La Liga 2013-2014

I wouldn't say it's the goalkeeper, that's too simplistic a view IMO. It's the system. Barcelona's season last season showed that they need a 9 to open up space for Messi. The team is finding it hard to break the low block. Conversely, at Bayern Munich, they don't have this problem because of Mandzukic... The problem is Barcelona is trying to use the space between the lines, but it's too compact for Barcelona to try centrally.
 
MoneyMay said:
I wouldn't say it's the goalkeeper, that's too simplistic a view IMO. It's the system. Barcelona's season last season showed that they need a 9 to open up space for Messi. The team is finding it hard to break the low block. Conversely, at Bayern Munich, they don't have this problem because of Mandzukic... The problem is Barcelona is trying to use the space between the lines, but it's too compact for Barcelona to try centrally.
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They always encounter this sort of problem when playing Espanyol. It is a team that Barcelona always finds hard to break down as history has always shown.
 
Proud_Lyon said:
They always encounter this sort of problem when playing Espanyol. It is a team that Barcelona always finds hard to break down as history has always shown.
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The problem is Messi is surrounded by four players. He's good, but he's not going to take them all on consistently, no player is going to do that because it's physically-demanding and quite tough. A 9 is needed to occupy the opposition centre-backs and allow Messi space. This has been evident for a while now. Other issue for Barcelona is depth. Alves and Busquets, in particular, look very tired.
 
MoneyMay said:
The problem is Messi is surrounded by four players. He's good, but he's not going to take them all on consistently, no player is going to do that because it's physically-demanding and quite tough. A 9 is needed to occupy the opposition centre-backs and allow Messi space. This has been evident for a while now. Other issue for Barcelona is depth. Alves and Busquets, in particular, look very tired.
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Messi has always been surrounded by 4-5 players once he gets the ball, this is nothing new. It is imply because this could be his fourth game without scoring a goal, which hasn't happened for nearly 3 years. As for Alves or Busquets, these are two players who play in a team that dominates possession. When a team confiscates a ball for nearly all the match as they are doing today, it is very rare that any of the Barcelona team gets tired, since it is the chasing team that gets tired more quickly. When you have the ball, you don't really have to expend energy to get the ball back unless it is a misplaced pass.
 
Proud_Lyon said:
Messi has always been surrounded by 4-5 players once he gets the ball, this is nothing new. It is imply because this could be his fourth game without scoring a goal, which hasn't happened for nearly 3 years. As for Alves or Busquets, these are two players who play in a team that dominates possession. When a team confiscates a ball for nearly all the match as they are doing today, it is very rare that any of the Barcelona team gets tired, since it is the chasing team that gets tired more quickly. When you have the ball, you don't really have to expend energy to get the ball back unless it is a misplaced pass.
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This isn't 2011, though. So much has changed. While Messi is certainly capable of dribbling past a few players, he's not capable of freeing himself from four players regularly. That's what a 9 would do for Messi. Currently, when Messi pulls wide to the right, Messi is double marked. When he beats those two players, he's got four players to go past, which isn't going to happen. The Barcelona system needs to get the best out of Messi and that's not happening at the moment. That's not to say change the system altogether, but against teams with a low-block, a new approach has to be taken. It was like this last season, too, in similar games.

Barcelona, if they score, will win this through individual brilliance, rather than collective play.
 
Xavi, Iniesta and Neymar all with a lot of abnormal mistakes, misplaced passes, bad touches, etc. Very poor game from Barça as a whole as well -- they've had neither incision, nor control.
 
Skorenzy said:
Xavi, Iniesta and Neymar all with a lot of abnormal mistakes, misplaced passes, bad touches, etc. Very poor game from Barça as a whole as well -- they've had neither incision, nor control.
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I never quite understood describing their play as poor, it's been a long time since I've seen them poor. Least Barcelona I've seen them in some time. More disappointing than poor but there's definitely something amiss. Not sure if it's the struggles to adapt to Tata's tactics & vision for the squad, especially when you consider he effectively didn't join the team until they were already starting their preseason tour.

Stranger still when you consider Tata was an attacking midfielder because his use of Iniesta & Xavi has not translated into the Barcelona most have come to know over the past 5 years. Might be the least influential I can recall seeing Iniesta, perhaps ever. The transition from defense (Which has improved, IMHO) to attack seems to have marginalized the midfielders - assist numbers are down for all of them except Cesc who has been used in a variety of ways already.

As for Messi, I am beginning to gravitate towards the growing theory that he's pacing himself for the WC due to the injuries he sustained over the past year. Very strange to see.
 
FCBarca said:
As for Messi, I am beginning to gravitate towards the growing theory that he's pacing himself for the WC due to the injuries he sustained over the past year. Very strange to see.
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I don't know about pacing himself, because that makes it sound like a conscious act.

I do think that the ferocious competition between Barca and Madrid, the volume of matches, and Messi and Ronaldo's determination to play every game has cost both of them in terms of performances in international tournaments.

To deliver his best in the World Cup, I think Messi may well need to rest more and take the full recovery time to really get over the niggling muscular injuries. The attempt to return quickly last year reduced his performance level and ultimately cut short his season and playing for Argentina and going on a charity match tour during the closed season didn't really help. When he got another set of muscle niggles, I don't think anyone was surprised.

Mind you, I've also read he needs to play, because the continuity of training/playing was part of Guardiola's (and Messi's physio's) formula for keeping him injury free.

Personally I doubt that he's trying to pace himself, but if someone (Tata?) can get him to do it, then I reckon Argentina's World Cup can only benefit.
 
I used to have a Doberman and the thing I would always say about a dog like that is that you'd never want to be chased by one - they are relentless. I tend to think of Messi like that when he has the ball at his feet with the goal in mind, relentless. I've seen very little of that so far this season. At first I thought it was the lingering effects of his injury and then that he was deferring to Neymar/Alexis and Tata's new approach.

I am not so sure anymore that pacing for the WC isn't what is going on. Knowing that another relapse of his injury might infringe on Argentina's chances at the WC must be weighing heavily on him. Even Mascherano brought it up in a pressy this week.

Of course, it could be psychological too, in terms of the injury and fearing to press too much...but I've seen very little burst in his game so far this season
 
That's a great call from the lino, what a great spot. Very unlucky for Rayo, it was going in.
 
Sky trying to argue Vallecano's goal shouldn't have been disallowed because the ball was going in anyway :lol:
 
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