Lionel Messi

Status
Not open for further replies.
Boss said:
this is retarded

before Ronaldo went to Spain he had never scored against a Spanish team so people said he would struggle in LaLiga

at the end of the day Messi is just not about goals as he shown that last night, he doesn't have to score to hurt a team
Click to expand...
Rather what is retarded is your determination to make a mountain out of a mole hill:lol:

I mean, seriously, I asked a simple question. I haven't at any point used it to say Messi is this or that. Or that Messi isn't this or that. Neither have I used it to say a single thing about Messi's performance, or Messi as a player.

You need to take a chill pill and get out of war mode mate. Seriously.
 
Boss said:
Any player can be stopped
Click to expand...
Messi was stopped this time because of poor tactics by Guardiola. He should never have played as the center forward. It allowed Koscieny to do a man to man job on him. He should have been used to rape Clichy instead, with Villa being the one to keep Koscieny busy and out of midfield.
 
Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber said:
Messiw stopped this time because of poor tactics by Guardiola. He should never have played as the center forward. It allowed Koscieny to do a man to man job on him. He should have been used to rape Clichy instead.
Click to expand...

Messi was stopped through is own fatigue


nothing more, nothing less
 
Boss said:
Messi was stopped through is own fatigue


nothing more, nothing less
Click to expand...
Bullshit. Guardiola's tactic was just foolish. It caused Messi to carry the Barca attack, whilst being man marked whilst Pedro and Villa were playing roles that rendered them ineffective. Why he chose to play his attack out of of their best positions only he knows.
 
So I actually thought he did well.

His finishing was poor but there were other aspects of his play I thought were good. Link up play was good and his movement and finding space especially in the first half I thought was excellent. Second Half I thought Arsenal handled him better. Am I alone in thinking this? (apart from Boss)

I also think his ability to win the ball is pretty damn impressive.
 
Boss said:
if you think Messi is only about goals you're missing everything


it's the least part of his game I'm impressed with
Click to expand...

He has 40 goals in 38 games this season and with atleast 17 more games to play this season I can see him easily reaching the 50 goal mark. That's an awesome feat and unlikely to be emulated by anyone else besides the lad himself. He is special and already has proved to be better than Maradona in my opinion
 
^

I think Boss's point is his game is about much more than goals... He obviously created so much every game, and put so much pressure on his opposition with his mere presence: he get the ball and even half a second the think and he's away. He draws players, pulls them out of position and allows team-mates to exploit the spaces... Etc, etc, etc.
 
Eto'odinho said:
He has 40 goals in 38 games this season and with atleast 17 more games to play this season I can see him easily reaching the 50 goal mark. That's an awesome feat and unlikely to be emulated by anyone else besides the lad himself. He is special and already has proved to be better than Maradona in my opinion
Click to expand...

He needs an extended rest, the amount of games he's played since Pep arrived is ridiculous

At times yesterday they tried to give him through balls and he gave up, balls he would win easily when he's on his game

The commentator said he was looking disinterested at times in the second half, but I honestly think he was trying to reserve some energy to go again

If he's going ro break the records he needs some rest half way through the season because a knackered Messi at the crunch part of the season could prove fatal for Barca

I do that sometimes, when I'm knackered I hope the ball doesn't come to me too soon untill I'm ready to run again
 
Pogue Mahone said:
If the linesman had done his job properly he'd have a goal and an assist, which is great end product for any attacking player.
Click to expand...

We don't half give refs and linesmen some undue stick, that call was very very fecking difficult, by the time the pingball has been shot, blocked by the keeper, and then cannoned back off Pedro it's nigh on impossible for the linesman to see that Messi is just level with Pedro.

The linesman "did" his job, it was just a near impossible decision.
 
Eto'odinho said:
He has 40 goals in 38 games this season and with atleast 17 more games to play this season I can see him easily reaching the 50 goal mark. That's an awesome feat and unlikely to be emulated by anyone else besides the lad himself. He is special and already has proved to be better than Maradona in my opinion
Click to expand...

