You are SO right about fitness. The drills they show the guys doing are just absurd. Strength and flexibility have to be part of the program. I was only half-kidding about bringing in some NFL guys. Remeber the ongoing jokes on Fox Soccer about Serie A and the “magic water.” When a guy got a knock, out would come the water bottle, as if washing the area was the answer.

Football has to join the modern era when it comes to strength, fitness and conditioning. I wrote off Giuly’s comments about that, and the difference when he went to Roma as sour grapes. Now I’m starting to wonder.

And yeh Pep, there should be at least a (strong, reliable)plan B option to the 4-3-3 (and not a 3-4-3)

…so did I miss some news..is Pep as “in” as Ronnie is “Out?”

Wouldn’t Fabregas be nice? The other Arsenal dude I fancy is Hleb. He’s unsettled, and wouldn’t be all that expensive. His balance and ball control are killer, even getting the crap kicked out of him in England. He’d rock as part of our formation. I think that Fabregas is just working the Gunners for more dough.

Hey, Naeem. Welcome aboard. Good to have more voices in the house. But be careful with that axe there, sir. “We” didn’t make The Gaucho show up out of shape, stay out partying, or gin up “injuries,” real or imagined, because of some slight, equally real or imagined. He’s a professional. Get out there and play, or hit the road. I’m sure that Paris St.-Germain, in selling him, said “Just you wait.” He left there the same way he’s leaving here. And good riddance.

We all admire and respect him for what he did for the Blaugrana. Nothing but love for R10, for everything. But “mes que un club” ain’t just a slogan. It’s a way of life. All for the team. We’ll probably lose some fans and shirt sales once we goes, and that’s okay. It’s all about the Blaugrana.

And we agree on Silva. He isn’t a replacement, and he’s short. Like we need one more short dude in the side. Lord knows where that rumor came from.

But I’m still not convinced that we need a direct replacement for Ronaldinho. With a Messi-Henry/or Eto’o-Krkic front line, Iniesta and Xavi in the middle, backed by Yaya and Dani Alves and Abidal on the wings, I’m pretty geeked by the possibilities.

Right on about Henry, too. He’s a central striker through and through. He finally spoke up about it in a (mostly) postitive way, saying that we won’t see the best from him until we place him in the center. Look what happened with Eto’o, once we stopped making him into a playmaker and returned him to centre forward. Two killer goals.

I’m glad that Abidal knows and acknowledges the problems. I think he got away with moving forward more in France than he can in La Liga, where the pace is much higher and wing backs need to respect the counter more. The matches do start late, all part of that Spanish lifestyle. Abidal has all the physical tools.

Kxevin, I think the 4-3-3 can adapt to a sort of 4-5-1 easily if the wing forwards push back and look to counter more. The one game this season that the team really clicked was when Ronnie tracked back against Celtic, starting that counter that created the Henry goal. If Hleb or (in my dreams) Cesc play in the midfield and Innie moves to the left wing, I’d love to see Messi and Innie tracking back and starting quick counters on turnovers. Imagine how dangerous a quick counter with Innie-Messi-Cesc-Xavi and Eto’o attacking in space, with pace, with any one of those players having the ball at their feet. I could see many 1-0 leads blowing up to huge score lines.

And yeah, that is also mostly an excuse for me to daydream about Cesc back in the fold. The one that got away.

He thinks our players are unprofessional, that the medicos pretty much suck, and the players aren’t adequately prepared for a grueling season contested on three fronts.

More:

Remember my cracks about team unity, maybe going on retreat or gathering for Wii sessions? It ain’t just me. “Pep” wants more quality time between the players, including meals and whatnot.

And he wants to tighten up the physical preparation with an emphasis on avoiding injury (horrors! Modern thinking about training?), perhaps even eschewing the money-grubbing pre-season tours somewhat. (Shameful!)

More blasphemy:

“Pep” wants a more balanced side. Read: We have to be able to do something other than pass the ball into the net. And further, that the 4-3-3 isn’t the be all and end all. That it must change based on what the opposition brings to the table.

Man, he’s starting to sound like me. If a side packs the midfield, leak a man out and play long ball, maybe? Just win, baby.

His coaching prospects are doomed.