Gerard Piqué
- Thread starter Barcaman
- Start date
F
Flavia
Guest
Well, he has a mistake or more per game, people are fed up with him. On top of that, Bartra is playing better. You can't really be mad at people for disliking his performances.
Indignado
New member
I know what you mean but the atmosphere was tense, it was 1-0 for us and if they had scored it would be even worse on here.
Still, it was kind of a weird mistake on his part because his positioning is usually great.
I must come to the chat next time. Sounds like the right place for me.
Yes, it would be perfect for you
ZenI
Professor Balthazar
He made 2 more mistakes after misjudging the interception in the same sequance.
Semi-Neutral
Sir Alupp Heynrguson
Those weren't mistakes at all, a defender isn't expected to win the ball, two quick cuts in and out followed by an cross are almost impossible to stop if the attacking player has practiced them often enough, especially when the defender is as big (and therefore slow) as Pique.
What exactly do you view as a mistake? I mean, by that logic, you could say it's bad defending just because he wasn't quick enough. Look, players physical attributes matter in football, therefore it's logical to criticize him when attackers get past him with such ease.
Don't even get me started on those inexperienced late slide tackles.
I'm not talking about this situation in the Celtic game but more in general how ridiculously easy it is to get past him. He rarely seems to win any balls back. You could argue that it's not expected but that would be lying. If the circumstances call for it, you need to win the ball, which he has problems doing.
He has yet to make one single tackle in the CL this season. Not necessarily a bad thing, it could mean that his positioning is always perfect but that would also be a lie.
On Whoscored it says; Strengths; Passing
Weakness; Aerial duels...and he's supposed to be the guy winning them.
-
You know what? I rarely even criticize him but it's obvious that he's not a top class defender right now. Is he terrible? No, of course not. But come on, he's supposed to be much better than this.
Don't even get me started on those inexperienced late slide tackles.
I'm not talking about this situation in the Celtic game but more in general how ridiculously easy it is to get past him. He rarely seems to win any balls back. You could argue that it's not expected but that would be lying. If the circumstances call for it, you need to win the ball, which he has problems doing.
He has yet to make one single tackle in the CL this season. Not necessarily a bad thing, it could mean that his positioning is always perfect but that would also be a lie.
On Whoscored it says; Strengths; Passing
Weakness; Aerial duels...and he's supposed to be the guy winning them.
-
You know what? I rarely even criticize him but it's obvious that he's not a top class defender right now. Is he terrible? No, of course not. But come on, he's supposed to be much better than this.
Last edited:
Semi-Neutral
Sir Alupp Heynrguson
A situation where the defender is expected to win the ball/stop it from going into a dangerous area and doesn't. When he had that weird spasm in one of our games and just fell down for no reason, that was a mistake. The Celtic game? Not so much. Unless he manages to predict where the attacker will go, it's very hard to stop a fast, technical player from a quick dribble and a cross. And it's not just because he's not in good shape, you send someone like Ferdinand or Hummels out there and they'll have problems too, simply because their size prevents them from turning as quickly as wingers. However, they don't get hated for it because they don't find themselves in those positions nearly as often; very few teams have such constant aggression from wingbacks, very few teams are so counter-attacked as Barcelona... Most defenders don't have to encounter these scenarios as often as they do.
And his tackling stats haven't been that bad either; Whoscored has him at 9 games played, 16 total tackles (2.3 per game in La Liga, 0 in CL). You look at players like Kompany (2 tackles per game),Ramos (2.1 tackles per game), Vertonghen (0.7! tackles per game), Subotic (1.8 tackles per game), and... Pique doesn't look so bad. Sure, he's probably gotten dribbled more (feel free to check) but again, that's just the nature of Barcelona's game and I don't blame Pique for it.
I do admit he's not the best in the air, and that kind of sucks. But that's the only thing I really see that's a weakness for him.
Meh, I bought that explanation for a while, that it was just a question of the barca system but I don't buy it anymore.
And like I said, physical attributes do matter, they have a part to play. If he's too slow, and gets exposed then it seems logical to criticize him for it. It's not like it's a rare sight to see him act inexperienced anyway. He does make other types of mistakes as well. Those terrible slide tackles for instance...it's not just a question about which team he plays in. Even if there's some truth to it of course.
He should be a better attacker of the ball. It's not a question about attackers dribbling him but they manage to create a dangerous situation almost every single time. They just have to turn, or change direction and they can get a shot or put a cross in. Either he gets quicker, or gets better at stopping them.
You even said so himself, he's not quick enough to keep up. Is that a mistake? Well, he's obviously slow, he can't help it. It's perhaps not a tactical mistake but it's not good defending.
Kompany isn't really that quick either, he still doesn't look like a fool whenever a defender tries to challenge him. Even if it doesn't happen as often as with Pique.
I like that you are trying to defend him though. I really do. No sarcasm.
And like I said, physical attributes do matter, they have a part to play. If he's too slow, and gets exposed then it seems logical to criticize him for it. It's not like it's a rare sight to see him act inexperienced anyway. He does make other types of mistakes as well. Those terrible slide tackles for instance...it's not just a question about which team he plays in. Even if there's some truth to it of course.
He should be a better attacker of the ball. It's not a question about attackers dribbling him but they manage to create a dangerous situation almost every single time. They just have to turn, or change direction and they can get a shot or put a cross in. Either he gets quicker, or gets better at stopping them.
You even said so himself, he's not quick enough to keep up. Is that a mistake? Well, he's obviously slow, he can't help it. It's perhaps not a tactical mistake but it's not good defending.
Kompany isn't really that quick either, he still doesn't look like a fool whenever a defender tries to challenge him. Even if it doesn't happen as often as with Pique.
I like that you are trying to defend him though. I really do. No sarcasm.
Last edited:
Semi-Neutral
Sir Alupp Heynrguson
After reading what you said, I think his main problem is timing slide tackles and the actual speed of throwing himself on the ground. The way he does it, the attackers have enough time to almost dodge the tackle, so yes, there is a problem. If he can get that down, like back in the days, I will seriously consider him one of the best defenders in the world. Sure, he lacks an aerial side despite his height, but I don't really blame him for that, as I myself am terrible in the air despite being decently tall where I play. So I agree that there is room for improvement, but I don't think he needs to be benched or doesn't deserve to start or costs us games or etc. I think his strengths make up for his weaknesses and Barca fans exaggerate everything to a ridiculous degree.
MagicianMessi
New member
wow..really....still there is room for improvement. he had been playing in the first team for what 6 seasons now that be with a team like Barce he stil learned anything in these days and you are expecting to improve. Come on,be reasonable. Barca fans are not exaggerating anything we are those people who tired of seeing his f**king bulshit on the pitch regularly. and he may have cost us games if it's not for our awesome and fabulous strikers who can score tons of goals.
abual3bed1
New member
Pique will never get better unless Tata benches him when Mascherano and Puyol are back.
KhaledBarca
New member
People are now just criticizing Pique like they used to do with Valdes!
Last season for example, he recovered 4-5 crucial balls against Bayern yet people just talked about the owngoal!
Give the guy a chance, he was good last night!
Last season for example, he recovered 4-5 crucial balls against Bayern yet people just talked about the owngoal!
Give the guy a chance, he was good last night!
You're not saving it, one good performance would not be redemption. And obviously in a lose where the score was 0-3 despite his ''crucial'' tackles the result remained. So it's pretty normal that people would talk about the goals than something that didn't count in the overall score...
Home of Barca Fans