I seem to remember a certain sweed scoring 50 goals in a season a few years back.
 
Careful now Sharky that call resulted in Arsenal winning so we can't be defending it now!
 
cesc's_mullet said:
Careful now Sharky that call resulted in Arsenal winning so we can't be defending it now!
Click to expand...

I just think we go a bit mad sometimes with our expectations, my first thoughts were "definitely offside", only after the replays could I see that Messi was just just onside as he was level with Pedro. Claiming the lino "didn't do his" job is incredibly OTT and a little mean :angel:
 
Boss said:
He needs an extended rest, the amount of games he's played since Pep arrived is ridiculous

At times yesterday they tried to give him through balls and he gave up, balls he would win easily when he's on his game

The commentator said he was looking disinterested at times in the second half, but I honestly think he was trying to reserve some energy to go again

If he's going ro break the records he needs some rest half way through the season because a knackered Messi at the crunch part of the season could prove fatal for Barca

I do that sometimes, when I'm knackered I hope the ball doesn't come to me too soon untill I'm ready to run again
Click to expand...

I agree, he could benefit with a rest and I can see him sitting some of the league games out every now. But he is simply gold, he attacks with such conviction to an extent that one feels as if his team is going to score with every movement that involves him.


marchi-91 said:
I seem to remember a certain sweed scoring 50 goals in a season a few years back.
Click to expand...

Yes he played in Scotland, with all due respect obviously.
 
He could have had 2 or 3 and didn't play well. Think how many he can get in Barca if he's even half on form. We saw it last year, lets not be silly.
 
Boss said:
don't score = flop

same story at the world cup

people who only watch Messi for goals are missing out on most of his actual play
Click to expand...

Well goal or no goal Messi WAS poor last night. Maybe that's fatigue but it can't take away the fact that he was pretty average last night. 2 sitters he would normally put away in his sleep and his overall game was just lethargic. Infact it was his poor attempted pass which led to Barca losing the ball and Arsenal scoring their 2nd.
 
OMG MESSI IS SO AWFUL GUYZ.

40+Goals, 20+Assists. ITS ALL JUST A MYTH.


Because Ronaldo has such a wealth of big time goals+assists+generally being MoM doesn't he? Oh......

Team sport guys, and when you play the best, they usually make a better effort to shut out your best player rather than letting him run riot.
 
wr8_utd said:
Well goal or no goal Messi WAS poor last night. Maybe that's fatigue but it can't take away the fact that he was pretty average last night. 2 sitters he would normally put away in his sleep and his overall game was just lethargic. Infact it was his poor attempted pass which led to Barca losing the ball and Arsenal scoring their 2nd.
Click to expand...

Only by his exceptional standards, the fatigue truly kicked in around the 50th min


and he still managed to get his influence on the game with a class assist for Villa

it tells you what you need to know about the 23 year old
 
The bold part is the truest part of that statement. Ronaldos not even close, Messi has a team game Ronaldo simply doesn't, his passing and accuracy is probably on par with Iniestas, probably dump him in CM and he'd be amazing, couldn't do that with Ronaldo.
 
Zen said:
The bold part is the truest part of that statement. Ronaldos not even close, Messi has a team game Ronaldo simply doesn't, his passing and accuracy is probably on par with Iniestas, probably dump him in CM and he'd be amazing, couldn't do that with Ronaldo.
Click to expand...

I agree, when he's not scoring Messi still has enough assets to hurt you, even in the big games
 
Boss said:
Only by his exceptional standards, the fatigue truly kicked in around the 50th min


and he still managed to get his influence on the game with a class assist for Villa

it tells you what you need to know about the 23 year old
Click to expand...

Boss said:
I agree, when he's not scoring Messi still has enough assets to hurt you, even in the big games
Click to expand...

Agree with both those points and the assist was class but yeah by his standards he was quite poor last night. The chances he missed were sitters and someone of his class should have buried it. However I'm sure we'll see a much improved Messi at the Nou Camp.
 
