Barca 6, Valladolid 0, a.k.a. “Mercy please, Mr. Eto’o, sir.”

By: Kevin | November 8th, 2008

Welcome, everyone, to Samuel Eto’o show. But first, a bit of humor. On this very Offside, on the Man U page, back when we were shopping Eto’o, one rumor was that he was Man U bound. The lads over there didn’t like it. Wonder how they’re feeling now? Just asking.

Four goals. Four. Freakin’. Goals. And it wasn’t as much the reality of them being scored, as much as the way that they were scored.

As we all know, footy is often being in the right place at the right time. Eto’o is in constant motion out there, from pressuring keepers on goal kicks to just running around in the hopes that something will happen. This match was a vindication of that philosophy. He and the ball were simpatico today, joined in an almost telepathic bond. Even when Messi’s pass rebounded off the defender, it fell directly to Eto’o feet, sure as a pass.

It was just one of those games for our formerly cranky Cameroonian, and one of those matches for the side. As Isaiah pointed out in his preview, Valladolid are dog shite on the road. When they came out to play, running up and down the pitch and attacking as if they were at home….well, you have to admire the pluck of a lad staring down the barrel of a loaded gun, but he’s always going to find out where the bullets come from.

I admit to a “Say what now?” moment when I saw the starting XI: Valdes, Alves, Marquez, Pique, Puyol, Gudjohnsen, Yaya, Xavi, Messi, Eto’o, Henry.

Why? Because I just knew that Gudjonsen was going to be the turd in the punch bowl there. Hleb, as he showed when he was subbed, would have been much better with that group.

Things didn’t start off well, with pressure from Valladolid, mysterious long balls to nowhere, and general mucking about. Messi wasn’t passing, and everything looked kind of (okay, it’s too easy) Messi.

And then suddenly, a great pass from Yaya to Alves and an even better one from Alves, and suddenly it’s 1-0. I hope that everyone realizes the majesty of that first goal. That pass from Yaya was cross-pitch on a forward diagonal, right to Alves’ feet. And Alves was able, by falling down as he made the pass, to curl the ball directly into Eto’o’s path. And that was the game-winner.

Valladolid were still trying up to that point, and they continued to try. But when Eto’o cleaned up the garbage for that second goal, one that was again begun with an excellent pass from Yaya, this time to Messi, the shoulders slumped. You could see it. From then on, the only question was how many we would score.

Eto’o is quite clearly man of the match then, right? Dunno. I’d like to place a vote for Puyol. A win starts with not conceding goals, and our Captain was extravagant in his output of effort today. Like Eto’o on offense, Puyol was everywhere that the ball was on defense, with interceptions, clearances, a great sliding tackle in the box to prevent a sure-thing scoring chance, and upfield runs. He isn’t Abidal on that left wing, but with matches like he played today, we can safely sit until our French Greyhound returns.

Now, there were a few things that troubled me, that will be delved into in a fuller post later, but they bear mentioning now.

1. Messi holds the ball too long, too often.
2. There are signs of trouble in the ranks, from Gudjonsen giving Henry a hard time rather than celebrating the Eto’o goal, and were those words during the second goal celebration between Eto’o and Marquez? Then there was the angry exchange between Messi and Henry.
3. Messi particularly plays differently with Eto’o than with Henry.

(Got you all waiting with bated breath now, don’t I?)

But back to the gushing. This was also a match of the counterattack. Every team in the world who will watch these match highlights will say “We must be out of our minds if we attack them there Catalans.” One ball out of the back, and a defense is destroyed. They came from Alves, they came from Yaya, they came from Puyol.

The fitness is also worth noting. Late in the match, around the 80th minute, as Henry ran cross-pitch to chase down a Valladolid defender, I was thinking “He didn’t have to do that, and last season, he wouldn’t have.” It’s fitness and philosophy. We were running around like it was the 5th minute, while the Valladolid players just didn’t seem to have any gas in the tank. The fitness and will are the most impressive things about this side. Yes, the talent is there, as are the ball skills and assassins around the goal. But the starting XI isn’t all that different this season than it was last season, don’t forget.

Now, for the player ratings:

Valdes: 9. Great match. The saves that he did have to make, he had to make. He isn’t messing around in his box, clearing his lines, coming out fast and sure when he has to, and working with his back line in a way that Casillas is not this season. This season, so far for the two keepers, is a reverse of last season.

Alves: 9. He has a little ways to go yet, but from his passing to his defense to his ball control, he was full on today, playing like a man possessed. That bullet pass straight out of the box to a streaking Eto’o was just extraordinary. He’s beginning to understand how his ‘mates move and what they need from him. He’s also suddenly showing pace galore. His just-missed free kick could have been quite a goal.

Marquez: 9. Positively Puyol-like in the center of the defense today. He never put a foot wrong, clearing ball after ball, intercepting pass after pass. One point in my notes reads “More great defense from Marquez!” Exactly.

Pique: 6. He didn’t have to do much, but let me say that he plays with the damn ball too much. Twice in that match, he lost the ball just from dicking around with it, which is something that as a defender, you never want to do in your own end. It always leads to scoring chances. Just saying, is all.

Puyol: 10. Second spectacular match in a row from El Capitan, this one even better than the Basel match. He was simply amazing, with his runs, defense and ranging from sideline to center, including that one goal-saving clearance that got him plaudits from Valdes and the entire back line. He is almost the sole reason we had a clean sheet today.

Gudjohnsen: 2. He was crap today. I don’t care if he scored a goal. It was a garbage goal from, on this day, a garbage player. The moments weren’t many, but they were a legacy of shame, from him running around with the ball for what seemed like an hour, only to backpass to midfield, to that too-soft ball that almost got Xavi killed. He’s been good this season, just not today.

Yaya: 9. Monster, monster game. He has, in addition to his defense, become an offensive force with his passes out of the back. He stopped one Valladolid attack by applying just enough pressure to the passer to make him hesitate, thus forcing the striker offside. Exquisite. His play probably explains why Busquets was sitting on the bench, looking as if someone had just stolen his puppy. When Yaya plays like that, there’s no reason for Busquets to exist.

Xavi: 8. Xavi had about the quietest match of excellence that you will ever see. Today, he was the calm in the storm. His role was simply to hold the ball until the attack formed, then make the perfect pass-before-the-real pass. So he never gets an assist, but many, many goals just aren’t possible without him. I love this player, and I love to watch his economy of motion and controlled aggression.

