14 | Nico Gonzalez - 2025/26

[JewelZee]

Not good enough or going to be consistent enough I’m afraid, panic buy at the time, can’t see a long term future

The old "panic buy" whenever we bring in someone not fancied by the masses. How about maybe Viana had to work hard to get him out of Portugal in the middle of the season? He's a Barca trained 23 year old basically playing in an unfamiliar position and based on his performances to date you've concluded he has no future here because he's inconveniently standing in the way of obtaining some over-hyped player you fancy like a Baleba. Don't worry mate you'll get the chance to campaign for some CMs soon enough when Bernado and most likely Kova leave.
'

 

[JewelZee]

Should start every single game if fit. Either alongside Rodri or as a lone 6. Best player on pitch when he came on

I'd try a box midfield with Foden and Reijnders in front of Rodri and Nico G with either Marmoush or Cherki supporting Haaland up top. Brazil played that way for years during times of great success. Just a thought. It requires fullbacks with wheels and stamina. Roberto Carlos did it. As did Cafu, Dani Alves, and Maicon (the good version, lol). Are Nunes, O'Reilly, and Ait Nouri suited to play like that for us? Possible...

 

[King Jay]

Is there any City player you rate.

Yeah a bunch actually. If you looked in other threads you would actually see it. He is just too slow and doesn’t have a good passing range and takes too long similar to Dias before passing the ball. You can always see that he is somehow stagnant whenever he’s about to pass.

 

[eastmanc]

He rates Savinho.

I'm saying nothing.

 

[Kamikaze Blue]

In the Villa Real game our midfield was better when he was on the pitch. In the Aston Villa game our midfield improved when he came on. Can't see beyond that really. He's what we need - energetic and sharp in the tackle.

 

[meeesh]

The old "panic buy" whenever we bring in someone not fancied by the masses. How about maybe Viana had to work hard to get him out of Portugal in the middle of the season? He's a Barca trained 23 year old basically playing in an unfamiliar position and based on his performances to date you've concluded he has no future here because he's inconveniently standing in the way of obtaining some over-hyped player you fancy like a Baleba. Don't worry mate you'll get the chance to campaign for some CMs soon enough when Bernado and most likely Kova leave.
'

He's not standing in the way of anyone, he is a gap filler as Rodri and Kova are out, and trust me, you know this as well as I do, when we DO replace some of the mentioned you believe will leave, they will be better than this guy, not his fault he ain't up to it, Barca trained or not, but you sometimes have to face facts when someone doesn't fit the bill, we have seen enough to decide this, but no doubt I will see some more to either confirm it or be proven wrong.

Myself,by the way, isn't and never have been part of the "masses", I just know football well enough to see when we have a good un on our hands, and he's just not cutting it for me at present one bit, believe me when I say I have witnessed enough shit in a blue shirt over the years, so I would consider myself a pretty good judge

But I will bear in mind his " Barca trained "and the fact he is 23, not that it will count for much in the end

 

[PuncturedBicycle]

He's not standing in the way of anyone, he is a gap filler as Rodri and Kova are out, and trust me, you know this as well as I do, when we DO replace some of the mentioned you believe will leave, they will be better than this guy, not his fault he ain't up to it, Barca trained or not, but you sometimes have to face facts when someone doesn't fit the bill, we have seen enough to decide this, but no doubt I will see some more to either confirm it or be proven wrong.

Myself,by the way, isn't and never have been part of the "masses", I just know football well enough to see when we have a good un on our hands, and he's just not cutting it for me at present one bit, believe me when I say I have witnessed enough shit in a blue shirt over the years, so I would consider myself a pretty good judge

But I will bear in mind his " Barca trained "and the fact he is 23, not that it will count for much in the end

What about him do you dislike? You've used a lot of words but not one tells me why you think he's not going to be good enough for us.

From what I've seen he's much better in the 6 than Kova ever has been for us, and gives us some much needed physicality in the midfield. Obviously he's not Rodri but that's not really a fair comparison to make. His dribbling and ball control is good, and I feel he reads the game well. Few rash decisions here and there, but that's to be expected for a young player new to the league. I'm excited to see how he develops and think he'll be a real asset playing ahead of Rodri in more physically demanding games.

 

[blueparrot]

He's not standing in the way of anyone, he is a gap filler as Rodri and Kova are out, and trust me, you know this as well as I do, when we DO replace some of the mentioned you believe will leave, they will be better than this guy, not his fault he ain't up to it, Barca trained or not, but you sometimes have to face facts when someone doesn't fit the bill, we have seen enough to decide this, but no doubt I will see some more to either confirm it or be proven wrong.

Myself,by the way, isn't and never have been part of the "masses", I just know football well enough to see when we have a good un on our hands, and he's just not cutting it for me at present one bit, believe me when I say I have witnessed enough shit in a blue shirt over the years, so I would consider myself a pretty good judge

But I will bear in mind his " Barca trained "and the fact he is 23, not that it will count for much in the end

He an excellent player been improving all a the time. Is going to play a lot for us, without Rodri we are far better with him. Don’t know how anyone can’t see it myself.

 

[Colin Bells Boots]

He's not standing in the way of anyone, he is a gap filler as Rodri and Kova are out, and trust me, you know this as well as I do, when we DO replace some of the mentioned you believe will leave, they will be better than this guy, not his fault he ain't up to it, Barca trained or not, but you sometimes have to face facts when someone doesn't fit the bill, we have seen enough to decide this, but no doubt I will see some more to either confirm it or be proven wrong.

