Re: Phil Ball: Barca plays anti football away

by The Franchise Wed Sep 14, 2011 1:51 am

More then 15% (maybe even a touch more) then no, I agree. But you could even combine methods, I think Valencia did that once. They pressed very had early, got a goal and then for the rest of the game sat back and defended. Of course you have to score in that time you press, or you urn ou of gas but its a sounds tactic I felt. I thought Arsenal were actually going to copy that and I certaintly thought Man Utd would. I was surprised neither really did.

You said, when Milan get the ball, they would lose it because they dont hold it well. I agree. But I think if you press high up the pitch, your aim is to win the ball before it gets to the half way line. So, when you win it, they dont have to hold it long, they can go direct to goal.

Of course this means they never get a break from pressing, which is why of course there is a limited time you can hope to do it. Again, you probably need a goal and then once fatigue sets in you can take your foot of the pressing and sit back.

No need to thank me, but I do appricate it.

And intresting last line, that would be an entire new discussion but an intresting one none the less.

by jibers Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:52 am

Great thread.

by michael1 Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:03 am

I guess what hes tryin to say is it was like watchin spain at the last world cup all 1 nil wins with them just playin keep the ball was boring shit.

Dnt think they played one entertaining match that whole tournament.

Dnt watch a lot of barcelona due to not being there biggest fan but honestly i wont say its anti football but dear god is it boringgg.

Wouldve loved to have seen germany pick up that world cup with the football they were playing.

by billionmillion Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:06 am

This big mouth reporter is crazy.

As if keeping the ball is easy thing. every team would do it. but they cant

Also most of teams park the bus vs barcelona, this is what anti-football called. Play attacking football against barcelona you will see what is entertainment match

by Lord Spencer Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:11 am

billionmillion wrote:This big mouth reporter is crazy.

As if keeping the ball is easy thing. every team would do it. but they cant

Also most of teams park the bus vs barcelona, this is what anti-football called. Play attacking football against barcelona you will see what is entertainment match

As in Barca raping the other team into submission. Playing attacking football against Barca is suicide if you don't have the players to do it.

by billionmillion Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:21 am

Ok they dont have players, but who cares they need to entertain spectators. attack and play entertaining football. If you dont attack, no opposition will able play entertaining football

by jibers Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:24 am

By great thread I meant the last 2 pages on tactics, not the OP. The most entertaining games are the games that are end to end and open. Barcelona have found a healthy mix of entertaining, control and winning. There is no such thing as anti football. You play to your teams strengths. Barcelona are bad at defending in phases as Pep noted when he became coach so he said that they must press high up.

by jibers Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:27 am

michael1 wrote:I guess what hes tryin to say is it was like watchin spain at the last world cup all 1 nil wins with them just playin keep the ball was boring shit.

Dnt think they played one entertaining match that whole tournament.

Dnt watch a lot of barcelona due to not being there biggest fan but honestly i wont say its anti football but dear god is it boringgg.

Wouldve loved to have seen germany pick up that world cup with the football they were playing.

Did you see what most of the teams where doing? Spains where playing against teams with 10 men behind the ball, how the hell would they be entertaining. I admit their games were a bit of an eye sore but it was hardly their fault. They controlled the game and dictated the game and from a purist perspecvtive it was great, but for the average football lover it must have been hell to watch.

by michael1 Mon Oct 17, 2011 10:00 am

jibers wrote:
michael1 wrote:I guess what hes tryin to say is it was like watchin spain at the last world cup all 1 nil wins with them just playin keep the ball was boring shit.

Dnt think they played one entertaining match that whole tournament.

Dnt watch a lot of barcelona due to not being there biggest fan but honestly i wont say its anti football but dear god is it boringgg.

Wouldve loved to have seen germany pick up that world cup with the football they were playing.

Did you see what most of the teams where doing? Spains where playing against teams with 10 men behind the ball, how the hell would they be entertaining. I admit their games were a bit of an eye sore but it was hardly their fault. They controlled the game and dictated the game and from a purist perspecvtive it was great, but for the average football lover it must have been hell to watch.

