9 - Luis Suárez - v1

[raskolnikov]

I have watched about 90% of the games of Suarez in the last 7 years and I can tell what he lacks now compared to Ajax/Liverpool is confidence.
He has always been the best player in the team and therefore played with a lot of confidence, he has never been the most clinical finisher or best dribbler but with confidence he would be in a lot of games. He tries a lot of things and if they fail 6 times seventh time will be a quality move/goal.

So he needs the freedom to do what he wants and even make mistakes, but it seems in his mind he doesnt have it. For example the pass against Atletico that Neymar headed wide would be a ball he shot straight at goal from the first touch cause the goalie was out.
It seems like he is overthinking it a lot and its something that bothers him, should I pass, should I shoot, should I dribble? often then you make the wrong choice or the safest.

Alexis has this as well imo, Neymar also in his first season.
I contribute it to being intimidated by Barca's style and Messi's talent. Suarez isnt the type to be insecure though, so I hope once he scores a few goals gets his confidence up and starts playing like himself again he will look much better.

 

[JamDav1982]

Arguing with you is like going down a rabbit hole, I even for a few minutes forget what my original point was.

Anyway - this really is my final statement on this topic - His touch (2.4 turnovers and 1.5 dispossessions per game - highest in the team), finishing (2 goals in 27 shots in the league) and passing (76.8% - lowest on the team after Neymar who is at 76.3%) leave a lot to be desired and is certainly not what we would expect from Suarez. Saying he has been worth the 80M because he works hard, is unselfish and is making space for Messi is just overreaching and foolhardy. It is more than likely that Suarez will find his feet at Barca, as long as he doesn't get as frustrated and nervous as he has been so far.

You try and use those stats to make him seem like someone who can barely play football.

Apply those stats to Messi and you can say he is the player that is disposessed more than any other player, is third in turnovers and has third worst pass rate in team for outfield players excluding Munir.

Those stats dont tell the whole story and make any of the front three sound bad.

Said time and again Suarez finishing has not been great, thats all he needs to improve on and will. He is still bringing a lot to the team regardless.

 

[KingMessi]

We dont need a "work hard" player, we need a player who can win matches with a little effort (messi?) and we could have bought D. costa wich can make a 2m pass, for much less

Diego Costa would be an utter flop in our system. Just look at him for Spain.

 

[KingMessi]

I don't get what you're trying to say.

I meant that in writing "30M+" striker, you include those strikers who cost 30M euros. And then you go on to say that you don't mean to say a 30M striker could do what Suarez does. So my question is, if you didn't mean that then why did you write "30M+ striker" when you actually meant "40M+ striker" or "60M+ striker" etc?

I do realize that I'm being a bit pedantic here. So sorry about that.

 

[footyfan]

I meant that in writing "30M+" striker, you include those strikers who cost 30M euros. And then you go on to say that you don't mean to say a 30M striker could do what Suarez does. So my question is, if you didn't mean that then why did you write "30M+ striker" when you actually meant "40M+ striker" or "60M+ striker" etc.

The emphasis was supposed to be on the second part of the sentence, which is that not all 30M+ strikers can do everything that Suarez does, but all 30M+ strikers could make the runs that Suarez made yesterday (this was in response to the original argument made by JamDav - that Suarez makes runs and makes space for Messi - my retort was that it does not justify spending 80M on him and that he can do much better).

Besides, I took all my transfer values from transfermarkt. I listed every striker that was 30M or higher (bar Falcao who I forgot), and it turns out that all of them could/would've made those runs (with the caveat that I don't watch Lukaku or Jackson Martinez) if played in Suarez's position

 

[JamDav1982]

The emphasis was supposed to be on the second part of the sentence, which is that not all 30M+ strikers can do everything that Suarez does, but all 30M+ strikers could make the runs that Suarez made yesterday (this was in response to the original argument made by JamDav - that Suarez makes runs and makes space for Messi - my retort was that it does not justify spending 80M on him and that he can do much better).

Besides, I took all my transfer values from transfermarkt. I listed every striker that was 30M or higher (bar Falcao who I forgot), and it turns out that all of them could/would've made those runs (with the caveat that I don't watch Lukaku or Jackson Martinez) if played in Suarez's position

I have not once tried to make out Suarez is worth 80m for his runs off the bal and work rate alone.

Said all along he creates chances for team mates, presses like a maniac and brings and infectious will to win. All of which make a huge difference even if not going through a great spell of finishing.

But people keep trying to reduce it back down to 'expect more from a 80m pound player than work rate'.

Not all of those strikers make those runs at all. Barely any of them play the CF role the same way as Suarez.

 

[matheusemp]

You try and use those stats to make him seem like someone who can barely play football.

Apply those stats to Messi and you can say he is the player that is disposessed more than any other player, is third in turnovers and has third worst pass rate in team for outfield players excluding Munir.

Those stats dont tell the whole story and make any of the front three sound bad.

Said time and again Suarez finishing has not been great, thats all he needs to improve on and will. He is still bringing a lot to the team regardless.

I play football and i agree with everything he said,2 goals and 27 shots?oh my god he is worst than i thought,incluiding the fact that he is shoothing from close distance

 

[onzeXI]

He lost confidence big time imo.

Time for ..... ?

 

[DonAndres]

You can fault Suarez's individual actions (his finishing can be akin to an off form Benzema, his dribbling/passing comparable to an off form Di Maria) but you can't fault his contribution to the team in general.

