[Cable]

As a fan of La liga, I regularly watch their matches from the bottom teams to the upper teams like Barca. In the 2011/12 season, I didn't have the time to watch as many Barca matches as I used to watch in the past. I liked the revolution that Pep brought to Barca. But from the relatively small number of matches that I watched of Barca this year, there seems to be a few problems I have noticed with their team. I believe that those problems were why they were knocked out of the CL.

1. Their directness, finishing and reliance on Messi for that.

Yes, Messi is the best attacking player in the world imo. And it makes sense to make the most of his talents to help the team win. But the problem is that when the going gets tough, they sometimes don't have the directness to get the needed goals and rely on Messi very often to produce some magic to win them games.

For example, in the second leg of the CL semis, Chelsea were parking the bus in front of their goal after the score was 2-2 on aggregate. What was Barca's response? Keep passing the ball out wide (creating space for central midfielders in the process) and then the wide players pass it back to the central midfielders. And it happens again and again and again with no end product. What I'm getting at is that when Barca passed it out wide, the wide players had some space to put a good cross in. But because there was no directness from Barca to get some players in the box, crossing was not an option. So they passed it back to the central midfielders who had some space. Because they had no directness, the central midfielders didn't make use of the space they had to shoot on sight. Rather, they wasted the opportunity and opted to pass it to another player. This was what happened for the rest of the game bar the odd shot that was blocked or went off target.

And despite the fact that Chelsea parked the bus, Barca still created and missed a ****load of chances in both legs. Hence their loss. Messi missed a few good chances, Fabregas bottled a great chance, Sanchez hit the bar, Busquets missed a glorious chance (very terrible miss) etc. And I believe that is a problem for Barca. If Messi doesn't score, who else is very reliable to finish off the numerous chances that they create?

Barca can't risk more crosses into the box because their players aren't tall enough to likely get onto the ball against tall defenders. Why do they rely on Messi too much to finish off their chances? Because without the likes of Villa, they haven't got very clinical finishers in their team. When Barca had Eto'o, they had someone who would always be looking to make runs behind the defence, who is happy to lurk around the centre of box as a target man for directness (e.g. crosses can be made to Eto'o) and someone who is clinical. If Eto'o had just 3 of the numerous chances that Barca had against Chelsea, he would defo have scored one of them at least.

Solution to problem 1

Get another forward to play with messi in the front 3. Height, mobility, technique and good finishing are necessary. Additionally, when Barca are in need of a goal, they must be more direct and shoot when in a good position, rather than trying to walk it into the goal.

[Cable]

2. Goalkeeping

I'm sorry but I still wonder why the hell Barca are putting up with Valdes. Ok, he is very compatible with Barca's passing game (he can make a good pass even when under pressure from a player darting at him). But isn't a goalkeeper's primary role to stop opponents from putting the ball in the back of the net? I don't believe Valdes is world class in this department. I have lost count of the number of times I seen teams score against Barca and I thought "Valdes could have done better there". For example, anyone remember Van Persie's goal against Barca in the CL in early 2011? How the hell does a keeper playing for a world class team get beaten at the near post that easily? And just look at Drogba's goal in the first leg against Barca this year. Come on. He should have done much better there. It was very poor goalkeeping. And if that isn't enough, what about Ramires chip in the 2nd leg? The way Valdes rushed out of his goal, he was just begging to get lobbed.

Not matter how good the outfield players are, there are times when opponents would get the upper hand and that's when top class goalkeepers stand up and be counted. Look at Chelsea vs LFC in the FA cup final. Chelsea were 2-1 up and LFC were about to equalise with a glorious chance for Carroll. Instead of being weak and allowing carroll to score, Cech had mental strength and stopped Carroll from equalising. Look at Cech's performance in the CL final. He could have let Robben score the penalty. He could have bottled it in the penalty shootout. But no. He rose up to the occasion and helped the team when they needed him most. Look at the world cup final. Robben was one-on-one with Casillas. Did Casillas bottle it and let Robben score? No. He rose up to the occasion when he was needed most and saved Robben's shot. How did Valdes do against Torres, one-on-one when he was needed most? Well I'll let you find out in this video which includes an orgasm by G.Neville.

Valdes might make some great saves here or there, but I don't think he is reliable, in big occasions to keep his team in the game when they're on the backfoot. I believe Barca should try and get another keeper who will be more reliable in stopping goals but will also be able to adapt to Barca's possession game, making him a better goalkeeper than Valdes. If they can't find any, then fair enough. But it's worth looking into, imo.

[Malevolent]

Firstly new medical team perhaps way too many injuries for my liking this season. Pedro and Villa the other two scorers have spent a long time injured. Pique as well getting injured pretty often. Iniesta Xavi also missing quite a few games probably for Xavi due to old age. But you get my point there have been too many injuries this season for my liking hasnt been a consistent squad going for quite some time.

Next get another forward sort of like David Villa who can score but play out wide, teams cant collapse on him because hes very good at scoring from a distance and just scoring in general. If they can keep the strikers consistent then it should be fine. Pedro forces the opponents into mistakes with his clever running in between the lines of defense and so does Villa. That creates more room for penetration.

Stop messing with the formations and trying different things. They dont have good enough defenders for 3 at the back if Abidal and Pique are not there, Busquets and Mascherano are not center backs, as well as Mascherano has played there has been many times where the two have been caught out of place. Need another good center back like Hummels,Benedikt Howedes or Thiago Silva if they want to play 3 at the back.

Finally take your chances they have missed too many sitters this season need to be more clinical and such, also it seems to me they didnt press as much as they did the previous seasons the triangles were not as common and cross field balls seemed to be completely gone.

Another Keeper would be nice Valdes has let us down to many times when called upon. Who cares about his passing ability the primary job is to save things. Having good passing for a keeper is just a plus.