Messi: 7. Now this might seem kind of low, but I’m not as taken in by slickness as many others are. There were attacks that he messed up simply by holding the ball too long, there was the time he stranded Henry with the ball, by lining up in an offside position and just standing there while Henry had four defenders kicking at his ankles. But then he started playing, running, driving and passing, and all was right in the world. When Messi recognizes his true role in the side, which is Wreaker of Havoc, he makes us unstoppable. He will always draw at least 3 defenders. When he passes instead of continuing his dribbling, goals rain from the heavens, from the thunderhead that is….

Eto’o: 10. What more can I add to the gushing above? Just an absolutely flawless match from him today. He was always in the right spot at the right time, never varying from his search and destroy mission. He strikes me as a shark on the pitch, constant motion until it’s time to strike. Then it’s all over but the shouting. Henry should take shooting tips from Eto’o, who usually leaves no doubt. Yes, he left a couple of goals on the pitch, but four goals? In one half? That’s just crazy.

Henry: 6. Man, was that some frustration on that goal, or what? He played too soft today. What he did he did very well, but he has to score the chances that he gets. In a closer match, those misses can come back to kill the side. And he fell down twice in the box for no damned good reason. I loved his effort today at keeping possession and creating chances. It’s scut work that he’s doing so well this season. But dammit, he’s being paid to be a striker. He and Eto’o left about the same number of goals on the pitch, but Eto’o already had four. Having said that, on the left wing, anybody who thinks that what Henry does is easy should recall when Eto’o tried the same thing in the second half, and couldn’t get free of the defense.

Substitutes:

Caceres: 6. Very, very solid. He came in for garbage time, but had a couple of very good moments, showing his pace at one interception to kill a Valladolid attack.

Keita: 5. Might have been higher had he gotten more time. His movement today began to show some of the reason we bought him. If that Henry cross were better, he gets a goal, too.

Hleb: 7. Again, more time probably brings a higher rating. The beauty of a player such as Hleb is that he always goes for the sure thing. His passes are never risky, and given the option of a slightly difficult shot vs the nice pass for a tap-in, he will always choose the latter. You can’t say enough about that kind of mentality. I’d like to see him in the Iniesta role. He’s even pale like our very own SPF.

Guardiola: 6. He persists in leaving Messi on the pitch too long. When Messi’s foot got stepped on in the second half, my notes read “He shouldn’t have been on the pitch. This game is done.” The subs could have been anyone, since Valladolid was completely cowed by that point.

Valladolid’s Away kits: 10. Love the purple stripes. Strikes the nice balance between gaudy and elegant.

Camp Nou fans: 10. That’s how you support a side. Singing and chanting? Awesome.

GolTV announcers: 2. They had a few good observations, but that idiot with his hyperbolic nattering drove me to distraction. And at one point, the calmer of the two said, referencing Messi, “I’d try to get him out of there right now.” Well Barca had already made its three substitutions, dummy.

And that’s what I know.

Some Related Barcelona Posts:

Category: Barcelona, La Liga, Review

« Preview: Barça – Valladolid, Saturday 4pmEST, GolTV | Home | Where We Stand: 100 Games Down »

Jason

http://www.goal.com/en-US/Arti...

even though the sources cited are not credible... it would suck having Arshavin go to the E.E.!!!

its part of the territory of having such a great club, you just cant fit all of the great players that are also fans into the squad. I've been a fan of Van Der Vaart's for a longtime, and when i heard he was a Barca fan i thought he would make a great addition. Although, to be quite honest... NO ONE can displace Xavi or Iniesta (i'd rather start Iniesta with crutches than hleb...)

... but still, it sucks seeing barca fans have to settle for playing for the E.E.

tragic...
Jason

guys (especially kxevin) , why is it that everytime Ronnie gets a compliment on this thread it is quickly followed by a "yeah, he's playing decent in a crappy league, but i'm sure glad he's not with us anymore!"... (im sure its baby kevin talking... not uncle kevin)
tomatutomate

Thanks Kxevin. When I wrote the Deco translation I specificlly interended to convey that feeling from what I originally felt after reading it in the source language.
Kxevin

But they don't, Ciaran. I'm sure it will be more of the same. He's threatened to not play for them if they don't sell him. We'll see how that goes.

8 race horses? Yow!

I'd replace Henry with a striker, since we're also going to lose Eto'o, probably this summer. Hopefully Krkic will be ready by then, and that classic "9" will enter the picture again.
Ciaran

The 'horses for courses' thing is basically about the way different horses react to different racing conditions. Horses have every bit as much personality as us homo sapiens do. Horses, even with the same breeding, have preferences for different 'going'. Some like hard ground, some soft ground and others like left handed courses, some right handed. Other horses get familiar with local courses and perform better on them.
For the record, I have 8 race horses.

Playing Iniesta in the flood last week was a terrible example of horses for courses. It didn't suit our little magician's slick passing and dribbling.

By the by, if we do lose Henry in the winter or summer, do we replace with a striker or out-an-out winger?
I'm still all excited about his Uefa Cup and Euro 08 performances. If Zenit had a soul then it may be possible to get Arshavin.
Charlie

Ahh I must have missed the Dos Santos talk in the previous thread. My bad.
Kxevin

Uncle Kxevin is the benevolent one. Baby Kxevin is the petulant, "What do you mean Iniesta won't be there when I'm in the Camp Nou??!! And no Abidal??!! Waaaah!"

:D
Isaiah

What's the difference between Baby Kxevin and Uncle Kxevin, anyway?

Currently, you just have multiple personality disorder, but they're all semi-lovable, so it's not a problem.

Note I said semi-lovable...Not so lovable when you disagree with me on player ratings -- Baby Zaya doesn't like that. Crap, now I'm catching it. It's contagious everyone!
Kxevin

Uncle Kxevin was on the Dos Santos case in a previous thread, Charlie. He is definitely having exploratory surgery. Bad timing, given the Spurs sudden resurgence. Guess it was just a coaching thing?