Myself,by the way, isn't and never have been part of the "masses", I just know football well enough to see when we have a good un on our hands, and he's just not cutting it for me at present one bit, believe me when I say I have witnessed enough shit in a blue shirt over the years, so I would consider myself a pretty good judge

But I will bear in mind his " Barca trained "and the fact he is 23, not that it will count for much in the end

Could have just added " and the end of the world is nigh" -for the full effect :)-

One for the FOC's who were regulars at Maine Road !

 

[BlueMoonz1977]

Too quick to judge on here...abd i have been guilty of that as well.

He looks a good prospect, still raw but learning.

Rodri wasnt great when he rocked up and looked out of sorts, look at him now

 

[Kippax Street 1880]

I swear I am getting so sick of seeing the name Carlos Baleba chucked about. Its so obvious people just regurgitate the hot names from social media. Does anyone even watch Brighton? He's fucking dogshit, couldn't trap a brick.

 

[TFC]

I swear I am getting so sick of seeing the name Carlos Baleba chucked about. Its so obvious people just regurgitate the hot names from social media. Does anyone even watch Brighton? He's fucking dogshit, couldn't trap a brick.

In that case, he'll fit right in ;)

 

[meeesh]

What about him do you dislike? You've used a lot of words but not one tells me why you think he's not going to be good enough for us.

From what I've seen he's much better in the 6 than Kova ever has been for us, and gives us some much needed physicality in the midfield. Obviously he's not Rodri but that's not really a fair comparison to make. His dribbling and ball control is good, and I feel he reads the game well. Few rash decisions here and there, but that's to be expected for a young player new to the league. I'm excited to see how he develops and think he'll be a real asset playing ahead of Rodri in more physically demanding games.

Too much pointing and runs in treacle, not good for a midfielder

 

[Kippax Street 1880]

In that case, he'll fit right in ;)

Marmoush and maybe O'Reilly aside that's one thing you can't really level at our squad, most have a very good first touch, compared to Baleba anyway! I'm a bit obsessed with Camara at Monaco, would be like signing a 23 year old Yaya.

But that's for next Summer when Bernardo and maybe Kova leave, I have a lot of faith in Gonzalez personally, I've liked what I see from him and he's getting better every week. The impact he had on us at weekend was immediate and one huge positive I'm taking from a frustrating result.

 

[skillman]

Can't wait until he and Rodri are the starting midfield duo - the perfect mixture of two players and would take the load away from one another by working together.

Both good defensively (Rodri obviously great) and capable going forward (Rodri obviously great) but - most importantly - both have a winning attitude to matches and do their best to push the team forward. Whether that's by pressing or simply passing forward.

They'll be unstoppable together IMO.

 

[JewelZee]

He's not standing in the way of anyone, he is a gap filler as Rodri and Kova are out, and trust me, you know this as well as I do, when we DO replace some of the mentioned you believe will leave, they will be better than this guy, not his fault he ain't up to it, Barca trained or not, but you sometimes have to face facts when someone doesn't fit the bill, we have seen enough to decide this, but no doubt I will see some more to either confirm it or be proven wrong.

Myself,by the way, isn't and never have been part of the "masses", I just know football well enough to see when we have a good un on our hands, and he's just not cutting it for me at present one bit, believe me when I say I have witnessed enough shit in a blue shirt over the years, so I would consider myself a pretty good judge

But I will bear in mind his " Barca trained "and the fact he is 23, not that it will count for much in the end

We'll have to see. I think I know the game pretty well myself and I think you're a bit premature on your take regardless of how much football you know. "Not his fault he ain't up to it". That is some funny shit tho...

 

[Blue_Lightsaber]

He's not standing in the way of anyone, he is a gap filler as Rodri and Kova are out, and trust me, you know this as well as I do, when we DO replace some of the mentioned you believe will leave, they will be better than this guy, not his fault he ain't up to it, Barca trained or not, but you sometimes have to face facts when someone doesn't fit the bill, we have seen enough to decide this, but no doubt I will see some more to either confirm it or be proven wrong.

Myself,by the way, isn't and never have been part of the "masses", I just know football well enough to see when we have a good un on our hands, and he's just not cutting it for me at present one bit, believe me when I say I have witnessed enough shit in a blue shirt over the years, so I would consider myself a pretty good judge

But I will bear in mind his " Barca trained "and the fact he is 23, not that it will count for much in the end

Is 1st season Matteus Nunes the same as current Matteus Nunes??

Is 1st season Rodri the same as Rodri 2 seasons ago??

Trust the process..

If Pep thinks someone is not up to it.. he sends them packing like Cancelo!

 

[citytill1die84]

Kid has done nothing wrong lol

 

[meeesh]

We'll have to see. I think I know the game pretty well myself and I think you're a bit premature on your take regardless of how much football you know. "Not his fault he ain't up to it". That is some funny shit tho...

Just think of the calibre of players we’ve signed and witnessed in the last say 7/8 years, would you consider him being as a shall we say a marquee signing? and I don’t mean a billy big bollocks who thinks he’s better than he is, but you know someone proper hit the ground running type, I’ve struggled to see it, and it’s worrying, but we shall see as you say

 

[Kippax Street 1880]

Is 1st season Matteus Nunes the same as current Matteus Nunes??

Is 1st season Rodri the same as Rodri 2 seasons ago??

Trust the process..

If Pep thinks someone is not up to it.. he sends them packing like Cancelo!

Not sure Cancelo got sent packing because he wasn't up to it. He stepped out of line off the pitch and Pep made an example out of him.

He was right, as what he reportedly did (ranted on the phone to his agent in full view of the tunnel club to find him a new club because he was dropped for Rico) was completely unacceptable but for me he was a cracking player, not perfect but he had some games where he was ridiculously good.