Rico Lewis | Set to sign a new 5-year contract (pg33)

hendo said:
Totally agree with this. Was a fan when he broke through but I don’t see him kicking on either.
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I thought he was a breath of fresh air in his first season. He played beyond his years and looked to have an old head on young shoulders and I was particularly impressed when he played in a CL game (can't remember team) when he he had an excellent game cockily pointing to our players where he wanted them to run to. Since his first season he's not improved much if at all and several games looked anonymous.

I was critical of him last season as he looked a boy amongst men and out of his depth and for several other reasons, I just didn't think he was good enough tbh. But it didn't help him that several experied older players also had a bad season, it certainly knocked his confidence.

However, against Wolves he looked rejuvenated and on his game and I agree with several others who have said he looked to have put on a bit of weight and definitely stronger. His passing was better and more direct and positional awareness has improved.

I thought him moving to Forest was a good move for him as he'll probably become a regular starter but was a bit worried he'd come good for them and we'd rue the day we sold him like many of us did when Palmer went.

When I read what he said about wanting to stay at City I thought, Wow! He loves being here and he means business. He knows he has to kick on from Wolves game and improve and he's up for the challenge. And if he can I'm all for it. Nothing better than seeing our former academy players smashing it in the team.

Good luck Rico, you deserve to stay and fight for your place.
 
I do not think he is a natural defender, a squad midfielder yes, but a right back who can read the game defensively no not for me haven't seen it.
 
I'm With Stupid said:
People also seem to forget he's 20. Most people are a streak of piss at that age. He'll naturally become more physical as he gets older.
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You know, it’s incredible to think that he’s still only 20. It feels like he’s been around forever. I think too many of our fans are overly harsh on him and digging him out over some of his performances last season is a bit off IMO, given that many of our players had a below-par season.
 
I think we need to get behind the kid and give him a chance. He's 20, he loves city, hes one of our own. He had a bad season last year, lost his confidence, amd was let down by some of the more established players. Let's see if he can step on this season and be the player, we all thought he could be when he 1st broke into the team.
 
BlueMoonRisin’ said:
I thought he was a breath of fresh air in his first season. He played beyond his years and looked to have an old head on young shoulders and I was particularly impressed when he played in a CL game (can't remember team) when he he had an excellent game cockily pointing to our players where he wanted them to run to. Since his first season he's not improved much if at all and several games looked anonymous.

I was critical of him last season as he looked a boy amongst men and out of his depth and for several other reasons, I just didn't think he was good enough tbh. But it didn't help him that several experied older players also had a bad season, it certainly knocked his confidence.

However, against Wolves he looked rejuvenated and on his game and I agree with several others who have said he looked to have put on a bit of weight and definitely stronger. His passing was better and more direct and positional awareness has improved.

I thought him moving to Forest was a good move for him as he'll probably become a regular starter but was a bit worried he'd come good for them and we'd rue the day we sold him like many of us did when Palmer went.

When I read what he said about wanting to stay at City I thought, Wow! He loves being here and he means business. He knows he has to kick on from Wolves game and improve and he's up for the challenge. And if he can I'm all for it. Nothing better than seeing our former academy players smashing it in the team.

Good luck Rico, you deserve to stay and fight for your place.
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I think this is a really fair post.
Nobody had a great season last year. I always felt it unfair to single out particular players, especially the young ones who look to the experienced players for some assurance and guidance.

Anyway, new season, new players, new staff, new hopes.
Best wishes, Blue.
 
pauls said:
Some have also forgot he made his England debut at left back and was man of the match.
Accept he was poor along with others last season but think as the team hopefully improves so will he if selected. Wolves albeit a poor side was encouraging.
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Plus he's only 20. I can't believe so many of our fans believe they've seen the best of him at that tender age, so they want us to cash in.

Aside from one over-hit pass which caused a bit of defensive panic against Wolves, I thought he was blummin excellent. I'd be seriously pissed & gutted if he were allowed to leave.
 
As others say I think he is at his best in midfield (attacking, wide or central). We have so many that it would be easier to see his potential if given a regular spot at another PL team. So in a sense I think he is making the wrong career choice by not going on loan or with a buyback this window.

But selfishly I'm glad he's staying as it gives us even more cover.

I'd still like a RB signing to be an alternative to Nunes though. Lewis may play there but I feel like he'll always be a weak link there.
 
TonyM said:
As others say I think he is at his best in midfield (attacking, wide or central). We have so many that it would be easier to see his potential if given a regular spot at another PL team. So in a sense I think he is making the wrong career choice by not going on loan or with a buyback this window.

But selfishly I'm glad he's staying as it gives us even more cover.

I'd still like a RB signing to be an alternative to Nunes though. Lewis may play there but I feel like he'll always be a weak link there.
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I thought he was fantastic against Wolves mate. He played right back, in a double pivot, right wing, No 8 & got an assist.

All this from a 20 year old EDS England International & City fan, whose got years left in him to fill out & improve even further... Better still, he didn't cost us a penny!
 
Dribble said:
Plus he's only 20. I can't believe so many of our fans believe they've seen the best of him at that tender age, so they want us to cash in.