Krish, I have nothing but love for anyone who has helped the club achieve excellence. But I'm speaking truth. He does sound just as I characterized him. He's landed on his feet at Chelsea, and I wish him all the best, except when/if they play us.
Charlie

Totally random, and I'm not sure if someone has posted this yet:

Gio Dos Santos is getting very little playing time at Spurs and now might have to go in for ankle surgery.

Not that I am wishing an ankle injury on him or anything, but you have to smile at the karma involved here. He left us to go to Spurs because of playing time and now he's not even playing!
Krish

oh...then that's just not me...wonder what position he plays in...hmm..
any new word on Gai.?

Dani is a consummate professional man...

that answer to whether he was grateful to Del Nido was so badass...props to Daniel Alves

and Kevin be easy on Deco...he was outstanding in his time here...except for the last couple of months
Kxevin

Good on the Werder Bremen fans!

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/n...

Some righties unfurled a National Socialist banner, and a group of fans said "No way," and took action. Good stuff.

And Pep has part 2 of the Alves interview up. Man, I like him a lot. Another great quote (regarding being called up by Dunga but not playing at all):

"I grew up in Brazil dreaming about being part of the national team one day. Now that I'm there, it wouldn't be right to start complaining, don't you think?"

Have we cornered the market on classy players, or is it just success that is making them all so calm, cool and classy? Henry said over the weekend that Ronaldo couldn't carry Messi's jock right now (true dat). It's all just so pleasant.

And Deco, in an interview with Sport, is sounding rather like the guy who gets dumped by the pretty girl. "I was going to leave her anyhow. So there. Neener, neener." Whatever, dude. Pep has a translation up.

http://fcbtransfers.blogspot.c...
Isaiah

Krish, we actually discussed that fact a few months ago -- I think during the transfer speculation season -- and noted that it could be a big reason why Barça have retained his services (and perhaps have been able to pay him less to do so).

However, Barça is obviously still a business, so it must be a matter of both being good enough to play there.
Kxevin

Exactly, Colin. The more stationary style of Serie A is working very well for Ronaldinho. I just can't imagine him fitting in with this season's high-activity approach.
Krish

on a side note..did any of you all know iMonument Jr. Sveinn Gudjohnsen is playing in the under 10's for Barca..?
Isaiah

I had also never heard "horses for courses" so I looked it up: "Horses for courses means that what is suitable for one person or situation might be unsuitable for another."

Loves the interwebs.
eklavya

along with eto'o higuain also scored 4 goals and managed to save EE grrr....
Here's the daily dose of rumor:
Scolari now wants to have henry in the january transfer window! oh no wait...Noo, abramovich doesnt want to spend money...! So they have to either loan or buy free transfer...
Colin

I've never heard that idiom before Kevin, have to remember that one.

It certainly doesn't hurt Ronnie that Serie A is lots of standing around, he might not fit in the free flowing environs of La Liga, or the Bundesliga, where there is some beautiful football going on this season.
Kxevin

I think it's just horses for courses, Colin. Ronaldinho's current state is well-suited for Serie A. It was a smart, career-prolonging move on his part. The move is certainly looking like a bargain for them.
Colin

Ronnie with another important goal for Milan today, he's in the right place after Pato blazes past the defense. Ronnie has saved ACs bacon the past few weeks, starting with the Milan derby. He now leads Milan in goals in Serie A with four in eight games, while in La Liga Eto'o rips the net four times in a half.

Anyway, the Ronnie doubters already look wrong, he has sparked Milan to second on the table.
Kxevin

NOW, everybody's getting it. Ciaran makes good points, as does Andrew.

Rather than any particular rating system, it is simply a player's overall effectiveness during the match, taking every facet of their play into account. As Braap Paap notes, part of Henry's account includes plays such as the one that he mentions, EVEN THOUGH WE BOUGHT HIM TO STRIKE THE DAMNED BALL!! (Whew, that feels better.)

Yaya had a couple of moon balls, and Puyol had one (that's what I counted) lost ball. But Puyol's score would have been an 11 had he not lost that ball. :D He was the best player on the pitch in context, and better here than against Basel. He just looked better there because everyone else had the stank.

Good question about Messi's level of play vs the EE, Ciaran. I'd probably still give him about the same rating, but we'll find out in a month or so. Because it's still an aggregate of the player's overall effectiveness, right, irrespective of opponent.

Hope this is all making sense.

Good stat on fair play, Andrew. But in our heart of hearts, we already knew that, right?
andrew

i think there is acurse to winning the CL. think what happened to barca - we had two miserable seasons. then ac milan wins and this year they arent even in the competition. man yoo win and now they are kind of struggling a little bit. perhaps it is the complacency that slips in.
braap paap

ooooh I get it, E.E stands for evil empire. hahahaha evil empire of dirty cabrones
braap paap

Thats true. Even though henry is horrible at finishing he works his ass off like no tomorrow.

Infact him coming back to midfield, receiving the ball from puyol, side stepping a slide tackle and then passing the ball to toure, allowed toure to find alves and alves to find eto'o for the first goal.

Credit to rafa marquez whose acrobatic clearance of a cross lead to that counter attack and goal.
andrew

here are some ineteresting "fairplay" statistics from espn! barcelona are number 1. EE- 18th!

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/s...
andrew

DMANIT!!! i did it again, i left my notes at the top of that post! can kevin or isaiah delte them and make the post just read from "firstly...."

sorry i am under the weather with flu, not thinking straight
andrew

kevin right you dont know when a ball is goin gto be a goal so you dont know how far back tio watch it

mot ferari to grocery store because iniesta is ferrari

maybe a chart for jidging socres then we can see why someone got what they did - people are rated against their own ability not relatively

first of all, i think i realised something that might be a source of disagreement on the ratings. i think some people are "relatively" rating players while others are "absolute" ratins players - to borrow some archaeological terms.
what i mean by this is that to rate a player relatively means to rate his performance in relation other players on his team. in this kind of an instance, messi will very often get a ten because he is in many instances of superior skill (this is debatable i know- but staunch messi fans would agree)

to rate a player "absolutely" would mean to rate them according to their own ability. in other words, did messi play to the best of his own ability? was that the best we have and will seen of messi? no. simple. and in that way messi was not a ten.

do you see the difference between the two systems? perhaps clarification of which system is being used might help people understand the numbers but i am suspecting kevin is "absolute" rating the players.

