#360debate: Should Barcelona be worried after defeats?

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  • Magic man lost his spark?: Lionel Messi hasn't provided the goods in Barcelona's latest matches.

    Barcelona have suffered back-to-back La Liga defeats to Real Madrid and Celta Viga. This has raised fresh concerns over Luis Enrique's side who have recently welcomed Luis Suarez back from his four-month suspension.

    But the #360debate is: Should Barcelona be worried?

    Andy West, La Liga correspondent, thinks YES…

    'Javier Mascherano hasn’t been given the nickname of ‘El Jefecito’ – the Little Chief – for nothing. In addition to giving maximum effort in every game, the versatile Argentine star is widely respected for his perceptive analysis of the game and ability to speak eloquently in the aftermath of a defeat.

    When Mascherano says something, it is worth listening. So when he summarised his team’s performance in Saturday’s 1-0 loss against Celta Vigo as “worrying,” Barca fans have every reason to be concerned.

    Of course, the Catalan club possess a glorious array of world-class talent, with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar potentially the most devastating forward line in the world. 

    However, Atletico Madrid’s title triumph last season sent a stark reminder that great players do not necessarily make great teams – and at the moment, Barca’s collective work is anything but great.

    Much of Saturday’s performance was shambolic, especially in the latter stages when Barca lapsed into a confused and chaotic version of tiki-taka meets hit and hope, with no discernible game plan. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that their approach was reduced to giving the ball to Messi and hoping for the best.

    Enrique has a huge task in moulding a massively talented group of players into an effective team – the job Carlo Ancelotti has succeeded in doing at Real Madrid over the last couple of years.

    Unlike Ancelotti, summer appointment Enrique is a relatively inexperienced coach and piling such a heavy task upon his shoulders is a major challenge – it has already proven too much for his predecessor, the far more worldly Tata Martino.

    At the heart of the problem is what Enrique should do with Messi. At times, his role against Celta was of the playground variety: going wherever he wanted to receive the ball and then attempting to dribble around the entire opposition team. Even Cristiano 
    Ronaldo does not have that kind of freedom at Madrid. 

    Enrique needs to fix a clear strategy for his team, and make Messi fit into it. Otherwise there will be more days like Saturday.

    James Piercy, Deputy Editor, thinks NO…

    Fans of Real Madrid and Barcelona are not known for their patience, but in the case of the latter set of supporters any fears of Luis Enrique’s suitability as coach should be dispersed by the reality that it’s only November 3.

    Prior to the 3-1 Clasico defeat to Real Madrid, Barca keeper Claudio Bravo set a new clean sheet record in La Liga and,  despite the coach’s desire for prudence in receiving praise, everybody was quite excited by Enrique’s new look defence and goalkeeper. 

    Not only that but Messi’s reinvention as a creative forward, Neymar’s goalscoring run plus the seamless integration of Ivan Rakitic, Jeremy Mathieu and Claudio Bravo into the side ensured Enrique plenty of admirers.

    Madrid – who have the best attacking unit in world football – emphatically ended Bravo’s resistance, but that match was a strange one in the sense that had Messi scored, not scuffed Luis Suarez’s  cutback wide, at 2-0 Barcelona may well have seen the game out.

    A victory over Madrid and any concern would have disappeared. Of course, the performance against Celta is the real alarm bell with Barca unable to break down the Galicians. 

    But just like some encouraging early performances do not confirm Enrique as Pep Guardiola Mk2, two poor results and one bad performance should not send shudders through Catalonia that this is another Tata Martino. Enrique is trying to move Barcelona on from the Guardiola-era.

    A period of time that has defined the club like no other in the modern era. The occasionally ponderous, possession-based play is being altered to incorporate more width and pace.

    With Messi, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Xavi, Jordi Alba and, to a lesser extent Dani Alves given his time with Brazil, so ingrained in the ‘old ways’, it will not happen overnight.

    There will be occasions like Celta on the road ahead and even Guardiola’s first three months in charge were not without worry as he revamped both the dressing room and system at the club post-Frank Rijkaard.

    Enrique has plenty of questions, but when you’re changing so much that’s inevitable. It’s far, far too early to wonder if he hasn’t got all the answers.

    What is your opinion? Leave your comments below…

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