Luis Enrique

[Neymessi]

Another thing i noticed is that Messi rarely attempts his killer and trademark(especially in 2014/15) lobbed pass to Alba anymore.

Why?

Because our right flank is so weak,our whole play moves left.The whole area is overcrowded,which means that Alba cannot make the run behind the defense.

Another helpful tool taken out from our disposal...

Not alba, that pass usually went to neymar, and this season he has tried that a lot but failed a lot of times. In previous seasons that would come off 9 out of 10 times. Now it hardly comes off. Surely nothing thats luchos fault here tbh. I have seen him unable to do that pass in the exact same situation this season that he would pull of before.

 

[bismp]

Not alba, that pass usually went to neymar, and this season he has tried that a lot but failed a lot of times. In previous seasons that would come off 9 out of 10 times. Now it hardly comes off. Surely nothing thats luchos fault here tbh. I have seen him unable to do that pass in the exact same situation this season that he would pull of before.

No,i'm talking about Alba.And it is,at least partially,tactics-related

 

[Neymessi]

No,i'm talking about Alba.And it is,at least partially,tactics-related

You are talking about the pass that messi used to do while cutting inwards and then lobbing inside the penalty area for one of neymar or alba? Its not tactics related that he isn't being able to pull that pass. How can it be? It goes haphazard whereas it would be accurate as fuck before. How can tactics make him forget his technique.

 

[FlaFCB]

You are talking about the pass that messi used to do while cutting inwards and then lobbing inside the penalty area for one of neymar or alba? Its not tactics related that he isn't being able to pull that pass. How can it be? It goes haphazard whereas it would be accurate as fuck before. How can tactics make him forget his technique.

Messi didn't forget anything. There's no space for that move anymore. The left side is always filled with defenders.

 

[bismp]

You are talking about the pass that messi used to do while cutting inwards and then lobbing inside the penalty area for one of neymar or alba? Its not tactics related that he isn't being able to pull that pass. How can it be? It goes haphazard whereas it would be accurate as fuck before. How can tactics make him forget his technique.

I'm talking about the pass Leo used to make when he was at the right edge of the opponents' box.Mostly to Alba,but also Neymar.The typical scenario had Neymar cutting inside,leaving a big chunk of space behind the enemy lines for Alba.

Why was this pass so successful?Well back then we had Alves,which meant that the whole team was placed more evenly on the pitch.Rakitic was also better.Thus Messi played more towards the wing.So,the defenders had to adapt to this situation,so when Messi had the ball,or when the ball was at the right side of the field,they shifted their attention towards the ball.This,and Neymar cutting inside,left huge amounts of space at the opponents' right side of the defense.So,Alba made the run and Messi,being Messi,used to make these long curved passes to him:

So,why does this not happen today?Has Messi forgotten the art of this killer pass?I highly doubt it,especially considering his form this whole season.

What has happened is that we didn't buy any proper RB replacement and in the meanwhile we spent millions in vain to find a proper RCM.Naturally our right flank sucks this year,and Messi has to move centrally to make some plays,because we are doomed if he doesn't.Having Leo-Suarez-Ney-Iniesta all play at the centre-left part of the pitch,makes the defenders shift their attention.This results in the right side of the opponents' defense being OVERCROWDED.See the difference?Back then it was empty now it's overcrowded.And even when Messi starts his play from the right wing,even then the defenders mark more tightly our left side(Iniesta,Alba,Ney).No one marks Rakitic/Gomes and especially Bob.

So in the first scenario Alba could make a run behind the defense.Now he can't,because shit is overcrowded.It has little to nothing to do with Messi.

Maybe it has more to do with our transfer decisions than pure tactics,but even then Lucho is responsible.But it's also tactics related.He keeps playing Bob,who has been offensively...subpar to put this lightly for months,instead of Vidal.He keeps making weird rotations at the RCM,which results in poor plays by all of the guys(Raki,Gomes,Denis)

 

[MIXA]

I am in agreement that Messi’s passes from right to left have disappeared from our play due to the dismal state of the right side. It’s a real pity though because those particular passes had almost become a trademark of FC Barcelona. Messi is the only player in the world capable of making those incisive over the top through balls with such lethality, frequency and accuracy. It’s no wonder that you don’t really see this type of play that often from other teams.

The real benefit of it all was due to the fact that Messi can read the game much faster than anyone else. His cross field passes are a real weapon against flat footed defences. With a stronger RB and a stronger RCM, Messi should be able to work his magic once again.