perhaps kevin, if there was a chart which divided up players skills (eg; passing, shooting, movement etc for strikers; tackling, clearance, passing for defense etc) and we could see how each player fared in each category it would also help people understand how their scores are broken down.

i dont necessarily agrre that henry is our "ferrari" to go to the "grocery store" with because while i do think henry is a ferrari, i dont think what he is doing is going to the grocery store because that detracts from the skill that iniesta plays that left wing role with.

i also agree with kevin that most people here who are commenting on the scores have probably only watched the game once. when you rewatch it and know what you are looking for then you can see a goal and backtrack the goal for example the alves setup can be bcaked up to yaya but when watching live you dont notice that the attack goes that far back because you dont get excited for the goal until its close to the box. am i making sense? you dont watch every pass as if it is leading to a goal and so often many great setups from the back are overlooked in favour of later passes. there are many instances when the "assistor" gets credit when in fact, there should also be creidt given to the assistor of the assistor.
Ciaran

Geez Kxevin, you are getting it rough. As I said in my first post on this matter, Ratings will always be a point of contention. This is always fun.
If we start tabula-rasa then it'll always be hard to get a 10. Bar Ronaldinho's match against EE, I have never given someone a perfect 10.
Eto'o's 10 is a very close one. He's finishing was spectacular, as was his workrate.
Puyol's 10 is given through a massive Barca fan's eyes. I had noted a few giveaways from Pique, Puyol and Yaya in the first half an hour. Pique was solid after that, Yaya was dominant after and Puyol was awesome. But in the same way I could't give others a 10 I couldn't give Puyol.
His performance against Basel was better than last nights, even though they scored a goal, because it showed his professionalism amidst a lacklustre performance. Last night his lack of quality on the ball showed that he is human.
I have to say that Marquez was our best defender when he was on the pitch.

The weight of expectation on Messi's shoulders divides people. If you rate him as a human then he gets a 10 in most matches. If you rate him as the difference maker he is then it is lower. He made some great plays and his awareness was also improved over recent weeks.
Trust me when I say it, if Messi plays like that against EE or in the CL he gets a 10 in my book. I'm sure Kxevin would agree.

One final thing to add. Henry worked his socks off. His finishing was terrible but his link play was good and his workrate were fantastic. He didn't have his shooting boots on but thats life. If we rate people solely on skill then ratings mean nothing.
PM

At.Bilbao:messi didn't play and we barely won by 1-0
Shaktar: we were losing. messi came late to score 2
basel: messi came late to score. we drew 1-1.
shaktar/espanyol: messi just saved us.
All the other matches(excluding first 2 liga matches): messi played and we won convincingly or emphatically.

Whatever you want to say/rate you can but without messi we are going to lose points. Its not good for the team. But that's the way it is right now. Even my epl-supporter friends are praying for messi to get injured before they face him in CL.
RUV

re: Henry and Messi-- are you talking about the 36:15ish mark? I think they were pissed at the offside call.
Kxevin

Tomatutomate, during the celebration of the second goal, when they show the celebrations in slow-motion, you can see Eto’o and Marquez talking in what appears to me to be a rather heated fashion. Then Marquez just walks away. It’s a pretty weird moment. The histrionics with the Messi/Henry play are a riot, too. Both players are clearly pissed.

Nzuuu, you are new here. Welcome. Read the explanation a couple of posts above yours as to how I arrived at the rating that I did. It’s fair.

I’ll even bomb throw a bit and say that if Henry has the exact same match as Messi, people aren’t clamoring for his rating to be a 10, citing the very things that I noted about Messi’s play as detrimental factors.

And for the record, none of us want Messi to play like a robot with pre-programmed limits. That would make him ordinary. As a matter of fact, I'm the only naysayer here, and I certainly don't want Messi to play like a robot. But he has weaknesses, and is far from perfect. He's had better matches this season, as well.

It isn't about "creating suspense and dribbling beautifully." Lots of players can do that. It's about doing the right thing, all the time, to make the side better. Not some of the time, not for a half or 60 minutes. All the time. For a shining example of that yesterday, see one Carles Puyol. As Colin said in the match comments, it wasn't fair, because he watched the match tape beforehand, which was how it seemed.
Nzuuu

This is absolutely rubbish. Absolutely rubbish. Messi can't be given 7/10. He was so instrumental in the running of the game. He was entertaining (which our number 10's are known for). With better finishing from henry and eto'o he would have had 3 or 4 assists instead of 1. He was creating suspense and dribbling beautifully. Guys, no player is perfect but Messi is very close. Yes, I said that!!! The fans loved it soooo much and so did I. You guys want Messi to play like a robot which has limits and is programmed. He is an instinctive and decisive player who, is the best player in the world. Yah I said that as well...
tomatutomate

I think I've seen Goran at the EE side. That would the only logical explenation.

Kxevin what do you refer to when you talk about the Eto'o/Marquez thing? i have the match recorded i would like to check it out.

Henry did sweat his shirt yesterday. And Pep said he was satisfied with his work all else is water under the bridge. And Pep is not the kind of guy to just say something like that if he doesn't mean it.
Kxevin

Good question, Andrew. I think there was some speculation in the past about the wrist smelling thing, but nothing definitive.

I think that match ratings will always be a source of debate, and that debate is interesting. I can take the heat. As an arts reviewer, I once got so much hate mail that I broke a fax machine (pre e-mail days). It's all good.

When reviewing a match, I watch it very differently than when I'm just watching. There's a lot of slo-mo, frame-by-frame stuff, etc, and as stated before, I usually watch the match twice. I'm looking for everything. Every goal is a linked chain.

By way of example: The first goal, when looking at the match comments in the preview thread yesterday, a few folks credited the Alves pass, but nobody credited the Yaya pass to Alves, that set everything up. That pass was crazy.

Other times, a player's off the ball movement creates space for the likes of a Messi or Eto'o. That also gets factored into a player's rating. And what players don't do is as important as what they do. It's hard to get a 10 from me, even though I've given more than a few of them this season. They've all been justly earned.

Should Messi have gotten a 10? From me, no. The first page of my notes has comments such as "Messi gives the ball up," "Messi has to pass that ball," "Messi, pass the damn ball." To boot, there's his aforementioned stranding of Henry, by simply standing in an offside position, looking at Henry get swarmed. He should have been the outlet.

