I agree with you that CR is wrongly criticized much more than he should be, but you are also being a little hard on messi right now

It was only iniesta and fabregas out. I thought they could win without them?

Did you see Sergi Roberto play? He was literally doing nothing. Very little creativity from the midfield. Iniesta has been out for a while now. Xavi was needed in the absence of Busquets

I agree. But I also think Barcas back line were a bit sluggish today

I agree. Pique was s**t today. When you play a 3 man defence, you're bound to get exposed a few times. The fact is Pep is using this formation to counter his defensive problems. He literally has no players to play at the back because Alves is used more as a winger than an RB. So Puyol is being moved to RB (where he originally started his career) and Pique is in the center. Pique is quite slow on certain days (like today) and Abidal and Puyol are slow because of old age. Which is why there is a big problem at the back in Barca. Jose plays counterattacking football with Barca to expose this flaw because the way the entire Barca team moves up trying to attack, its quite difficult to track back with slower players. Mascherano isn't as good as Busquets in dropping back and controlling the center of the field when needed

As great of a reputation as the Barca squad has made for themselves, they're gonna' need some reforms. Puyol and Abidal are already more trouble than they're worth, and I'm afraid the same thing will happen to Xavi too. I think Pep recognizes this inevitable truth, and thought he would use today to expiriment with new players. However, Barca is known for how they draw heavily from their own youth (a very noble thing to do if you ask me) rather than buying experienced players. Today they bit off a little more than they could chew I guess

Franky - I really think Pep has given up on Liga and we are playing champions league on Tuesday hence Xavi and Ineista is not used. I don't like Pep's idea of experimenting in away games since our form has dropped. He should do this at Home and play the best combination away from home.

Whether Messi likes it or not he should be rested. I think Madrid is doing better this season due to performance from all 3 forwards and Barca's rhythm is out of sync due to injuries to Villa and Pedro. I don't think Messi and Alxis has build a good understanding yet.

@Tititakaafcb Messi and Sanchez haven't come to a good understanding yet.... But I think Barca had to make that buy, along with Cesc. For some reason, one lineup always starts to lose focus after a couple years.... Those to purchases will help Barca move on

I absolutely agree. Experimenting during away games is a bad idea. I do understand that he is focusing more on UCL because honestly, Barcelona makes more money from UCL than in La Liga. The Barca brand has shot up in the last 5 years because of their performances in UCL and even though there is a slight chance Barca could come back in La Liga, its a done deal. With Busquets out and Iniesta and Pedro coming back from injuries it seems like Pep had no other options.

I am very happy with the way Thiago, Cuenca and Tello have developed. I think Tello is an excellent prospect for Barca considering that he's good on both wings. Thiago is getting more and more confident by the day and he will be ready to take over from Xavi by the end of next season.

I think Barca have to go shopping this summer to strengthen their defence. They need a LB and CB badly because next season will surely be the last for Puyol and Abidal

Haha Just being able to beat Real Madrid? Whom did they beat at Wembley? Its a shame when classless fans like you come out and belittle the great team that Barca has. Even Ferguson has praised Barca as one of the all time best teams comparing them to his 1999 team. In case you didn't see, the team is not playing at full strength and Pep is using his youngsters to develop them further. Unlike Man you, Chelsea, Madrid.... Barca develops talent. So sometimes you lose but in the long run, Barca will stick Man U's ass anytime, anywhere!

Man UTD is like a Valencia in spain LOL

The entire football world full of experts, former players, journalists.... Are a bunch of idiots to praise Messi, right? What a joker!

Messi is over rated.... A lot more respect should be given to Ronaldo he has proved more to me...

I don't think you read my comment properly. Yes, they have beaten some good teams, but they have played the most absurd football (which is nothing more or less than being cocky) with some really below par teams. You barca fans will never change, You think Man you, Chelsea, Madrid are not developing youngsters? Let me name a few to open your eyes, welbeck, smalling, evans, jones, sturridge, a di maria, callejon. In fact Man UTD used all those youngsters and today they are on top of their table and they play in a far more difficult league than La liga. But that does not make Man UTD great, just a good team. I said Barca is a good team, no denying that, but they lost to osasuna today, Coulbn't beat 6 other below par team in the last few days. You have to be a fanatic to believe what you believe, just a fan would accept reality and applaud them for being a good team. And as I said, if any of the other better forwards were playing with the same midfield, you would have a totally different opinion about messi. And please don't use others (journalists, coaches etc) to make a point. That's called a fallacy. Use sound logic and your own "rational" judgement to make a point. Be better than an average Barca fan

Damn footycray you do know your football.... Cheers to you and great victory from man. You today

