I apologize if I've used some hyperbole when talking about Pedro in recent times. Sometimes I do indeed tend to speak straight from my frustrated feelings after matches rather than specifically breaking down my problems with/criticisms about the player, which does lead to better discussion. Let me be more specific.
First of all, yes, there is no denying that Pedro has quality in him. He is not a "bad" player. However, the question at hand is, is he currently good ENOUGH for Barcelona these days and is he optimal for the position he occupies as an attacking winger/forward.
I personally, obviously, think that although he does offer us high defensive work rate, relatively good ball-retention and slow build-up play ability, he lacks the edge and creativity we need going forward up front to continue scoring and beating teams. Especially now that our defense is so weak and vulnerable these days, it is becoming more and more imperative that our attack be extra efficient at creating chances and SCORING goals, especially against stronger sides.
It is no secret that all of our attack is designed to go through Messi, through the center. However, that is exactly the problem, it is no secret at all, everyone and their grandma knows what to expect when playing us now. The problem that I have with Pedro, and with Alexis to a lesser extent, is that they do not offer enough of a threat on goal when they play. Nowdays, teams just have to congest and overwhelm Messi in the middle with numbers and we are virtually without scoring ability when this happens. Sure Pedro is good at retaining the ball, passing it back to the midfield, always trying to lay off for an assist, but when Messi gets taken out of games and the responsibility of creating and finishing chances rests on the ENTIRE front line, I feel Pedro is wholly inadequate to the task in his current form.
Let us not use the excuse that "oh his responsibility isn't on scoring, we shouldn't expect goals from him." He scored 23 goals in 09/10 and 22 in 10/11 seasons, compared to 13 and 10 goals from the last 2 seasons. I do not think it is coincidence that these are also the two years that we have achieved less than we were before and that we have failed to win a Champion's league in these 2 seasons. (I am not saying that this is the SOLE reason by the way, just a factor) Our wingers definitely have the ABILITY to score goals, and when our system was working best and we were winning everything, our wingers were scoring MUCH more goals than they have the past 2 seasons. While Messi's numbers have skyrocketed, our winger's goal numbers have plummeted. We cannot continue this trend forever... the burden is too demanding on Messi and when he is gone we are literally toothless, unable to inflict damage onto goal.
Why Pedro's and our other winger's goal stats have dropped so drastically is hard to say for sure. I think part of it is that our wingers have just straight up lost a good amount of their mojo, no other way of putting it. Pedro is a shadow of the confident, pro-active clinical finisher he was 2 years ago now.
Another thing is that it feels like the wingers play far TOO conservatively nowdays. It seems I hardly see Pedro make a really good, threatening run behind the defensive line that Messi, Cesc, Iniesta or Xavi can thread a through ball to. It seems he just hovers at the edges and waits to play a ball back into the middle to force Messi and company to try to work some magic through a wall of 8 defenders. How many goals did we used to score with Villa, Henry and Pedro making intelligent, well-timed, well executed runs behind the defense that Xavi, Iniesta or Messi would find with a perfect through ball? We used to do that all the time. That way, teams couldn't pinch in too tight in the center and there were always threats coming from the whole of the front line, not just through Messi in the middle.
Pedro, it seems to me, hardly ever makes successful, threatening runs (with a mind on scoring); hardly ever beats his man through individual skill leading to space opening up and a pass or shot; hardly ever finishes scoring chances when they are given to him, possibly due to a mental block/confidence issue. He does work hard defensively and maintain the ball well but that's about it.
Sure, perhaps when we have put a game away and want to ensure we maintain possession, having Pedro on to keep possession and pressure the opponents' backs is a good tactical use. But in these times where we need full on attacking creativity and goals as much as ever, until we get some much-needed defensive solidity, Pedro simply isn't cutting it and performing to the level that we need him to. I and many others feel that we would be much better served with a player on the wing that can score and beat players and has the confidence to make things happen by himself... a la Cuenca, Deulofeu, old Villa, etc. With need players with more attack/goal-mindedness, creativity, initiative and finishing ability. This would force teams to spread their defense more widely across our line and give Messi even more space and time to create and score.