So should Messi have gotten a 10, simply for the efforts he made in setting up goals? In my book, no. Because he was far from perfect.

That's kind of what I mean. Now watching the game as a viewer, I just turn everything off and revel in the spectacle.

I'm with Jim on the true value of Messi being defined by his absence. And I think we need that absence. He's becomng like a security blanket, and I don't like that. It isn't good for the side, long-term.

Jim, I was watching the GolTV feed, which I imagine is the same one you were getting. You could see Gudjohnsen gesticulating at Henry. And I don't know what the Eto'o/Marquez thing was about, but it was clear that they weren't talking about exchanging Christmas cards.

I think Henry was a bad purchase, in the hindsight of 20/20. We thought we were buying a 30-goal scorer from Arsenal, particularly in light of the fluency of our system. Then we stuck him on the left wing, where he couldn't do his thing. Jam him back in the center short-term, and he has to almost re-learn what to do, so there again, he isn't the player he could be for us.

He's had good matches, and he's working like a dog this season. Anyone with the match still on the DVR or whatever, note that 80th-minute run over to the Valladolid attacker. The match is done. Why do it? Because, that's why.

But ultimately, we did what is tantamount to buying a Ferrari to go to the grocery store. Henry is chasing balls down, defending, being a holding player and doing setups on the left wing. Those are all admirable, but not why we bought him. Not even close.
IceMel

...as long as we're knockin' "gods" about, I thought, despite his usual brilliance, Yaya threw away a few too many balls(of course with a mere glance he caused Valladolid to cough them back up, I'm just sayin'...)

...iMonument is just on the wrong team, luvable though he is...maybe both he and Henry go MLS...I'd see my first live game were that the case.

It was great to see the counter attack thing start to happen, but a number of times it false started and I wish it had kept zooming strait ahead. Even 2 vs 3 is better than 5 vs Bus... I think Messi may be protecting his hammies, he could have blown by guys a few times but paused and waited for the army of one-touch surgeons to to arrive instead. I wanna see another gear.
andrew

gudjonhson, played 5 games scored 3. not that bad. its a 60% strike rate
andrew

again: what is the titi wrist smelling celebration all about?
Jason

isaiah, i think your spot on about the henry issue... we shoudlnt have bought him, but now that he is here, we should make better use of him. i think it goes both ways, both have improved, but TH needs to be more clinical, and stop thinking so much, and on other hand, barca can from time to time make a play that will suit his real abilities...

kevin, with great power comes great responsibility. match ratings are tough, and very subjective (although they shoudlnt...). no two people's ratings are gonna be the same, so we'll always fight you on your ratings ;-). thats what makes this place great, we all have our opinions and we can chat here, besides, youd hate if we all agreed with you all the time.

i love the fact that we are going through team after team, destroying them, and still see all the room for improvement in our squad.
Jim

I think we'll only really be able to assess the worth Messi has to our team when he sits out a couple of games. I agree with whoever suggested that we need to be careful in playing him for the full 90 in a match like this. Its easy for a frustrated opposition to decide to take it out on the tormentor in chief - and he is that. However, I suppose its also easy to underplay someone and they end up not able to contribute for the full 90 in a tough match when you need them. difficult.

Eto'o has an unbelievable talent in taking goals and I was one of the strongest supporters of him staying in the summer when a lot of people were suggesting we ditch him but for me the Xavis, Iniestas and Messis of this world are the ones who make me drool.

Great to see Puyol play so well. It has been heartbreaking watching what seemd like a decline this season. Here's hoping it continues. I have to say, after thinking Piquet would be just what we needed he seems a class below Barcelona standard on the ball. I loved Henry at arsenal but he surely won't be at Barca after the January window. I hope he has too much pride to be happy at sitting on the bench which is surely where he'll spend most of the vital part of the season.

Kevin, I missed out on most of the bad mouthing you said was going on - I watched it on Sky in the UK. Was it as bad as you were saying . . and if so, what are they thinking about? Life at this stage of the season doesn't get any better than the last few weeks.
Nolan

I can't believe we could have sacrificed Eto'o for Adebayor or Trezeguet. Sammy is still the perfect striker for this team.
RUV

Thank you Kxevin for not stooping down to the level of certain posters. You and Isaiah do a remarkable job w/ this blog and thankfully the main core of peeps here have level heads about them and can disagree w/o sounding like jackasses.

I grow weary of the TH-bashing. It's the same old thing (or "crap") w/ he's not the Arsenal TH, etc. I think its time to realign expectations. He's not the TH of old. He's not going to be the top gun here and I'd like to think even he understands this. He is at best 3rd fiddle behind Eto'o and Messi on a team whose style of play is markedly different than any other team he's played on. He has clearly lost a step and unfortunately, in this game of inches (or centimeters in europe), his finishing is off by such. Nevertheless, he's a solid (I daresay better than solid) player who contributes. He's clearly playing better than he did last year and the beginning of this year (and I think he'll continue to improve). Who knows, maybe he's getting used to playing out on the left? If one's argument is that he's overpaid, then I have no beef with that, but take it up with Laporta and whoever else brought him over w/o thinking where and how he'd fit in. Way back around the Numancia game when the anti-TH sentiment was particularly high, Genis had mentioned that the reason the soci's disliked him was that he was not "getting his shirt dirty [or sweaty]." I'd like to think that he's been putting in the effort this year, but just like ratings, this is a subject for discussion. A few more finishes and I think people would be singing his praises about finally fitting in at Barca... or at least that what I hope for every game.

Anyway, for all you nostalgic Barca fans, I wanted to share this vid clip that brought back great memories:
http://www.dailymotion.com/vid...
andrew

when we bought henry we had ronnie n the left. i think perhaps he was ideally going to rotate with eto'o or play 2 strikers? but i think he ended up in the left because of ronnies "inuries". who knows. i think it was a crazy buy. 4 galactico strikers?
Isaiah

But what do you really think, Goran? And what, no love for me?

Nice work, Kevin, always a pleasure to read. Naturally I disagree with several of the ratings, but that's what this forum is for, eh? Messi was a 10 in my book, 9 at the lowest. No, he didn't score, but he created chance after chance and it's not his fault that others didn't effectively put away some of the chances he created.

I'll admit to thinking that Guddy and Henry were trash today, but is that fair? I'd have to watch the game again to see what they contributed to midfield.

