Messi injured for 2 months

[Gribz 827]

This is the first time I can recall Messi being injured for a significant period in his career. He was injured prior to the world cup but just wasn't fit then. This will be interesting to see how Barca do without him.

 

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi will be out for seven to eight weeks after tearing a ligament in his left knee during a 2-1 win over Las Palmas.

 

Messi, 28, was injured in the third minute of the match and was taken to hospital after being replaced.

 

He may miss eight fixtures, but could return in time to face Real Madrid on 22 November.

 

"I'm always sad when one of my players gets injured and even more when it's Messi," coach Luis Enrique said.

 

"We will not change our style of play without Messi, although there are many moments in games in which Messi liberates us and finds solutions for us, so we'll have to strengthen in other areas and the team will have to step up without him."

 

In Messi's absence, Luis Suarez scored twice as the champions beat Las Palmas to briefly return to the top of La Liga.

[Rousseau 10,489]

They are struggling somewhat already with the transfer ban: Enrique is forced to use youngsters, which has shown in the results a little. Messi will be a big loss, but they do still have Suarez and Neymar; not bad.

[craig 5,199]

They are struggling somewhat already with the transfer ban: Enrique is forced to use youngsters, which has shown in the results a little. Messi will be a big loss, but they do still have Suarez and Neymar; not bad.

 

Not sure how it has shown in their results Rousseau - they have won 5 and lost 1 La Liga game.

[Rousseau 10,489]

Not sure how it has shown in their results Rousseau - they have won 5 and lost 1 La Liga game.

 

You're right. The league form has been good, but they have not had a difficult run; only Athletico Madrid seemed difficult. They narrowly won the European Super cup 5-4, and then were thrashed in the Spanish Super Cup 5-1 (on aggregate). They have conceded 7 goals in 6 games, which is very unlike them; or 16 in 8! And then the games they have won have been by one goal, except one against Levante. They're not doing too badly, but I think their transfer ban is hampering them a little. They results are not typical for Barca. It'll be interesting to see how they do without Messi.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Rousseau

[craig 5,199]

You're right. The league form has been good, but they have not had a difficult run; only Athletico Madrid seemed difficult. They narrowly won the European Super cup 5-4, and then were thrashed in the Spanish Super Cup 5-1 (on aggregate). They have conceded 7 goals in 6 games, which is very unlike them; or 16 in 8! And then the games they have won have been by one goal, except one against Levante. They're not doing too badly, but I think their transfer ban is hampering them a little. They results are not typical for Barca. It'll be interesting to see how they do without Messi.

 

I suspect that they will still be in contention without Messi - they may have to revert to a 4-4-2 rather than the current 4-3-3 but that, if anything, should solidify them defensively because the front 3 in the 4-3-3 do very little defensive work.

 

Once they hit January they will also have Arda Turan in contention. I don't think the ban is hampering them that much at all - you could argue that they haven't purchased well but the ban hasn't really hindered them. Why would I say that ? Because they already made their purchases for the season in August, knowing full well those purchases wouldn't be able to play till January - but they didn't really make any defensive purchases anyway - they only bought Turan and Alexei Vidal, who is a right winger. So they clearly felt they were strong enough at the back without further purchases.

 

Which youngsters is he using ? I haven't followed their fortunes enough this season but the front 3 picks itself (well, not now obviously...), the back line usually picks itself too with Alba, Mascherano, Pique and Alves (although they have been rotating it a bit this season obviously) but also have Vermaelen, Bartra, Mathieu, Roberto - the midfield is their problem area as they only really have Iniesta, Rakitic and Busquets - Rafinha is out for the season and they only have 5 recognized midfielders (though I guess you could include Mascherano if needed.

 

So if the transfer ban is hurting them then it is only really because Arda Turan can't play. When I took a look I must admit I was surprised at how few midfielders they seem to have - surprised they let Xavi leave in the summer given how few options they have.

[Rousseau 10,489]

I suspect that they will still be in contention without Messi - they may have to revert to a 4-4-2 rather than the current 4-3-3 but that, if anything, should solidify them defensively because the front 3 in the 4-3-3 do very little defensive work.

 

Once they hit January they will also have Arda Turan in contention. I don't think the ban is hampering them that much at all - you could argue that they haven't purchased well but the ban hasn't really hindered them. Why would I say that ? Because they already made their purchases for the season in August, knowing full well those purchases wouldn't be able to play till January - but they didn't really make any defensive purchases anyway - they only bought Turan and Alexei Vidal, who is a right winger. So they clearly felt they were strong enough at the back without further purchases.

 

Which youngsters is he using ? I haven't followed their fortunes enough this season but the front 3 picks itself (well, not now obviously...), the back line usually picks itself too with Alba, Mascherano, Pique and Alves (although they have been rotating it a bit this season obviously) but also have Vermaelen, Bartra, Mathieu, Roberto - the midfield is their problem area as they only really have Iniesta, Rakitic and Busquets - Rafinha is out for the season and they only have 5 recognized midfielders (though I guess you could include Mascherano if needed.

 

So if the transfer ban is hurting them then it is only really because Arda Turan can't play. When I took a look I must admit I was surprised at how few midfielders they seem to have - surprised they let Xavi leave in the summer given how few options they have.

 

I believe they had a two-window transfer ban. They made a number of signings before that, but they were all bog-standard players -- decent enough, but perhaps not complete players that Barcelona are used to (i.e. Ter Stegan, Rakitic, Bravo, Mathieu, Vermaelen). They were also forced to sell a number of youth players later on to adhere to the ban. I actually thought we'd see them struggle last year a tad, but they did not. I think we are seeing the effects of the ban somewhat now though.

 

Their results have not been at their normal level: a lot more goals conceded; they've not scored as many; and they've lost 3 games already. I think the results show they're struggling a wee bit. This is Barcelona we are talking about, so they are not going to be in the relegation zone.

 

Alex Vidal is a converted Right-back; it's where he played for Sevilla, and where Barcelona intend to play him. He is thought to be the replacement for the aging Alves. They bought a few defenders, as I mentioned, before the ban because they knew they'd struggle. But now they have been hampered with injuries to midfield, so Macherano has had to play midfield rather than his usual defensive role of late. They've been forced to play a number of youth players: Gumbau, Semper, Roberto, Rafinha (Injured now as you said, adding to their short numbers), Sandro, Munir and Bartra. They are talented, but not finished players. They've also struggled to add top-class players, although I suppose Arda Turan is a top-class player, but in general they've struggled to attract that top name because most players cannot afford to sit out for 6-months, especially in a Euro Championship year.

 

I'm not suggesting they are struggling completely, I said they were struggling somewhat. They will drop a lot more points IMO before January, which will derail their targets. I think they'll struggle in some games without Messi, without that bit of magic in those tough games, but I think they'll be OK up front with Neymar and Suarez (Well, mostly Suarez -- I don't really care for Neymar).

 

Interesting point about the defensive shape: the front 3 don't defend much, but do they really need to with the possession they usually have? Bare with me, but it reminds me of the Rangers situation. We need to change our defensive mindset, to get away from this preoccupation with the passive approach to defending with the deep back four, and get used to defending proactively. Our possession game needs a different way of defending, like Barcelona.