There has been plenty of talk in recent weeks about Barça's form in recent weeks and the question has been asked about who is not pulling their weight in the team. Even one of the club icons Johan Cruyff says that there are players that are not playing at the necessary level and the club certainly has struggled in certain matches like last weekend against Almeria but is this any worse than last season?

It is easy to look back to last year with rose tinted glasses but the reality was that at times the team was not at its best. Obviously they won every competition available but to win any cup competition you need a certain amount of luck and it all came together last season. It doesn't matter how brilliant you are you always need that stroke of fortune such as the ball falling to Iniesta in injury time at Stamford Bridge in last season's Champions League semi-final.

It should not be forgotten that when Barça produced that famous victory at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid last season the title race was very tight, it wasn't as though Barça were running away with the championship and it is the same now. Is there any truth though that some players are under-performing. It's true that there have been a lot of injuries and suspensions recently but also players like Yaya Toure and Carlos Puyol aren't playing at their best.

The debate about Ibrahimovic is interesting. I would say that he has never perfectly fitted into the Barça system of quick passing and attacking at pace. He is a technically strong player, strong and good in the air but that is not the Barça style. Often he slows down the attack and now too often the midfield plays the ball long looking to use his height which also hasn't been that effective.

It is wrong to blame Ibrahimovic though but it is true that Eto'o was a player who fitted more into the Barça system with his pace and ability to combine with Messi, Iniesta et al.

 

 

 

 

 

Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure is not happy that he has only had a bit part role for Barcelona this season and there has been plenty of speculation about his future but it would be a big mistake to allow him to leave. All successful teams need a hard man as well as the skilfull and creative players. If you look at teams in the past like Manchester United, they had Roy Keane, Arsenal had Patrick Vieira and Frank Rijkaard himself was a physically imposing midfielder for Arrigo Sacchi's AC Milan team in the early 1990s. Toure signed a new deal with Barca hoping to play regularly as he had been doing at the end of last season and was an integral part in the side that won the treble. Since then though his star has started to fade and coach Pep Guardiola has chosen instead to field Seydou Keita who has been in blistering form. The agent of Toure is famous for being outspoken and was was quick to claim that the player was not happy and wants to leave the club because he is not playing enough. He says that while Toure was playing the big matches he also wanted to be involved in the regular games in a similar way to Xavi and Iniesta. As a result it was particularly disappointing for Toure when he was not included in the side which faced Real Madrid at the weekend and the player himself came out in 'France Football' to say that he needs to play more games. There are no shortage of admirers especially in the Premiership for Toure and there is no doubt he would be a big success there. For that reason it would be an error to let him go and it would probably rebound on the club. Toure's physically prowess was especially valuable against Chelsea and Manchester United in the Champions League and they are two of the clubs who are now keen to sign him. Playing in Europe it is necessary to have someone like Toure who can come out on top in a battle for example with Didier Drogba. Of course at the moment it is difficult to drop Keita but Guardiola would not be making a mistake by rotating his midfield more and giving more time to Toure because if he doesn't then he risks losing him and that may well come back to haunt him.

With Barcelona apparently keen to bring Robinho to Barcelona either in the January transfer window or at the end of the season, the question has to be asked how much they need the Brazilian. Robinho originally left his home country to join Real Madrid, where although he was not a disappointment he certainly didn't excel and that is clear from the way that they were willing to sell him when they did to Manchester City. Having wanted to join Chelsea he eventually was forced to join City with Madrid agreeing a deal with them but even though he wants to leave for a bigger club, he is far from vital at City who would happily recoup the money they spent on him. So the question has to be asked why Barca, who have such a rich array of talent in attack would want Robinho. It is true that Guardiola is looking to the future and Thierry Henry is coming to the end of his career, but Barca still have plenty of options in attack and Pedro has shown that he too is a candidate for a regular berth. Robinho meanwhile has never really delivered after such an enormous build-up before coming to Europe and his temperament also has to be questioned as he is known to enjoy the nightlife and has shown several breaches of discipline while at Madrid and City. Meanwhile the talk of Yaya Toure leaving is also worrying because as well as because all great sides need solid players who can complement the star players such as Iniesta and Messi. On top of this Toure has shown that he has a lot more to his game than just physical presence, as he is technically strong and has a good shot. It is worrying when his agent says that he is looking for a move to Chelsea or Manchester United or rumours surface of an exchange with Cesc at Arsenal.

