Xavi Hernández

[Doobs]

Messi would not have scored that second goal against Milan if he ran towards midfield to press. Just a thought.

 

[spark]

If you ask me, he played injured or w/e because he wants too, i think he has a huge influence. I do definately dislike him, i think his personality is very fake. Not the humble guy he's made out to be.

I wouldn't say my real feelings as i would get hounded by fanboys.

Because only a fanboy would disagree with the ludicrous things you are saying in this thread. I could call you a hater but its already self evident so no need.

 

[Irish_Cules]

I think he's instructed not to press. He's a team player, just look at what he did against PSG. Came on injured and carried us past them. Point is, he clearly cares about the team, and not being a team player is not something you can accuse Messi of. I doubt he'd not press (therefore hurting the team) out of laziness or whatever.

IMO, Ode's being harsh on Messi, and not pressing is what he's instructed to do. But that's just my opinion.

Maybe he is instructed not to press but we have to question whether this is really benefiting the team. This little instruction perhaps sums up everything that is wrong with the team this year. Sure, it contributes to Messi scoring more goals and being more lethal than ever but it also contributes to a lack of intensity in our pressing. These are two of the biggest problems we have all been mentioning; Lack of pressing and overreliance on Messi.

 

[Doobs]

If you ask me, he played injured or w/e because he wants too, i think he has a huge influence. I do definately dislike him, i think his personality is very fake. Not the humble guy he's made out to be.

I wouldn't say my real feelings as i would get hounded by fanboys.

I get where your coming from Josh. I wonder myself sometimes if his persona is fake and that he's a completely different guy. We won't ever know how his private life is but to hate on him without proof of his "fakeness" would be wrong. He's getting older and his responsibilities for his country and club are growing, that could explain his out bursts towards some other players. This is of course assuming you think he's fake because of those incidents. If it's something else, explain.

 

[Garrus]

Ode is right about the pressing. Messi not pressing anymore not only means one less player is involved in the collective pressing but also makes the rest of the players not press to their max. Whether he is instructed to do so or just isn't bothered anymore, I'm not sure. I'd like to think its the former. It's definitely a problem though.

You're not sure?, You can't be serious, Is FCB some kind of neighborhood club, Playing some street football, Where messi can press or not press depending on his 'mood', Or alves attacking when ever he 'feels' like it.
How about some logic in here, Ever wondered why he turned from a player plagued by injuries, Into someone who hardly got injured in 5 years, Trust me it's not because of oil fish or diet, Ever wondered why most of messi's goal come late in the match, And why he is such a goal machine.
Messi's distance coverage has always been around 7km/match, Ever since pep came to barca, And it's benefits are what i just mentioned above, The little press he used to do before disappeared this season, Because of the change in our attacking methodology, The more vertical play we used this season allows messi to be more further forward, Near to the oppnenets goal, Where he creates the most danger, And because of this messi was able to score 43 goals in la liga in just the 28th round , Where last season he did it in the 35 round, Trust me, No player develops 'naturally' this much in just one season.

 

[Irish_Cules]

You're not sure?, You can't be serious, Is FCB some kind of neighborhood club, Playing some street football, Where messi can press or not press depending on his 'mood', Or alves attacking when ever he 'feels' like it.
How about some logic in here, Ever wondered why he turned from a player plagued by injuries, Into someone who hardly got injured in 5 years, Trust me it's not because of oil fish or diet, Ever wondered why most of messi's goal come late in the match, And why he is such a goal machine.
Messi's distance coverage has always been around 7km/match, Ever since pep came to barca, And it's benefits are what i just mentioned above, The little press he used to do before disappeared this season, Because of the change in our attacking methodology, The more vertical play we used this season allows messi to be more further forward, Near to the oppnenets goal, Where he creates the most danger, And because of this messi was able to score 43 goals in la liga in just the 28th round , Where last season he did it in the 35 round, Trust me, No player develops 'naturally' this much in just one season.

He most likely has been instructed to, I agree. But what is your response to my last post?

Maybe he is instructed not to press but we have to question whether this is really benefiting the team. This little instruction perhaps sums up everything that is wrong with the team this year. Sure, it contributes to Messi scoring more goals and being more lethal than ever but it also contributes to a lack of intensity in our pressing. These are two of the biggest problems we have all been mentioning; Lack of pressing and overreliance on Messi.

 

[Garrus]

He most likely has been instructed to, I agree. But what is your response to my last post?

The lack of 'effective' pressing is due to this 'direct' style of play we're using this season (And it's the reason why our defense looks bad), I'll quote just a small part of an article that speaks in details about this:

In the past, each Barca player averaged 80 sprints of 5-10 meters or 2-3 seconds per game in recuperating the ball. And usually in a group. The change in attacking methodology has lead to more sprints for each player & over a longer distance, rendering their press ineffectual.

I recommend you read the whole article to get a better perspective on what is happening this season.
http://www.barcelonafootballblog.com/19664/defense-aka-risk-equals-reward-risk/

 

[Kerrybai]

If you ask me, he played injured or w/e because he wants too, i think he has a huge influence. I do definately dislike him, i think his personality is very fake. Not the humble guy he's made out to be.

I wouldn't say my real feelings as i would get hounded by fanboys.

Do you personally know him? I assume you don't and are basing your opinions on what you read in the media. Big deal if he's made out to be a saint in the media which could be fake, either way we don't know the truth as we don't know him personally.

Anyway's who honestly gives a toss about a players personality, this is football not a popularity contest.

 

[rivaldo10]

i never read ibras book but didnt he said something about messi WANTED to play in the middle and then pep played him there forcing ibra on the side ?

i know that messi scored more goals then ibra and was better but i think if messi would play on the side and let ibra do his thing i think we would defend the cl in 2010 in madrid

i think messi was a big factor why ibra never had the carrer he should have at barca

 

[Stric]

That's true. I wouldn't know for sure if it was Messi who demanded to be played in the middle, but either way, once Messi started playing in the middle, Ibra was pushed into a classic #9 role, which is not his thing, at all. His playing started suffering then and it didn't work out very well for the remainder of the season.

 

[Galning]

Ibra did say it was Messi himself who said he wanted to play in the middle but then again...

 

[Stric]

Ibra did say it was Messi himself who said he wanted to play in the middle but then again...

Exactly. I don't really have a problem believing it, though. It might as well be true.

 

[darthvader7888]

Pep made the right decision though. We were way better in 2011 with Messi at false 9 and Ibra not in the team than we were in 2010 with Ibra in the team...

 

[rivaldo10]

i think ibra was not the problem it was just pep couldnt handle a player like ibra who says what is in his mind

and the biggest mistake pep made in his 4 years that he allways bought players that didnt fit in the system or had to play diffrent so they could fit in like ibra and dont play their best

 

[XaviMessiGirl]

Do you personally know him? I assume you don't and are basing your opinions on what you read in the media. Big deal if he's made out to be a saint in the media which could be fake, either way we don't know the truth as we don't know him personally.

Anyway's who honestly gives a toss about a players personality, this is football not a popularity contest.

Yeah, I think the "Messi is a saint" thing is largely the media's fault, not sure if "fake" is actually the right word but he's not an angel either. To a non-Barca fan like Josh I guess I can understand some of the stuff being annoying to hear about constantly. Regardless, I'm still a fan of what he does on a football pitch.