10 - Lionel Messi - v1

[Agri]

Just a picture of Leo

 

[tariqo]

Albert Ferrer : “For me, Messi is the greatest,’’ Ferrer said. “I played with Romario, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Michael Laudrup and Stoichkov but Messi is the best I’ve seen. He has evolved in a way that nobody could expect.

"We all knew when he went to the first team that he was fantastic in terms of skills, one v one, but he was not scoring many goals.

“He worked in such a big way that now he’s scoring 40 or 60 goals every year. On top of that he is very clever. Messi can win a game on his own but he can take a rest and then ask for the ball, give 100 per cent and create everything. He’s unbelievable.

 

[Catalonian Devil]

Steve Nash (NBA basketball player): "Messi is incredible. He has pushed to the game to a new level." [via ligabbva]

 

[Pepe Silvia]

Felt so bad for him saturday.

 

[Clockwise]

these were probably some models to show companies how a condom should not look like...

 

[Heath Newton]

he really needs (and deserves) some rest

this is the one thing that 'worries' me with messi.


is there ever going to be anyone strong enough to stand up to him and tell him when he can or can't/should or shouldn't play?


it seems to me that he plays when HE wants to play, and stays on the pitch if HE wants to, which is all good and well if you're a fan watching him, or an employee of the club that's got him, but (as with other players) when he starts missing huge chunks of seasons due to niggles (at a too young age) and 'we' are deprived of seeing him have a very long (giggs/maldini like) career, who's that gonna benefit?



seeing the stats re how barca fair when he doesn't play says to me that they (almost) NEED him to play every game, and people like terry and lampard etc (run into the ground by mourinho for 150-200 games non-stop - ish) are decent examples of how injuries can blight you when you've been overplayed due to personal insistence, necessity, or a manager who's too scared to drop you/rest you/bring you off if you're winning 3-0 at h-t.


i cannot forget what alex ferguson said in his book and it's the reason i barely raise an eyebrow when i see odd line-ups for random games.


he had a tiny squad at aberdeen and played 13 or 14 of them all the time (necessity).
of the 13/14, only about 3 or 4 made it past the age of 30, and a lot of them are 'cripples' now - knees, backs, ankles etc etc etc, and ferguson says that he'd NEVER do such a thing again, because he hated the fact that the toll on the human being was that bad that it had affected not only their latter career but their actual life outside of football too.



does anyone anywhere think that anyone has the same thoughts about messi?

 

[Deco 20]

It's obviously a risk, but the staff have taken a lot of precautions. They've changed his diet, he's been told to run less on the pitch and he's on regular health checks. He used to be very injury prone, but since Guardiola arrived he's never had a long-term injury. With that said, it's easy to see that he looks tired in some games, especially when we play 2 games a week.

 

[Deco 20]

You know, ive been thinking that myself. We have won SO much for so long now. Hubris or lack of motivation becouse of "we have won everything" can kick in. It might be good to get something to "win back" to motivate the players

And the fans. It scared me how confident I was during last years CL final... And I'd been doing my best to come up with risks and problems. Well, I was a bit tipsy, so that might be why


And let's get the CL, I'd be damned if Chelsea or RM won it

 

[Barcaman]

It was a daft answer indeed Heath, don't bother replying next time, just hit ignore or report the post.

Short-term, we are fretting over Messi. He gets kicked a lot and isn't afraid to go head in against guys much bigger than him.
But you bring some valid point regarding his future. If he continues to play all the time, it will surely take it's toll.
It'll be a hard task for Pep to convince him to take an occasional rest though.

 

[mitkoa7x]

Why is my post gone? What was wrong with it?

 

[Heath Newton]

It's obviously a risk, but the staff have taken a lot of precautions. They've changed his diet, he's been told to run less on the pitch and he's on regular health checks. He used to be very injury prone, but since Guardiola arrived he's never had a long-term injury. With that said, it's easy to see that he looks tired in some games, especially when we play 2 games a week.

i think that's one of the biggest factors. if you weren't so successful* and he wasn't at the helm of most of it then there obviously wouldn't be either the constant games or the 'need' to play him all the time.




*also, can anyone see your success (and thus more and more games) drying up soon? not me, which is just gonna mean more and more constant playing.

It was a daft answer indeed Heath, don't bother replying next time, just hit ignore or report the post.

Short-term, we are fretting over Messi. He gets kicked a lot and isn't afraid to go head in against guys much bigger than him.
But you bring some valid point regarding his future. If he continues to play all the time, it will surely take it's toll.
It'll be a hard task for Pep to convince him to take an occasional rest though.

you removed it! it was pretty ill thought out, imo, but i didn't mind replying to it.


re 'a hard task', it's catch-22 isn't it.

not that i'm comparing any of these people, but it must've been difficult for ferguson to leave out people like giggs/scholes/rooney/a n other, down the years, but he did it for the greater good, of the person and the club, cos if said player can play 5 years longer at a high level, then that's gotta benefit everyone hasn't it?



tbh, i think mourinho's gonna be next in at OT, and it's the biggest worry i have about him. he can do almost everything with and for players, but he doesn't seem to bother if he runs them into the ground, provided he wins things.

 

[Barcaman]

mitko,

Your post is gone because it was worthless. FM comments like Messi is not human and can't be compared to other players physique added nothing to the thread nor it was by any means a decent reply to Heath's post.
You must have missed the recent trend where we are trying to bring back the quality of the forum.

Let that be a lesson to everone. Post worthless stuff and it will get deleted. That is if you are lucky. Not few already have infractions and some were banned.

Thanx.

 

[Heath Newton]

So he's losing pace cuz he plays too many games. His joints are wearing out and he is crumbling like a house of cards.

How many time do you have to doubt him when he makes a couple of bad games? You know he comes back and destroys the opposition in the next game.

+ The biggest players dont play to 40, hell some dont even make it to 30. Just enjoy what he's doing and dont look too far into it.

Delete this post if you want, I dont care, im starting lose faith in the freedom in the forum.

isn't that the point though? it needs to be watched/monitored and looked into, for his and the club's sake.
it's also not about his last few games, or that he's losing pace in them, but about the bigger picture and his and the club's long term future, together.


i'm not saying he can will or should play til he's 40 btw, or anywhere near that, but (even as a fan of another club) i'd be gutted if he ended up like Van Basten who had a 12 year career, would you like Messi to have to retire at 29 or 30?

i wouldn't, and i'm not even a barca fan.

 

[mitkoa7x]

The club is doing the best for him, I have no doubt in that.

I've never thought about his retirement, when it comes, it comes.

I have blind faith in him and club.

 

[Barcaman]

He missed the whole point of your post Heath. As you said, you weren't even saying he is losing pace or playing badly.
Don't know what's worse, making daft posts or twisting someone's words. Either way, not worth responding to.