5 things Barcelona must do to get back to winning ways

At the start of the decade, nothing looked impossible for Barcelona with Lionel Messi at the club. It was often wondered how good Messi could become with time and how much Barcelonaa would win with him.

Though they have done well to dominate the La Liga, but they have not fared as well in other competitions, especially the Champions League. Things have changed now, and Barcelona are no longer the dominating club they were at the start of the decade.

This season, in particular, has been a very strange one for Barcelona. They led the La Liga by two points at the restart only for their title defence to crumble in te second half of the season.

Barcelona no longer play their famous tiki-taka football. Besides, there have been many off the fields incidents and rumours.

The club's players were reportedly not willing to take pay cuts during the lockdown. Messi had a rant on Instagram about Eric Abidal's comments over Valvedre's sacking. There was also a failed attempt to bring back Neymar to Barcelona. The club's president Josep Maria Bartomeu has been in news for all the wrong reasons.

Despite their issues on and off the field, Barcelona can get back to winning ways by making a few changes. Let us have a look at five of them.

Five changes Barcelona need to do to return to winning ways:

#1: The Board

In 2021, there will be new elections for the post of president at FC Barcelona. Current president Josep Maria Bartomeu has been at the centre of many controversies at Barcelona in recent times. A top club like Barcelona needs a strong and stable board.

When compared to his Real Madrid counterpart Florentino Perez, Bartromeu hasn't managed to have the same influence at Barcelona.

Perez has helped establish a brilliant squad last summer with the right injection of young players, something Barcelona have sorely lacked in recent times. Los Blancos are known as the kings of the transfer market because of Perez's shrewd strategies. It can clearly be seen Perez has created a team for the future at Real Madrid, but nothing of that sort is apparent at Barcelona.

In 2017, Barcelona tried to sign Marco Verrati behind PSG's back. That seemingly angered the PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and in turn, he prized out Neymar from Barcelona. On the other hand, Perez has a very good relationship with Nasser Al-Khelaifi despite openly talking about signing PSG's key player Kylian Mbappe.

Moreover, Perez is also said to be very close to Dortmund's CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke. Barcelona need someone like Perez to run the club. Thus in the next club elections, it is imperative that Barcelona get the right man to run the club.

#2: Managerial Stability

Deportivo Alaves v FC Barcelona - La Liga

Every manager either needs time or money to be successful at a club. Liverpool have shown that if you back a manager you trust in, you should also give him time to assemble his squad.

Either Barcelona should fire Quique Setien or give him time to prepare a winning team. There needs to be people involved at Barcelona who know more about football and less about politics in appointing the next manager.

Going forward, Barcelona's playing philosophy should be clear: no compromise on the quality of football and the results on the field.

The question which arises here is that whether Barcelona think Setien is capable of rejuvenating the club. A decision on Setien should not be solely taken on Barcelona's results, because he only joined the club in the middle of the season. The Barcelona board has to trust the manager and give him time and money, a risk that needs to be taken.

In case, Barcelona decide to remove Setien, it would be better if they go for someone who has experience of managing top teams. The likes of Laurent Blanc and Marcelo Bielsa would be good choices to manage Barcelona. Both of them have good experience and are capable of getting Barcelona out of the current mess that they are in.

#3: Give the misfits a chance

When Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona for a record fee of €222 million, the club also signed Ousmane Dembele in the same transfer window for a fee of €105 million-plus €40 million in add-ons. The mega spending spree did not stop, and in January 2018 Barcelona signed Philippe Coutinho for £142 million.

Both of them could not adjust to life at Barcelona and the club then went on to snap Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid for a fee of €120 million. The Frenchman has had a stop-start kind of season at Camp Nou.

It is quite apparent that Barceloa won't get a return on the money they have invested in these players in the current market. If they won't get the return, it would be better if Barcelona give them another chance to impress. The talent of these players is not in doubt

Griezmann has scored 15 goals in all competitions during his first season at Barcelona. Coutinho showed flashes of his potential in midfield before he was shifted to the left-wing. Dembele hasn't been able to hit the heights he was expected because of his niggling injuries.

It is in the best interest for Barceloma to looks for ways to get the best out of these three players. If they are successful in doing so, Barcelona may be able to compete with Real Madrid next season.

#4: Player selection policy

Since Josep Bartomeu took over as president, Barcelona have failed to make an impactful signing.

Samuel Umtiti has looked like a solid player but injuries have hindered his progress. Frankie De Jong and Clement Lenglet can be said to be signings that could work well for Barcelona in the future.

Barcelona have signed a plethora of players like Paco Alcacer, Malcom, Yerry Mina and Arturo Vidal who have made minimal impact with their performances. The club need to get their recruitment policy right. They needed a player who could replace Neymar, but they instead went for Dembele who likes to play on the right wing where Lionel Messi plays.

It also made absolutely no sense to splash so much cash on Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian was doing well in the Premier League, but clearly he was also not the player to replace Neymar at the club and not worth as much money as he was bought for.

The signing of Antoine Griezmann is questionable as well. The Frenchman used to feature for a team that plays defensive football; a transition to a team whose philosophy is built around possession would always be a difficult one for him.

Greizmann is not entirely comfortable playing on the wing, he can't really play as a striker, he is not the quickest as well, then from which tactical point of view did Barcelona sign him?

The club is now trying to sign Lautaro Martinez. It is for the first time he is playing a full season in Europe, and he could struggle at Camp Nou if he arrives on a big-money move.

A player like Arturo Vidal was signed by Barcelona, who clearly does not fit the club's style of play, but he continues to remain at Camp Nou.

A player like Thiago Alcântara, who fits the club's profile, is hardly linked with Barcelona.

As Jamie Carragher once said at Sky Sports it's never as bad as you think it is. Barcelona just need one or two right signings, and they can get back to where they once were. They need a player who can have an impact like Burno Fernandes has had at Manchester United.

#5: Trust La Masia

There was an argument by Barcelona fans that they create superstars rather than buy them unlike their arch-rivals Real Madrid.

However, in recent seasons, Barcelona have been tried to sign superstars but have not achieved similar results like Real Madrid have. So Barcelona should try to bring in players from their La Masi academy like they used to do so previously.

Ansu Fati and Riqui Puig are two players who have impressed in the Barcelona first team this season. It is possible that many academy players may be good but they should be given chances to showcase their talents; if not, they should be loaned out to get some experience and game-time under their belts.

Barcelona can take the example of Chelsea. This season, Frank Lampard gave many young players from Chelsea's infamous loan army a chance, and these players are now shining at the club. The Blues have achieved a top-four finish and they are in the final of the FA Cup as well.

Chelsea spent nearly £60 million on Alvaro Morata who only managed 15 goals in his first season, while their academy product Tammy Abraham has already scored 17 goals in all competitioms.

Bringing in players from La Masia does not mean that they should be in the starting eleven from day one. Barcelona must identify players who are capable of playing for the first team and then slowly integrate them into the team.

Other academy players can be loaned out and based on their progress, a decision can be made on their future at the club.