14 | Nico Gonzalez - 2025/26

Obviously not his best showing today. I think he did some parts well, but he struggled to get involved in helping to move the ball out of our own third. He also got caught napping a few times, and he hasn’t done that in one game only. However, many people are calling him a panic-buy. No. Remember what people were saying about Rodri in his first season at the club. Give him time to go from good to great and have a bit of confidence in the boy.
 
Thought he was decent. Neat and tidy and made some good interceptions and won the ball back well. But didn’t get us moving forward quickly and never changed the direction of play like Rodri could do and did do when he came on. He is a deputy, solid and reliable but a marked drop off. Merely what we hoped Phillips would be.
 
Great Kompany said:
So the question here is - do these stats hold good against CL opposition and against the top 6 in the PL?
Rodri came and showed how a DM orchestrates in a Pep team and he is half crooked.
Nico clearly was only okay today against Spurs so will he ever be Rodri/Fernandinho good
Click to expand...
I remember Rodri picked up hi plodri monicker after a spurs game in his first season. He was wank but you knew he had something. Nico is not too dissimilar
 
Haaland94 said:


He is not a problem
Click to expand...

The player with the most tackles (3) shows you where today’s problem lies.

That’s a team who’ve been out grafted and incredibly passive.

If you bring that to any PL game, doesn’t matter what players you’ve got, what style you play or if your goalie can do Cruyff turns in his slippers, you’re going to get pumped.

A disgrace of a stat.
 
I think anyone who has watched Pep’s pressers will know the reason he doesn’t play.

For Pep the #6 needs to be the most disciplined player in the team. They shouldn’t move much. It needs to be like a fixed point reference. It took Rodri 2-3 years to learn this. Staying central and acting as a fixed pivot applies to both on the ball and off the ball. Nico still moves way too much.

In addition to having the correct movement, the player also needs to have the correct body posture when receiving. It needs to be side-on with a focus on receiving ball at your further foot. These are all basic things Nico should’ve learned at La Masia, you’d think.

Then comes the part where they need to be responsible for build-up play. Be comfortable receiving back to goal. Have an understanding of what passes to play to help bring the team up the pitch in a secure manner. They need to know when to accelerate the tempo and break lines and when to calm the game and recycle possession.

Then obviously there’s the off-the-ball aspect. Can you break up plays? Can you win second balls? Can you win 50/50s? Can you win aerial duels? Can you track runners into the box. Can you screen the defense? Can you lead the counter-press? Can you read and intercept the ball before danger comes? Can you cover large amount of ground when your team gets countered?

Rodri can do all of this to a world class level. What makes Rodri unique is that he’s added game breaking elements to his game.

He can play the long ball and switch it from flank to flank. His shooting from distance is amazing. Hell, pre-ACL we saw him carry the ball and dribble lmfao. To top it all off he’s clutch too.

He’s a freak and he’s a unicorn. Will Nico reach those levels? Probably not. He’d have to win a Ballon d’or to do so. However, if there’s one coach who knows what it takes to get their #6 to scale to that level, well it’s Pep.

So yeah I’m not surprised at all that he hasn’t been given a consistent run of games. Rodri holds this team together and Nico will need years to catch up to Rodri’s standards (if he ever gets there).
 
Brewster's millions said:
He’s the sort of player we bought in the Shinawatra era.

Not top level, has the odd half decent game but is exposed against the best and wouldn’t be a regular for a side that is expected to win things.

Quite how we’ve paid what we have for him is a bit of a mystery.
Click to expand...
Same things were said about Rodri. We really need to have more patience.
 
eastmanc said:
Same things were said about Rodri. We really need to have more patience.
Click to expand...
Rodri had a proper pedigree when he turned up, was already an established international.

Comparing Gonzalez to Rodri, just because Rodri took time to adjust to the league, ignores the fundamental qualities of the players. And there are vast differences between the two.
 
Don't think we'll find a player like Rodri, he's unique.

If he's not fit or needs resting then the manager just has to adapt with the players available.
 
Brewster's millions said:
Rodri had a proper pedigree when he turned up, was already an established international.

Comparing Gonzalez to Rodri, just because Rodri took time to adjust to the league, ignores the fundamental qualities of the players. And there are vast differences between the two.
Click to expand...
Still need to have patience with him and City fans on Blue are short on that just as they were with Rodri. If you don't rate Nico that's fine I think there is a player there.
 
think he would thrive in a midfield 3 of reindeers and rodri , rodri holding, nico dm/cm and reindeer attacking, plenty of energy and with rodri and nico covering each other when one goes forward, one of ran and rico/nunes coming into the midfield to give that extra cover, lovely jubbly
 
Stoned Rose said:
The player with the most tackles (3) shows you where today’s problem lies.

That’s a team who’ve been out grafted and incredibly passive.

If you bring that to any PL game, doesn’t matter what players you’ve got, what style you play or if your goalie can do Cruyff turns in his slippers, you’re going to get pumped.

A disgrace of a stat.
Click to expand...
Maybe Spurs played really well...?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top