14 - Javier Mascherano

[JonM]

That was last season, no?

Yeah but the general idea seems to be that he's always been an horrible CB. Or that he's not a CB period.

 

[Youngie]

Once again Youngie, it's not about individual performances, it's about the team as a whole not being able to function correctly...

Let's say Villa scored that chance and won the game, what would be you argument against playing a winger?

And if Cesc scored his chance?

Anyway the team functioned fine in all games so far this season. Why change it?

 

[Flavia]

Yeah but the general idea seems to be that he's always been an horrible CB. Or that he's not a CB period.

But he is not a cb. Even with some good displays he had last season, he also had some costly mistakes. And this season he's not been able to find his best form yet. I still can't get over the fact Song was brought, instead of a true cb. It'd been much better to move Masch to be Busi replacement. Masch should'd been just a temporary solution at cb.

And if Cesc scored his chance?

Anyway the team functioned fine in all games so far this season. Why change it?

Because playing that many games can worn out some players. Cesc and Iniesta should be rotated. I always fear one of them can pick up an injury, with that amount of playing time they're getting.

 

[AnfieldEd]

Please sell him so he can be a DM, like he would for every other single club in the world and will prove himself to be the best in the world in that position. What a waste.............

 

[Youngie]

Because playing that many games can worn out some players. Cesc and Iniesta should be rotated. I always fear one of them can pick up an injury, with that amount of playing time they're getting.

Good point.

 

[Garrus]

Because playing that many games can worn out some players. Cesc and Iniesta should be rotated. I always fear one of them can pick up an injury, with that amount of playing time they're getting.

This is why our 'super' line up is just too good to be true , I've said this numerous times before, It has a very major draw back, It puts enormous physical strain on cesc and ineista, Specially with iniesta, Considering his problematic history with injuries, Even if we were lucky enough not to injure them, Eventually their energy will be drained, And we'll be in deep shit, Because apart from thiago, There is no replacement for them.

 

[Indignado]

This is why our 'super' line up is just too good to be true , I've said this numerous times before, It has a very major draw back, It puts enormous physical strain on cesc and ineista, Specially with iniesta, Considering his problematic history with injuries, Even if we were lucky enough not to injure them, Eventually their energy will be drained, And we'll be in deep shit, Because apart from thiago, There is no replacement for them.

That's exactly why other players need more playing time. Right now, as you said, there's no replacement in the central midfield apart from Thiago.

 

[evilhita666]

Because playing that many games can worn out some players. Cesc and Iniesta should be rotated. I always fear one of them can pick up an injury, with that amount of playing time they're getting.

Exactly! As I've said numerous times, it's not that Cesc sucks or should be sold, it's just that right now he's not at his best and different games call for different approaches, and add to that we are only starting the second half of the season, so it's better to keep everyone healthy and in their best possible form, and sometimes that means having a rest...

 

[tariqo]

Please sell him so he can be a DM, like he would for every other single club in the world and will prove himself to be the best in the world in that position. What a waste.............

the sad thing is , he isn't even a great DM , just see him when he play for argentina

 

[Cule4life]

the sad thing is , he isn't even a great DM , just see him when he play for argentina

+1

 

[Deco 20]

He's a better CB than DM, atleast for us. He did well last season but his relative inexperience at the position was evident in some of our most important games (Chelsea, Clasico)

 

[GiantKiller]

He's a better CB than DM, atleast for us. He did well last season but his relative inexperience at the position was evident in some of our most important games (Chelsea, Clasico)

That was his first full season as CB, no? Add to that the fact that his poor form coincided with playing alongside the likes of Song and Adriano which explains how he's struggled a bit. So, I still think that he may turn out to be great for us. He'll also never play as a DM for us unless things take an unexpected turn. :O

 

[Fourteen]

Yeah but the general idea seems to be that he's always been an horrible CB. Or that he's not a CB period.

He was a boss last season. Certainly more consistent than this year, not 100% sure why he hasn't been up to scratch. Like many of you have pointed out he is not focussing hard enough on his positioning, something he should be competent at doing by now. Hopefully things will improve, he has some brilliant defensive attributes about him, particularly his tenacious hustling and tackling, there's no reason why it can't continue to work if he shows more concentration.

 

[hellsangel1]

He's just been being put under more pressure this season and is getting exposed a lot more. To have a short, former DM who lacks a physical prescence was never going to be a long-term solution at CB and some of us were saying that last season as well. I don't mind him as a CB against lesser teams but never against elite opposition. For all the talk about missed chances against Chelsea, his defensive error (particularly in the first leg) cost us the tie just as much as anything else. It was just pure arrogance for Barca to continue with this risky experiment and not see the dangers that it could pose.

 

[Fourteen]

I don't think arrogance has anything to do with it. It's about availability and using the resources you have. There is no way on earth Mascherano can displace Busquets as a DM, so not using him isn't really an option as he still has more positives about him than negatives. Barca take risks to win games and one of those risks is leaving spaces open at the back, it's not always going to work out perfectly all of the time, however the team is good enough to ensure that most of the time it does.