The sand in Ronald Koeman’s hourglass is slowly winding down. Maybe it will run out on Thursday against Cadiz or it will be turned over and the Dutchman will be given more time. And it all depends on the result. After Bayern Munich defeat, Barcelona board gave their coach a three game time frame, which covers Granada, Cadiz and Levante in La Liga, as they were considered ’easy’ ones. But, after a lucky draw with Granada, where Barca basically scored in the 90th minute to avoid defeat, this time frame has shortened to upcoming Thursday. 23:00 (6.00) CADIZ (4.1) BARCELONA (1.55)As Mundo Deportivo reports, Koeman will surely be on the bench on Thursday against Cadiz, but nobody gave any assurance what will happen after that. Logically, if he wins, he will stay until Levante at least, but with 5 points already behind Real (but with one game less played), another draw or defeat could be crucial for the Dutchman. After a dissappointing game against Granada, there were no crisis meeting of the Barca’s board, but Ramon Planes, the assistant to the technical secretariat, did go down to the locker room to chat with Koeman. And as expected, the shortlist of possible replacements was already made, in case that Cadiz match ends on the wrong note. If there is a replacement, and cash strapped Barca decides to pay Koeman’s heafthy compensation, the reports say the new coach must will be considered as a project, which means a technician capable of becoming the leader of the new sports project will be considered for the role.54 – @FCBarcelona have made 54 total crosses vs Granada CF, their second highest tally in a single LaLiga game since, at least 2005/06 (after 55 vs Málaga in Novembert 2016). Bombing. pic.twitter.com/WwegUTpT33— OptaJose (@OptaJose) September 20, 2021 And the Dutchman surely knows he is on the short leash, but what can he do? His squad is worse than it was, and the players who could make a difference are injured, and all he can do is point out at those facts and hope that he will survive in time to see Fati, Dembele or Aguero fully recovered. „Look at our squad list. We did what we could. We don’t have the players from the tiki-taka days. We have to play with our own style. I think we did well and, with some more time, we could have won. The basic system was 4-3-3 in the first half, then I had to make changes based on what I had on the bench. This isn’t the Barcelona of eight years ago. That’s the way it is. When Ansu Fati and Dembele come back then we will be different because we’ll have more depth but they are not fit so we have to find alternatives“ said Koeman after the match.
