16 | Rodri - 2021/22 Performances

[alexmcity]

Rodri's detractors don't understand his role in the team. They think that the main role of a No 6 is to be a destroyer. This may be true of some (bottom half) teams, but it's nonsense about a Pep team. The No 6 in a Pep (or Crujff) team is more about linking defence and midfield in a reliable and productive manner, and less about destroying attacks of the opposition. Pep himself was a No 6 in Crujff's dream team. He wasn't a "destroyer". Note that Gundogan performed at DM really well when Fernandinho got injured in February 2019 and we went on to beat Liverpool to the title. Our stats with Gundogan at DM were better than with Fernandinho, we conceded just 4 goals in the last 14 league games. Busquets is universally regarded as one of the greatest No 6, but he is nothing like the destroyer some posters on here dream about. Generally, in a Pep team, even the keeper is a creator and even the striker is a destroyer. The team creates/attacks and destroys/defends as a whole.

Another mistake is to evaluate Rodri's ability to defend purely through the eye test, without taking into account any stats. Stats show he is easily among the best in the league at winning the ball back. Many fans fail to appreciate it, because they don't notice Rodri's subtle defensive interventions through his positioning and strength. They notice him mostly when he struggles to stop counters, but not when he stops them without breaking sweat. We were rock solid for most of last season, not only because of Dias and Stones, but also because Rodri himself was quality defensively wise. He lost form toward the end of the season, and was benched in some games, but the truth is that even Dias, Bernardo, Gundogan and Foden weren't as good in May as they were in February. None of the star players was good in Porto. It was normal to experience a dip in form after winning 22 games in a row. We peaked a bit early last season, that's the main reason we didn't perform well vs Tuchel's Chelsea, especially in the CL final, not because of tactical mistakes, imo. Let's see how we perform vs Chelsea this season. We play them in 2-3 weeks.

 

[Phil Mitchell Foden]

Rodri's detractors don't understand his role in the team. They think that the main role of a No 6 is to be a destroyer.

This myth again. Complete strawman argument to try and gloss over his weaknesses defensively. Rodri's role is to help keep the tempo of our play in possession, and keep the balling ticking over. This is a relative strength for him, albeit I think Fernandinho was better - less errors and more killer passes.

His role when we're out of possession is to protect the back four, track runners, press intelligently, win challenges and come away with the ball. This is something that, by and large, I think he's poor at. It's the weaker side of his game.

Fernandinho was the perfect all rounder, and they're giant boots to fill, but Rodri isn't that strong defensively and you can't gloss over it by suggesting that isn't his role.

 

[FromPollockToSilva]

His role when we're out of possession is to protect the back four, track runners, press intelligently, win challenges and come away with the ball.

Isn’t that everyone’s role when we’re out of possession?

 

[alexmcity]

This myth again. Complete strawman argument to try and gloss over his weaknesses defensively. Rodri's role is to help keep the tempo of our play in possession, and keep the balling ticking over. This is a relative strength for him, albeit I think Fernandinho was better - less errors and more killer passes.

His role when we're out of possession is to protect the back four, track runners, press intelligently, win challenges and come away with the ball. This is something that, by and large, I think he's poor at. It's the weaker side of his game.

Fernandinho was the perfect all rounder, and they're giant boots to fill, but Rodri isn't that strong defensively and you can't gloss over it by suggesting that isn't his role.

Pep's DMs at Barca and Bayern weren't like Fernandinho, but more like Rodri. And they were/are generally quite highly regarded. Nobody thinks of Busquets as a destroyer.

Now, it would be really interesting to compare Fernandinho's stats from his most successful season at DM under Pep (17/18) with Rodri's stats: both wrt passing and wrt defensive actions.

What's obvious to me is that Rodri can complete more passes than Fernandinho. Rodri's record is about 170 completed passes in a PL game ( a PL record as well). Fernandinho was nowhere near such numbers. He was more adventurous with his passing but had worse pass completion.