One of the things I thought about while watching it live was that there were no attacks down the middle of the field. I attributed that to Yaya, but it could just as easily be because of Xavi and Guddy's physical presences in that area. I mean, Yaya is obviously my mancrush, so I want to attribute everything good to him, but if you put 3 people in the middle of the field, you're opponents will probably go down the wings.

I did think that Henry wasted some chances and broke the flow of the offense, but it is also true that the other players weren't working well with him. I don't know what to make of that because at times they play well together, at times it's like they're on opposing teams. I was never a fan of the Henry purchase, but he is a fantastic player and that has to be considered. It's just that we have Eto'o, who I've argued for a long time is in the top 5 of best strikers in the world, if not the top 1. If we as a club weren't willing to put Henry up front, why did we buy him? I still don't understand because there are better left wingers out there.

That's all I've got right now.
Kxevin

Post-match comments from Guardiola:

“The result is a little unreal and misleading. Throughout the first half Valladolid had as many counter attacks as we had. They couldn’t finish them off, but we did because we have decisive players.”

“[Messi] didn’t score tonight but he was involved in almost all the goals. He is an extraordinary player, the kind that makes a manager look good”. Guardiola also mentioned Henry, who he described as “a striker who needs goals and we have to try to make sure he gets them”.

“We should celebrate the way so many people came. In the end, we are playing for somebody. We want the fans to get in the right mood”.
alex

k i font argrree with messi rating man what the hell are u thinkin he was part of 4 goaals man !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Kxevin

In the "ex-Barca" file, looks like Gio Dos Santos has had some bad luck. Severe ankle injury.

http://fourfourtwo.com/news/en...
Kxevin

I've suddenly become a bigger fan of Dani Alves. Pep is putting up translated text of an interview that he did with Sport. Impressive, and strong integrity.

http://fcbtransfers.blogspot.c...

Favorite quote: (regarding being contacted by the EE during his talks with us)

"Once I had given my word to Barcelona, there was no other option for me. Barcelona dealt with the issue very seriously and that was enough for me."
Kxevin

And thanks, Goran. Come back anytime. :D
Kxevin

Thanks, Fabian. I try. I always have to thank Isaiah for this space, and letting me be lucky enough to be so involved in it.

Jason, Puyol was MOTM in my view. As I said, Messi giveth and Messi taketh away. That's just how it goes. Same with Henry, same with Eto'o, though not at much today as usual.

Ratings are weird, because different people watch for different things. Goal.com gave Gudjohnsen a 7.5, saying that he "electrified" the match with his goal. So by weighting the goal so heavily, do you ignore all the bad/mediocre stuff? They did. I don't.

Long-timers will probably recall the match in which Krkic scored a brace, and I rated him a 5, because of all the other stuff that he DIDN'T do. Cruel but fair? Dunno. But that's how I roll.

Messi is, some day, going to be the player that many think he already is. He has the potential to be as destructive to opponents, as match-changing, as Ronaldinho was for two years with us. Never forget R10 almost single-handedly destroying Chelsea. Twice, if I recall correctly. Messi hasn't done that yet, on that level on that kind of a stage.

And he never will if people don't call him on his stuff. With an on-form Ronaldinho, we don't lose to Man U 1-0 on aggregate over a two-legged tie.

Yes, he's an excellent player. He isn't great yet. More importantly, he's legitimate excellence in that no matter where he goes, he'd kick out the jams. But he still has to learn off-the-ball movement, how not to become so enamored of the dribble (which must be difficult, because cheers are addictive, right?) and the great near-miss. And he has to become better at knowing when to pass, as in passing when the time is right, not when you can't dribble any farther.

I think of the previous wearer of the number 10, who did a lot of really cool things that didn't amount to much save for entertainment. As a fan, I prefer watching Xavi, or Iniesta when he's on. Because there's just the quiet effectiveness.

Which isn't to say that I'm not a fan of Messi and what he does for the side. I just don't think that he walks on water. He has the potential to, however.
Goran

Giving Guddy only 2 for his performance only highlights your lack of understanding of this game and your lust for dramatic headlines. What a bunch of fucking crap your writing is.
PM

If messi was passing too often he would become predictable. Now defenders can't figure out whether he is going to take them all by himself or pass the ball to someone. I think "holding the ball for long" is part of messi's game and he is balancing well between 'holding it' and 'passing it'.
Fabian

Kevin, I really love your reviews. They extend the good feelings after games like this one.
Waleed

one more thing I really happy enjoyed was the counter attacks, Eto'o and Messi conducted a couple of them brilliantly, we'll need them in more hard games
eklavya

on a side note, manU lost to arsenal thanks to nasri, he had a great game yesterday...
Krish

bhanu i hope you are joking...
swapnil

wonder how barca are managing to play so well.while real make life difficult for themselves for winning barca just stroll past teams like its training.what a great football!!!pep has done something right since arriving!!
Söderström

Seriously Pep, choosing Gudjohnsen over Hleb? What is that?

And Kevin - nice to see someone not totally obsessed with Messi's dribbling skills and such. Yes, he has an incredible talent, but he's not THAT great... yet. When he has improved his passing and, I don't know what it is called in English... sense for play? No, sounds weird. Anyway, he sure will. Then, he will be truly amazing.
bhanu

I wish barca looses messi to realise his true potential.he is god and that's obvious when barca plays without him.he is the one who destroys defence and the etos of the world score. Messi is god in soccer!
Jason

and remember kids;

"God, Homeland, and Barca!"
Jason

Ok... i understand if you all will disagree, and i dont want to take anything away from eto'o, but Messi was CLEARLY the man of the match there... a 7? if his teammates created HALF the chances for him, that he created for them, then he could have gotten 4 goals easily, and then you have to give him a 10 right? based on scoring so many?

Most people will say that its easy to choose messi as man of the match, but i think that hunger for the goal made him play better this game. Not to mention if Henry was half the striker he was at arsenal, Messi would have at least two more assists.

His passing was great today, his energy, and yes, he tends to hold on to the ball sometimes, but thats like blaming a striker for shooting to often, its just part of his game. Its easy to say he held on too long when the ball ends up at the feet of the opposition, but when he leaves 3 defenders behind and scores, i dont hear anyone asking "where's the pass?"