Those type of passes won’t really work from the centre because the cross field pass is what really catches the defence off guard. Nobody really expects such an accurate curling ball to fall right into the danger zone from the opposite flank, but Messi does it all the time. His passing ability is insanely good.

This team really needs to sort out the midfield and the RB spot so that we can get the best out of Messi. At the moment, he is having to adapt his own game because he can’t trust many players around him. It’s a really sad state unfortunately.

 

[Raketa10]

Some say he created system in which best players and midfielders do not touch the ball at all...all we know he is called Lucho.

 

[xXKonan]

Lucho built his system around MSN.

While it worked for a good while like I said several times in this thread but as you can see in the second half of last season and this season it's no longer working very well or at all. It seems Lucho, really doesn't like going back to the idea that we actually need a midfield that can help ease the burden on the front 3 in terms of creation and controlling games.

His solution to this is simply playing Iniesta and Busi and Messi going into the midfield. My problem with this is Iniesta is getting old (33 this year) and Busi is being overplayed constantly and Messi having to play deep leaves our RW empty and it leaves Messi away from the box so we rely squarely on Suarez and Neymar to finish the chances we get.

We simply don't have a plan B or C for that matter if Iniesta and Busi are out. We throw in Gomes,Rafinha,Denis,Rakitic,Arda in the Midfield and expect them to play them like Iniesta and Busi. It's just not feasible.

It's the same problem we have with the RB spot with Roberto. Lucho threw Bob in there and expects him to play in the old Dani role effectively despite both having two different types of players and one being originally a CM.

Either get the right players that can fit in those roles Busi and Iniesta play in or adjust the system to get the best out of players like Gomes,Rafinha,Denis etc and instead of trying to force players into roles they aren't comfortable in.

 

[vigneshFCB]

Andre Gomes must be instated as a surefire starter in midfield. This is first step towards improvement.

 

[evilhita666]

I find it unbelievable that Lucho gets so much leeway with the press... After a whole year of borderline horrible football just yesterday you could see very shy attempts to report on the lack of control of games, the lack of identity of our play and total disregard of midfield, and they didn't even blame Lucho directly but instead had some half-assed excuses and gave credit to rivals...

 

[FlaFCB]

I find it unbelievable that Lucho gets so much leeway with the press... After a whole year of borderline horrible football just yesterday you could see very shy attempts to report on the lack of control of games, the lack of identity of our play and total disregard of midfield, and they didn't even blame Lucho directly but instead had some half-assed excuses and gave credit to rivals...

It is strange. They destroyed Tata for less.

 

[raskolnikov]

because of results. Despite everything Lucho got a treble and a double in his first two years. That gives you credit. He is also a former player having succes after a poor transition season.
Tata came after Pep(+tito) era, went from 100 points to bad football, 91 goals Messi not being involved in matches with 0 trophies won for the first time since 2008 (supercopa dont count). Its logical Lucho gets more credit despite our football being a joke, any solid team being capable of beating us, very Msn dependencia and his clueless rotations.

 

[FlaFCB]

because of results. Despite everything Lucho got a treble and a double in his first two years. That gives you credit. He is also a former player having succes after a poor transition season.
Tata came after Pep(+tito) era, went from 100 points to bad football, 91 goals Messi not being involved in matches with 0 trophies won for the first time since 2008 (supercopa dont count). Its logical Lucho gets more credit despite our football being a joke, any solid team being capable of beating us, very Msn dependencia and his clueless rotations.

I'm not sure if it's only because of results. They criticized him a lot last season.

 

[raskolnikov]

I'm not sure if it's only because of results. They criticized him a lot last season.

Or maybe expectations dropped somehow. People have gotten used to his clown rotations and msn carrying him.

 

[evilhita666]

It is strange. They destroyed Tata for less.

I know Lucho has the titles to back him up, and that he comes from the club (which seems to be a current obsession), which is two things Tata didn't have, but come on, there's no shame in calling a spade a spade... If anything, those credentials should be more reason to ask him to do a better job... So, while I think that the press was definitely unfair to Tata, Lucho is still favored over Rijkaard and I even dare to say favored over Pep... The last seasons of both Rijkaard and Pep were filled with gossip and drama, even though they represented massive turning points in our recent history, unlike Lucho who is riding the coattail...

The press have also been acting like victims with the whole ref thing, when in reality it is nothing new, just that in the past we were able to overcome that by playing actual football, or didn't we have like 10+ clear penalties denied last season?