Valverde didn't ask for this underachieving Barcelona, the board gave it to him

Alejandro Moreno feels Barcelona should have decided to move on from coach Ernesto Valverde even before their lacklustre defeat in the Copa del Rey. Gab Marcotti feels Ernesto Valverde's inability to adjust his side when the opposition catches Barcelona off guard should be a cause for concern. It's a dark irony that the first player Ernesto Valverde asked his board to buy him when he took over at Barcelona two seasons ago was Dani Parejo. The point isn't an opportunistic one. It's not to say, "... and if they'd listened to him, then Saturday's Copa del Rey final would have turned out differently ..." The point, as the shrill Greek chorus of voices musters itself to apoplexy and the metaphorical bloodlust that is football's guillotine mob drowns out reason, is the kind of football...