Luis Suárez

[Devils]

Suarez hasn't declined, he is just coming back from injury and is out of form, still the best striker in the world. He is frustrating to watch at the moment but I am very confident he will be back on top soon. I swear people used the word declined when describing Barca players more than any other, Messi has declined, Iniesta has declined, Busquets has declined, Suarez has declined, Pique has declined bla bla bla bla bla.

Thank you.

While people are claiming he's finished, what's concerning to me is why he was rushed back from injury so fast, the guy is still supposed to be injured.

Feels like his recovery was way forced because of of the WC Qualifiers and he still isn't fit yet.

 

[sabby]

When we eventually look for his replacement next year or the year after, I hope we try to find a #7 ala David Villa as opposed to a true #9, would fit better for our team.

 

[aaron101]

He's not going to get back into form (if that is what his problem is) by playing as LW. Thats not going to happen. Its a huge mistake to think we can play him out of position on the left wing for the entire season. Its mind boggling that our management think this is a good solution for this season. We need someone who can actually play LW, not play a pure striker out of position.

Who said he'll be playing LW for the ENTIRE season? He's not even playing as a Left Winger.

 

[Raki13]

Guy is a waste of a jersey and has been for over a year.

 

[Barcilliant]

Play 4-2-3-1 with Suarez up front.

Delofeu/D Suarez/Iniesta on the left, Messi in the middle and Dembeles on the right.

Rakitic/Paulinho and Busquets behind.

 

[raskolnikov]

He still scores a lot and just was rushes back from injury. We should wait this season to judge him.
Problem is with messi coming back, he is kind of in his way in the middle. We would be better off with a left winger or playing 4-2-3-1 but then you sacrifice Iniesta or need to play him at the left.

 

[Jombi]

Who said he'll be playing LW for the ENTIRE season? He's not even playing as a Left Winger.

So who will play on the left if not Suarez then? Messi is playing in the middle, Suarez is playing on the left. Talk about "he is not playing as left winger" is just silly semantics, he is our player on the left, whatever you want to call the out of position that he plays.

 

[Topolino]

Think Alba can play as LB/LW, Suarez will just be playing as a striker but maybe a little on the left.

 

[Jombi]

I havent seen a single person ever advocating for not playing with anyone on the left until we started doing it. And I dont know any other team that does it either. Reminds me of people who thought it would be a good idea to play 3-4-3 without full backs like we did a few times in order to fit the stars into a system, even though no team does that either.

 

[aaron101]

So who will play on the left if not Suarez then? Messi is playing in the middle, Suarez is playing on the left. Talk about "he is not playing as left winger" is just silly semantics, he is our player on the left, whatever you want to call the out of position that he plays.

He's playing on the left but not as a traditional winger, know the difference. You assumed that he'll be playing there for the whole season when we just started our season. We still don't know what's the best formation as Valverde will still experiment and discover more as the season goes.

 

[Jombi]

He's playing on the left but not as a traditional winger, know the difference. You assumed that he'll be playing there for the whole season when we just started our season. We still don't know what's the best formation as Valverde will still experiment and discover more as the season goes.

labels like left winger and left forward are just labels. It doesnt mean we play with traditional wingers. Suarez also used to play on the right wing when he arrived. Was he playing as a "traditional right winger"? Of course not. I thought this was obvious.

Under the assumption that Messi will play in the middle, Suarez playing as a LW (its a label, dont get worked up!) is a disaster waiting to happen and will render our left side totally useless.

 

[Messi983]

It's only a few games into the season but so far our left side with Alba playing very offensive seems anything but useless.

That said I don't believe Suarez will really play whole season as left forward/winger. It's still early and Valverde is trying out different things. For now I think he'll let Dembele on the right side to build a chemistry with Semedo and them helping out each other but once both of them are more adapted to the team and if Semedo alone will bring enough offensively (which I think he could) it's also possible that Dembele will move to the left wing (or even to the middle with Messi drifting wide) during the games. It will also depend on opponents as I believe Valverde won't stick to the same tactics and will try to look for better matchups. So if opponent will have a good defensive RB and a weaker LB then he'll try to overmatch their left side with playing both Alba and Dembele there while letting Semedo 1 on 1 with their LB. Of course he could also get a help from Messi on the right wing as I believe if/when Semedo will gain Messi's trust he could also stay more on the wing position like he did in Alves years.

I also believe we'll eventually start to play 4-2-3-1 in some games with Messi, Suarez, Dembele and Deulofeu/Denis playing at the same time. But before that happens I think Valverde will try to find out a perfect partner for Busquets in midfield between Rakitić, Roberto and Paulinho.

 

[tonito]

Regardless of where he plays, it doesn't excuse the fact that every one of his touches results in a loss of possession. Just because he's/was a world class player, doesn't mean he gets a free pass for playing subpar for as long as he has. Somebody please jog my memory, when was the last time he actually played to his capabilities? With the countless amount of opportunities he's been given, sure, he'll score every now and then. His link up play as been dreadful, dribbling equally as bad, and finishing is not up to the standard you'd expect from "the best striker in the world".

Look, I love Luisito as much as the next guy, but at what point does it go from "bad form" to just him declining?

 

[kilian]

He didn`t forget how to play football. He`s always trying for a one-touch quick pass and that`s why he misplaces so many of them. I get why he tries that, but he should sometimes hold up that ball and look for a better solution.

Two biggest problems in our build-up are him not holding the ball sometimes and Rakitic, who is often too affraid to turn around and bring the ball forward when he receives it in midfield.

 

[Messi983]

Not worried about his first touch, it's just the player he is. Even when he was in great form he had games when he couldn't stop the ball, with a lot of bad passes and missed sitters but then he pulled a goal out of nowhere or gave a great assist. It's obvious he's not at his best and hasn't been for a while but he still had some nice linkup plays with Messi where he shows he didn't forget how to play football. I think both Messi and Suarez (especially him who needs more space than Messi) are still missing Neymar as he was drawing attention of defenders and gave them a bit more space to work with. Hopefully Dembele can start doing the same soon.

It's possible he's declining but I don't believe he's done yet. He can still give us a great season or two. Just look at what level Aduriz performed at his age 33-35 under Valverde's guidance. I believe he'll also find a way to use Suarez and get the best he can still offer out of him.