Alexis Sanchez

[Plip]

I actually think Messi ball hogs less, he obviously gets the ball a lot more as he's more central but he definitely doesn't dribble as much as he used to.

I never said he IS a ball-hog or that it has gone worse.

I'm just pointing out that due to certain change of dynamics within the team there MIGHT be a possibility of that happening. It's just a scenario I'm entertaining in terms of how it would affect the team.

I know Messi's a smart player and will probably ease up a bit with age knowing his limits. Hope I am right here.

 

[GiantKiller]

I agree about getting the best out of Messi not being a bad thing, and there's no reason to panic, but like Plip said, you do wonder how sustainable this will be, and I'm not sure indulging Messi like this will have a good effect on his ego long term.



And that's the thing, he has clear flaws and deserves some criticism, but the hate just baffles me; he's actually playing his best stretch of football for Barcelona since last year, and is really helping Messi out.

Messi showing even the slightest sign unhappiness will be the worst possible scenario, so that rules out bringing in an expensive signing and forcibly changing the system in my opinion ( Because of that, it'll be interesting to see how someone like Neymar fits in. Add to that the part of him adapting to the role of the supporting cast. Will he be able to play to his strengths? ).
I personally think that it's only up to Tito and Messi to thoroughly sort this issue out to ensure that the progress of the team in the long term is kept in check because nothing seems to be that perfect solution for me, at least at this stage.

Also, I agree with the last part.

I'm all for criticism but the manner in which one expresses himself/herself is important too.

 

[USWAY]

And while I absolutely love Pedro, the only arguments over him being better than Alexis right now are about previous seasons.

This, this, and this. People have even started to admit that it is difficult to find your role as a winger in this team when Messi is the false nine, simply because of Pedro's struggles. Any other forward, Ibra, Villa, Bojan, Alexis, it was soley their fault.

I'm simply happy with the success of the team, but if one has a problem with Alexis' form and role in this team, it's simply unfathomable that you wouldn't with Pedro; except for the fact he's one of the hero's of the Pep era and can do no wrong.

 

[La Furia]

Still no excuse for him to miss sitters, he needs to score.

This I agree with, he doesn't need to be an elite goalscorer but right now he lacks even basic composure in the box and it's something that needs to be worked on. He's better than that.

But I suspect the problem goes beyond Alexis because Pedro is afraid to shoot right now too.

 

[Banana-Rama]

i still remember that miss against chelsea at stamford bridge, i struggle to understand how he missed that lol...............

 

[Doobs]

This I agree with, he doesn't need to be an elite goalscorer but right now he lacks even basic composure in the box and it's something that needs to be worked on. He's better than that.

But I suspect the problem goes beyond Alexis because Pedro is afraid to shoot right now too.

He needs to justify starting over Villa and for that he'll also need to chip in with a few goals, his movement and pressing are pretty good and thats probably why he is starting over Villa atm.

Anyway he's young and has time to improve so no need to worry. It hurts though to see Big Dave sitting out.

 

[La Furia]

He needs to justify starting over Villa and for that he'll also need to chip in with a few goals, his movement and pressing are pretty good and thats probably why he is starting over Villa atm.

Anyway he's young and has time to improve so no need to worry. It hurts though to see Big Dave sitting out.

And I think a lot of Alexis hate is misplaced because of how David is being treated.

I really don't like starting both Alexis and Pedro at the expense of Villa. As up and down as Villa has been, he's still getting goals this year.

 

[Doobs]

Exactly. Plenty of matches to play still and hopefully we'll get to see a good mix of Villa and Alexis, I don't think Pedro will miss many games he's just too important for our play style. Just a matter of time now before he scores, just needs a good game.

 

[DonAndres]

I do not see Messi burning out anytime soon. Think about the differences between him and Ronaldinho. Messi is pretty much injury-proof (knock on wood), he doesn't drink or party much, he lives the life of a strict athlete in terms of a strict diet and rest, and his in-game style is completely unique. The better Messi has gotten, the more he has been walking around the pitch. He is saving his energy for short bursts when he needs it and this is REALLY good for his overall endurance and prevents him from burning out. I doubt he will lose much pace by the time he's in his 30's and frankly nowdays, he doesn't even rely on his pace to score. Relying on pace for scoring is a feat of pure physicality and brawn which has huge limitations (i.e Torres). The reason Messi is so out of this world is because of his incredible footballing brain and uncanny knack for goal.