Sharky7 said:
Agree with everything but the bold.

As an Arsenal fan I think you know that there is not a mile in it, remember what Ronnie did to you at the Emirates in the CL.
Click to expand...

I don't think being an Arsenal supporter makes any difference or holds any relevance here. I love watching Ronaldo, and certainly love what he does and can do on the pitch (obviously when it's not against us), so it's not a matter of bias here.

But Messi offers so much more. And the fact everyone's saying he had a shite game - despite carving out a fantastic assits and having a goal ruled offside, against the second best side in England (ATM. And need I remind everyone of Totteham's doing over of AC Milan, to help put things into perspective?), who had a CB that played extremely well all game - is testament to his ability and the expectations which are held against him.
 
I can't agree with anyone who think there's a mile in it, it's bizarre imo.

I think Messi is better and offers more, but a mile?... come on really.
 
wr8_utd said:
Agree with both those points and the assist was class but yeah by his standards he was quite poor last night. The chances he missed were sitters and someone of his class should have buried it. However I'm sure we'll see a much improved Messi at the Nou Camp.
Click to expand...

I agree, he tried to be too cute with the first chance, he should have just dumped it in the middle instead of aiming for the corner



the second chance I thought he should have just sqaured it to Villa, he has a bit of a selfish streak and it gets to him at times
 
Sharky7 said:
I can't agree with anyone who think there's a mile in it, it's bizarre imo.

I think Messi is better and offers more, but a mile?... come on really.
Click to expand...

Well by a mile I just mean clearly. It's all hyperbole but what do you expect on a Football Forum.
 
wr8_utd said:
Well goal or no goal Messi WAS poor last night. Maybe that's fatigue but it can't take away the fact that he was pretty average last night. 2 sitters he would normally put away in his sleep and his overall game was just lethargic. Infact it was his poor attempted pass which led to Barca losing the ball and Arsenal scoring their 2nd.
Click to expand...

He did fade away but had a blistering game until Villa went off. Dunno if that warrants a 'Poor' rating.

He does deserve criticism for missing too many chances. Which on second thought, I guess can be deemed so.
 
He really should have put that first chance away, was probably over-thinking the shot. And then we must remember he had a legitamate goal wrongly ruled offside.

He'll do Arsenal over at Camp Nou though. Barcelona had a plethora of chances to put the game away.
 
Boss said:
the second chance I thought he should have just sqaured it to Villa, he has a bit of a selfish streak and it gets to him at times
Click to expand...

Yeah I noticed that a lot, especially yesterday. He was trying to hard to impress and do things himself. Had he finished that 2nd chance or passed to Villa for a tap in Barca would be as good as through to the Quarters right now.

However him playing the full 90 mins for Argentina and every minute of Barca's games is not really helping him. The Arsenal game is 3 weeks away now so I reckon he'll be fresher by then and not in such a forgiving mood as he was last night.
 
wr8_utd said:
Yeah I noticed that a lot, especially yesterday. He was trying to hard to impress and do things himself. Had he finished that 2nd chance or passed to Villa for a tap in Barca would be as good as through to the Quarters right now.

However him playing the full 90 mins for Argentina and every minute of Barca's games is not really helping him. The Arsenal game is 3 weeks away now so I reckon he'll be fresher by then and not in such a forgiving mood as he was last night.
Click to expand...

If Pep plays him 90 mins for the next few matches I doubt he would be
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Probably below par by his own high standards. Still very very good.

If the linesman had done his job properly he'd have a goal and an assist, which is great end product for any attacking player.
Click to expand...

this. Like I said in another thread I don't think there can be any complaints about Messi's performance. Did he run the game and run them ragged? no. Was he a threat? yes. Away from home, creating a goal by playing the main striker one-on-one, having a goal wrongfully disallowed and creating a fair number of chances more. It was not a marquee BPITW performance, but by no means a performance that will make even a slight dent in that status.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.