10 Apr 2014 08:22:49
I read a very interesting post on here from someone else and it made me think long and hard about the way Barcelona play these days. Basically the poster below, sorry there was no name attached to the post to give them credit, was saying that Barca need to change the way they play, because it was no longer working.

Overall I do agree. Barca do need to change the way they play and it is not working. But I disagree with the no longer bit. For me the problems started when Barca changed the way they played, from the style that saw them win everything, to the current style.

With the ball, they no longer pass and move to drag the opposition around and create time and space for each other. Now they do it to create time and space for Lionel Messi. The little Argentinian is no longer just a cog in the machine, he is now the driving force and the lynchpin of the side. As such, Barca have created a weak spot to be targeted. Even the best can be cut out of a game by a clever tactician, such as Simeone or just have a bad day at the office.

Defensively, things are even worse, Busquets is simply not at the same level as Yaya Toure. Not only is he nothing like as effective on the ball, but he is positionally suspect and lacks Toure's power and pace to recover when caught out positionally. He seems far more interested in throwing himself to the floor and rolling around pretending to be hurt than actually playing the game anyway.

The centre backs are even more troubling, there is no longer the pace there to play the high line required of the 'Barca way'. All of this has left Valdes exposed and proven him to be what most of us always suspected, a completely average keeper.

The problem is that most of the issues are not only unlikely to be fixed, but unlikely to even come under any attempt to fix them. Though the possible (or should that be probable?) arrival of Ter Stegen should fix the goalie position, the rest will almost certainly stay the same.

Messi's position is unassailable, he will continue to demand, and receive, special treatment, and the ball, at every moment. Busquets' diving and playacting will continue to make me cringe in embarrassment in midfield. And the defence will continue to see any potential rivals for Busquets' place shoehorned into it at centre half, whether they show any signs of being able to play there or not!

1.) 11 Apr 2014
Ed, I don't think barcelona are too far off, if they stop buying forwards and buy CB's and a CDM they should be fine.

I think selling neymar and alexis should be their priority.

bringing in Aguero should be their priority.

I think playing two up front should be the way they should approach going forward.

Xavi does not add much besides passing, and passing for the sake of it is pointless.

if they want to go 3 upfront the ideal players are Reus, Messi and Aguero, players who will run, create and defend.

iniesta or cesc should replace xavi, I don't see him having any impact.

Busquets thrives as the holding midfielder, but not when their defense is suspect. a somewhat pacey CB with positional awareness is a must, Hummels perhaps, and selling Dani Alves would go along way.

They need a RB who does more than spend 70% of his time as a winger making the other winger play more central and having too many players in the middle with no one to cross to as they are all midgets.

Since they won't be selling neymar, adding reus or aguero should be their target, selling of Alves and Sanchez. and getting a CB.

they are not going to get a CDM to replace busquets and to be fair besides his play acting, he is one of the best at his position in the game, only Vidal.

Yaya toure and alonso are on the wrong side of 30 and they can't get any better so long term he would be the best bet. {Ed001's Note - I am sorry but Busquets is simply not one of the best or even close to it. He is average. He has no positional sense, his passing is ok, but his vision is lacking, he has no pace, can't tackle, can't shoot, is tall but not particularly strong in the air. He is lucky he is friendly with Messi and is at a club where the style of play doesn't expose his weaknesses. After all, they keep the ball so much you never really get to see how poor he is defensively that much.}

2.) 11 Apr 2014
Thats true, he never gets tested as they have possesion way too much, but its not likely to change unless they decide to change their ways, and they don't do anything which is unbarcelona like, unless its done under the desk with bundles of cash.

even thou, busquets as a CDM is not all that bad, they already have 3-5 world class players and adding some really good players just means he will continue playing and go unnoticed, perhaps they appreciate his time wasting and diving skills, not seen a lot fo players who can do that. him and pepe right now are the messi and ronaldo in that category. {Ed001's Note - I would have to agree, Busquets is certainly one of the best playacters in the world. It is amazing how many times he turns over possession only to regain it through a blatant and pathetic swan dive.}