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Bringing in a new player would tilt the La Masia - external player balance too much. They've already bought Neymar for this season, and that's enough. Would an experience big striker help them win? Yes, he'd provide variety because of his abilities that Barca players don't currently have. But...

Eleven players, huh? I pick the following eleven and I don't care how they're fielded: Pele, Maradona, Messi, Socrates, Zico, Junior, Xavi, Iniesta, Roger Milla, Hagi, Valderrama Where's the keeper? Who needs one!

A player managers love because he's big, fast, runs a lot, a good decision maker, good in the air, decent passer, and I do think he's a good finisher - you can't be on the German national team if you can't finish in the box. Poor technique? Can't dribble? Can't make the magic pass? Will lose...

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/may/08/newsstory.sport8 Valdano explains perfectly the crassness of physical football and the beauty of football art. That's why the world loves today's Barca.

Beautiful football, for sure, man. That's the only reason I support them. Why else would I?! But given the nature of football, if you lose too much, you'll be out of a job, kicked off the stage, and you won't have the chance to play and show beautiful football. So you have to sacrifice some...

For sure it's because players are slowing down. Barca is slower at nearly every position than they were in their prime around 2010, except for Alba and Neymar. Even the relatively young Messi, Busquets, and Pique are slower, because of overuse, I would say. Slow in speed, quickness, with the...

Martino - excellent start... ... I think. So far he's done all the things we'd all wished were done in the last two years: More rotation Playing younger guys such as Dos Santos plus in key situations Planning for instead of ignoring players' aging / slowing down and inevitable changes in...

Although there are a lot of us for whom football is primarily art... I should like to add for the others that playing Messi less and differently, and diversifying in general, and more rotations, will lead not only to more entertainment but also more winning in the longer run. Otherwise Barca...

I'm no sports medicine expert, but as a coach I know that work (or damage) is not linearly correlated to the distance run. That is, 4km causes much more than half the damage of 8km. Kind of like highway vs city mileage for a car. Also, can you offer some explanation for Messi's reduced speed...

I may be! In fact I really enjoyed the last match against Malaga - felt a lot like the street soccer that we've all played. Dribbling, passing, less structured, more risks. With Messi in, I find guys like Sanchez especially turn into robots. Much preferred the younger Messi - or the way he was...

A typically post mid-1980's physical Brazil squad. No number 10 in the midfield - little creativity throughout the team. Maybe three players - the front three - who could dribble in small spaces. Not my style.

1986, to be exact.

Four miles x 50 or so matches is too much even for 'superman'. He's already lost some speed, which should not be happening at his age. It's overuse and too much time dedicated towards match play rather than body rehab and conditioning. Second, they've been too predictable and unimaginative...

Exactly. Iniesta, Xavi, and Messi need to be played far less often. Especially now with World Cup qualifiers and the World Cup coming up. This rotation will also make Barca more difficult to play against because it will make them more unpredictable. Age and predictability have been the main...

My thoughts exactly. Is he saying that he wanted Abidal to stay but was overruled, or is he lying (or 'spinning' if you're squeamish!)?

"... no matter how good he is." Well said - some things are more important than winning.

It's too bad. Tito stays on despite his health problems, something I have no problem with. Yet they can't give Abidal a chance. I mean, they've kept him around till now. Why not complete the project? Perhaps Abidal's demands were high, I don't know. But I'm sure they could have agreed to give it...

Again, Guardiola didn't believe in rotation either. Guardiola also had no Plan B and stubbornly did nothing while teams parked the bus and Plan A wasn't working. I don't think Vilanova's much different, just a little more conservative because he's new, he has to establish himself, and he had to...

Too bad. Abidal could have been part of a good centre back / left back rotation. And I would assume cheaper than buying star centre back x. If he got health problems again, then of course it would make sense to end his playing career. But until then, I would have kept him. The summer warm up...

First, the above data does not tell a whole story. It doesn't explain injuries. Also, the heavy minuses are injured players and squad players. First XI players did not lose significant playing time. Instead squad players were interchanged. Second, Guardiola did not believe in rotation either -...