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Quique Setien studied Barça for a very long time before taking over. His first game, vs Granada, he went with a back three, wingbacks and Messi as false nine. Clearly, that was how he wanted HIS Barça to play. How long did it last? Three games. Three!
Should we believe Setien voluntarily abandoned his chosen tactical approach after three games? Or, alternatively, that he was 'convinced' to adopt a different approach by 'influential' figures internally? The latter, surely. He hasn't 'lost' the dressing room. He never had it.
Setien is failing at Barça. But he's not failing on his own terms. He's failing in a way he probably wouldn't really even want to succeed. This isn't his team, because he hasn't been allowed to develop his team. He is being forced to compromise at every turn.
Of course, a lot of this has to be on Setien himself. We don't know what's going on behind closed doors, but for whatever reasons he has not been able to convince the key players in the squad to trust him and let him lead. They don't believe in him.
The key to all this, of course, is Messi. At no stage has Messi shown any sign of believing in Setien. So why the hell did the board appoint him? Messi is never at his best when he feels he has to take on everything himself. Such as the Argentina trainwreck at Russia 2018.
Messi, for all his greatness, needs to be part of a team structure under strong leadership. Guardiola and Luis Enrique got the best out of him because they were powerful and uncompromising characters who had the personality and credibility to stand their ground.
But perhaps here's the most important thing: this squad is deeply flawed. No manager could make this team great. Can't counter attack because of lack of pace up front, can't press high because of lack of pace in defence. Lack of depth throughout. In elite terms, it's a poor squad
In short, to summarise: Setien was fucked from word go.
