy prices in the transfer market, then a big name is very doubtful indeed.

Arteta makes sense if we don't want to spend hardly any money.

The players won't be happy with that. I would've though after the World Cup La Liga would've started in September.

I’ll have you know I was a star pupil in geography at school.

Berizzo is a very interesting prospect and was harshly treated by Sevilla. The only issue I have with him is if he’s totally cleared of his cancer.

They've just finished winning the double (their 8th, a record) and winning La Liga undefeated. It's hard to argue this point.

Wow! No mate, didn’t know about that. I’ll try it next time I’m there. Thanks for that!

Can I take my kite aswell though?

Chaaay already knows... I’m the only pick-pocket in the world that does it in crispy white ultra thin speedos while wearing swimming goggles and flying a pink kite. They don’t even see the situation coming and have no idea what they must be looking at.

I would've imagined that an EPIC dance off would've had a lot more movement involved than just something that resembles a calm jig.

Hahahaha Is that stuff for real.

One of my favourites if not my favourite city in the world of all the ones I’ve been to and I kid you not. The only one I like as much is New York. Eating is my favourite thing so I’ll start with that mate. Tickets Bar: A tapas bar that was started with the collaboration of the best chef in the world, Ferran Adrià and which is on the parallel road to Las Ramblas. Infact that’s the name of the road, Avenida del Paral-lel. Top tapas and a great scene close to the hustle and bustle of Barcelona. Pim Pam Burger: An odd place that fills up at nights with all types of odd bohemian artist folk and which do some great tapas and obviously with a name like that, top burgers, Spanish burgers which are amazing. Great music and top atmosphere. Accés: This is the priciest of the three I’m giving you although nowhere near as pricey as some of the places I’d love to tell you to go to (although if you want that lost of the best, tell me and I’ll happily give it to you), but it’s not extortionate and the food is out of this world in my view. Here in London you’d have to go Michelin star rating to get anywhere near that. I really recommend this place because there are others like Can Roca and the Berasetegui restaurant which are the best, but it costs. Places to go... You’ve already named some of the iconic ones. But others are... Casa Milà: Which is also a creation of the master Gaudi (like Parc Güell). Gothic Quarter: It’s self explanatory what this beautiful area of Barcelona is all about. Great little bars and beautiful buildings and churches in incredibly narrow streets. Montjuic: One of the high points of the city where the Olympic Stadium is situated. Beautiful and wonderful views of the city. Palau Nacional: One of the main museums in Barcelona. I just love it because of the building and the surrounding area. Then there are places just outside Barcelona like Montserrat or the dozens of beaches like Sitges or the multitude of piazzas like Plaça Catalunya or Plaça Espanya. I could go on and on but then I have to finish my part with the Camp Nou so you can be baptised.

This victory was an excellent message to the present Barcelona board.

Yeah, I've been saying for a while that there's some brilliant young players coming through and the generation after this one is even better. Blue highlighted the Venezuelan kid Alejandro Marques who is very good indeed.

Thanks for adding one line on the fact Barça youth won their version of the Champions League and then the rest!

First of all I want to reiterate that Roma played a mighty fine game in that second leg in the Stadio Olimpico, but Barça's main issue was attitude, something players hate being accused of but if we ever had a proof of this particular issue that gets thrown at teams from time to time, the capture of Iniesta spurring the players before coming out to play the second half will become infamous... A man of Iniesta's experience knows these things and he obviously didn't like what he saw in that first half which at that moment was only at 1-0 with a lot for Roma to do. Still, his words were that, more of that and Barça are going home in the tournament. That more refined attacking options may have been beneficial, I won't deny that because you can never have enough magic up front. But the players that took to the field for Barcelona on a 1-4 advantage should've had it easy that night by being intelligent, but not easy in terms of being permitted to be lethargic and arrogant. Neymar has tremendous qualities but he also has many flaws. His flaws for me outdo the beneficial attributes he offers and I don't like that type of player. All that without going into the manner he departed from Barcelona which is a different debate that has already been exhausted here at TF365. A team that plays in the manner Barcelona traditionally plays in is much more balanced by having that extra man in midfield, one wit the necessary talents to play in that midfield mind you, which isn't easy to find. Hopefully Arthur is that man, he definitely looks to be. Yes, it's a lot more spectacular to play a tremendous trio up front, we've been witness to that for four years at Barcelona, but hell, you're not going to tell me that the 4-3-3 formation didn't leave the team so open in midfield and subsequently in defence that many games before the front three managed to kill the game weren't games that also had you living on the edge with the amount of chances they let the opposition have. Many games that ended in the correct side of the score where Barça were concerned could've gone the other way. I personally feel more secure watching them like this to be honest.

Mate, everything you're saying is that Barcelona were able to put out a more balanced formation that didn't leave them open to massive defensive issues. Barcelona as a team are in a better position without Neymar than with him considering the other two that HAVE to play. Neymar is a great addition for a big side that doesn't have issues like those Barça found themselves in with massive names up front. Cruyff before passing away always maintained that he didn't think Neymar was good for Barcelona for two major reasons, one being his reputation and the second al those already in the team... His term was "demasiados gallos en el corral". Many will read into this sour grapes and others simply that he's gone and you look into within. But the stats are there, stats that looked impossible before the season started. What it is, is that Valverde didn't have a headache to put out a balanced side mate.

His crazy character on the pitch like when he threw a boot at the ref (luckily wasn’t spotted) and shaved his head after promising it to his colleagues. There are other anecdotes I’ve heard about him which I love too but nobody can deny he had the talent to be one of the best of his generation.

Out of recent players Arda Turan has also found that out too. I so liked Arda and hoped he’d be a success because of his character which is brilliant.

Why not @SirBalon

That's Richard Witschge who Cruyff famously said he'd be one of the footballing greats. Unfortunately Witschge choked at Barça (not the first to do so) and didn't live up to the expectations that were generally believed to happen universally at the time. The same thing occurred with another Dutch player in Affelay.

There are some club colour schemes where you can't do much with their kits without going all radical like Nike have done with Barça in some editions during recent years. But Real Madrid must be a nightmare for any sports brand trying to convince the club's fans to invest in the new season's strip... That picture for example... Which father is going to be crazy enough to fork out the obligatory £70+ for their kid? So little changes which tends to be the colour toning of the Adidas stripes and maybe the collar.

WOW! Arsenal showing some sort of care for their fans in a long time for once. Things really do look to be changing for once... Hope this continues to occur in similar circumstances as I won't forget the gesture.