FootyCray, I was sort of agreeing with what you had to say for a while.... You had some good points, but you exaggerate sooo much! Barca last year and the year before was one of the best teams of all time, but this year they have sort of lost their poise (This year is the first in a while that Real Madrid has looked equally dangerous in el classico on a couple of occasions, despite coming out with zero wins). Messi DOES have football's best touch, but while he is a superb finisher, I think he is slightly overrated in that category. And there are plenty of players that are more dangerous than him from several different places (headers, free kicks, penalties, or anywhere from distance). However, Messi is far more intelligent, and is a better team player than any of the players you listed. So while many player's would have equally impressive stats with Barca's midfield, Messi still fits in much better. And this team that he fits in so well with, just so happens to play the best style of play there is, no doubt about it! It is by no means cocky! Like you said Barca fans do tend to flatter themselves more than most (fans of any club do to some extent), but they often have a good reason to

I don't think you understand what developing talent really means. Out of the players you named Welbeck and Evans are the only players who came out of youth ranks for United. Let me help you out there because you forgot Cleverly. Phil Jones came from Blackburn and Smalling came from Fulham and Middlesborough. Sturridge came from Villa to City and then to Chelsea.

Di Maria? Are you out of your mind? Do you know where he started before he joined Benfica? Do you even understand what developing youth players means? It does not mean buying youth players that other clubs developed. Fabregas is considered a Barca youth product not Arsenal's even though Arsenal gave him the chance to play. Callejon is the only player other than Casillas who came from Madrid's youth system.

Compare all of these players, you have Messi, Puyol, Iniesta, Xavi, Pique, Busquets, Valdez, Tello, Cuenca, Thiago, Fabregas.... All coming from La Masia.

I don't think you understand the ABC of football. Calling Barca football, absurd? You're speaking like a borderline retard.

And who exactly is below par here? Man Utd got their ass handed to them twice. Madrid can destroy any team in the world including ANY team in EPL but they get beat by Barca regularly. Chelsea, Arsenal, Milan.... Have all seen what Barca is capable of. Nobody is being cocky here. YOU are the one who is being disrespectful without having any factual information to back your idiotic opinions. You don't even realize that when you say "below par" you're calling EPL champions below par. Joker! Ha

Pep Guardiola likes to experiment. He has used different team setups for around 30 games this season, something no manager does and he has had great success.

Nobody is applauding their performance today. I think Xavi needed to be used instead of Sergi Roberto to bring some creativity. The fact is when you try out things, you're bound to lose.

You're a fool to discard journalists and coaches. What is your's and my opinion worth? Coaches are the best judges of all players and they unanimously believe that Messi is the best player on earth right now. Only a fool can go against them and call Messi okay. Do you think Maradona played fantastic every game? Rational judgement is based on factual information. Go check Messi's records - his goals, assists, overall performance.... Your entire post is based on your bias. Keep it to yourself. Its worth nothing!

Great teams play in the champions league and Barca has won it 3 times out of last 6 beating Man UTD twice. If this does not make them the best in the last 6 years then let us know what a great team is.

On Developing youngsters I guess your facts are not correct. Smaling vs bought from Fulham, Jones from Blackburn, sturridge is from mancity and di maria was bought from Benifica also even though callejon was a RM youth he was sold and just bought last season. So out of your examples on Welbeck cam from the Man UTD Academy.

And you are saying don't talk about other Journalist and experts and you are talking about referees favoring Barca what a cheap way to console your self.

Lastly, Barca is still playing in champions league and Man UTD is in Europa league. Lilhomz doesn't know anything about football and thinks footycray knows a lot. What a joke

Franky said some really creditable stuff there

Footycray: Its so amusing to see such statements from you:

"Give that same midfield to Rooney, ronaldo, ibrahimovic, van persie, or any other great forward"

What are you basing this on? You talk about rationale? Can you explain your rationale behind this statement? Ibra? Did you know he played for Barca with the same midfield that Messi has? Also, do you know that Messi does not play striker but rather a forward/attacking midfielder? His goals/assists record is unmatched for the past 2-3 years. Do you think he won Ballon D'Or trophy thrice for goals? His overall performance lifts the team to great levels. Remember champions league final? Messi scored one goal and created the 2nd.

Ask any coach in the football world whom they would pick out of a lineup of RVP, Ronaldo, Ibra (what a joke!), Rooney and Messi? Ronaldo would be the only one closest to Messi. Please! You don't make any sense

Just cause they bought those players has nothing to do with developing talent. All those players are young and are in development stages of their career. Not all deserve to play at the level they are playing and are given a chance to play at that level so they can develop their talent. I always maintained Barca has beaten some good teams and that makes them a good team, but you cannot argue that referees haven't helped them in very crucial games (against chelsea and madrid). If you disagree, you either only watch "Barcelona TV" or you haven't seen those games (or their replays). I agree with PortYoder quite a bit, and we have our difference of opinion but that is what a healthy argument is all about. Whereas Franky4fingers, think twice before you call somebody a retard, may it never happen, but someone in your family could turn out that way and you may end up being really sorry for your often use of that word. I maintain my position and I don't think Barca or messi are worthy of being called the "greatest team of all times", they have been good, on occasions best, but not the greatest

@footycray

I'm not a Barca-fan but once I have to defend them.

