There are a lot of questions being asked this week after Barça’s disappointing defeat to Rubin Kazan. Following on from a below par minimum victory over Almeria and the goalless draw in Valencia the main doubts seem to be aimed at our goal-scoring ability and the lack of back up to cover for injuries. There are some claims that certain players are not good enough, and also worries over a general mental tiredness.

Having scored so many goals last season it is...

After some of the blistering displays during the first few months of the season, the alarm bells were ringing recently as Barça hit a five-match streak without a win. The traditionally pessimistic Barça fan was quick to say that our season was over, we had peaked too early and half the team weren't good enough. However, it seems we haven't suddenly forgotten how to play as our attacking displays against Athletic Bilbao and Lyon proved.

As it happens in that five-match run the draws at Lyon and Mallorca were actually both good results, even if the performances were not great, while the draw at Betis was worthy of praise for the way we fought back from 2-0 down. The game at Atletico had too many individual errors but it was a crazy game that we could easily have...

Ok, before you all write in to tell me that it is impossible to say right now, I bring up the question in response to a survey run in El Mundo Deportivo this week asking the same question; 94% of the EMD readers have so far replied with a yes vote. That's right, ninety-four percent have voted Messi our best ever player! Of course many of the voters of this poll are probably youngsters who were born too late to see Cruyff or Maradona wear the famous blaugrana shirt, and many of them did not have the chance to see more recent stars such as Stoichkov, Ronaldo or Rivaldo. However, it is still remarkable that Messi at the age of just 21 can receive such support.

Perhaps many football fans also have...

Last spring, when things began to look bleak for Frank Rijkaard, there was a lot of debate amonst Barça fans over who should be brought in to replace the Dutch coach. At the time I ran a poll on this blog asking the question: "who do you want to be Barça's coach in 2008/9?" - Link  The continuation of Frank Rijkaard was supported by only 37.85% of voters, and of the other candidates Jose Mourinho was the clear favourite receiving 117 votes (36%) followed by Arsene Wenger on 14.46% and Michael Laudrup on 4.62%. Pep Guardiola was hardly considered, receiving just 13 votes (4%).

Admittedly Mourinho is doing an excellent job at Inter...

Forgive me for the lack of posts this week, I'm still on holiday but I've found a gap in my busy schedule to bring you this year's end of the year awards. You may not agree with my choices so please send your comments and tell everyone what you would have decided, or maybe you have some new categories you would like to see introduced.

Best Player of 2008: Leo Messi - Shouldn't be too much discussion on this one, it's true that players such as Xavi, Toure, Iniesta, Eto'o and Puyol deserve credit for their performances over the past 12 months but Messi is really in a class of his own. His goalscoring and assists totals have been increasing and no matter how well the team are playing generally we still notice the difference when Messi is not in the starting line up. Cristiano Ronaldo...

Last week I wrote a piece in praise of Leo Messi, Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry. However, it could be argued that the form of Barça's defence is just as important if not more so to this season's success. Victor Valdés has only been beaten nine times in fifteen league games which makes Barça's the best defence in La Liga so far this season.

At the start of the season there were still a few problems at the back especially when it came to defending at set pieces.  The first clean sheet in the league wasn't achieved until the 0-1 win at Athletic Bilbao in the seventh jornada. Since then we have managed another six clean sheets in La Liga and have now only...

I've been looking forward to Saturday's clasico against Real Madrid for a long time. However, as the game draws nearer I'm beginning to feel a bit of aprehension. The mood in Barcelona is one of euphoria and many people seem to believe that a big win this weekend is guaranteed. I'm worried that this expectation will get through to the players who may feel now that anything except a big win will be a let-down for the fans. I know Pep Guardiola is skilled at getting the players into the right frame of mind but I'm also sure that the players have some contact this week with the public and I imagine that those members of the public will have been calling for a slaughter of Madrid. Perhaps these things have very...

The reactions to Saturday's violence at the Espanyol-Barça derby have come from all sides. However, as is so often the case everybody is blaming somebody else and nobody wants to take responsibility for what happened. Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt or you could be sure that the accusations would be much greater.

Five fans were arrested for their part in the incidents and according to newspaper reports they could face sentences of up to four and a half years. While this might seem a bit harsh for what some might feel is just a bit of foolish fun, it should be remembered that this foolishness could end up with somebody losing their life, and hopefully if the sentences serve as a deterrent to the next knobhead who thinks this sort of behaviour can be justified in any...

With the transfer window now closed perhaps it is time to reflect on the summer signings, the preseason preparation and the possibilities of the first team for the season ahead. Of the new signings only Dani Alves started against Numancia and quite frankly he had a stinker. We did, however, see signs in preseason that the expected "best right side in the world" of Alves and Messi will give us plenty of joy in the future. My worry with Alves is that for all the extra attacking options he offers we will suffer defensively when he gets caught out of position, in this sense he reminds me a bit of Real Madrid's ex-left back Roberto Carlos. The difference is that Madrid, like Sevilla with Alves, played with a double pivot in midfield which offers more cover; hopefully...

So, now it turns out that Barça were correct to defend their interest in the Messi/Olympics saga. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) have ruled in favour of Barça, Werder Bremen and Schalke 04 to say these clubs are not obliged to release their players for the Olympic games, and the clubs can now legally recall their players for the Champions League qualifiers. The Argentinian camp have responded by declaring their intention to play Messi in tomorrow's opening game against Ivory Coast.

Putting to one side the arguments of whether or not Messi should play in the Olympics (we have already had that debate on the blog), I have to say that it is...