Is Gerardo Martino the right man to take Barcelona forward?

Barca’s new chief has seen inconsistent results. If the club is seeking to match the achievements of Pep Guardiola’s reign, it must be questioned whether they have the right man at the helm. Ajax, Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid. These are the teams to have beaten Barcelona since Sandro Rosell appointed Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino as Chief Coach. All of these outfits are in their own right top class opposition, but for Blaugrana’s star studded squad – it’s habit of perfection considered – some of these results are almost shocking. The ethos from the days of Guardiola and Vilanova has hardly changed, but weaknesses which should have been ironed out a long time ago are still appearing. With Bayern – along with sides such as Manchester City, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain – moving forward, unless the convincing force of Barcelona returns to it’s delightful best there could be a long wait before the Champions League returns to Camp Nou. With recent loss to the ;Los Blancos at the Copa Del Ray and quarterfinal exit in the Champions League at the hands of Athletico it remains the topic of debate is Martino the right man to take the Catlans forward.
Whether Martino has properly executed tactics is debatable. In the recent loss to Valencia, Sergio Busquets – usually the world leader in sitting in front of the back four – was employed in a much more advanced role than usual. This can be seen as a large reason for Valencia’s three goals, as the attacking three of Piatti, Feghouli and Parejo excelled with two goals and two assists between them. Jordi Alba’s red card didn’t help but, especially with ten men, Busquets should have looked to stay in a more defensive role. A long-term weakness for this Barcelona team is defending corners. Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano have been Tata’s most popular defensive pairing and, despite both being exceptional players of the ball, opposition attacks have thrived on their vulnerability at set-pieces. It maybe contradictory to their style, but an authoritative centre-half may be required for the Catalonian back-line to cope better with corners.
Injuries considered, perhaps one must afford sympathy for the Argentine. Lionel Messi’s struggles ended a month ago to rapturous reactions from Los Barcelonistas only for Neymar to replace him in the treatment room. Whilst Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo work magic for Madrid, the explosive duo meant to be matching their feats in Catalonia have succumbed to misfortune and agony. An adventurous manager might look to harness Sanchez, Messi, Pedro and Neymar in the same XI – to attempt the now popular 4-2-3-1 formation which could prove beneficial to Barca – but injuries have not permitted.
One must acknowledge that Martino has, until now, done his job. Occupying top spot in their group in Europe,but then again they got eliminated and reaching but then again losing in the final of the Copa Del Rey suggest he hasn’t done much wrong. But the fact of the matter is, they simply haven’t convinced in the way we’re all used to. After 21 games unbeaten, no one would have said Martino was going anywhere but the foot has marginally come off the pedal and Tata’s style is looking more and more predictable