Barca aren't all that

[billycopper]

Watching Barca last night, even against a resolute Inter defence, they didn't look like world beaters.

Iniesta aside, as he didn't feature, they looked heavily reliant on Messi to conjure something out of nothing. Where we the other match winners? Ibrahimovic got the hook with a quarter of the match to go after failing to trouble Julio Cesar. Pedro is all right foot. Bojan looked out of his depth. Dani Alves looked anything but a raiding wingback. Xavi's contribution was minimal. Ditto Maxwell and Jeffran.

Take Messi out of the equation and the rest of the team would do well to get past the group stages of the Champion's League. They looked very ordinary.

Pep Guardiola is hailed as the best young coach on the planet. Yet some of his tactical decisions puzzled me. Why have only one striker against five Inter defenders, as Messi dropped into the hole? Why persist with four defenders against one Inter striker? Why bring off your main attacking threat when you're chasing the game? Why not switch Pedro to the right hand side to get on to his favoured foot and to get to the byeline? Why play with four wide players (taking up each other's space) and only one forward to aim for? Why not throw on the wily Henry?

Barca seem to have no depth to their squad. I'd need some convincing if Bojan, Pedro, Maxwell, Jeffran, Keita, Busquets or Toure were offered to us. Sure we'd take them, but it wouldn't be the 'snap your hand off' decision that it should be for players of the best team in the world.

What does this mean for Everton? I genuinely think that we're not that far short of Champion's League standard. If we can get our concentration right at the back and use a bit of tactical nous, I think we can compete with the cream of the continent. Players of the calibre of Arteta, Fellaini, Saha and Pienaar are as capable as their Barcelona counterparts. And I'd rather have Baines over Maxwell, Heitinga over Keita, Yakubu over Bojan and Bily over Jeffran.

If we can keep developing and, with any luck, uncover a 'special' talent. I sincerely feel that we can go toe to toe with the very best.

 

[Seamus Colemole]

Recent history says otherwise. Where do you expect the tactical nous to come from when its been severely lacking everytime we have come up against a half decent euro team. We dont stand a chance in champions league. Yeah sure player to player we should do, but we have done in the past and still failed. And there is one constant, david moyes.

 

[Republic Of Leodensia]

Their players are such wusses. It seems like every time someone snatches the ball off them they dive. Man up and get on with the game you bunch of sissies!

 

[davek]

Recent history says otherwise. Where do you expect the tactical nous to come from when its been severely lacking everytime we have come up against a half decent euro team. We dont stand a chance in champions league. Yeah sure player to player we should do, but we have done in the past and still failed. And there is one constant, david moyes.

Has to be acknowledged.

He's like a rabbit caught in the headlights in Europe. Well out of his depth.

 

[manxtoffee]

As Rope says, tactical nous of DM leaves a lot to be desired, especially when it comes to european football. Though to fair to him/them he does seem to be an intelligent bloke who one will learn and prosper with experience.

 

[Allezfan]

Is this thread seriously saying we're as good as Barca? I'm going to have to have a lie down.

 

[billycopper]

It comes from experience. It took Fergie years to get the knack of the Champion's League. If we can compete regularly in the Europa League we will get to grips with all the play acting, gamesmanship, over-zealous refereeing etc.

This season has been a step in the right direction in that we have overcome our awe of the bigger sides and beaten them. If, next season, we can marry that with this efficiency with which we normally despatch the lesser lights, then we might be consistent enough to challenge for a Champion's League place next term.

Foreign coaches are at an advantage in Europe as it's easier for them to qualify and because CL football is more akin to Seria A or La Liga than the Premiership. Moysie will get his head around it eventually though and I expect us to be in with a shout of the Europa League in the next few seasons. If Fulham and Boro can get there, why can't we?

 

[Cena]

It's funny, Barcelona have one off day and a thread like this appears.

 

[ToxtethBlue]

There different class, the best team in the world at the moment, one of the best teams I've come across during my time watching football. Inter did a job on them really, it can happen to the best of teams. It isn't easy to break down teams who stick ten men behind the ball, especially a team with the defensive qualities and tactical disipline of Inter. They do need a new striker though, Zlatlan is an excellent player but I'm not sure he's suited to there system.