[Colbert]

Bale left back.
Llorente benched.
Maybe Martinez as a minibiscuits.

[Zerforax]

Javi Martinez with Pique at CB would be perfect for them. Both strong and physical but great on the ball/passing.

[Cable]

(Original post by CB91)
.

Since you're also a la liga fan, what are your thoughts on how Barca can improve?

[Malevolent]

(Original post by Zerforax)
Javi Martinez with Pique at CB would be perfect for them. Both strong and physical but great on the ball/passing.

Not sure about it i would rather someone more like puyol who is a warrior but its intriguing prospect.

(Original post by Colbert)
Bale left back.
Llorente benched.
Maybe Martinez as a minibiscuits.

Bale at left back and Montoya at right back? So swap the roles now the left is attacking and the right is more conservative.

[MattyJo]

Bring back Ibra, trololol.

[Bryci]

New striker, center back and Goalkeeper problems solved.

[facdroit]

Anyone that saying new goalkeeper don't really know what Barcelona are about.

[Jim_Metrin]

(Original post by facdroit)
Anyone that saying new goalkeeper don't really know what Barcelona are about.

I think they do, Its all good being able to pass the ball out but thats not what a goalie should be doing, Reina is just as good distributor but you can actually count on him.

[facdroit]

(Original post by Jim_Metrin)
I think they do, Its all good being able to pass the ball out but thats not what a goalie should be doing, Reina is just as good distributor but you can actually count on him.

Valdes had an average season but he still won the Zamora for the 5th time. He is a decent keeper that's it.It's not really a problematic area right now, a weak one but you can't just bench someone like Valdes.

[Jim_Metrin]

(Original post by facdroit)
Valdes had an average season but he still won the Zamora for the 5th time. He is a decent keeper that's it.It's not really a problematic area right now, a weak one but you can't just bench someone like Valdes.

I Guess its not the most pressing needs a new center back and striker would be great as well as a left back.

[CB91]

(Original post by Cable)
Since you're also a la liga fan, what are your thoughts on how Barca can improve?

I think the two most pressing issues are at CB and LB. They need someone to replace Abidal (most likely going to be Alba) and another CB or two that must be good in the air and decent on the ball (someone like Martinez, Silva, Hummels). The most important thing is to add a bit of height at CB. It was suicide playing with Puyol and Masch at CB against teams with big, physical players like Madrid and Chelsea.

Ideally they need someone that can play across the front 3 and knows where the net is. Villa can take some of the goalscoring burden off Messi but the other strikers and wingers need to chip in more. I'd say a player like Neymar or Lavezzi would be perfect tbh.

[Mechie]

They need to change it up when things aren't going for them. They seem to stick with their passing style no matter what, and I think maybe if when they're down with a few minutes to go it might benefit them to chuck a couple of longer balls up there.

[Jim_Metrin]

(Original post by davidmarsh01)
They need to change it up when things aren't going for them. They seem to stick with their passing style no matter what, and I think maybe if when they're down with a few minutes to go it might benefit them to chuck a couple of longer balls up there.

Cant really chuck long balls up there when theres no real target man, Busquets is pretty darn pathetic in the air.

[MattyJo]

(Original post by CB91)
I think the two most pressing issues are at CB and LB. They need someone to replace Abidal (most likely going to be Alba) and another CB or two that must be good in the air and decent on the ball (someone like Martinez, Silva, Hummels). The most important thing is to add a bit of height at CB. It was suicide playing with Puyol and Masch at CB against teams with big, physical players like Madrid and Chelsea.

Ideally they need someone that can play across the front 3 and knows where the net is. Villa can take some of the goalscoring burden off Messi but the other strikers and wingers need to chip in more. I'd say a player like Neymar or Lavezzi would be perfect tbh.

It would be my dream to see Neymar at Barca, mouthwatering.

[Malevolent]

(Original post by CB91)
I think the two most pressing issues are at CB and LB. They need someone to replace Abidal (most likely going to be Alba) and another CB or two that must be good in the air and decent on the ball (someone like Martinez, Silva, Hummels). The most important thing is to add a bit of height at CB. It was suicide playing with Puyol and Masch at CB against teams with big, physical players like Madrid and Chelsea.

Ideally they need someone that can play across the front 3 and knows where the net is. Villa can take some of the goalscoring burden off Messi but the other strikers and wingers need to chip in more. I'd say a player like Neymar or Lavezzi would be perfect tbh.

Your wishlist is pretty much the same as mine. Been saying Lavezzi for a long time.

[facdroit]

(Original post by Jim_Metrin)
I think they do, Its all good being able to pass the ball out but thats not what a goalie should be doing, Reina is just as good distributor but you can actually count on him.

Valdes had an average season but he still won the Zamora for the 5th time. He is a decent keeper that's it.It's not really a problematic area right now, a weak one but you can't just bench someone like Valdes.

(Original post by CB91)
I think the two most pressing issues are at CB and LB. They need someone to replace Abidal (most likely going to be Alba) and another CB or two that must be good in the air and decent on the ball (someone like Martinez, Silva, Hummels). The most important thing is to add a bit of height at CB. It was suicide playing with Puyol and Masch at CB against teams with big, physical players like Madrid and Chelsea.

Ideally they need someone that can play across the front 3 and knows where the net is. Villa can take some of the goalscoring burden off Messi but the other strikers and wingers need to chip in more. I'd say a player like Neymar or Lavezzi would be perfect tbh.

Silva wont move this summer. Lavezzi is PSG bound and Neymar will leave in 2013 most likely.
The most likely striker we'll get is Adrian which would be decent, he wouldn't be expecting to start and will add much needed depth.

[TheHansa]

I agree