10 - Lionel Messi - v2

[Pepe Silvia]

This. And IMO, the main reason Milan beat us is because we played (uncharacteristically) badly. Sure they played well, but it was more down to us playing badly.

even if our players were up to it, the attack formation was not correct for that type of defensive display from milan. it wouldn't have mattered much. what we needed to do was create width and rush from the wings. it was tactical errors from barca that didn't adapt to what milan put out. so, that said tactic for tactic milan killed us. that has nothing to do with 'us playing badly'. that is a way to discredit milan's superiority last night.

 

[Barcaman]

Look at this image:

If has to go the right to escape heavy marking anyway, What's the point of using him as a central striker (false 9), Look at the empty space he left in the middle!!, This is absurd.
He should play on the right from the beginning instead of pedro.

That's a nice pic and only proves how important Messi is and how much we are missing an in-form speedy striker or midfielder who could make that run and exploit the space. Unfortunately, neither Xavi and Iniesta are quick. Cesc makes those runs successful at times but hardly enough. If Villa is leaving then getting a striker, and I stress, striker, should be a must.

 

[Karnivore]

What Barcelona need is someone like Mata to play in the hole and just thread passes through to Messi. One mistake from the defence and Messi, Villa or Pedro will be through on goal with him around. Unfortunately, he's ours, and it'd take ALOT of money to get him.

 

[Trickykid]

What Barcelona need is someone like Mata to play in the hole and just thread passes through to Messi. One mistake from the defence and Messi, Villa or Pedro will be through on goal with him around. Unfortunately, he's ours, and it'd take ALOT of money to get him.

Yeah, you're spot on there, buddy! Attacking midfielders/wingers is just the thing we need. Too bad for us, that we're stuck with second rate nobodies such as Iniesta and Fabregas.

 

[mikecraig]

I have said it before and I will say it again
When th history of this team is written in years to come the drafting of Messi into false 9 will be noted as the move which marked the beginning of the end
Of couse this slippery slop was enhanced my Pep who in his usual method of over thinking the unnecessary got rid of defenders and goal scorers over loading the team with midfielders but leaving us short every where else.
All the while refusing to address the obvious problem the team had "breaking bus parkers" and and when Jose threw the challenge of high pressing of Barca at him he also had no clue what to do about it.
Pep's obsession with refusing to address obvious problems and going after imaginary one never failed to amuse me

 

[Micah]

I've said this before in discussions, The whole false 9 thing can be a disaster against compact and well organized defences. Messi drops all the way to the half line and there is literally no one up front. If we are to play for the success of the team and not just for Messi's goals, the best thing would be to move him to the wings, Where he still could manage to score enough goals(rememeber he did a great job in his first 2 season playing there) and bring in a strong attacker thats not standing 5'7.

Someone like Falcao would be Ideal, His movement is excellent and can stand shoulder-shoulder with the defenders and most importantly has the right character/attitude. We don't have to necessarily play him through the middle all the time, But could be much useful in games where teams try to overwhelm us physically. Maybe in regular Liga games, Messi could still play through the middle and use Falcao on the wings just like we did with Villa.

 

[ryaninho]

this needs to be adressed, because big teams are going to shut barca out by nullifing messi then what? barca become a toothless beast that can't bite or a blunt sword. All play going throught messi needs to stop, because its becoming predictable to the point like milan game how many shots did we have? management needs to stop thinking of messi and start thinking of the team. The team before the indevidual

 

[DonAndres]

I've said this before in discussions, The whole false 9 thing can be a disaster against compact and well organized defences. Messi drops all the way to the half line and there is literally no one up front. If we are to play for the success of the team and not just for Messi's goals, the best thing would be to move him to the wings, Where he still could manage to score enough goals(rememeber he did a great job in his first 2 season playing there) and bring in a strong attacker thats not standing 5'7.

Someone like Falcao would be Ideal, His movement is excellent and can stand shoulder-shoulder with the defenders and most importantly has the right character/attitude. We don't have to necessarily play him through the middle all the time, But could be much useful in games where teams try to overwhelm us physically. Maybe in regular Liga games, Messi could still play through the middle and use Falcao on the wings just like we did with Villa.

You realize that Falcao is no less than 50-60 million euros and plays as a pure number 9, he's not going to move to the wings. If we get a forward, it should be a strong, fast, versatile one who can make great attacking runs and finish well. The player has to be great on the ground and not just an aerial player. That's the kind of forward who can move to the wings and benefit from Messi as a false 9.