Aside from one over-hit pass which caused a bit of defensive panic against Wolves, I thought he was blummin excellent. I'd be seriously pissed & gutted if he were allowed to leave.
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Yeah I'm pretty glad we're not as keen to sell every U21 and replace them with 26 year olds who want to start every week and get 3x the wages - as many posters seem to think is essential.

There's not really any good reason to sell Rico, unless he puts in a transfer request.

At very worst its a club trained squad player who can play anywhere apart from CB and ST.
 
NQCitizen said:
Yeah I'm pretty glad we're not as keen to sell every U21 and replace them with 26 year olds who want to start every week and get 3x the wages - as many posters seem to think is essential.

There's not really any good reason to sell Rico, unless he puts in a transfer request.

At very worst its a club trained squad player who can play anywhere apart from CB and ST.
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It was heartening to see him so committed to City & putting to bed the 'Rico to Forest' headlines... So that was settled, UNTIL Pep's embargoed presser!

When asked about Rico, Pep said Lewis told him he was staying, but Guardiola then mentioned Rico's height & then said "Today he stays, but tomorrow, who knows. There's two weeks of the window left & anything can happen". WTF! :-/
 
New system suits him, I think having a more lively midfield and an improved defence will help him, plus I truly think Trafford will soak up a lot of our issues in 1 on 1’s.

He’s 20, he’s filling out and he’s more than good enough to play for this club as we saw against Wolves. Combines really well with the news boys and Bobb.
 
CΛL said:
New system suits him, I think having a more lively midfield and an improved defence will help him, plus I truly think Trafford will soak up a lot of our issues in 1 on 1’s.

He’s 20, he’s filling out and he’s more than good enough to play for this club as we saw against Wolves. Combines really well with the news boys and Bobb.
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His link up play with Bobb was particularly impressive, especially as Bobb was supporting Rico defensively too.
 
Dribble said:
His link up play with Bobb was particularly impressive, especially as Bobb was supporting Rico defensively too.
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Agreed, I'd play those two down the right hand side for a few games and see how it develops.

Suspect we'll play Nunes against Spurs though.
 
CΛL said:
Agreed, I'd play those two down the right hand side for a few games and see how it develops.

Suspect we'll play Nunes against Spurs though.
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I thought Nunes looked a bit shaky when he came on. With RAN playing more defensively, it's evident we'll only allow one FB to move out of position when we're in possession.

When Lewis went off, it was RAN who inverted with Nunes playing defensively. I thought this was quite a telling move by Pep. Perhaps Pep thought Bobb supported by Cherki & Reijnders was enough going forward on the right, which left Matheus to purely defend.

This coincided with us markedly dropping off the pace & coming under pressure. I'm not blaming Nunes for this, as Wolves threw everything at us because they had nothing to lose. It's just there was a noticeable change in the match dynamic.

On Saturday, it was Lewis who inverted to form a double pivot, but he also broke forward to support the attack when possible.

The difference between what I saw on Saturday, & Lewis (and most of the team tbf) last season, was Lewis's recovery runs to get back to his defensive position.

Apparently, he's skilled at Jujitsu following in his Dad's footsteps, but he's also taken up boxing training which will toughened him up & vastly improve his stamina.

It's a BIG season for Bobb, Trafford, Lewis & O'Reilly. I'm hoping all four smash it for us.
 
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Dribble said:
I thought Nunes looked a bit shaky when he came on. With RAN playing more defensively, it's evident we'll only allow one FB to move out of position when we're in possession.

On Saturday, that was Lewis who inverted to form a double pivot, but he also broke forward to support the attack when possible.

The difference between what I saw on Saturday & Lewis (and most of the team tbf) last season, was Lewis's recovery runs to get back to his defensive position.

Apparently, he's skilled at Jujitsu following in his Dad's footsteps, but he's also taken up boxing training which will toughened him up & vastly improve his stamina.

It's a BIG season for Bobb, Trafford, Lewis & O'Reilly. I'm hoping all four smash it for us.
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Me too, we just need the fans to have patience with them.

I can see why we were interested in Livaremento as I think he'd be the one to sit back and unleash Ait Nouri down the left. He's too good to be shackled.

I reckon we'll see both fullbacks high and wide on occasion too against different opposition with the centre mids starting deeper.
 
Dribble said:
It was heartening to see him so committed to City & putting to bed the 'Rico to Forest' headlines... So that was settled, UNTIL Pep's embargoed presser!

When asked about Rico, Pep said Lewis told him he was staying, but Guardiola then mentioned Rico's height & then said "Today he stays, but tomorrow, who knows. There's two weeks of the window left & anything can happen". WTF! :-/
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Not like his famously massive Barca team...
 
CΛL said:
Me too, we just need the fans to have patience with them.

I can see why we were interested in Livaremento as I think he'd be the one to sit back and unleash Ait Nouri down the left. He's too good to be shackled.

I reckon we'll see both fullbacks high and wide on occasion too against different opposition with the centre mids starting deeper.
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Yeah, I suppose that's where a specialist defender like Livramento would make absolute sense.

I think we'd be better doing that too, as RAN could also support Doku, instead of Jeremy constantly being left isolated & facing 2-3 players on his own.
 
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