10 - Lionel Messi - v4

[Hardy]

 

[Albo]

as a nr 10/attacking midfielder yes but then we should really switch to a 4-2-3-1 line-up

still Messi is best when he plays in the final third, scoring and creating

This. Buy a right winger and move Messi to middle like this:
-----------Suarez
Neymar-Messi-some1
-----Busi-------Raki

 

[ThwiX]

Please help us, PoGOD. Messi needs to be much closer to the goal. His skills are wasted in this role. One of the best finishers to ever play the game getting so few scoring opportunities. Don't even think he had one yesterday. Can't continue like this. Setting up so many chances, but nobody able to do it for him.

 

[te amo barca]

Do you want him to play like Tata tried to? To "get the ball as little as possible"? He's at best where he plays now, immensely helping his team to create chances. His passing skills are wasted upfront. And also, his workrate is pretty meh, it's not a rare sight to see him just standing instead of moving into channels during a quick attack/counter. No, thanks, I would like Messi helping the team instead of scoring goals for his record. That's what Ronaldo does. Messi is more than that.

 

[ThwiX]

Do you want him to play like Tata tried to? To "get the ball as little as possible"?

But there is a balance somewhere between here. Like last season, that's more the Messi we want to see. This season that wasn't possible, mainly due to the lack of creativity in midfield. That's where someone like Pogba comes into the picture.

 

[bismp]

But there is a balance somewhere between here. Like last season, that's more the Messi we want to see. This season that wasn't possible, mainly due to the lack of creativity in midfield. That's where someone like Pogba comes into the picture.

I completely agree with you,but it is very unlikely that Pogba(or any world class midfielder) will come this summer

 

[ThwiX]

I completely agree with you,but it is very unlikely that Pogba(or any world class midfielder) will come this summer

I know, it is all about next summer or never when it comes to Pogba.
Iniesta will be 33 then, timing is good and something will have to happen, IMO. Pogba or not.

 

[Batistuta9]

I think the way to get the best out of messi is to give him a free role (middle of the 3) in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Get someone on the rw that is a goal threat, keep raki or get someone to help busi defensively and let messi play with zero defensive responsibility which will let him show his attacking masterclass with loads of assists and goals.

 

[Batistuta9]

And forgot to mention, keep iniesta as a backup for messi in the free role

 

[Lomar1o]

we need a creative/attacking midfielder who will be reliable, confident and bossy in the midfield, whose presence will be felt by our forwards, who will not have to go back in order to create something for themselves. in short we need.... prime ronaldinho xD

 

[bismp]

I think the way to get the best out of messi is to give him a free role (middle of the 3) in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Get someone on the rw that is a goal threat, keep raki or get someone to help busi defensively and let messi play with zero defensive responsibility which will let him show his attacking masterclass with loads of assists and goals.

This won't work defensively though,and we are also bound to lose the midfield.We are already on the edge defensively and regarding midfield control in many matches.If we take out a midfielder and add a winger,then we are screwed imo

 

[Batistuta9]

This won't work defensively though,and we are also bound to lose the midfielder.We are already on the edge defensively and regarding midfield control in many matches.If we take out a midfielder and add a winger,then we are screwed imo

It depends on the player we get to partner busi. If we get someone like kante he can cover the distance for 2 players and compliment busi just like gattuso did with pirlo.

 

[Zidane121]

Messi's role won't change next season, remember he was injured for like 2 months otherwise he would've got 60+ goals and he gave penalties to Suarez and Neymar. The MSN system will be the same next season, with Messi starting wide right and drifting central.

 

[bismp]

Messi's role won't change next season, remember he was injured for like 2 months otherwise he would've got 60+ goals and he gave penalties to Suarez and Neymar. The MSN system will be the same next season, with Messi starting wide right and drifting central.

Yeah,despite the injury and the more of a creator role,he still scored 40 goals.He could easily score another 15-20 otherwise

 

[Jamie Cal]

Do you want him to play like Tata tried to? To "get the ball as little as possible"? He's at best where he plays now, immensely helping his team to create chances. His passing skills are wasted upfront. And also, his workrate is pretty meh, it's not a rare sight to see him just standing instead of moving into channels during a quick attack/counter. No, thanks, I would like Messi helping the team instead of scoring goals for his record. That's what Ronaldo does. Messi is more than that.

We would still have playmaking Messi, but more variety and dynamism in our build up.

Rakitic does an excellent job of making runs into the box and as a result (plus a few long shots) has 17 goals in 2 seasons for us - that's a great tally for a midfielder. If you've got those dynamic runs into the box from Pogba with Messi's diagonals? Game over.

But the thing I figure Pogba has over all midfielders is in transition. In games like the one against Bayern last year where everyone where we leave MSN to play by themselves up on their and fire balls up, he'd be perfect in that iteration - you could see in Real vs Juve last year how he good he was in transitioning from defense to attack.

In all honesty, that Tata quote is a bit blown out of proportion too. Getting him as little on the ball as possible then was silly because we didn't have the players to facilitate him, but at times, it definitely has some merit. I feel a lot of the time Neymar and Alba get in great positions but only look to find Messi, when using him as a decoy is the better option. Alba especially.

The biggest thing we need to work on is distance shooting; it's something we severely lacking in, especially compared to Bayern and Real. Rakitic can shoot but doesn't set himself to do so enough, Iniesta and Busi can't at all. Against Atleti our best tactic in the first leg was just shoot and let the ball spill.

You can also say Pogba's height would be a big asset, and it would be, but we've done far better than anyone expected from set pieces both offensively and defensively.

The point is, we'd have add a whole ton of dynamism and unpredictability to suit any game. Messi more than ANYONE would benefit from it.