The Weekly Review: Week 37 | FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi run rampant after disappointing draws

Ooo, I’m still the Editor-in-Chief of Barca Blaugranes. Surprise. After today’s events I honestly didn’t expect to still be in charge of SBN’s FC Barcelona Blog. Honestly, I didn’t. Early in the morning hours it was brought to my attention that an overeager member of our community (not a Barca Blaugranes staffer) had posted several plagiarized "stories" under his own moniker in the FanPost section. However, an equally as dumb, ignorant and uninformed third party had nothing better to do than to contact the intellectual owner of the articles in question with the intention to ignite controversy. It must be noted that the third party is a fairly popular Barcelona blog and/or a member of BarcelonaFootballBlog (their members like to troll on BB). At any rate. whoever runs that site though is an idiot. So instead of notifying me as well, that guy chose to endear himself (read: kiss a**) of BarcelonaFootballBlog’s Kevin Williams, whose articles were plagiarized. One thing led to another and what could’ve been sorted out quietly escalated into very heated exchanges on Twitter. That’s the thing with third parties, have no clue whatsoever but feel inclined to talk out of their a**. I guess they don’t like the competition from SBN and from Barca Blaugranes in particular.

What did he say again?

"I stood up for a fellow blogger"

No you didn’t. You just saw an opening to sucker punch us, slander our name, brand and reputation. I’m disgusted by this cowardly behavior. I guess we have either caught up to your site or already left you behind. Keep in mind; we’re not even a year old. Those who work with me know that I’m fairly approachable, but when one starts making baseless accusations, insinuations and attacks the integrity of this site and its staff I will go out of my way to mess with them as well. There are proper channels to deal with delicate matters like these. To the third party guy – why didn’t you contact me in the first place? I will tell you why, because you have your head so far up Mr. Williams a** you feel right at home there. While Mr. Williams has issued an apology, your cowardly character doesn’t feel inclined to take any responsibility at all. Maybe I’m inviting SBN’s editorial staff to get rid of me because I still can’t let go. Though Mr. Williams has apologized the damage is done.

I guess the jealousy and envy of some folks has led to this situation. A couple of days ago I caught onto an article that was published on The Hard Tackle and miraculously made its way onto our FanPost section. The "author"? The very same community member who plagiarized Mr. Williams articles. However, when I first noticed it I immediately contacted the real author and informed him about the situation. It helped that I have something for a relationship with the guys over at THT so the matter was sorted out fairly quick and quietly. There was no Twitter rant or escalation of any kind. But I guess some people are more sensible than others. Let’s just say the third party runs a Barca Blog on a bigger platform, akin to the situation of Barca Blaugranes and SB Nation.

Whatever. SB Nation’s editorial desk thought it was in the best interest of all parties if my "Open Letter to Mr. Williams" was to be hidden due to its quite offensive tone and to prevent further escalation. It makes sense but Mr. Williams left some comments and an apology which I think everyone should read. Being the slightly paranoid Editor that I am, I always save a pdf version of every article as evidence. You can download my Open Letter here.

Now let’s get back to business. FC Barcelona got back to their winning ways. After the disappointing draw against AC Milan in the Champions League many, myself included, feared the worst. But I couldn’t be more wrong. Although our defense still kind of sucks, Pique is still unavailable and Sergio Busquets is just abysmal at center back, the Blaugrana focused on what they do best – monopolizing possession.

FC Barcelona's Familiar Demons Raise Their Heads against AC Milan

In the past week, Barcelona have suffered two set backs that have highlighted the importance of having a solid pair of central defenders. Both, Real Sociedad and AC Milan, were able to claw their way back into matches that seemed all but destined for a Barcelona victory, and snatch a point from the jaws of defeat. Within a single week, what has become evident is that Barcelona is now top heavy. Barcelona is top heavy in the sense that it has immense attacking talent, but relies upon a defense that cannot ensure that when this talent has a game won, it preserves the result. If attackers win games by scoring, then defenders can ensure you don't lose them or tie them by shutting out the opposition. Barcelona's back line, in its current state, has lost the ability to nullify the opposition. - Gabriel Roberts

The two successive draws can be attributed to FC Barcelona’s now traditional weak start into a campaign, at least under Pep Guardiola. Still, if the Blaugrana lack anything at all, it’s an additional center back, a real one.

FC Barcelona: A defensive crisis

In the past week, Barcelona have suffered two set backs that have highlighted the importance of having a solid pair of central defenders. Both, Real Sociedad and AC Milan, were able to claw their way back into matches that seemed all but destined for a Barcelona victory, and snatch a point from the jaws of defeat. Within a single week, what has become evident is that Barcelona is now top heavy. Barcelona is top heavy in the sense that it has immense attacking talent, but relies upon a defense that cannot ensure that when this talent has a game won, it preserves the result. If attackers win games by scoring, then defenders can ensure you don't lose them or tie them by shutting out the opposition. Barcelona's back line, in its current state, has lost the ability to nullify the opposition. - Jose A.

Barcelona vs Osasuna (8-0) All Goals and Highlights

FC Barcleona’s forward line is as good as ever and Lionel Messi is truly the world’s best. Last night’s game is a testimonial to his unparalleled genius and serves as reminder that FC Barcelona is still the team to beat, in Spain and in Europe.

Lionel Messi: The Complete Footballer (Part Two: Vision/Passing)

In conclusion, passing is as much to Messi's game as dribbling. The two, in fact, are rather reliant on each other; they bolster each other because superiority at one allows even more superiority at another. With Messi finishing last season second in Europe in assists, I don't think anybody can doubt La Pulga's remarkable talents as a world-class distributor. - Jeremy Seyfried Clemmons

A hapless Osasuna side was smashed 8:0 while Barcelona’s fiercest rivals, Real Madrid, have lost 1-0 to Levante.

Defining an era of dominance: Why FC Barcelona need Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho

We are Culés and we will always hate everything that Real Madrid, Mourinho and Ronaldo stands for, but without a worthy opponent, FC Barcelona’s area of dominance would’ve been stained. This current Barca team would not be competing for ‘the best team ever’ tag if they didn’t have Mourinho and Ronaldo as rivals. For Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola to be called the best player and manager in recent times, Mourinho and Ronaldo had to be the opponent. I will always question the tactics used by Madrid (under the Portuguese) to try and defeat Barca but if they can’t do it, then nobody can and that my friends is the hard truth. - Inder Methil

Perhaps there is some truth to Jose Mourinho’s claims that Real Madrid’s goal is avoid relegation. Job well done, Jose!

Levante Vs Real Madrid 1-0 All Goals & Match Highlights *LIGA BBVA*

Cheers,

Sebastian

P.S. None of my writers needs to plagarize anything from anyone. Not Arron, Jose, Bostjan, Emile, Lorenzo, Gabriel, Shehryar, Michael, Inder, Jeremy or Paul. We don't steal. Never needed to and never will.