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Are Barcelona Really Better off Without Lionel Messi?
Published: October 6, 2015
When a club's talisman is out of action for any period of time, the entertainment value, team dynamic and mood generally alters.
Perhaps with Barca more so than any other club given how integral the Argentinian is to almost every aspect of play.
So when suggestions are made that the club are actually better off without him in the side, it piques an interest.
Pete Jenson of the Daily Mail has made exactly that claim noting:
Statistics actually show that the Catalans can cope without their talisman - Barcelona win 71 per cent of games with Messi playing but a surprising 89 per cent when he's not in the side.
The Treble winners also score more and concede fewer goals without Messi on the pitch, while their average points per game rises from 2.3 to 2.7 when arguably the world's best player is unavailable.
Nonetheless, Messi's loss does add to the pressure on the depth of Barcelona's squad.
What Jenson fails to articulate is that the metrics he is using are, arguably, flawed. How can a definitive statement be made that Barca are better without Messi when the statistics are based on just 36 games without him and 278 with?
Surely to make a cogent argument one would need to even out the span of matches as a start point.
In the same article, it notes that Barca "score more and concede fewer." Statistically, 114 goals in 36 games is better than 726 in 268 games, but it's a pathetic point-scoring exercise to try and justify this as a basis for such comment.
It's clear to anyone with two eyes and even a basic understanding of football that Messi, 28, is the one player who makes Barcelona tick.
A player of such mesmerising dexterity and skill that he can win a game all on his own. A player who is individu...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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