10 - Lionel Messi - v3

[Ghost]

Messi has always been more Lebron than Jordan...incredibly talented,unplayable when on but too many important games where he disappears...Inter 2010/Chelsea 2012/Bayern 2013/Atletico 2014

How is that too many? 3 games out of....what, 25 big games or something? Yeah.


Messi hasn't been himself in a while, I agree. But don't act like he was always this way. Going invisible in 4-5 matches in 10 SEASONS is not indicative of anything.

 

[Irish_Cules]

I remember Pinto at one stage sprinting to get the ball for a throw in and just hand it to Dani. He was probably running around a lot off camera too.

 

[Ryan_Cule]

I was wondering how pinto ran that much too.

I'm still baffled to the amount of hatred Messi gets here after a poor match. He was bad, there's no denying this. But Tata's tactics was to keep him out of the game according to Tata himself... Messi wasn't as involved as in any other cl game he has ever played, and after watching him for so many years, I just don't believe it was pure lack of effort from him. The gameplan was messed up, and isolating Messi in the right wing was a favor to atletico, who marked him out of the game easier thanks to that "tactic" from tata.

imo, Tata's biggest crime wasn't isolating Messi. For me it was subbing off Iniesta and even after doing so, still not moving Messi to play a central role. basically It was messi and alexis both were stuck at right side with no flow centrally. That was a huge crime. If Martino was the coach back then, there wouldn't have been any magical goal by iniesta at Stamford bridge.

Players like Iniesta even if they are playing below average can change the entire game with one interventions. And you can not expect messi to score from a right wing with restricted role in the game.

Amazing how we are even talking about selling Messi.

 

[Ryan_Cule]

Those stats are from official FIFA website.

I never said the stats are wrong. Stats are being projected in a way by Madrid press to antagonize barca fans. Nothing more or less. Back when messi was injured , Madrid press did the same thing by launching a campaign by saying Ronaldo never gets injured because he is extremely fit and works 24 hours for his job.

 

[messid10s]

Let's be honest parked buses are very hard to score against I certainly won't hate on any player if they fail to score when the opposition has 10 players behind the ball.

We need to have a re-think of how to counter parked buses. We could get a tall striker to provide an aerial threat but finding a sufficiently tall one that won't slow down our play is key. We could try the radical idea and surrender some possession to draw the opposition out and hit them on the counter. We could try a different formation such as 3-4-3 to get more players in attack having Cesc or Iniesta at the tip of the diamond. We could go 4-2-3-1 and play Messi as a 10 in behind a main striker so he doesn't have so many people marking him.

 

[Flavia]

Or Tata said this to try and deflect blame from Leo?

If you saw the game, Messi was isolated in the rw. Not even Alves searched for him like he used to. Most long balls were to Neymar, or many plays were wasted with crosses. The team was a mess overall, with a horrible gameplan, disorganized. Still Messi gets the most hate, and that I really don't get. He has always struggled against parked buses, this is not the 1st time. That was even harder last night, as he wasn't the focal point of the attack.

Aand even for him, to dribble past a wall of 4, 5 players is hard. Even more with a team that now is very slow in passing the ball.

 

[MagicianMessi]

I have seen messi singly handling the teams with more physical strength than barca ( like vs PSG he scored two goals even he was not fully fit) but yesterday he was so pathetic. It was like he didn't want to get involved he was standing just waiting for the ball. When he got the ball defenders were all over him.

He will be the one to blame for his performance. May be I guess he is playing safely because WC is nearing and he don't want to get injured again or like others say he is losing the passion to play. I hope it is not the second reason. If it is then it is very bad for barca and for him too.

Hope he is gonna bounce back soon. Waiting for that energetic,brilliant, magical messi!!!

 

[DB10]

Messi is so big now I can't see him playing second fiddle to another striker. Wasn't that the problem with Zlatan?

 

[instinct]

Ex Bayern player Willy Sagnol critizised Messi after last night's match. He said that Messi took the crowd for a fool and wasted his time with walking.

 

[MMKa]

Messi is so big now I can't see him playing second fiddle to another striker. Wasn't that the problem with Zlatan?

Wasn't. http://www.tribalfootball.com/artic...himovic-penalty-end-slump-716841#.U0avoL0ayc0

 

[hellsangel1]

Messi is so big now I can't see him playing second fiddle to another striker. Wasn't that the problem with Zlatan?

