So it's Neymar's fault he hasn't been told to use his movement in and around the box? No. That was Tata's strategy to use his dribbling skills to contain the left mid flank and to create movement to hook up with Iniesta/Messi through the middle. It exposed our defense when Alba was forced to help in attack, but that's the risk we took. For that reason, Neymar gravitated towards midfield more often and ran in towards defenders from the wing, but he is plenty capable to play short one-twos from the box and make runs off defender shoulders like Villa did, it's his reading of the Spanish game that needs to build up, but that will evolve with the proper instruction and tactics over time (assuming striker positioning is the direction a coach would want to take for his future). No sense in saying Villa was better when this is Neymar's first season at Barca/La Liga and has performed well in the role he was asked to fill.
Alexis is interesting because he spent most of his Barca career trying to make his mark instead of living in the moment which is when he performs at his best (spontaneous). Most actions were forced, and it wasn't his fault he was played out of position like many others here were forced to do, but that's the reality. He has proven he can put some goals in the net, which is what we desperately lacked in his first part here but there are critical things wrong with his game that can not be fixed, such as his profile. He is short, not very physical, not that good in the air, and not a natural goal scorer. His positives are noticed when the system is working, but when it's off he is not of the type to create and rise to the occasion. Someone mentioned that in this thread? earlier and it was spot on, I just had to reiterate. I applaud his efforts over the years, but I fear it may be time for he and Pedro to respectfully leave the club.
One every two years?
