unlike Real during the Galacticos era, we had an already established core in our team when the last 2 seasons started. so what exactly happened to a team that was, for many people, the best on the planet between 2004-06?

this season we are often accused of making the same mistakes Real did a few years ago, but Henry aside it's not like we bought star players in positions we didn't need cover. and when we bought him, with Ronaldinho having underperformed for most of the season, it looked like a good signing. i still think he can find his stride if he is a starter next season. Zambrotta was a star defender and he hasn't lived up to expectations, it's true. It's almost certain he will leave us in the summer. Thuram was older, but we still expected more from him. Abidal has been pretty good, i think. he's usually our best defender, from what i've seen, not that he hasn't screwed up a few times too. and we brought in talented players like Toure and Milito, as immediate reinforcements and future prospects. at the same time we gave several chances to youngsters Krkic and Dos Santos.

you have to admit that on paper all those moves/decisions look good, if not great. so what the hell is it that has not been working for almost 2 years now? is it just a matter of the older guys (the core) being unable to replicate their past form? is it Rijkaard's poor tactics? and if both cases are true then what can will be done about it? because it's ridiculous to think that the team makes all the right moves in the transfer period yet we see little to no improvement.

maybe the players need someone that can motivate them again.

thanks, sweet Raul
Real has slipped against Deportivo. Chance to reduce the gap to 5 points.
Looking more like that the el Classico will decide the winner. Raul, can I visit you if that's the case?

Of course you can
That'll be my chance to make you see Barça suck

Barca blew it again I never thought that Almeria would hold us. grrrrrr

Diego played for my team I always knew he would make impact in La Liga, he just needed a chance. Hope he moves to a bigger club next season

You mean Diego Alves?

I think it is Rijkaard. I think they need someone new with fresh ideas that can motivate them and shake things up a bit.

I don't agree with what you said about Milito though. He was one of the best defenders in the league last season, so i don't think Barca bought him as cover.

Milito one of the best defenders last season??

Well Sticky, whoever signed Henry has sacrificed us. Defensive midfield and Right back should have been our priorities. We got Yaya, but we don't have a cover for him. Edmilson is crap. That's why we suffer anytime Yaya is unavailable or unfit. I was hoping us to get Macherano or Essein to play alongside Yaya, and drop xavi or deco.

Rikjaard has got to go, he hasn't done much wrong but sometimes you just need someone with new ideas. In this case probably Mourinho.

we didn't need Henry, but you can't blame him for our problems this season. as for RB, if we can't trust the man who is possibly the best in that position in the world (Zambrotta) then who can we trust? i know what we're saying about it now, but at the beginning of the season Zambotta-Puyol-Milito-Abidal seemed like possibly the best back 4 in the world. but what seems great on paper does not always work on the pitch.

as for the DM position, i agree that Yaya needs better cover, but suggesting we should drop Xavi when he has rescued as (or tried to rescue us) as so many times this season seems kind of ungrateful. i do agree about Deco, though. and i also agree that Essien and Mascherano would have been great signings.

imo, Barca's problems lie mainly with the man responsible for providing inspiration and tactical decisions: the manager. even if Barca manage by some miracle to win the league this season (well, Valencia gave us another lifeline today) i still think it's time for him to go. when his players are firing on all cylinders then his weaknesses and limitations seem irrelevant (2004-06), but when they're having performance issues then he simply cannot motivate them (and the rest of the team) enough to get the results.

where did i say we bought him as cover? i was talking about reinforcing our starting defensive line.

4-1 for Barça and 2-3 defeat for Real Madrid.
Just a gap of 4 points now

yeah, i know.

i didn't expect them to beat you at home. every Barca fan should be thankful to Villa and Arizmendi.

I can't believe we lost to Valencia. They're supposed to be sh*t now! And we gave them the worst spanking they've had in decades at the Mestella last time we played them.

We played much better, but way too offensive when we were winning 2-1.
The last goal was Cannavaro and Casillas mistake.
2 more goals for Raul at least

Really poor from Casillas for the last goal, he should never have been beaten at an angle like that.

Neither Real or Barca are playing all that well recently, I didnt see Barcas win but im still not really convinced with them. You cant really rule out Villarreal either, I cant see them winning the league but they keep winning & aren't that far behind so you never know!

Yeah, i was happy about that. That takes the tally to 20 now. Impressive.

The oxygen chamber seems to be paying off.

How do you loose against Betis yesterday is beyond imagination.
Call this man and quick:

And Barcelona are 3rd in La Liga.
Villarreal are impressive

That's good though, because we'll probably lose again tonight.

It's like Schuster is trying to lose us the title. Fortunately Barca don't want it either.

Schuster's head looks a bit like a penis.

Wow, we won. Our form has been dog sh*te so i wasn't confident ahead of this game. Glad Raul scored. Won't be long before he reaches 300 goals which would be incredible. This time next season he'll reach it i'm sure.

GET IN!

Good win for Real, with Barca losing yet again it looks at the moment that Villerreal will be their main challengers.

Villareal have been really impressive this season. At this point i have no problem admitting that they deserve that 2nd spot more than we do. Their away form has been amazing, unlike ours, and unless we completely transform for the remainder of the season i don't see us making it too difficult for them and Real.

Hopefully they can challenge Real for the title in the remaining 8 games, even though it's probably all over after last night's win over Sevilla.

Rijkaard has to leave. It's the only way we can even hope about building a good team again.

And as for Ronaldinho going for as low as 18mil euro, that's ridiculous. If we do sell him for that amount then we're really stupid. He's still at a good age and he used to be the best player in the world. There's a good chance that he'll find his form again and it's not like 18mil euros are going to make that much of a difference for us. I wouldn't sell him for under 35-40mil. At one point (even last summer) there were teams offering us 100mil for him.

Real Madrid played some brilliant football yesterday night. With Robinho on the bench and RVN still recovering at home
21st goal by Raul this season (16 in Liga + 5 in Champions), and wonderful game played by Sneijder. Heinze scored his first goal for Real