1. Yes Barca was lucky against Chelsea in the semis, but they were unlucky against Inter and against Real they were much better
2. Talking about youth development and name players like Di Maria, Jones, Smalling.... Speaks for itself
3. Always the same arrogant attitude. EPL the best league in the world. You are first in EPL, City second so why you were kicked out of champions league in a poor group and City also? Why you got owned in the last two finals from Barca like they own average La Liga teams?
4. Yeahh Messi overrated.... Look at the stats, look at the games, look at the trophys. He is already one of the greatest of all time. He is the one who make the difference for Barca in the last 4 years.

5. Stop watching football, you showed everybody you have no idea about football

I would personally call barca much more than "good", but I suppose it depends on your connotation of the word. You should probably mention that Barca is probably the "goodest" team in the world right now, Real being the only one coming dangerously close. After Manu thrashed us early in the season I would have said they are up there, but the rest of their season hasn't been as convincing

In football, when you use the term "developing youth talent" it means using players from your youth system. What you're referring to is having the foresight to pick up young players out of other clubs' youth systems. Ferguson and Wenger are masters of that. But that isn't the same as comparing Barca using La Masia talent.

And please stop the bs about refs. You guys make me sick. Barca has gotten hosed by refs many times. You cry about Chelsea? In the last few away games they have had many penalties denied including a couple of handballs. In fact, if you watch Barca play, they don't get as many penalties as they should because refs have a tendency to even out the game. And Madrid? How many games have Madrid played when they should have had at least 2-3 players sent off but they didn't? And if you're crying about refs, did you watch the game today? Osasuna got their 2nd off an offside and Barca got a goal denied. I still think Barca lost because of their underperformance.

Also, when you call Barca a good team and then call Man Utd a good team as well, then you just don't know how to give out grades. All teams have stages when they have a superb team but very few have teams which play at the level that Barca is playing at. I don't believe they are the "greatest" team. They can't be because you can't compare club teams with national teams. They are definitely high up there with the all time greatest club teams.

The true reality.
Barca have been great in the past couple of years and Messi was also great.
This season they have not been great but they were very good, and tonight just like in the past couple of games they were quite average....
The fact is that Messi has helped Barca numerous times to win by dribbling players and scoring without the help of his teammates.
People say they were helped by referees, but I say every team was helped by the mistakes of referees.
The fact is they beat Real, Man you, Arsenal, Chelsea and the other top teams, and this was only because they were the better side, so stop it with the excuses.... Man up and let things be how they happened.
Some people say that this Barca side is the best football team in the history and the most successful, but I don't agree with that. For sure they were among the top as one of the best, but not the best. And same with Messi.... He is one of the best, but not the best.
Come on people.... Let things be how they were, let's not change things through opinions that come from some jealous minds and unrealistic minds that disables these type of minds to not accept the reality of how things really happened. This also goes for some Barca fans who exaggerate and think too high of their club, accept reality how it was and is, do not alter it through a biased opinion.

Agree with Footycray to be honest. I agees that if not for some terrible ref's (corrupt if you ask me), I also doubt Barca would have won the champions league as many times.

An excellent team, no doubt.

Whats with all these essays?

Though, up to Osasuna. They played a great game!

According to reputation barcelona can win both but unfortunately they will miss out this year.... Well its ok every teams have their own style but don't forget they have weaknesses too...

May be just the league cup.... . Not sure on that either...

^ Bilbao will beat us? They have the potential too but how can you say you aren't sure on that either? Barcelona are clear favourites

Wow, such modesty...

Lol

Right here!

I don't think Barca has problems up front. Its the back line. They don't have enough players to rotate with Puyol and Abidal. Fontas was supposed to be full developed by the end of this season but he got injured. Let's see if Barca buy new players this summer to strengthen their defence

I think they've got problems both places, though the back has certainly been more obvious. I think Mike Richards could work for them, although he could be more offensive than they'd like...

I doubt city will let go of Richards

Yeah, I now eh? The Europa League will be brilliant along with 2nd place for a veeeeeeery long time in the Premier League. I agree, let the good times roll on bro

You got to be crazy to write off United to win the premiership now. United have been there and done that, pressure on City. Its only going to get more and more difficult now they are playing catch up at times. And why vent your frustrations on another team?! LOL

Cgroyalba is going bonkers! Relax kid doesn't even look like your own team lol

Guys, guys it's all in the name of fun In all honesty, I just like to strike up a storm to see what happens. Hell, I'd pick Man UTD to win the league now. Doesn't mean I can't poke fun at others while the season is still on goin'

It's part of bein' a fan, ze banter! There's a reason I'm a fan of Mogun Bagan AC. I wanna see what jokes other people can come up with to make fun of me. There are clever people here, I just wanna help bring out the best in them.

Cheers

It's just a natural thing for haters, they wait for a couple slip ups or a bad period of form to try and justify what is really wishful thinking rather than logic