Lay Off Luis Suarez.

Luis Suarez’s first season with FC Barcelona has not been all fireworks. Although expectations were high for Luis Suarez, his performance thus far is not as disappointing to justify the criticism he has received. In fact, you could say he is doing just as well as other Barça strikers before him have done at this stage in their first season.

Yes, the huge price tag of Luis Suarez’s transfer perhaps raised expectations of the numbers of goals “El Pistolero” would score this season for the Blaugrana. Thus far, he has only scored six goals as a Barça player. For some fans, that is a disappointing number of goals. However, let’s not be too harsh on the player. He has struggled at first but his signing was not just about goals; it was about making the team better.

First of all, Luis Suarez did not get a proper summer preseason under his belt and was not allowed to play with the first team till October. Obviously, the blame entirely lies with him for getting punished by FIFA for his stupid act and yes, he should have been in better shape while serving his FIFA ban. However, his performance for the first team after serving his ban, has been beneficial for the team.

He has scored 6 goals and provided 11 assists in his first 19 matches as a Barça player. He also added another assist yesterday in Barça’s Copa del Rey victory over Villarreal on Messi’s opening goal. Some will point out that Suarez has been a disappointment with those six goals but has he?

When you look back at other forwards who played upfront for Barça in their first season and compare their numbers to Luis Suarez’s number, you will not notice a big difference in terms of production. Courtesy of @Barca19stats, Pedro scored 10 goals and had an assist in his first 19 matches. David Villa scored 11 goals and had 5 assists. Alexis scored 8 goals and had 2 assists in his first 19 matches and Neymar scored 6 goals and had 9 assists in his first 19 matches. Heck, even Thierry Henry had 7 goals and 8 assists in his first 19 matches.

Thus far, Luis Suarez has been directly involved in 17 goals in his first 19 matches. That is more than those previously mentioned players had done in the same time span. To say he has disappointed by not scoring more goals is a bit harsh. Pedro grew up in this system and played with Xavi and Iniesta at the peak of their careers. David Villa had experience from playing with that superb midfield during their Spanish National team days. Suarez, like David Villa, had to accept from being the go to guy for goals and to be Messi’s right hand man. Furthermore, the midfield is being utilized differently under Luis Enrique along with the sad realization that Iniesta and Xavi are not as great as they were a few years ago.

Meanwhile, you could say Suarez’s numbers are similar to Neymar’s numbers. If Cruyff, and others, said to give Neymar time to adapt then surely the same should also be said for Suarez. So please, let’s lay off the guy for now. His off the ball movement along with his work rate in recovering balls have been impeccable. He, Neymar and Messi have been performing well together ever since that awful loss to Real Sociedad back in January which has resulted in Barça’s current ten match winning streak. So, let’s ease off in criticizing Suarez and appreciate what he brings to this team.