10 - Lionel Messi - v2

[Mika94]

Very disappointing. I don't know if it's physical or just mental. He looks in fine form to me, yet he lacks something. Maybe with the arrival of Neymar he is less needed than the previous years (last year, between a mediocre Alexis, poor/absent Villa and Tello + Pedro that weren't much better he was basically all the attack we had), yet I do think that he could play much better. Man, where's the motivation, where's that young fella with his long hair passing through the defenses...Something happened since those injuries from last season.

Hope he'll be back against Milan.

 

[Michael]

If the injuries are affecting him to the point he cant move off the ball then he needs to admit that. Its barely an excuse and it could have cost Barca the game.

Why does this not apply to Busquets who gave the ball away several times in dangerous positions?

 

[JamDav1982]

Well said. I miss that Messi too, who was evidently near that level just this past Tuesday.

I am really worried and baffled. Where does the inconsistency come from? He is only 26, there is no way he is past his prime.

For me and its only my opinion but he does not like the fact the team i not built totally around him as much under Tata and has one eye on the World Cup.

Mascherano admitted this week that Messi is already pacing himself and thinking about next summer.

 

[Flavia]

If the injuries are affecting him to the point he cant move off the ball then he needs to admit that. Its barely an excuse and it could have cost Barca the game.

No, he needs a few games to get back to his best form. He wasn't the only bad player today. Most of the team was bad, lethargic. Iniesta was off, Alves' crosses were off, Busquets played his worst game in ages and so on. Xavi could've had made some quicker passes a lot of times too.

And yet Messi gets all the stick.

 

[Luftstalag14]

Same here...

And he's too fixated on scoring, there were many times when he had an available pass and went for the impossible... He should chill out and don't rush to get his groove back...

I disagree, I actually thought he was fixated on scoring Tuesday, today he wasn't, he passed several balls and had very few shots.

 

[JamDav1982]

Why does this not apply to Busquets who gave the ball away several times in dangerous positions?

Busquets was poor I agree but he did not look like barely trying. The point is not Messi was crap it was holy sh1t he barely tried at all without ball at feet for the most part.

 

[suckabov]

True, but I'd argue that even players that are much worse than Messi would be criticized for this kind of performance (not trying hard enough). He was completely different on Tuesday, today he was a totally different person.

It's perfectly okay to criticise him, but how it is done is a little uncalled for. It was plain to see that he didn't have a good day today. But what's the big deal? There are millions of possible reasons why he was off today, and "he is sulking" or "he is past his prime" are the more unlikely ones considering he was superb last game. Perhaps, if you like, he didn't even have a good year by his standards. The key word is "by his standards". Because "his standards" are so high that if you directly compare him with other top players, Ronaldo or whoever, he's still not worse than those (5 of Ronaldos goals were penalties).

 

[ThwiX]

Anywayyyyy.....

Since we are in early November , it seems it's time again for people to start complaining about Messi' s performance as they do every year , only to have multiple orgasms once they see Messi turning on beast mode late in the season , as always.


I'm not even concerned by the way he's playing now

This. Some of the overreactions here are just hilarious, just like last year around this time. "I want old Messi back". "He's past his prime". "Bench him". Just comical

 

[JamDav1982]

No, he needs a few games to get back to his best form. He wasn't the only bad player today. Most of the team was bad, lethargic. Iniesta was off, Alves' crosses were off, Busquets played his worst game in ages and so on. Xavi could've had made some quicker passes a lot of times too.

And yet Messi gets all the stick.

You miss the point. It is not that he was poor but the lack of effort. Coming back from injury is no excuse for that.

Those other players you mentioned were bad but they all tried to make things happen and for the most part did their job off the ball.

 

[Flavia]

You miss the point. It is not that he was poor but the lack of effort. Coming back from injury is no excuse for that.

Those other players you mentioned were bad but they all tried to make things happen and for the most part did their job off the ball.

So did Messi. He tried to make things happen a few times, but couldn't. Looked frustrated for most of the match. He didn't have a good game, but your overreaction about it is ridiculous.

 

[Mr Hulot]

As every Barca in his/her right mind I love Messi, but the fact that even if he is the worst player on the pitch, is not substituted, is a bit frustrating. Nobody should be treated like he is bigger than the club.

Anyway, let's not make it a bigger deal than it is, as he will be back to his best soon.

 

[JamDav1982]

So did Messi. He tried to make things happen a few times, but couldn't. Looked frustrated for most of the match. He didn't have a good game, but your overreaction about is ridiculous.

My over reaction?

He barely made a move off the ball.

 

[Luftstalag14]

Very disappointing. I don't know if it's physical or just mental. He looks in fine form to me, yet he lacks something. Maybe with the arrival of Neymar he is less needed than the previous years (last year, between a mediocre Alexis, poor/absent Villa and Tello + Pedro that weren't much better he was basically all the attack we had), yet I do think that he could play much better. Man, where's the motivation, where's that young fella with his long hair passing through the defenses...Something happened since those injuries from last season.

Hope he'll be back against Milan.

I am leaning toward mental, Messi is much harder to read than players like CR7, you don't know what is going through his mind as his involvement in the game fluctuates.

I don't for a second buy the ridiculous "pacing himself, saving energy for the WC" theory, but I am really scratching my head to find out what's going on. Messi, like any players can have bad games, but it is not so much about bad games, it is about the lack of interest and efforts. Why? Doesn't he want to prove to the world that he can do it again? Shouldn't he be trying harder to impress the voting audience that that he deserves the Ballon d'Or, at this critical juncture?

Damn Ribery.

 

[suckabov]

For me and its only my opinion but he does not like the fact the team i not built totally around him as much under Tata and has one eye on the World Cup.

And how do you come to this conclusion?

Mascherano admitted this week that Messi is already pacing himself and thinking about next summer.

How can Mascherano admit it? Only Messi can admit it, for he's the only person that can look into his own head.

Damn Ribery.

What exactly did Ribery do then, this season, that Messi didn't?

 

[JamDav1982]

And how do you come to this conclusion?

How can Mascherano admit it? Only Messi can admit it, for he's the only person that can look into his own head.

Mascherano said it if you think you know better and Masch is lying then fair enough.