I think Gudjohnsen played better than most think. And at least he converts his chances. Anyone who thinks Gudy's goal was as simple as hitting it in should look at Henry's crappy shooting.

Im seconding Xavi taking all near set-peices, and Dani taking the farther ones. Im pretty sure if we could read asenjo's thoughts they would have read "good thing it went out, cuz i sure as hell wasnt stopping that..."

Marquez and Puyol were amazing today. In completely opposite ways. Marquez was cool, calm and collected, and industious. anything came near, and it was destroyed immediately. Deffinitely used his positioning to cover his pace. Puyol on the othe hand, was not cool, or calm, but it suited him. He was all over the place, like a madman. He just ran around anywhere looking to put out a fire on our side, or start one of his own on the other. I was blown away by Puyols Athleticsm today. I want to see Canavarro try that one of these days...
Barca4life

Everybody seems harsh on henry these days. He actaully had a good game, very involved in the attacks, got one goal, one assist, and one shot that lead to a rebound goal.

Did anyone notice that since that Espanyol game, every league game that henry has played in, he has either scored or assisted? He's doing ok.
BA

just like to point out that Messi is, in fact, a deity.
Genis

Kevin, I think that, somehow, a couple of your ratings have been exchanged, since, obviously, that "2. He was crap today. I don’t care if he scored a goal. It was a garbage goal from, on this day, a garbage player...", can only refer to Titi Henry.

Please fix it asap. TIA.
Ramzi

Kxevin "Wonder how they’re (Man UTD) feeling now? Just asking. "
I think they Feel their Roni is the best striker in the world, thats how it goes in UK if you know what i mean...

Eto'o was great, but I agree Puyol was the man, and messi - even though YES he still have that over dribbling virus - but he was the opportunities generator. I think he generated as much assists for henty as he did for eto'o.

Kxevin one note is that, henry has to adapt with his team mates not all his team mates has to adapt with him.

Gudi was in the field because he can close the midfield from the left helping Puyol so he don't feel a sergio Ramos (lonely), thats why he played instead of Hleb, I think he wasn't amazing and he will never be a sexy guy on the field but his supportive role could be noticed by comparing him to Sanchez in basel game, I like how calm he was in front of the goal (it wasn't as easy to finish that ball as it seems, the GK closed the angle really well).

Regarding the Ratings, i think there is no right or wrong ratings, it depend on your criteria as a person, whether you go up or down make a big defference, I dont even take it as serious as u guys do, because i dont know how you benchmark Eto'o and Valdes for example on the same scale, for example in a game where Valdes get no opportunities to block (because the other team is bad) and messi score a hatrick for the same reason, how will the rating be fair then, its not valdes fault he didnt shine right?

So lets taske the ratings the way it goes, and its better to criticize the defects while winning as kxevin try to do here, for me that give him a better credit to criticize when we lose.
Great game.
Justin

Hahaha. GolTV ratings. That's hilarious. I don't mean to sound mean but that other guy sounds like Stephen Hawking.
tomatutomate

OhYes- I just disagree in calling him "Crap". Far from it. That shot on goal that went straight to the keeper was by no means easy. It was a no-look shot that he could not have done better with other than sending it to the back of the net. The goal he scored was not much better than Eto's second. He worked his but off and the goal eluded him. The fans saw his hard worked and applauded his goal. I don't think anyone was crap including Gudjohnson.
Kxevin

Another review, another series of attacks for my ratings. But no worries. I expect it. When I'm rating, I'm not a fan of anyone. I start from 0 and work up.

And by any bias-free evaluative standard, Gudjohnsen got what he deserved. The goal doesn't absolve him. He just didn't know where to be today. It's fun to watch the match again, noticing what Xavi does and what Gudjohnsen do. Yes, both technically do the same thing, but Xavi is so much more effective.

The play I cite in which Gudjohnsen ran around with the ball, dribbling just outside the Valladolid box, only to backpass to the midfield, is but one example. And he didn't keep the ball moving.

The nice thing about this site is that all of my reviews are there for anyone to backcheck. Gudjohnsen gets credit when he's good. Everyone does, irrespective of whether I'm a fan or not. But they also get it when they're bad. That one pass from him got Xavi creamed, and he was limping a little bit after the challenge he took in trying to win the ball. A better pass and Xavi takes the ball without a side helping of cleat.

Today, Henry did the due diligence that Eto'o and Messi didn't. Yes, the work of Messi and Eto'o is more glamorous. What's more glamorous than scoring goals? Holding off two defenders or chasing a ball down to keep possession for your side, then passing to the guy who does the cool thing is easily forgotten.

My problem with Henry's good work is that he's paid to be a striker. But can you really downgrade someone for not doing what they're paid to do, when they're working hard and the job that they do is essential to the side's success, right? Good question. I say no.

You can, however, downgrade someone for playing soft, and not making chances that they should. Henry had a better game than people will give him credit for, because very little of what he did, as Tomatutomate noted, shows up in the stat sheet. But 1 goal and 2 assists ain't a bad night. Yes, it was a junk time goal, but statistically, so was every goal after the first one. Valladolid never really looked like scoring, thanks to Valdes, Marquez and Puyol.

Regarding Messi's rating, he had a lot to overcome from that bad period. And he still holds the ball too much, and shoots when he should pass. He did both too much today. People forgive because it's Messi. If we wouldn't forgive Henry for those same things, we shouldn't forgive Messi.

Henry is in a tough spot. He gets the ball out there on the left wing and if he doesn't do something spectacular and/or score a goal, he sucks, is overpaid and should be sold. That's why I believe that he's outta here at the end of this season. It's a tough row to hoe, psychologically and physically.

Henry is a striker, moonlighting as a winger. And as I said, the fact that the players, particularly Messi, play differently with him is a whole 'nother matter.

By way of example, Messi was pissed because he made an outside pass to Henry, who cut inside. Henry ALWAYS cuts inside. It's what a striker is supposed to do when angling toward the goal. Why would a striker ever move away from goal? So whose fault was it when the play went awry? Henry's in many eyes, because Messi is a deity.

