In truth it’s been a long time coming, but at least Barcelona have finally seen sense and dispensed with Ronald Koeman’s services.
The Dutchman was never the best fit for the club and was only hired on the strength of being a member of Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team.
Josep Maria Bartomeu made some awful decisions as president, and replacing Quique Setien with Koeman was yet another. His managerial record never stood up to scrutiny and it was only a matter of time before the rot set in.
Joan Laporta, regrettably, backed Koeman on more than one occasion, until the manager’s position was untenable.
MORE: Lineker’s controversial views
That came in the wake of an appalling showing at Rayo Vallecano, where a goal from Falcao was the difference.
The damage inflicted by Koeman in terms of patterns of play and systems being nothing like what supporters have come to expect from Barca, will take some time to unravel.
Players have to be on board with any new manager and be prepared to quickly learn new tactics and ways of working. Anyone not interested in doing precisely let has to be let go because an all-for-one mentality is what’s required from this point onwards.
Koeman is an ediod