With elections looming at the end of the season there has been plenty of posturing inside the boardroom over who will takeover from Joan Laporta and the signs are that it is turning into anything but a clean fight.

The crisis which the club endured at the end of the 2007/08 season led to a mass of resignations from the boardroom headed by the economic gurus Ferran Soriano and Marc Ingla who were responsible for the dramatic turnaround of the club's finances since the present board came to power in 2003. A vote of confidence was held against Laporta who stubbornly refused to stand down despite over 60 per cent of members voting against him. A two-thirds majority was needed to force him out.

Despite the success of Barcelona, Laporta has never won the hearts of fans due to his often dictatorial and arrogant stance as president. On taking over the reins in 2003 he promised to run a transparent board and also lift the covers on the Nunez and Gaspart years at what really happened behind the scenes in terms of spending. Instead while this never happened, he has been blamed for making the Barcelona board less open than ever.

As a spokesman for the Elefant Blau, the platform set up to oppose president Nunez, who was accused of becoming a dictator by the 1990s, Laporta championed the cause of the members but since being elected president himself he has gone down the same road. When accused of this at a meeting of members he responded to the questioner: "okay sit down you've had your moment of fame."

His rants and raves have become legendary. The time he argued with security staff at Madrid airport and took off his trousers in an act of petulance or the time when he kicked his chauffeur out of his car in the centre of Barcelona and continued driving himself. Many rightly felt these were not the actions of the president of a great club like Barcelona. Perhaps the biggest insult to fans though was when he brought Alejandro Echevarria onto the board and it was discovered that he was a founder member of the Franco society set up to honour the former dictator. Laporta denied he belonged to the society until he was proved wrong by a newspaper investigation.

The fight for power saw Sandro Rosell, crucial in the early signings of players like Ronaldinho and Deco, leave as he was angry at the way Laporta single-handedly ran the club and only listened to Johan Cruyff who wasn't even a board member and was entirely unaccountable. That was in 2005 and since then Laporta has gradually strengthened his hand in the boardroom by replacing directors who will yield to his every whim.

The latest saga to beset the club has been over the payment of money for the director Joan Oliver to organise a private security firm to follow four board members. When this was made public, Oliver denied it was spying but that simply the club was protecting these individuals although the information reported back did not back this up as they provided information on the presidential credentials of the directors. Most damning for Laporta was that one of these directors, Jaume Ferrer, was the favourite by other board members to replace the president but was not liked by Laporta himself.

In a board which is so dominated by Laporta there is little chance of recriminations and the man set to be chosen by Laporta to succeed him Xavier Sala i Martin is unlikely to face much of a challenge to be the continuity candidate. It remains to be seen who will fight him externly with Rosell almost certain to stand while Ferran Soriano could also throw his hat into the ring. It is set to be an intriguing battle between several leading figures who have a bitter resentment towards each other.  

 

 

Barcelona are among a host of top European sides following the progress of 20-year-old Brazilian Sandro Guimaraes. The Internacional de Porto Alegre player is a regular in the Brazilian U-20 national side and broke into his club's first team last season where he has already made a significant impact. Currently he has a contract until 2013 but it is likely he will move to Europe in the summer. Tottenham Hotspur made an offer of 14m euros in August which was rejected for contractual reasons. Meanwhile, Barca are also interested in Racing Santander midfielder Sergio Canales. The 18-year-old made his Primera Division debut for Santander this season and is one of the big hopes of Spanish football. With his contract coming to an end this summer he is also likely to move on but Barca are likely to face tough competition from Real Madrid.

