Kul_z
Senior Member
First. Consolidate the mid, so he doesnt need to run that much
10 - Lionel Messi - v5
- Thread starter Barcaman
- Start date
First. Consolidate the mid, so he doesnt need to run that much
The MF with him as a creative outlet, comming to a box as a secondary option, would be just fine. I don t understand why should Barca accommodate his laziness. His lack
of movement complicates things on multiple levels, tacticaly speaking. He needs to start running and he needs planed rest. I mean, i love this guy, but someone needs to show some balls and
kick him in the ass occasionally.
so basically, all he has to do is start running
Lol, yes that is the main thing. In fact, i think that if he picks up the movement, Barca will play well in any of the 4 mentioned options. Even in the 4-4-2.
Good question. Probably not much more. His production doesn t suffer much with his lack of movement if you look at the whole season. But the team performance does, because we are even more predictable, due to him being the main and only creative outlet (mistake). This and him not moving enough creates other issues. Other players have to cover for him, we are predictable going forward, vulnerable to counter attacks. Specialy in high impact games, where the motivation is highest.
So do you think that maybe next year with Coutinho and Dembelé availables since the start of the season (which means more quality in midfield and attack) he can perform well even in important matches?
It depends on the gameplay we will have next year. If he stays the main (only) creative and attack option, than we will just repeat last season. If we are lucky. I think with Coutinho and Dembele we can afford to be less dependend on Leo.
With him in MF his touches/creativity would be optimised and he would still remain a huge goal scoring threat, while playing in the middle, which he prefers. I always thought, that the main difference between him and Ronaldo is his ability to play anywhere in the MF or attack. I thought he would age better than CR. All coaches tryed to maximize his impact with giving him a free role, but i think this has run it s course few years ago. Predictable and issue causing tactic. The advantage CR has over Leo is his adaptability, which i think he has due to his drive to be the best (he knew he wasn t). Perhaps recent failure will stimulate Messi to change some things.
I think we should wait until mid august, when things we ll be more clear than they are now.
Vilarrubi
New member
What more from Messi do you want.. he is the LEAST of our problems. 45 goals and 18 assists last season prove this.
If he'd have run more in that Roma game.... would have made no difference at all.
The problem is the midfield and the transition of the ball from defence to attack... Don't worry about Messi.
What more? Only little more movement. That s it. Even if his goal scoring production drops. He would be even more usefull to the team with more movement. Especially with Coutinho/Dembele in the squad.
i m not blaming him for anything, it s the coach(es). He is responsable of how our team plays and how he builds tactic around him. It is a fact that we are creatively and scoring vise dependend on him. Suarez puts up his share, but
he is getting more and more useless in game build up. The problem you are mentioning is a consequence of "give the ball to Messi" aproach. While Xavi-Iniesta were getting older, the Messi dependence was getting stronger, which made
us more and more predictable and one dimensional. Now the team has a hard time playing without him. Neymar kind of filled this hole for a season or two, but he has a whole different set of issues.
The board fucked up in huge way after the Guardiola era, with wrong transfers. They were sleeping on the future.
Mitchell1978
Senior Member
I don't get this obsession with running, he has been running about the same amount of km/game since 2010.
And i'm shure he will continue having a free role in attack and be are main goalthreat.
I hope we can further improve the midfield so he can play close to goal and has to drop deep less frequently.
It s not obsession, it s adaptation. It s growth.
You know the definition of insanity right? Repeating same things and expecting different results.
If we are happy with the La liga trophy and current gameplay...than that s fine. If not, changes has to be made. If Messi remains as our main go-to guy and if he stays static, things will not change much.
henias
New member
Judoman is right in a certain sense, Messi kind of limits the team tactically and you could see his lack of movement is hurting the team in big games.
I still think in Barca Messi is still more motivated than he is in Argentina, but I kind of don't like when Messi waits for the ball to go to him, sometimes he is even in the way of his teammates when they are on the ball and they feel the need to pass to him bcos he's blocking the way. It's even more prominent in Argentina because they are all moving sideways and chances are they bump into Messi just standing there.
I think the best option is to just put Messi in the RW and let him drift inwards. Defenders would be less likely to crowd the flanks. Then have someone cover Messi's right wing post like Dembele, just interchange positions and make it a whole lot more unpredictable. Rather than restricting Messi to the central park like an CAM which makes it harder for Barcelona to create in the middle as most would just man mark Messi like crazy.
I'm a big fan of Messi but he needs to adapt because he is too much of a focal point for oppositions tactically. Like they say, Messi needs to be a puzzle piece, not a centerpiece. On the ball, Messi is still producing but off the ball it is hurting his output especially in bigger games. Not saying he is to blame for the losses but certainly the gameplay can be more improved and we could be more lethal and unpredictable for opponents, who already know how we function with Messi every season. Things need to change abit.
I still think in Barca Messi is still more motivated than he is in Argentina, but I kind of don't like when Messi waits for the ball to go to him, sometimes he is even in the way of his teammates when they are on the ball and they feel the need to pass to him bcos he's blocking the way. It's even more prominent in Argentina because they are all moving sideways and chances are they bump into Messi just standing there.
I think the best option is to just put Messi in the RW and let him drift inwards. Defenders would be less likely to crowd the flanks. Then have someone cover Messi's right wing post like Dembele, just interchange positions and make it a whole lot more unpredictable. Rather than restricting Messi to the central park like an CAM which makes it harder for Barcelona to create in the middle as most would just man mark Messi like crazy.
I'm a big fan of Messi but he needs to adapt because he is too much of a focal point for oppositions tactically. Like they say, Messi needs to be a puzzle piece, not a centerpiece. On the ball, Messi is still producing but off the ball it is hurting his output especially in bigger games. Not saying he is to blame for the losses but certainly the gameplay can be more improved and we could be more lethal and unpredictable for opponents, who already know how we function with Messi every season. Things need to change abit.
serghei
Senior Member
Messi won't win the Ballon d'Or if he keeps playing poorly in CL regardless where Ronaldo goes.
Mitchell1978
Senior Member
Disagree with you and Judoguy, Messi needs to continue to be central to our attack.
And last season was a succesfull season, there's no other way to view the season.
Its not Messi's running of lack thereof thats a real problem in the CL, its our midfield thats not strong enough. That needs to be adressed so Messi can play close to the goal.
Btw we didn't loose 3-0 to Roma because of his running but because Valverde and probably the whole club underestimated Roma and weren't ready for the game.
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