As for us, we are lightyears away from the teams that get to the group stages of the Champions League nevermind the likes of Barca and Inter. Benfica and Sporting took the piss out of us, and it's got nothing to do with play acting or gamesmanship, it comes down to the way we play football and our inibility to deal with technically proficient sides who can knock the ball about a bit. And we've had a number of goes to get things right, I've yet to see any progress in Europe. Even against lesser sides we look nervy and uncomfortable.

 

[BlueTak]

So because Barcelona lose to a very good Inter side, we're better than them?




Awesome.

 

[Alio]

It's funny, Barcelona have one off day and a thread like this appears.

from a game they actually won 1-0....against 11 or 10 players behind the ball

on paper our team is as good as I can ever remember in all honesty, but.....

 

[Cena]

There different class, the best team in the world at the moment, one of the best teams I've come across during my time watching football. Inter did a job on them really, it can happen to the best of teams. It isn't easy to break down teams who stick ten men behind the ball, especially a team with the defensive qualities and tactical disipline of Inter. They do need a new striker though, Zlatlan is an excellent player but I'm not sure he's suited to there system.

As for us, we are lightyears away from the teams that get to the group stages of the Champions League nevermind the likes of Barca and Inter. Benfica and Sporting took the piss out of us, and it's got nothing to do with play acting or gamesmanship, it comes down to the way we play football and our inibility to deal with technically proficient sides who can knock the ball about a bit. And we've had a number of goes to get things right, I've yet to see any progress in Europe. Even against lesser sides we look nervy and uncomfortable.

I think people are making a big-deal about us not being good in Europe. Remember in the UEFA Cup in 2007/2008, we won all our group games, including against the team who won it that year. We battered Fiorentina in the home leg too, we were unlucky that night that their keeper kept them in it.

We are not as bad in Europe as everyone makes out. We never had a consistant side in Europe, Johnny H was cup-tied, Mikel was still coming back from injury against Sporting and we just never wer able to field a full strength team in any game this season in Europe. If that we're to happen you would see a much better Everton in Europe

 

[ToxtethBlue]

I think people are making a big-deal about us not being good in Europe. Remember in the UEFA Cup in 2007/2008, we won all our group games, including against the team who won it that year. We battered Fiorentina in the home leg too, we were unlucky that night that their keeper kept them in it.

We are not as bad in Europe as everyone makes out. We never had a consistant side in Europe, Johnny H was cup-tied, Mikel was still coming back from injury against Sporting and we just never wer able to field a full strength team in any game this season in Europe. If that we're to happen you would see a much better Everton in Europe

We beat some piss poor teams (even at the time) and as soon as we came up against a half decent side (Fiorentina) we bottled it and lost all our composure. The signs where even there against the likes of Larissa, Zenit and Nuremburg, we lost possession far too easily and couldn't deal with some of there passing, despite them being neat and tidy at best. As I said, that's looking at the performances, they where very up and down against lower standard European sides.

Teams like Standard Liege, Sporting clube de Lisbon and Benfica whiped the floor with us. Even in our only win against Sporting we struggled big time, they controlled the game on the night. We went long and tried to overpower them, it very rarely works at that level. I expected us to get beat in the second leg, the signs where there.

 

[billycopper]

It's funny, Barcelona have one off day and a thread like this appears.

I think they're over-hyped. I think they have one of the top three best players in the world in Messi. Xavi and Iniesta are great players when they have great players around them, such as in the national side, but individually I don't think they can turn a game like Gerrard or Lampard. Ibrahimovic is comparable to Carlton Cole- lots of good qualities and can score for fun when the standard isn't so high. I think they exchanged a better player (Eto'o) for him though. Pique, Puyol and Valdes are very capable players. I don't think that the rest of the side are any great shakes though.

I think that if you put a player of Messi's quality into any side, the players around him will raise their game. Rooney's form for United has covered up for the fact that they're a pretty ordinary side themselves. Torres and Gerrard mask Liverpool's inadequacies.

I guess the point I'm getting at is that, Messi aside, I don't feel that we're especially inferior to supposedly the best team on the planet. If we can get our system and balance right and find one more creative player to compliment Arteta and Pienaar, we won't be far from the finished article.

 

[Columbia6]

Here we go...

United lose two games, them and Ferguson are finished. Barcelona are now the world's greatest team.

Barcelona lose a game a few weeks later, suddenly they're not much either.

It's just a matter to time until everybody claims that Mourinho is finished - and was never that great to begin with - the next time Inter lose a game.