The problem with Zlatan was zlatan himself. He slows the play down and wasn't suited to our style (and his workrate off the ball is poor as well) despite what the barca or messi haters want to say. Messi didn't have a problem playing alongside et'oo or the other strikers with argentina.

 

[klc123]

Why are Barca fans on this forum so obsessed with the idea of getting a big CF to lump the ball at?
This forum was full of people complaining when Barca were winning games with very direct football, now we lost playing direct football and you want to go even more direct? Why don't we just ask to be transferred to the EPL and axe our youth system while we are at it, clearly our footballing philosophy is "outdated" and will never work again.

How about we go back to playing the same system that guardiola took over the world with, that inspired fans across the planet, and is now working for bayern munich.

If you think Bayern are better than barca due to the fact that their CF's are a bit taller, then you are completely delusional, and I pray Bayern draw Atleti to show everyone how possession football can crack any team, parked bus or not, when it is played well and perfected.

The reason we are having problems now is in my opinion due to a lack of decent personnel at the back, and a complete lack of organisation and system in the team. We are a shadow of the passing team we were under Guardiola.

To start a champions league tie against any team at home with andres on the wing is a travesty. That's like conceding a draw before the game has even begun. But to do the exact same mistake in the second leg where we HAVE to score to stay in the competition is just plain negligence in my opinion. Someone needs to get their notepad out and take note from how Pep has bayern playing now, because they are playing nearly the exact same as the way we played under guardiola. You won't see him pumping 40 lofted crosses into atleticos box when he plays them.

Getting back on topic, the idea of having a CF instead of messi isn't going to achieve anything. We might get the odd extra goal from a header, but we will throw the ball away 10 times more often than we already are, and that is the heart of our defensive problems.

 

[Flavia]

Why are Barca fans on this forum so obsessed with the idea of getting a big CF to lump the ball at?
This forum was full of people complaining when Barca were winning games with very direct football, now we lost playing direct football and you want to go even more direct? Why don't we just ask to be transferred to the EPL and axe our youth system while we are at it, clearly our footballing philosophy is "outdated" and will never work again.

How about we go back to playing the same system that guardiola took over the world with, that inspired fans across the planet, and is now working for bayern munich.

If you think Bayern are better than barca due to the fact that their CF's are a bit taller, then you are completely delusional, and I pray Bayern draw Atleti to show everyone how possession football can crack any team, parked bus or not, when it is played well and perfected.

The reason we are having problems now is in my opinion due to a lack of decent personnel at the back, and a complete lack of organisation and system in the team. We are a shadow of the passing team we were under Guardiola.

To start a champions league tie against any team at home with andres on the wing is a travesty. That's like conceding a draw before the game has even begun. But to do the exact same mistake in the second leg where we HAVE to score to stay in the competition is just plain negligence in my opinion. Someone needs to get their notepad out and take note from how Pep has bayern playing now, because they are playing nearly the exact same as the way we played under guardiola. You won't see him pumping 40 lofted crosses into atleticos box when he plays them.

Getting back on topic, the idea of having a CF instead of messi isn't going to achieve anything. We might get the odd extra goal from a header, but we will throw the ball away 10 times more often than we already are, and that is the heart of our defensive problems.

A mobile cf in front of Messi would proably be good, though. But not a tall, slow one.

 

[Hamzah]

If you saw the game, Messi was isolated in the rw. Not even Alves searched for him like he used to. Most long balls were to Neymar, or many plays were wasted with crosses. The team was a mess overall, with a horrible gameplan, disorganized. Still Messi gets the most hate, and that I really don't get. He has always struggled against parked buses, this is not the 1st time. That was even harder last night, as he wasn't the focal point of the attack.

Aand even for him, to dribble past a wall of 4, 5 players is hard. Even more with a team that now is very slow in passing the ball.

The problem last night was the gameplan but the intensity and passion of the players was also awful apart from Neymar, Alba, Iniesta and Cesc. Of those only Neymar had even a half decent performance. So Messi deserves it. Also its not just him but the whole team that's getting slammed and in think it's deserved. No personal agenda against Messi over the others at all.

 

[Andrew M]

Messi is past his peak.

This time was always going to come and it will slowly, agonisingly, get worse.

When players are so brilliant at such a young age this can accelerate decline.

Watching Ronaldinho decline was pretty painful, but I fear that Messi has such status that no-one will agitate his strut.

He used to hunt the ball down with such child-like enthusiasm.