Neville Kneville
Well-Known Member
Fernando was poor last night. Irregardless of it being a meaningless game, his short comings were very evident. The ball always seemed to be half a yard too quick for him (I know that makes little sense), he was slow getting the ball under control despite being under little pressure and he gave the ball away in fairly dangerous areas with really bad passing. He quite clearly isn't good enough to play an important role in our team and never has been. There's no shame in that, and we can get away with him being a stand in in a game like last night or even in a PL fixture against mediocre opposition. But what happens if he has to play against a stronger side in a make or break game? It will cost us. He's not really a bad player but he's not close to the level required and the same probably goes for Delph and Navas. Reputationally (not even a word) they are fine squad players but I don't think either really possess the sort of attributes that make them suitable for his kind of fluid system.
Fernando had a 94% pass completion rate vs Real Madrid. He was involved in our best european performances.
Him & Yaya have barely kicked a ball in serious football since last season. Of course they are off the pace.