Also, the whole thing that Messi is sucking the life out of the other forwards doesn't seem to sit right with me. I mean think about the difference between the old lineups with messi and the new ones. Alexis-Messi-Pedro has one goalscoring forward and 2 natural wingers who can't finish. Henry-Messi-Eto'o has 3 goalscoring forwards and all 3 of them were elite finishers. Messi is scoring a lot of Barcelona's goals and this can be construed as "Messi-dependancy" but that's mainly because of the attack options. I remember seeing a lineup in the argentina NT with the attack structured as Aguero-Higuain-Messi. In that game, all 3 of them scored. That adds proof to the truth that while Messi does score a collosal amount of goals, he doesn't do so by starving the other forwards. The reason Alexis and Pedro aren't scoring is because even though they get at least 1-2 scorable chances per game, they hit it wide, at the keeper, or it gets blocked by a defender.

 

[footyfan]

Finishing troubles of Alexis and Pedro (and Villa in early 2011) should really put in perspective how difficult it actually is to score, and how spoiled we are as fans to watch players like Messi, Ronaldo, Falcao etc.

I especially believe a few Barca fans undermine goals a lot just because they believe attacking is unfairly more glamorous than defending.

 

[footyfan]

Alexis-Messi-Pedro has one goalscoring forward and 2 natural wingers who can't finish. Henry-Messi-Eto'o has 3 goalscoring forwards and all 3 of them were elite finishers. Messi is scoring a lot of Barcelona's goals and this can be construed as "Messi-dependancy" but that's mainly because of the attack options. I remember seeing a lineup in the argentina NT with the attack structured as Aguero-Higuain-Messi. In that game, all 3 of them scored. That adds proof to the truth that while Messi does score a collosal amount of goals, he doesn't do so by starving the other forwards. The reason Alexis and Pedro aren't scoring is because even though they get at least 1-2 scorable chances per game, they hit it wide, at the keeper, or it gets blocked by a defender.

This! Sure the systems are not exactly the same (Messi is slightly more withdrawn for Arg) but given good finishers along side him, Messi does not "suck" the confidence away from them. He gets a lot of assists for Arg.

That being said, I do concede that I don't understand why Villa, a truly top class finisher, sometimes has problems in Barca.

I feel you are harsh on Pedro though, because he is a fantastic finisher but seems to be the type of player who runs on confidence more than others.

 

[CatalinR10]

+1

Alexis had 4 big opportunities to score in this game . The same thing goes for Pedro , last game he was 2 times 1 vs 1 with the keeper and he didn't score but in Messi's case , he needs 4 chances to score 2 goals or a hatrick. He is that good.

 

[DonAndres]

This! Sure the systems are not exactly the same (Messi is slightly more withdrawn for Arg) but given good finishers along side him, Messi does not "suck" the confidence away from them. He gets a lot of assists for Arg.

That being said, I do concede that I don't understand why Villa, a truly top class finisher, sometimes has problems in Barca.

I feel you are harsh on Pedro though, because he is a fantastic finisher but seems to be the type of player who runs on confidence more than others.

I'm not saying pedro can't finish at all but at the same time he isn't someone like falcao and nor do i expect him to be. He's a great player and still gives a lot to the team despite not scoring.

Also for the Villa thing, he's more adept playing in a central role whereas Henry/Eto'o had the speed and strength to be just as good on the wings. He's adapted to that role but he'll still always be better centrally. That plus his confidence level explains why he scores in spells,

 

[footyfan]

As for Alexis, I don't really care about his goal-scoring because that was never his forte anyway. The only thing that annoys me are that we lose very good attacking positions within the game because he falls over due to his balance or miscontrols the ball. Cesc had the same problem last year where he would hinder the flow of the game due to poor touches but good to see that he seems to have grown out of it.

 

[Barcaman]

He was better than Pedro again, if that counts for something. He still trips and falls over too much and lacks goals but the kid is trying hard, you can tell.
Not giving up on Alexis yet but if this is all that we're into for the rest of the season then I'd rather have Tello or Deulofeu have a go occasionally too.