desoe
New member
It's not like we're playing Chelsea, Madrid and Valencia in the next three games, though.
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It's not like we're playing Chelsea, Madrid and Valencia in the next three games, though.
karthik
New member
Well, did we change our medical staff after last season?
Well, Xavi does need some rest after all, and the coming three matches can certainly give him a much needed break. However to keep the game ticking, i think Andres will take his role, with either jonny or Thiago taking the attacking mid role. Much more should be produced by our strikers, and hopefully Henry starts playing and scoring again.
Get well soon Xavi. Although you got injured, it is good that you dint get injured during the month of march or April.
Well, Xavi does need some rest after all, and the coming three matches can certainly give him a much needed break. However to keep the game ticking, i think Andres will take his role, with either jonny or Thiago taking the attacking mid role. Much more should be produced by our strikers, and hopefully Henry starts playing and scoring again.
Get well soon Xavi. Although you got injured, it is good that you dint get injured during the month of march or April.
V
Valon
Guest
It's not the medical staff... it's because jadeness I believe. I mean we had a lot of games and we were blessed with not many injuries bar 2-3 players.
desoe
New member
Last year we just got lucky, that's all. It's not a rare thing our team to suffers bad injuries, even on key players. Just remember what Rijkaard had to deal with, when Eto'o was missing for months, Messi had three major injuries for 2-3 months and Xavi was out for the whole season with knee ligaments.
Damn, Franky really didn't have a luck.
Damn, Franky really didn't have a luck.
evilhita666
Barçapocalypse NOW!
Oh, great Cesc, where art thou? Hahahaha...
What concerns me is that we don't have any proven player to replace him, Iniesta must take his place and hope we can get someone to play the missing spot in the midfield decently, considering that Yaya and Keita are also injured...
What concerns me is that we don't have any proven player to replace him, Iniesta must take his place and hope we can get someone to play the missing spot in the midfield decently, considering that Yaya and Keita are also injured...
veryfatchocobo
New member
I guess JDS will have to do it then... Even if Thiago IMO is better, I don't want 2 flashy midfielders playing together...
Eetu
Adormit
Didn't the head of physios get the boot last summer, for having recommended that we should drop out of one competition, since he thought trying to win all three would be too much?
iced1776
New member
From what I've seen, they really aren't similar players. Thiago is much flashier and works best in Iniestas position, moving the ball up the field and looking for a creative outlet. JDS is much more like Xavi, likes to control the pace of the game by lying a bit deeper and playing some simpler passes.
Iniesta + Thiago has already failed one time this season, but I think JDS + Iniesta makes a much more balanced midfield.
Irv.Does anyone think that 1) Xavi is severely hampered by injury right now, and needs rest, and 2) playing him in his current state might be causing problems? Disclaimer: I was unable to watch the first half of the this Stuttgart match, but I saw the second half. I've seen several players harshly criticized for poor play (Toure, Busquets, Marquez), and other players receive milder criticism (Ibrahimovic, Messi, Henry on other sites). However, I haven't seen one mention of Xavi. The other players may have had below par games, but I can think of good things they did as well; I can't remember a single good thing Xavi did this game. Oddly, the 'Player Ratings' thread in the 'News' subform gives him a 6.5, and nobody complained. On another site, one person commented:
"I think Xavi is rated way to high at 6.5. He gave the ball away too many times in the midfield thus created many chances for Stuttgart to catch Barca offguard. Plus he never really created any real danger for Stuttgart's defense. I don't think he was at 100 percent today and it really showed in his game."
There was also the Athletico Madrid match a week and a half ago, where a hilarious blog commented, "Couldn’t make a pass if he was horny, three sheets to the wind and a strutting Elsa Pataky was preening past. And this seemed more relevant to Barcelona’s defeat than any deficiencies to be found in the back four." Malaga and Almeria aren't great teams (though they can't be overlooked), so it might be wise to give Xavi time off, as was done against Racing Santander.
"I think Xavi is rated way to high at 6.5. He gave the ball away too many times in the midfield thus created many chances for Stuttgart to catch Barca offguard. Plus he never really created any real danger for Stuttgart's defense. I don't think he was at 100 percent today and it really showed in his game."
There was also the Athletico Madrid match a week and a half ago, where a hilarious blog commented, "Couldn’t make a pass if he was horny, three sheets to the wind and a strutting Elsa Pataky was preening past. And this seemed more relevant to Barcelona’s defeat than any deficiencies to be found in the back four." Malaga and Almeria aren't great teams (though they can't be overlooked), so it might be wise to give Xavi time off, as was done against Racing Santander.
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beef-supreme
Senior member
Xavi was anonymous at best tonight and i think the reason it wasn't really mentioned is because he is still excused by the injury. He was bad though, as he was against Atletico, but again the injury can explain both of these.
Eetu
Adormit
I don't think it was that much about the injury (although he did avoid contact at times). The main problem was that at first he was playing too deep and too alone quality-wise. The optimal situation is Xavi getting the ball on the attacking side of the field and having Messi, Iniesta and Dani to rotate the ball with, thus making it hard to mark all the options out. Stuttgart was pressuring high and Xavi was dropping way too deep to get something done. Once he got there, the two options he usually had to build the play with were Yaya & Busi and the duo didn't really know how to make space for themselves with the pressure. Once Messi started to drop deep too and Iniesta move around the midfield, the game started to open. Once Yaya was out and Henry in (+Andres truly back to midfield), the second half was much better. Though it was always to be, since it was clear that Stuttgart wouldn't be able to apply that kind of pressure for the whole game.
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