This is chess not checkers aka dortmund v madrid

many of you will be clued up that dortmund beat madrid prior

and many are hailing the wave of germany and german efficency

but it is more about the way the game is played

recently football has been obsessed with players over teams or tactics

when real was losing even the commentator were proping up ronaldo
its who they need to produce magic

and jokes like it is in their contract to pass the ball to him


but what i saw in this game was the collective v the individual

and this is coming to front here
yes robert will get all the focus


but it was a team effort from reus winning the penalty
to ikay performing amazingly

but as i lent towards in the barca article
football or the best football is leaning back towards a team focus

with players having multiple roles
and seamlessly interchanging

and a player playing for the team before himself

and players stepping out of the limelight to maybe do a grueling shift chasing a left back all game

but football is a team game

it has been malformed for a bit with the role of media and spotlights

and when a player is to big to get benched your club has a problem

if you can't adapt or will not adapt you will become extinct

such as happened to the striker role being converted into a forward role



where the would be traditional striker can be playmaker
winger defender and striker all in one

for all the talk of efficency
that is the best policy for a team

so watch out star players and those oriented towards that the team is being pushed to the forefront

The end of the series messi and friends

This the idea that comes to many peoples heads when they think or see barcelona
and for me i think the manager has been in that mindset as well


and its destructiveness came forth yesterday for all to see

and that barcelona is not a team it is a scheme a method a puzzle

and the puzzle has now been figured out

and messi has been the distracting silverware

with pundits falling over themselves for him or to talk about him
that fans and coaches alike have lapped it up

and the second leg of the barcelona v bayern tie will be intriguing



even in the build up bayern is personified by an array of players but barcelona is always personified by messi

for yesterday was asked

what is a bullet without a gun
and with psg it was what is a gun without a bullet

with psg we saw the psyche of barcelona was fragile because they had ceased to become a team
and where merely a formula

i was even deceived but i was made aware then and yesterday
for when messi was not playing i thought they would play villa in that role or change their plans
they did not they simply put fabregas there

and then threw messi on half fit
and they managed to get through
and the answer was snatched away from them to be presented the same song sheet

from now on i will say some very controversial things

first thing they are not a team but a formula
there was no plan b there was no tactics
and the fact was they have seemed lost
and it has been found out their deities were not deities but merely equations

the fact is why would you put^^^^^
him on when you are losing four nil and not earlier
why was an unfit messi relied upon for the whole 90 minutes

and i was watching the game

and i had seen bayern take of gomez
and change up their formation

and i looked at barcelona and was like you cannot change anything can you
and i do not know if it was arrogance or more so trying to keep the illusion alive
or that have succumbed to their own illusion
that they did not take messi of for villa by half time

and what we have seen from milan beating them
and the fact that they could not beat psg is that this is the end of a series
either from a quality point , tactical point or all together

for if they proceed with this equation with the answer leaked to the world this will not be the last time this happens

and if they change tactics in favour of messi some of the friends will be abandoned

and lastly if they change tactics
we may see then end of the messi domination of the individual footballer awards and accolades

for with the messi and friends set up
the team plays for messi
they had one shot on target against bayern
and even against psg before he came on they had no shots on target

the team does not have a plan b and does not know how to seriously play without messi
it has no traps or flase players or hidden gems to throw at opponents
it does not even have the guts to genuinely play without him


messi^^
the spear tip

but the team is seen as the ^^^^^
take of the spear tip and you have a stick

and take away the stick you have an oddly shaped knife with a loss of range

at the moment messi plays every game

and his goals are a extremely high percentage of the teams goals

bring in new players
and it will no longer be messi and the rest
like when they had eto and henry on the wings

change the formation with new players
and messi just becomes a squad player

like with rooney and united

in closing during the bayern v barca game
how many people did you really think was a threat attacking wise as to put the ball in the net

barca

messi
iniesta
and maybe sanchez in that game

bayern
gomez
robben
muller
ribery
schweinsteiger
lahm
alaba

and this is what barca will have to evolve into

for at the moment messi is bigger than the club
they cannot drop him
or bench him
or play without him
or bring in a rival for his place
in a sense held to ransom

and so have settled in this weird role of an equation
but they are at a crossroads
of become a team or still work on this equation


p.s

with many people thinking but he is the worlds best player
what did they do to ronaldinho for messi
and just like in chess no matter how good he is still just a player
and no matter the name queen or bishop they are still just pawns but with fancy moves
(fresh movie quote)


the same can be said of tottenham and bale
and was said of arsenal and henry

evolve be extinct

injustice the deathstroke phenomenon

so yes i met ed boon and have a signed copy of injustice

so niche and alcove is getting its teeth into injustice

and our first point of address is the deathstroke phenomenon or as i call it the deathzone phenomenon



is what happens when you see you opponent has picked him
and you mind is racing
and for some reason if you exit your ranking is affected

and you know exactly what your opponent is going to do
or can back out into doing



and you have like fifty seconds to think is my main good enough to not get riddled with bullets
and you find yourself thinking should i fight fire with fire
 zoning with zoning
but you remember this zoner is probably a professional
so do you get in there first or die trying

for here is where get to the stratagem

game play of his abilities will be up shortly
you need to get in close and do your combos keep him disorientated
do not let him back off
and you need a projectile or to place yourself in the right stage for optimized utilization