 

[Sir peace frog]

Rodri's detractors don't understand his role in the team. They think that the main role of a No 6 is to be a destroyer. This may be true of some (bottom half) teams, but it's nonsense about a Pep team. The No 6 in a Pep (or Crujff) team is more about linking defence and midfield in a reliable and productive manner, and less about destroying attacks of the opposition. Pep himself was a No 6 in Crujff's dream team. He wasn't a "destroyer". Note that Gundogan performed at DM really well when Fernandinho got injured in February 2019 and we went on to beat Liverpool to the title. Our stats with Gundogan at DM were better than with Fernandinho, we conceded just 4 goals in the last 14 league games. Busquets is universally regarded as one of the greatest No 6, but he is nothing like the destroyer some posters on here dream about. Generally, in a Pep team, even the keeper is a creator and even the striker is a destroyer. The team creates/attacks and destroys/defends as a whole.

Another mistake is to evaluate Rodri's ability to defend purely through the eye test, without taking into account any stats. Stats show he is easily among the best in the league at winning the ball back. Many fans fail to appreciate it, because they don't notice Rodri's subtle defensive interventions through his positioning and strength. They notice him mostly when he struggles to stop counters, but not when he stops them without breaking sweat. We were rock solid for most of last season, not only because of Dias and Stones, but also because Rodri himself was quality defensively wise. He lost form toward the end of the season, and was benched in some games, but the truth is that even Dias, Bernardo, Gundogan and Foden weren't as good in May as they were in February. None of the star players was good in Porto. It was normal to experience a dip in form after winning 22 games in a row. We peaked a bit early last season, that's the main reason we didn't perform well vs Tuchel's Chelsea, especially in the CL final, not because of tactical mistakes, imo. Let's see how we perform vs Chelsea this season. We play them in 2-3 weeks.

o no no no can't be true about gundo, i read he was fucking shite on bluemoon around that time, he only became a good player when he started scoring goals, you are best going back and double checking, :), as for rodri ,hes shite , i read that on bluemoon as well, so again must be true, they even try and get a laugh with, plodri, how funny :[

 

[Phil Mitchell Foden]

Pep's DMs at Barca and Bayern weren't like Fernandinho, but more like Rodri. And they were/are generally quite highly regarded. Nobody thinks of Busquets as a destroyer.

Now, it would be really interesting to compare Fernandinho's stats from his most successful season at DM under Pep (17/18) with Rodri's stats: both wrt passing and wrt defensive actions.

What's obvious to me is that Rodri can complete more passes than Fernandinho. Rodri's record is about 170 completed passes in a PL game ( a PL record as well). Fernandinho was nowhere near such numbers. He was more adventurous with his passing but had worse pass completion.

Busquets was/is incredibly intelligent positionally though, and I don't think the same is true of Rodri, at all. Busquets and the Rodri comparison is lazy as far as I'm concerned, as Busquets was lightyears ahead of Rodri at his age, technically and defensively. Rodri couldn't displace Busquets from the Spanish side at the Euros, and he's past his pomp.

Rodri can complete more passes than Fern? Fern is a better passer of the ball, he just plays more offensively, and less cautiously. IMO, anyway.

A good example would be a couple times against Arsenal when Grealish broke the lines and ran off the shoulder of the full back, just needing the ball over the top. Cancelo ignored him for one, and Grealish was frustrated and had a pop at him (something that wouldn't have been noticed on the telly, going back to a previous exchange). Another time with Rodri, he was sat comfortably in midfield with no one pressuring him and Grealish made a near identical run that wasn't followed, crying out for a ball over the top. Rodri ignored it, and played a safe short pass.

Fernandinho plays that killer pass (and more than often executes it perfectly). That's the difference for me.

Rodri's a safe player, a numbers player, and I think he is that way because he doesn't have the quality of pass that some other players do, like Fern.

 

[alexmcity]

Busquets was/is incredibly intelligent positionally though, and I don't think the same is true of Rodri, at all. Busquets and the Rodri comparison is lazy as far as I'm concerned, as Busquets was lightyears ahead of Rodri at his age, technically and defensively. Rodri couldn't displace Busquets from the Spanish side at the Euros, and he's past his pomp.

Rodri can complete more passes than Fern? Fern is a better passer of the ball, he just plays more offensively, and less cautiously. IMO, anyway.

A good example would be a couple times against Arsenal when Grealish broke the lines and ran off the shoulder of the full back, just needing the ball over the top. Cancelo ignored him for one, and Grealish was frustrated and had a pop at him (something that wouldn't have been noticed on the telly, going back to a previous exchange). Another time with Rodri, he was sat comfortably in midfield with no one pressuring him and Grealish made a near identical run that wasn't followed, crying out for a ball over the top. Rodri ignored it, and played a safe short pass.