An important decision before the kick-off against Rubin Kazan was the choice of putting Gerard Pique and Rafa Marquez in the heart of the defence and leave Carles Puyol on the bench. Under Pep Guardiola, Puyol has stopped being the ever-present stalwart of the team that he has been in the past. A lot of this has been a result of the emergence of Pique who can offer the strength of Puyol coupled with the fine ball control and the ability to build play from the back. A key element to the way Guardiola perceives the game is that he looks for technical quality from all areas of the pitch and that seems to be the reason why he prefers to play Marquez ahead of Puyol - for his ability to launch attacks with his short and long range passing. The downside though was only too clear against Rubin as there is no substitute for the character and commitment of Puyol who drives the team forward relentlessly. Against the Russian's counter-attacking, his pace and battling was sorely missed

Barcelona are keen to reinforce their attack with Manchester City forward Robinho but if they do so they may have to lose Yaya Toure who the Premiership side are keen to bring in. Toure was one of the unsung heroes of the Barca side last season and his importance should not be forgotten amid the praise given to Barca's famed attacking players. While Messi, Iniesta and Xavi et al all lit up the stadium with their skills, Toure was also very effective either in his accustomed midfield role, protecting the defence or as a centre-half which he did impressively against Chelsea and Manchester United in the Champions League. Reports also suggest that Puyol's future is still not secure. Following news that the club is stalling on offering Rafael Marquez the terms that he wants, Puyol is still yet to sign a new deal to stay at the Nou Camp. He remains a talisman for the side but it appears that the board are looking to the future and especially see Gerard Pique as the way ahead.

Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan has been strongly linked with a move to Barcelona this summer to reinforce the forward line. Having finished the season on 32 goals, Forlan has shown once again his quality and would be a welcome addition to the Barca squad and surely would be a better signing than Ibrahimovic who has shown himself to be moody and lazy at Inter Milan. Ibrahimovic has said that he would like a move away from Inter and look for new challenges but while he has undoubted ability, his temperament leaves a lot to be desired. Another striker Benzema is also linked once again and he has expressed an interest in coming to Spain, a deal for him could also likely see either Gudjohnsen or Hleb go in the other direction to Lyon. Defence is one of the areas were the team needs to strengthen, especially at left-back and there is talk that Barca are ready to make a move for Chelsea defender Ashley Cole

With so many players suspended and injured it is going to create a selection headache for coach Pep Guardiola. At the moment it looks as though Iniesta and Henry are going to be fit to start but there is also the worry that they are not a 100 per cent. The Catalan papers think that the most likely starting line-up will be a backline of Puyol, Pique, Toure and Sylvinho; then Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets in the midfield and in attack Henry, Eto'o and Messi. I would have thought that it would be better to play Kieta in midfield ahead of Busquets who isn't really that experienced at this level yet and he didn't do too well against Chelsea when he started with him in midfield at Stamford Bridge. I think that Sylvinho is the obvious choice for left-back but it is going to be a worry to see him up against Ronaldo as he isn't that defensively strong and he is in his mid-30s now. The key for Barca is that Xavi and Iniesta can run the midfield and out-play the United players, likely to be Anderson, Carrick, Park and Giggs. If United have one weak point I would say it is the midfield as Giggs is now 35 and Anderson is very inconsistent. It will be a very difficult game but Barca manage to keep possession we should win.

Barca have made it hard for themself again by only managing a draw with Chelsea at home but at least the Premiership side did not score an away goal. If the game is more open then that will suit Barca's attacking game but it is going to be a tough match with Chelsea having the backing of the home fans. It will be a game in which individuals like Messi and Iniesta an win the match for Barca.

