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The alarm bells are ringing around Ernesto Valverde. After a 1-1 draw against Valencia yesterday, the Blaugrana are now winless in 4 La Liga games.
This angst with the manager didn't just start this season. Despite the domestic double won (league/Copa Del Rey) last season, he still does not have the fans on his side.
Under Valverde, the over-dependence on Lionel Messi or Messidependencia has become worrying. Too many times, the brilliance of La Pulga Atomica has been the difference maker. His overtly defensive style of play coupled with an inability to rotate effectively means that Barcelona is not playing at their absolute best level.
President Josep Bartomeu may be forced to make another managerial change if things do not change and the fans turn on the side. Already, the names of certain coaches are already being bandied as potential replacements for the former Athletic Bilbao manager.
#5 Rui Fonseca (Shakhtar Donetsk)
One of the younger coaches making waves in European football, Fonseca is probably the latest high-profile name to emerge from Europe's current hotbed of coaching talent (Portugal). The 45-year-old should be on Barcelona's list if Valverde is to be replaced.
Currently, the manager of Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk, Fonseca seems to have hit his peak at the team having won the treble; league, cup, and Super Cup. Noted for his attacking style of play, Fonseca favours a 4-2-3-1 formation. This is one striker, three attacking midfielders, a box-to-box midfielder, a holding midfielder, and a back four.
This means that he could be the one to give Barcelona that extra attacking dimension Valverde has found difficult to put in place. A player like Arturo Vidal would be perfect in his system, as Fred was before he joined Manchester United. His love for attacking football means he would be willing to find a way to fit in Barcelona's attacking talents while not sacrificing defensive solidity.
His Shakhtar team have shown strong resilience in this season's UEFA Champions League coming from 2 goals down to equalize against Lyon and doing same against TSG Hoffenheim.
He is in the mould of Barcelona's last few managerial hires; understated coaches who profess an attacking philosophy. How he will manage the big name stars in the team given his still-growing reputation is the big unknown.
However, Fonseca is a fearless manager who believes in his philosophy. If given the chance to coach a team as big as Barcelona, he won't be fazed and might just be the one Cules have been hankering after.
#4 Laurent Blanc (Unemployed)
The soft-spoken Frenchman has been out of work since he was kicked out at PSG. However, that has not diminished the appeal he holds for Europe's top clubs.
The former Bordeaux and France national team manager had a brief stint playing for Barcelona for a season. This would have given him ample time to understand what the club is all about. Given how it ended for him at the Parisian giants, Barcelona may get a man desperate to prove himself on the big stages once again.
With the right kind of support, Blanc has shown that he can get a team to play the vibrant, attacking style of play Cules are desperate to see returning to their storied club
He was able to deliver 10 titles including 3 Ligue 1 trophies in his 3 years at PSG. This means he is used to managing big egos already and will be able to get the dressing room at the club to buy into his ideas. His favoured 4-3-3 formation (similar to Valverde's but more attacking) could help get the best out of players like Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic.
He already has a very good relationship with Barcelona's secretary of football; Eric Abidal. His easy-going manner, similar to that of former managers Guardiola and the late Tito Villanova makes him ideal for the kind of environment Barcelona strives to create.
#3 Pablo Machin (Sevilla)
One of the brightest young minds in Spanish football, Machin's status is clearly on the rise. The Soria-born manager had a nondescript playing career with CD Numancia where he only made 5 appearances before a knee injury forced him to retire.
His coaching career has been better though as after helping to maintain Numancia's Segunda status he moved on to Girona where he led the club to its first ever promotion to La Liga.
His brand of football; short passing, constant motion and lots of goals shocked the rest of the league as he led his unfancied Blanquivermell (White and Reds) to tenth place in it's first ever La Liga season.
He moved to Sevilla at the end of the season and has rejigged the side to great effect. El Grande de Andalucia (The Great of Andalusia) have been the standout side in the league so far sitting pretty on top of the table and playing amazing attacking football.
Machine's favoured 3-4-2-1 formation is one that is switched to 5-2-2-1 once the team loses the ball. What this means is that he seeks to close down the central areas and deny the opposition space to play. This then allows them to attack through lightning-fast counter-attacks.
This makes him perfect for Barcelona as he will be able to get the team playing at a level close to that of the Guardiola era.
Under him, players who looked crappy under Vicenzo Montella have been on fire. The likes of Pablo Sarabia, Franco Vasquez and Daniel Carrico have been performing at a very high level. Even new players like Andre Silva and Tomas Vaclik have looked brilliant in Machin's system.
Sevilla will be loath to lose another manager in a similar vein to Jorge Sampaoli but if Bartomeu decides that Machin is the man for Barca, Cules will be in for a wild ride.
#2 Marcelino de Toral (Valencia CF)
Over the last two decades, there has been a steady stream of player movement to Valencia from FC Barcelona. David Villa, Gaizka Mendieta, Gerald Lopez, Paco Alcacer, Andre Gomes etc.
Marcelino might be the first coach to make the move. The tactician had a rather undistinguished playing career. However, he has proven his mettle in La Liga with Villarreal and now Valencia.
He joined the 2004 La Liga champions at a time when Los Che was in utter shambles. Under him, the club has been reborn and risen from a crisis situation. This is a club that has seen 15 managers (including Valverde himself) employed since the last La Liga triumph under Rafa Benitez in 2004.
He has changed the team into a rugged, cohesive unit that plays brilliant attacking football while remaining solid at the back.
His sterling work was also evident at Villarreal when he took over a team that had been relegated and forced to sell its best assets. Marcelino led the team back to La Liga and three consecutive top-six finishes including a Europa League semi-final.
At each of his most recent jobs, he has clearly shown his ability to work wonders even with restrictions and his ability to blood academy players is one that fits in with Barca’s La Masia ethos.
While his attacking philosophy is apparent wherever he has gone, he is very meticulous with his team’s defensive work. A constant tinkerer, Marcelino always seeks to improve upon what he has and find solutions from within. This would be perfect for a Barcelona side that has looked shaky when pressed this season.
#1 Leonardo Jardim (AS Monaco)
Jardim has won admiring glances across Europe due to his exploits with Sporting Club and AS Monaco. He will be a popular choice for Cules who have been starved of the fluid, attacking football the team played during the Pep Guardiola era.
AS Monaco has been dire so far this season. However, little of the blame can be put on Jardim. After another summer spent selling off the team's prize assets, the revolving-door policy has finally caught up with the Principality team.
One of Jardim's major strengths has been his ability to improve players he met at the clubs he has coached instead of demanding for new transfers. This will be great news for Barca fans unhappy with how La Masia graduates had been sidelined in recent seasons.
His ability to improve players and make them better is one that would appeal to the Barcelona hierarchy. An avid lover of the 4-4-2 formation, his love of offensive football (his Monaco side score for fun) makes him perfect for a Barca team for whom goalscoring has not been easy to come by in Valverde's rigid formation
He could be the man to get the best of new signings Malcolm and Arthur Melo who are just finding their feet under Valverde. Given his work in helping Kylian Mbappe hone his talent, Jardim could be the answer to the conundrum that is Ousmane Dembele.
