Expected negativity knowing how fickle and emotional most this forum is, but what i see is that even with arguably mediocre midfield and creativity of our current squad, Valverde is actually doing very good job of masking it, by implementing sound systemic gameplay that we haven't seen for years. High pressing, tight passing lanes, everyone knows where and how to move off the ball. That is certainly a progress, when comparing to Lucho's non-system, where everything hinged on getting the ball to MSN and see what happens. The way we are playing right now is much more composed. Lack of creativity isn't V's fault at all. He has laid down pretty good framework, where creativity can take place, but it takes some individual effort from players to benefit from this system. Currently the most basic problem is lack of a archetypal central mid, who *knows* when/where to pass the ball, with courage and intelligence to both risk or hesitate according to context. No one in our squad has even an inch of that sort of profile. Roberto, despite all his strengths that are undeniable, is not THAT sort of player. Neither is Rakitic or aging Iniesta. We've been basically using Busquets in two roles for some time, both his own and Xavi substitute. That is our biggest weakness, which is why with all due positives of Demebele joining, we'll not be that much better overall before the issue of good playmaker is resolved.
