Just out of curiousity, I'd be willing to retry the Iniesta on the wing experiment. Everyone says "oh it was pure BS and didn't work, etc." without a second thought based on our string of bad results from around january to march. If you examine it closely, the way the tactic works is by overloading the left flank on attack and then completely toppling over what seems to be a stable defense. With Montoya on the right side to add to defense, Alba's flank is free to wreak havoc on an opposition team who can't handle the overload on a single flank.
We had Iniesta dictating the attack (and was in the best form of his life doing so), Alba overlapping and linking with incredible efficiency and threat, Cesc who was in amazing form at that point and linking up extremely well, and Messi banging in a brace pretty much every game at the height of his brilliance. Yet some people say that it was a failed attempt.
The reason the lineup started to suck was because players were not rotated based on form or availability. Alves, who was previously injured or off form, returned to the team and this caused the attack to be re-established on the right side and not nearly as dominant on the left. Also, Cesc began his huge drop in form so part of the linkup on the left was weakened, along with Iniesta and Alba now being isolated because the focus was more on the right side. These factors all added up to make that particular lineup/tactic fail. But with adjustments and examination, it could really succeed.
So for at least a few games, I'd really like to try this sort of lineup:
VV
Montoya-Bartra-Abidal/Pique-Alba
Busquets
Xavi-Thiago
Tello-Messi-Iniesta
Reasons why:
-Montoya gets to play on the right once again (hugely helping our defense), and Alba gets to be on the focal flank as the attacking fullback
-Bartra and Abidal will get necessary playing time and get more accumulated for next season
-Thiago replaces Cesc in the left sided linkup because he has great form on his side and would add flair to an already incredibly creative flank (Alba, Iniesta, Messi)
- Tello on the right makes sure that even if they try to crowd the left flank out, Tello is still in space to receive a cross-field pass from any playmaker and cause trouble for the opposition. A lot of his best work is when he is in space, which is what he will get when his flank is completely open like that.
-Teams can't handle the left sided overload which completely screws up their balance, and if they try to put more defenders on the left they can still be punished on the right by Tello/Alves
Overall: it's perfectly fitted for the players, difficult to stop by the opposition, uses youth and rotation, and perfects a system that had much promise in the 1st half of the season
