#16 | Rodri - 2020/21 Performances

[ste.sully]

Rodri has to be one of the worst signing we have ever made! Every game i watch him and just don't get what he does or offers.. Nigel De jong was a bruiser very underrated and i miss a ball winning midfielder like that. I'm not having Rodri anywhere near our team very average player at best..

Rodri reminds me so much of Javi garcia

To be fair to Javi Garcia, he was hopeless at first. But his last 5-10 appearances for the club he suddenly found a run of form out of nowhere and appeared to grow into the position. Despite this huge improvement, we sold him at the end of that season for some reason even though it looked as if he had turned a corner.

The big problem with Rodri for me is that he doesn't "smell" danger as any top defensive midfielder would such as Fernandinho, Kante, Busquets etc. He needs to add that aspect to his game.

 

[Phil1]

Brilliant footballer, you can tell just from seeing him on the ball how good he is.
Time will tell if he works out for us though because he’s missing the one thing desperately needed to play his position in our side - mobility.

 

[Bobby Heaton Moor]

Brilliant footballer, you can tell just from seeing him on the ball how good he is.

I must be blind. If "brilliant" is a word we're using to describe Rodri on the ball, we've sure fallen from the actual brilliance of Yaya and David.

 

[Tevez City]

To replace Fernandinho, Pep went after Fred, Jorginho, Frenkie De Jong but eventually landed Rodrigo.

He is good reliable DM, but he doesn't fit the 4-3-3 formation where you need athletic and fast DM.

The best way we can use him in 4-2-3-1 formation or as back up for Ruben.

Otherwise, he might struggle alone as a DM.

 

[Phil1]

I must be blind. If "brilliant" is a word we're using to describe Rodri on the ball, we've sure fallen from the actual brilliance of Yaya and David.

You must be yes.

 

[Faraz Khan]

I can't believe he cost more than fabinho should have been all over that or would even prefer Ndidi

 

[Oleole123]

Is gundo fit? If yes bench him immediately

 

[alexmcity]

Brilliant footballer, you can tell just from seeing him on the ball how good he is.
Time will tell if he works out for us though because he’s missing the one thing desperately needed to play his position in our side - mobility.

Agree, he is a brilliant footballer, but did he look immobile in our best performances last season,e.g. against Real or Liverpool home? I didn't find him lacking in energy and physical presence in those games.

Mobility has different aspects: distance covered and intensity (speed). Rodri is mobile in terms of how much ground he covers (I'm sure no less than Fernandinho) but isn't fast (Fernandinho isn't particularly fast either tbf).

Now, if a DM who isn't fast is not good enough for us, then Busquets, one of the greatest DMs ever, wouldn't be good enough for City? Are we willing to go down this route?

 

[Rolee]

Agree, he is a brilliant footballer, but did he look immobile in our best performances last season,e.g. against Real or Liverpool home? I didn't find him lacking in energy and physical presence in those games.

Mobility has different aspects: distance covered and intensity (speed). Rodri is mobile in terms of how much ground he covers (I'm sure no less than Fernandinho) but isn't fast (Fernandinho isn't particularly fast either tbf).

Now, if a DM who isn't fast is not good enough for us, then Busquets, one of the greatest DMs ever, wouldn't be good enough for City? Are we willing to go down this route?

Yes, because in England it's a physical battle in midfield more than a technical one, more often than not. That speed over the first couple of yards is all important in them midfield scraps.

 

[alexmcity]

Yes, because in England it's a physical battle in midfield more than a technical one, more often than not. That speed over the first couple of yards is all important in them midfield scraps.

And Pep, when signing Rodri, was unaware of this aspect of English football?

Why are people so confident they know better than Pep and Txiki what we need in midfield? Reminds me of the pundits predicting Pep's failure in England because he didn't get English football.

There's a nice empirical refutation of the view that a non-fast DM would make us vulnerable. It's when Gundogan replaced Fernandinho at DM after the latter's injury in February 2019 and we continued to be rock solid.