Last season Barcelona crashed out of Europe by a single goal against Manchester United in the semi-finals and now a year later surely this Barca team with Pep Guardiola's Dream Team inspired philosophy is ready to emulate the side of 2006 and win the Champions League. Looking at Barca's opponents at the moment the clear threat appears to be Chelsea who are much stronger now under Guus Hiddink and especially since the return of Michael Essien to the midfield after injury and their potential was seen by the way they beat Liverpool 3-1 at Anfield. But Barca as well as possessing the passing game and rhythm to cut through Chelsea have a forward line led by Messi which has no equal in world football. At times Messi may look to beat a player too many or drift out of the game but that is excusable when you are talking about a player with the capacity of Messi as at his best he is unstoppable. It could be argued last year that Ronaldo deserved the World Player of the Year as Manchester United won the Champions League and the Premiership but surely this year there is no question that Messi is the man. The credit for the turnaround this season has to be given to Guardiola though as he has ended the down turn which set in after Barca won the Champions League and the desire to win more was lost. You only need to take a look at the players who left to realise that. Ronaldinho should never be forgotten for what he did for Barca but sadly he will never be the player he was and now Milan are suffering the same problems that Barca went through with Ronnie neither injured or playing. Similarly with Deco, after a bright start with Chelsea when he appeared to be motivated, his form has dipped dramatically

Barcelona are 12 points clear in the league as well as going strong in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League but can they continue this form and win all three competitions or will the number of matches affect their performances by the end of the season?

The news has not been good on the progress from Gabriel Milito's injury and he still appears to be several months away from full fitness but when he does return will he be able to command a first-team place? Milito tore his cruciate knee ligament at the end of last season but his recovery has been slow since the operation last May and it is unlikely that he will be able to return to the team until April. Supposing that he returns to full fitness it will be an interesting contest to see who will be Pep Guardiola's first choice back four. At the moment Alves and Abidal are the clear choices for the full-back positions but in the centre it appears that the choice would be between Marquez and Milito to partner Puyol as while Pique is a cultured player he lacks experience and is slow. Whenever you see Pique against a lively striker there is always concern in the Barca defence and so far his weakness has not been shown as the defence has not been put under much pressure. If fully fit I would give Milito the position as he was one of Barca's best players last season. Physical strong and defensively astute he makes less mistakes than Marquez and is quicker.

Just six months ago and the Barcelona world seemed to be in disarray with the club failing to win the league, player in-fighting, problems in the boardroom and then came the unlikely hero of Pep Guardiola. Every fan had their opinion of what was wrong with Barca who had lost its way after two fantastic seasons under Frank Rijkaard and what is most incredible is that now with the team playing well all the in-fighting has been forgotten or at least swept under the carpet perhaps waiting for a run of defeats and then it will rise again. Whether the mistakes have been learnt is a good question and I doubt very much whether they have. Simply put, I think that the problems at Barca were caused by a battle of egos with Rijkaard the unlucky man in the middle. The problems between president Joan Laporta and the ex-vice president Sandro Rosell went right through the club with players on one side or the other. The Laporta group included Txiki Beguiristain, Johan Cruyff and on the pitch Samuel Eto'o while for Rosell he had the backing of the players he signed like Deco and Ronaldinho. With the latter two now gone the peace seems to have returned and Barca are coached by a Cruyff man - Guardiola. Laporta saw most of his board resign in the summer with the vote of no confidence which showed how much he was disliked but as always what is most important is the team and if they are winning then no one will complain. Certainly Guardiola has made an excellent start to his coaching career and his the cool head necessary for the job at the Camp Nou but my only concern is his lack of experience and when difficult matches come how well will he deal with them? He has been slightly fortunate Real Madrid have made such a bad start to the league which has allowed them to go ten points clear but its going to be an interesting test for him when Barca play the top sides in Europe in the spring.

 After Samuel Eto'o missed a key penalty against Real Madrid should responsibility now be given to Lionel Messi to take them in future?

Currently Eto'o and Messi share taking the penalties but after Samu's failure in the clasico he claims he will continue to take them, is that the right decision?