Messi's most amazing run of form since early 2013 has been after the inclusion of Suarez into the side, as a direct result of what Suarez does. Suarez's presence allows Messi to roam on the right and link up with Alves, one of his best weapons. Suarez has provided a number of goalscoring chances or assists to Messi. Suarez's various runs and movements create space for Messi to attack channels at will instead of being static the way he was in both Tito's/Tata's systems as the lone 'central' outlet. Suarez has also been key to unlocking the most cohesive and dangerous front three unit we've had since MVP (2011, 4 years ago). All 3 link up well and create chances for each other, greatly facilitating our best player (Messi).

One can make an easy general claim that "Alexis also provides workrate/movement" but if you were to ask Messi which player helps him perform better of the two I can practically guarantee he'd say Suarez. Alexis's attacking movement was more peripheral than Suarez's is and he wasn't exactly creating space for others by doing it. He was just getting into good positions for his own chances (which he'd either fluff or score confidently, depending on his form). Pedro is more of a support player than Alexis was and yet he doesn't even facilitate things for his teammates as much as Suarez does.

I fully agree that Suarez is not performing up to the level that he's capable of (he can be much more clinical/refined in practically every aspect) but there's no way you can belittle his importance.

 

[Ritchie]

This literally could be said about Alexis since 2011.

Anyway, I'm done with this discussion as I've made my point.

Suarez and Alexis are similar. Suarez is better when both on form but Suarez does have a lot of bad days. I say that as a Liverpool fan who watched him every week. He was brilliant last season but he still had games where nothing came off for him. He used to be infuriating in front of goal but was lethal under Rodgers.

If Barca can get MSN all working in unison and on form then that can carry the team as Suarez, Sterling and Sturridge did for Liverpool last season almost to the title with an otherwise bang average team. Suarez also freed up so much space for the rest of the attack by occupying defenders which Messi is benefiting from.

The only worry is if he needs to be the big fish rather than playing very much second fiddle to Messi which others have struggled with. He's used to leading the line himself and being the fulcrum of the attack.

 

[mampilly]

You can fault Suarez's individual actions (his finishing can be akin to an off form Benzema, his dribbling/passing comparable to an off form Di Maria) but you can't fault his contribution to the team in general.

Messi's most amazing run of form since early 2013 has been after the inclusion of Suarez into the side, as a direct result of what Suarez does. Suarez's presence allows Messi to roam on the right and link up with Alves, one of his best weapons. Suarez has provided a number of goalscoring chances or assists to Messi. Suarez's various runs and movements create space for Messi to attack channels at will instead of being static the way he was in both Tito's/Tata's systems as the lone 'central' outlet. Suarez has also been key to unlocking the most cohesive and dangerous front three unit we've had since MVP (2011, 4 years ago). All 3 link up well and create chances for each other, greatly facilitating our best player (Messi).

One can make an easy general claim that "Alexis also provides workrate/movement" but if you were to ask Messi which player helps him perform better of the two I can practically guarantee he'd say Suarez. Alexis's attacking movement was more peripheral than Suarez's is and he wasn't exactly creating space for others by doing it. He was just getting into good positions for his own chances (which he'd either fluff or score confidently, depending on his form). Pedro is more of a support player than Alexis was and yet he doesn't even facilitate things for his teammates as much as Suarez does.

I fully agree that Suarez is not performing up to the level that he's capable of (he can be much more clinical/refined in practically every aspect) but there's no way you can belittle his importance.

aGREE

 

[MrRotation]

I just made a profile to defend this poor guy...

Premier league and la liga are two completly different stories and the same thing is for Barca's and Liverpool's playing style. Suarez just needs some time to adapt. And get confidence. A lot of confidence. Neymar had that horrible adapting period last year and look what is that little beast doing now. Luis is hungry for victory and runs like a maniac on every single ball, even when is obvious that he can't get it. Yes, he's finishing is awful currently and he looks scared when he shoots the ball, but that's, again, the problem with confidence which can be solved. In his horrible form, he already contributed to the team with the assists and already scored against big teams, like PSG and Atletico. I'll be patient for his good form, then.

And, about Alexis... He didn't just magically become two times better player overnight. It's all about differences between the leagues and teams. Arsenal's style fits him better. If he stayed in Barca, he would probably be good ol' Alexis, which disappears in the most major matches, in the Leo's and Neymar's shadow.

We finally got a regular CF and a player which has physical strength, which we lacked in the attack and midlefield. So, slow down and don't throw Suarez to the sharks yet. (He would probably ate them, though...)

 

[Lomar1o]

he just needs to let his anger out. i hope someone from barca will let him bite, so that he can feel alive again.

 

[kistedu]

So many succes supporters in the forum. People forget that Suarez is playing less than 3 months for Barca and he shows in big games that he is a great asset to the team. Give the guy time to addapt to the system and win his conifidence back. I have no doubts that Luis is great buy for Barca, player what Barca missed for long time.

 

[FC B]

There's such a big difference between Alexis/Pedro and Suarez that it's not even worth mentioning the 3 in the same sentence. Defenders are 10 times more scared of Suarez than Alexis/Pedro.

Just look at the amount of space Messi had this match. Defenders didn't triple team Messi since they were also man-marking Suarez. This is different from last year, where defenders didn't give a crap about both Pedro/Alexis. Plus they mostly hugged the touchline anyway.

Agreed.

Time for ..... ?

Losing confidence is not a psychiatric diseasse but his psychologist should be able to help him in this matter.