That was hardly the case to be honest, this posession footbal is just the way spain play and im sssuming so do barca, its not anti football but its bloody boring if i wanna see keep the ball ill do it in fifa with my Mids and defenders just playin it back and forth between each other and then deciding to Go forward once and every while, while blockin out the chance of the other team tryin to play football.

by eelir Mon Oct 17, 2011 10:17 am

The problem, for me at least, resides less in the financial disparity than in the attitude of some of the bigger clubs to the game in general. At the risk of attracting a flood of abuse, I was almost tempted to leave Anoeta at half-time on Saturday. I'm eternally glad that I didn't, but Barcelona's version of tiki-taka that they sometimes export to away stadiums is really a version of anti-football, undignified in its complete disregard for the spectator and for the opposition, it has to be said. As one Basque journalist put it, the gilifutbol of Barcelona (hard to translate - ask a Spanish-speaking friend) will lose them friends, and will play into the Bernabeu's hands.

Barcelona are more likely to play their more electric version of tiki-taka in the Camp Nou, but if folks are calling you the best team in the world then you have some sort of obligation to entertain. Football's a business, okay, but playing keep-ball - technically impressive though it is - for 45 minutes of tedium is not what people have paid good money for. It's all part of the rules, sure - but it is no less tedious than the much-despised catenaccio. It also seems to be taking the p*** slightly, as if Xavi and company are engaged in some sort of playground mockery of their fellow professionals. It annoyed Real Sociedad, who for various reasons were useless in the first half, and it brought them out snarling for the second. The visitors, who had initially left Messi, Iniesta and Villa on the bench - another gesture of indifference to the paying spectator - were knocked off their stride and ended the game looking very ordinary indeed.

'The best team in the world', from another perspective, is not the one that holds the most trophies but rather the one that seeks consistently to entertain. At the moment, the two best teams to watch are Real Madrid and Manchester City. Hate them for their money, or love them because you were born into their cultural cradles, but they are playing some fantastic, vertical, speedy stuff. This is all the more ironic given the reputations of their respective managers for pragmatic caution.

It's also true that Barcelona's two quick goals in Anoeta were a result of technical and tactical brilliance, but that was the first ten minutes. Goals scored, shut up shop, tiki-taka till you drop, leave your stars on the bench and then prepare for the real thing in midweek, the Champions League match against Milan. Thank you and good night. Messi and Iniesta did appear when things were starting to get rocky, but they were too late to have any influence. Messi was actually booked for diving in the area, but I would hesitate to say whether the referee got it right.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story/_/id/955770/phil-ball:-back-in-the-swing?cc=5901

In my opinion he is a Hater. Never heard of him, and dont need more to realize he looks like a RM fanboy. I mean just look at the quote in bold, that gives me a clear idea about the author.

by izzy Mon Oct 17, 2011 10:37 am

Fail, he's a Sociedad fanboy.

It's pretty obvious as well, don't know how anyone could miss that.

by eelir Mon Oct 17, 2011 10:43 am

Well I said i do not know the guy, but he is biased as hell. Thanks for clearing that out for me.

Anyway, i understand people not liking Barca's style. I understand the frustration, but he is a full of crap in this article, that i am really not going to comment any further.

For me one thing is for sure, if your team runs for the ball 60% of the game, it might feel boring. If your team controls the game for more than 60% of time, that can't be boring. And last season Barca broke the record for away goals scored, so the idea that we don't attack away is an utter BS.

by Zealous Mon Oct 17, 2011 6:24 pm

Phil Ball (along with Sid Lowe) is the least biased La Liga pundit out there by far.

Just because he has a go at Barcelona (just like he has had goes at Madrid) doesn't make him biased.

Try actually addressing the points you disagree with instead of doing it the easy way and dismissing the whole article because according to you he is biased.

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