Fernandinho plays that killer pass (and more than often executes it perfectly). That's the difference for me.

Rodri's a safe player, a numbers player, and I think he is that way because he doesn't have the quality of pass that some other players do, like Fern.

My point was that a No 6 can have different attributes compared to Fernandinho and still be a top top player, especially in a Pep team, which, as such, attacks and defends as a whole. That is the case with Rodri who is still developing as a player and hasn't entered his prime yet. He is going to get better, hopefully already this season.

You are basing your criticisms of Rodri mostly on personal impressions, and not on hard facts/stats.

Fernandinho's passing isn't better than Rodri's. Compare their stats re: key passes (based on WhoScored). In 17/18, his best season ever, Fernandinho completed 0,6 key passes per PL game. Last season, aged 24, Rodri completed 1.0 key pass per PL game. Rodri is already better than prime Fernandinho both in terms of pass completion and in terms of key passes.

Also, last season Rodri had more tackles, blocks and clearances per PL game than Fernandinho in 17/18. He's a bit underappreciated on here.

 

[WNRH]

My point was that a No 6 can have different attributes compared to Fernandinho and still be a top top player, especially in a Pep team, which, as such, attacks and defends as a whole. That is the case with Rodri who is still developing as a player and hasn't entered his prime yet. He is going to get better, hopefully already this season.

You are basing your criticisms of Rodri mostly on personal impressions, and not on hard facts/stats.

Fernandinho's passing isn't better than Rodri's. Compare their stats re: key passes (based on WhoScored). In 17/18, his best season ever, Fernandinho completed 0,6 key passes per PL game. Last season, aged 24, Rodri completed 1.0 key pass per PL game. Rodri is already better than prime Fernandinho both in terms of pass completion and in terms of key passes.

Also, last season Rodri had more tackles, blocks and clearances per PL game than Fernandinho in 17/18. He's a bit underappreciated on here.

Stats, stats, stats. Rodri’s fan club can only defend him on stats

Stats are nice, they paint a picture but not THEE picture.

How do we know that Rodri’s 0.4 more key passes per game are not all towards the end of the game in comfortable wins that have no effect on the game or how do we not he hasn’t stat padded by making 6 key passes against Norwich when we have 82% of possession?

What about in the games that key moments actually matter? When it is tight affair and that one piece of statistical action is the key outcome to the game? What is a key pass anyway?

It says something about the player when you have to defend him because he’s got a better key pass rate of 0.4.

The way you lot go on about him it really is a surprise that he’s not guaranteed to start for us and cannot get in an average Spanish side. We all must be idiots and not understanding of the genius of Rodrigo.

Next you’ll be telling us about his FIFA rating.

 

[mccity]

In my experiences, Rodri passes the eye test rather comfortably.

 

[alexmcity]

Stats, stats, stats. Rodri’s fan club can only defend him on stats

Stats are nice, they paint a picture but not THEE picture.

How do we know that Rodri’s 0.4 more key passes per game are not all towards the end of the game in comfortable wins that have no effect on the game or how do we not he hasn’t stat padded by making 6 key passes against Norwich when we have 82% of possession?

What about in the games that key moments actually matter? When it is tight affair and that one piece of statistical action is the key outcome to the game? What is a key pass anyway?

It says something about the player when you have to defend him because he’s got a better key pass rate of 0.4.

The way you lot go on about him it really is a surprise that he’s not guaranteed to start for us and cannot get in an average Spanish side. We all must be idiots and not understanding of the genius of Rodrigo.

Next you’ll be telling us about his FIFA rating.

We scored 106 goals in 17/18 (Kun, David, Sane...) vs 83 goals in 20/21. We had more tight games last season than in 17/18.

Only 3 players are guaranteed to start in this City team: Ederson, Dias and KDB. The rest may well start on the bench, especially if they experience a dip in form.

Note that Rodri started all big games in the league last season. He was excellent during the run of 22 consecutive wins. He started all important CL games up to the first leg in Paris. We won all CL games in which Rodri started, and our defensive record with him in the team was fantastic.

Similarly to other players, Rodri wasn't as good in May as he was in the months in which we won the title (January-April), so Pep benched him for some games in May. But we weren't better off in those games, especially in Porto. Anyway, the fact that Rodri didn't start 2 big games in May doesn't imply that he wasn't a firm starter for 8/9 of the season, i.e., from September to April.