Koeman and the Barca players on the slide

Barcelona kicked off the season with a good 4-2 win against Real Sociedad. The image and the result of that match invited the Barcelona fans, still traumatised by the departure of Leo Messi, to be optimistic, but the team seems to have gone from bad to worse since the first match of the season.

The Catalan side drew with Athletic and managed a barren 2-1 win over Getafe before heading into a dark week that began with a 3-0 win at home to Bayern and was capped by a 1-1 draw at Granada.

All this has led to a storm of criticism that has put Ronald Koeman in the spotlight. The continuity of the Dutchman is not assured and a replacement could land in Barcelona. A situation of chaos and tension that also affects the dressing room.

As 'AS' reports, doubts and mistrust plague the Barca squad. Although the Dutch coach is tough, being on the slide and his public clashes (or those around him) with Joan Laporta have undermined his authority in the group.

Added to this is the fact that the former Netherlands coach's approach to the game does not fit with the philosophy of several players.The defensive system that he tried against Bayern and the bombardment based on lateral crosses against Granada did not go down well with both the players and the directors.

With this sporting panorama, which is not helped by the economic situation, the discrepancies between coach and players are growing, as well as among the players themselves, with the youngsters having to take responsibility for the performance of some 'sacred cows' who are not getting the job done.

An adverse situation that, together with the obvious anger of the members, could explode at any moment.  To make matters worse, Barca will not have a moment's respite, as the match against Cadiz is already looming on the horizon. A game which, should they slip up again, could lead to more than drastic decisions at the Catalan club.