 

[mikecraig]

this needs to be adressed, because big teams are going to shut barca out by nullifing messi then what? barca become a toothless beast that can't bite or a blunt sword. All play going throught messi needs to stop, because its becoming predictable to the point like milan game how many shots did we have? management needs to stop thinking of messi and start thinking of the team. The team before the indevidual

X 10
I am a Barca fan and not a Messi fan. I suspect the same cannot be said of a lot of people on thos forum. Messi should adapt to the needs of the team not the team built to serve him.
If u biuld around an individual what happens when he has an off day or is injured?

 

[darthvader7888]

I have said it before and I will say it again
When th history of this team is written in years to come the drafting of Messi into false 9 will be noted as the move which marked the beginning of the end
Of couse this slippery slop was enhanced my Pep who in his usual method of over thinking the unnecessary got rid of defenders and goal scorers over loading the team with midfielders but leaving us short every where else.
All the while refusing to address the obvious problem the team had "breaking bus parkers" and and when Jose threw the challenge of high pressing of Barca at him he also had no clue what to do about it.
Pep's obsession with refusing to address obvious problems and going after imaginary one never failed to amuse me

We almost won the treble in 2011 with Messi at false 9 (and that's after an average season in 2010, when Messi was playing on the wing and we had Ibra playing in the center). Just sayin. IMO, if we get a forward, it should be someone to score from the wings, like Villa. There isn't anything wrong with Messi at false 9. However, we do rely a little too much on Messi for goals. But someone to score goals from the wing would fix that problem. No need to move Messi from his best position to use a "true" 9 in the center.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Micah]

You realize that Falcao is no less than 50-60 million euros and plays as a pure number 9, he's not going to move to the wings. If we get a forward, it should be a strong, fast, versatile one who can make great attacking runs and finish well. The player has to be great on the ground and not just an aerial player. That's the kind of forward who can move to the wings and benefit from Messi as a false 9.

And so is Neymar, whom we we are on the verge of signing. I don't think money is the problem, Selling Villa and Sanchez could recoup much of the cash. Falcao's a no9 but he's capable of playing in the wings. We did the same with Eto, who was initally our no9 but pep later moved him to the wings, and he still kept banging in the goals. Cavani is another player, who infact plays in the wings for Uruguay but i don't think he has the technical side to suit the tiki taka, Whereas Falcao is a decent passer and has excellent technique to suit our system. We desperately needs a physical addition to the side. Apart from pique and Puyol, we might probably be one of the most physically inept side in Europe.

 

[Stric]

The thing is that his false9 role will only get more difficult to execute with time. That's why it was more successful 2 years ago than it is now. MikeCraig is absolutely right. Having Messi there and the wingers nowhere near the opposing goal will bring possession play and NO goals. When facing strong opponents, Messi needs to play on the wing, either with a genuine striker or someone else (Cesc) playing the false #9 in the middle.

 

[Garrus]

That's a nice pic and only proves how important Messi is and how much we are missing an in-form speedy striker or midfielder who could make that run and exploit the space. Unfortunately, neither Xavi and Iniesta are quick. Cesc makes those runs successful at times but hardly enough. If Villa is leaving then getting a striker, and I stress, striker, should be a must.

What i meant exactly isn't to make a run into that space, But for someone to actually already be in it, Which is why i suggested this formation in the current poll:

Villa-Cesc-Messi
Iniesta-Xavi
Sergio

Messi will already be on the right, So we don't have to worry about him wondering off to the side and leaving the middle empty, We won't rely on Cesc to control the midfield, Which is a huge bonus, And iniesta is exactly where he should be, Not to mention the element of surprise.

But things aren't as easy as it seems, One should ask himself, How much damage the best player in the world can inflect from the wings, Not only we'll lose his goal scoring abilities, But his 'Out of the world' through balls, The only thing he can do is make air crosses or ground crosses from the side, We would be turning him into just a glorified winger.

It's going to take lots of guts from tito to agree on this, But we can't do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result, Chelsea, Celtic and milan and the list keeps piling up, Messi disappeared on these games, And it will continue this way, Unless we do something, It's a tough call, But tough situation needs exactly that.

 

[Stric]

Not only we'll lose his goal scoring abilities, But his 'Out of the world' through balls, The only thing he can do is make air crosses or ground crosses from the side, We would be turning him into just a glorified winger.

Not really. Surely his influence on the game would change somewhat, but none of things you mentioned would actually be lost. He could still score and assist.

 

[Garrus]

I payed attention to using 'Through balls' not 'Assists', Of course he can assist with his crosses, But it's kind of limited compared in regard to creativity with what he can usually do in the middle.
As for the goals, He can make a run to the inside from the right then use his left foot to score, This was his trade mark back when he was operating on the right wing years ago.