I think the larger problem is that teammates aren't adapting to Henry's style, which is still very different from the style of the other Barcelona players. It's why he was so effective playing center, taking long passes. That's what he does. If we weren't going to at least try to adapt to his style, we shouldn't have bought him. He's adapted to the team's style, and has shown willingness to do the unglamorous stuff. You bet he's frustrated. I don't blame him.
OhYes

tomatutomate:

Let's be fair here.. one of those assists isn't that much of an assist. he took a shot, the ball came off the keeper and it happened to land directly under Eto'o. Henry shouldn't have taken that shot in the first place. He shot it towards the far post, where he had no chance due to the keeper's position. These are the kind of shots that matter when the scoreboard is a little closer because they generally don't land at the feet of your best striker and they are generally lost to the defense.

The goal he scored was a simple one. Nothing too crazy. Hleb was the one who did most of the work there.

But Henry also lost the ball on many occasions, although he did put up a few very good plays that unfortunately for him did not lead to a goal. I'll give him that, but overall I'd say he wasn't very good this game.

Maybe I've got a bias going on here and I only noticed the plays he screwed up. I'll pay extra attention to him for the next few games and I'll try to reach a more objective conclusion.
ballbeav

lemme say, i love kevin's reviews. turd in the punch bowl? i laughed good on that one.

though i agree with the others, i dont know how you can give messi only a point higher than henry. i think maybe you are grading messi harder because his potential is maybe greater. but in terms of our attack today, messi was so much a greater part of it than henry. henry made me groan too many times. the flow of play often seems to die when henry gets the ball, like he is disassociated from the offense somehow. you could tell he was frustrated even with his own play by the way he kicked the ball for his goal, this was just a poor match from him, theres no way around it.

either way, it was a great match to watch, a beautiful spectacle, so i cant say that the wrong men were out there on the pitch...i just want henry to live up to his name, that's all.
tomatutomate

OhYes- Henry was not crap. He made some poor choices when it comes to finishing-he chose to slick it passed the keeper too many times rather than just unloading- but the second goal does not happen if it wasn't for him. That no-look shot on goal was spectacular not to mention extremely difficult, the pass to Gudjohnson and the one he made. 2 assists and 1 goals is not crappy at all. Its just that when your out there with Eto'o any other striker seems less awesome.
tomatutomate

I can't believe I'm about to say this but: Gudjohson deserves some love. With one chance he scored ( it took Henry 5) and he did not suck on the field. As a matter of fact he played a lot of good passes and even helped with recovery. No one deserved less than a 5 in this game. No hate on Henry because I think that we do not get 3 of those goals if it wasn't for him.

BA sometimes its best to make the safe pass because you drag a defender or two towards you and open up those behind you.

I had a flash back watching Marquez he was crazy good today, not just in defense but offense as well. With some 7 great long passes from the back and he commbined with the forwards in attack. Truly awesome! I say a 10 for him too. Puyol's effort merited a 11. By the way the fact that the first person that Guardiola subed was Marquez really shows how much Pep values him. I loved Caceres speed.
OhYes

I agree with BA.. You were a little harsh on Messi who did create a lot of chances and he was not being as selfish as he usually is. Sure, he messed up a couple of plays by holding on to the ball for too long but he made up for it by creating many more opportunities--half of which turned into goals. The thing that aggravates me about him is that sometimes he becomes obsessed with scoring a goal and most of the time, it will ruin his game. It didn't happen here, but it seemed like he was getting frustrated near the end of the game.

Henry was crap again and it's hard to say that because he's a legend. He has not been playing very well this season. Even on his best day he's just mediocre. Sorry Henry. :(

The whole game was just magnificent. The passing, the scoring, the defending.. what a wonderful game.
Ciaran

I think ratings are something that will always cause differences of opinion but a 2 for Gudjohnsen is a little bit biased. Xavi and Gudjohnsen both played support roles today and Xavi gets an 8? A higher rating than Messi? I can't agree.
Messi setup a few goals and had Henry's (and Eto'o's) finishing been better he would've had four assists.
I personally just saw the beauty of Messi's setups vs the attempts to dribble through walls. Our Messiah is growing up methinks.

Dani Alves shot from about 40 yards and the keeper didn't even move. If he gets free reign to take free kicks outside 30yards and Xavi does the business from close we are gonna make life very hard for opposition.

Sergio Ramos has moved to no.2 in EE's list of players sent off most in their history... It only took him 3 1/2 seasons though. His timing in tackles is so bad. I like him but its awful
RUV

I wonder if the trouble started when Eto'o blew right by Henry after his 2nd. Anyway, I'm curious to hear what you say about whatever happened (and when it happened).

For all the flak that Puyol got earlier this year, he sure has proven to be the Man. Right, left, center... he just gets the job done.

One thing I didn't like during the game-- it appears that our strategy on corners is to knock it to Marquez on the near post again like times past. I wish we'd show a little more creativity.
BA

i'm wondering how many goals Messi has to create to merit a high score from Kevin? he made 4 today. does he need 5? 6? 3 of Eto'o's goals came from Messi, and the bright little slipped-through ball to Hleb for the final goal was provided by Messi. far as i'm concerned he can hold onto the ball as long as he likes if he keeps putting in performances like this. Henry was by most estimations terrible and was only a point behind? come on.

we played really well today, and the whole squad deserves plaudits, but to single out Eto'o, Messi, Yaya, Puyol and Rafa would be fair i think. The Cap'n & Rafa Show was marvelous today; they both were foot-perfect, an exhibition on the idea that when you play smart with your positioning and keep your energy up you don't need to be lightning fast.

Gudjohnsen was crap. slow, unwieldy, a terrible first touch, and he always made the safe (read: unproductive) pass. the sooner we sell him and replace him with a real player the better.

Henry was also not good at all. i hate criticizing Henry, because i know what kind of player he was, but i don't know how much more time to give him. it might be time to assume he's just not able to play the kind of game we demand from him. i'm pretty confident that he would, however, decimate the MLS. i think it's looking more and more like his destination will be that Miami club we're looking at purchasing.

Alves had a good game, but by Dani Alves standards he's still not up to his full potential. he seems to be improving to reach that form though, which is a very hopeful sign.
Waleed

the fans were grat today I agree, they made a big difference
but i think you was a bit harsh on Gudi, he's not the best MD we got but we kinda need a scoring mid. with the expected injuries we need him to be fit and ready for a real challange , dont forget he is just recovering, and if you think his goal is easy watch the videos again, he made it look so.
good night for me!!