Daniel Alves

[Stric]

The problem is Alba is better at attacking than Alves is (at least now) and is also a better defender. Montoya covering Alba like he did for Alves would be even more effective and useful than what we saw today considering how potent our attack has been up the left side this season. If we play both attacking fullbacks we're screwed as both are limited in attack somewhat and we get absolutely destroyed on the counter.

x100000 Especially the first sentence.

 

[barcanuck]

Alba better at attacking than Alves? Only for a short period in the first couple of months of the season. Alba has struggled to find any sort of crosses or dangrous plays since the new year. All about form. Right now Alves > Alba no question.

 

[DonAndres]

Alba better at attacking than Alves? Only for a short period in the first couple of months of the season. Alba has struggled to find any sort of crosses or dangrous plays since the new year. All about form. Right now Alves > Alba no question.

Before the beginning of this year, Alves didn't play as much due to form dip/injuries. Therefore the attack was emphasized and shifted down the left flank. This is why Iniesta was a god on the wings and his linkup with Alba was divine. We overloaded the attack on the left side so the left sided players were the focal point of the play and were involved much more. That period of time (the left sided attack) was when we were at our best this season. Now that Alves is supposedly "back in form" much of the play has forcibly been created down the right side. And in the time we've had this right sided emphasis, our defense has been horrible, Alves has been caught out of position constantly, and we've lost the creative attacking spark of Iniesta on the left side. It's hard to believe, but our full backs have a MASSIVE influence on our game.

 

[footyfan]

We haven't won any big games with Iniesta on the wing (except Malaga which is not even that big a game because we always play well vs them).

Barca 2-2 Madrid
Madrid 1-1 Barca
Valencia 1-1 Barca
Milan 2-0 Barca
Sociedad 3-2 Barca (we always struggle vs Sociedad away so its a big game)

 

[Stric]

DonAndres is spot on. Truth so pure. We've been focusing our attacks too much on Dani and the right flank, while our left flank, with Alba and Iniesta (and Cesc, if you want to take the whole side into consideration) is just so much more dangerous when attacking. And also less reliable when defending. But somehow the team just does the opposite. It's really the worst of both worlds. If we played with Montoya/Pedro on the right, and Alba/Iniesta(Villa) on the left, our game would be much more balanced, and it would be easier to find the better attacking solution.

 

[DonAndres]

We haven't won any big games with Iniesta on the wing (except Malaga which is not even that big a game because we always play well vs them).

Barca 2-2 Madrid
Madrid 1-1 Barca
Valencia 1-1 Barca
Milan 2-0 Barca
Sociedad 3-2 Barca (we always struggle vs Sociedad away so its a big game)

4 out of 5 of those were this year when the attack was emphasized down the right side. the 2-2 draw with madrid was obviously because we played Song+Adriano at CB

 

[DonAndres]

DonAndres is spot on. Truth so pure. We've been focusing our attacks too much on Dani and the right flank, while our left flank, with Alba and Iniesta (and Cesc, if you want to take the whole side into consideration) is just so much more dangerous when attacking. And also less reliable when defending. But somehow the team just does the opposite. It's really the worst of both worlds. If we played with Montoya/Pedro on the right, and Alba/Iniesta(Villa) on the left, our game would be much more balanced, and it would be easier to find the better attacking solution.

Thank you, finally someone who agrees

 

[footyfan]

Xavi + Alves + Messi is much better. But for Messi to be involved, Villa needs to play.

Iniesta gets isolated because he doesn't do anything to make himself available except move inside to Cesc's space which just makes our attacking worse. Sure it works against easy Liga teams but against defensively sound teams it doesnt. Also Pedro is nowhere close to being as dynamic as before and that affects Alves' game a lot.

 

[Stric]

As far as I'm concerned, most of these questions that are being asked lately, like why Sanchez instead of Tello, or why Alves instead of Montoya etc. etc. (all except why ___ instead of Villa, which is still a mystery) could be explained by the club's obvious tendency to play the more famous/expensive player. I'd choose Tello over Sanchez 10 out of 10 times. It's a no brainer for me. But we all see what's been happening this season...

 

[footyfan]

4 out of 5 of those were this year when the attack was emphasized down the right side. the 2-2 draw with madrid was obviously because we played Song+Adriano at CB

It was also because Messi scored an outstanding free-kick and capitalised on an error from Pepe. We created no chance of note except Montoya hitting the bar with a long range shot or Messi's individual actions.

 

[Stric]

Also Pedro is nowhere close to being as dynamic as before and that affects Alves' game a lot.

To me it's the other way around. Alves has been doing nothing to help the defense, that's why Pedro has to cover for him and reduce his attacking contribution.

 

[footyfan]

Alves is a great defender who suffers because the midfield doesn't track runners.

 

[DonAndres]

Xavi + Alves + Messi is much better. But for Messi to be involved, Villa needs to play.

Iniesta gets isolated because he doesn't do anything to make himself available except move inside to Cesc's space which just makes our attacking worse. Sure it works against easy Liga teams but against defensively sound teams it doesnt. Also Pedro is nowhere close to being as dynamic as before and that affects Alves' game a lot.

Disagree that the right sided combination is better. The left sided players have a much better connection together and Messi actually connects with them really well. However on the right side, Xavi isn't involved in attacking play because he's mostly just distributing, and Alves doesn't connect with Pedro when he drifts in and leaves Pedro to sit at the touchline. Plus Alves mostly tries to whip in crosses that are all hit or miss (mostly miss) and the overall connection isn't fluid. Actually, Alves holds Pedro back, not vice versa. Alves always runs in and tries to over-emphasize his role in attack rather than overlapping like a right back should which leaves Pedro to be limited when having to cover for him defensively. They don't connect well at all unlike Alba+Iniesta who make each other infinitely better. Pedro is in great form for the NT because he isn't forced to cover for Arbeloa and therefore he is a strong attacking outlet.

 

[Stric]

Alves is a great defender who suffers because the midfield doesn't track runners.

Used to be a great defender. He hasn't been a defender this season at all.

 

[footyfan]

Pedro plays well for Spain because there is no Messi dominating the ball in the forward areas. Also, if he is always covering for Alves, then how come we keep conceding so much?

For Iniesta and Alba to connect, Iniesta doesn't have to be on the left wing spot, he is much better in left midfield.