16 | Rodri - 2021/22 Performances

[urban genie]

Biggest amount of pretentious waffle I've ever read, arrogant too.

People don't rate Rodri for good reason, and it's not because they're simpletons that don't understand what they're watching. For a side like us, Rodri's got the cosiest job. He plays for the most dominant possession side in the league, the vast majority of the time his job is just to keep the ball ticking over and maintain the tempo out the back.

He's not got the array of killer passes that Fernandinho has, can't spray a diagonal like Fernandinho can, but he can keep the ball ticking over and moves it decently enough.

Out of possession though his job is to sit in front of the back four and press the man at the right moments, follow runners, intercept passes, win his one v ones, cover ground, get challenges in and come away with the ball.

And he's not very good at it.

Positionally he's not the best, he'll often come out and press with little to no intensity, and get strolled around leaving his man running through at the exposed back four. In a foot race shoulder to shoulder he loses every time. He's not great in the challenge. Physically he gets outmuscled a lot, especially shoulder to shoulder. He's very leggy and doesn't cover ground well.

You don't see this all that frequently when we're spamming dross like Norwich though, but even then there are occasional glimpses.

But it's when we play an evenly matched side that these flaws are really exposed. Chelsea, United, Liverpool etc etc.

Rodri isn't Baresi. He's not Claude Makele, he's not Busquets.

He's struggling to be undisputed number one in his position at the club, and his only other rival for that role is a 36 year old Fernandinho.

There's a reason for that, and you don't need to be a "football nerd" to understand why.

We haven't adequately replaced Fernandinho, and it should be a priority position for us to fill, just as much as a striker for me, if not more so. I will be absolutely amazed if we don't make it such soon.

I don't think it's unfair to speculate Pep has lost trust in Rodri. I think it's clear he has over the past 6 months. This year is absolutely huge for Rodri, make or break IMO. We will be looking for another 6 soon, just a question of if he's a guaranteed started or not.

A few things

Last season Rodri had the highest pass accuracy in the league at 93% successfull

The most completed passes of an outfield player in the leagues

Had the most touches of any player in our squad

Player 34 leagues games and numerous cup games so was first choice in his position all season and wasn't displaced as said and was undisputed number one as DM.

Was only second to cancelo for interceptions and breaking up opposition attacks and above PotY Dias.

A good d defensive midfielder goes unoticed about their business, hence why when a mistake happens (he only caused two incidents which led to a goal against all season) it is noticed and jumped upon.

I will admit I have criticised him in the past, and undevalued his actual contribution, because he just goes about his business in a non spectacular way, so any fuck up is noticed, however he is a very good player for us.

Since I have been going in the 80s, every City team I have seen has had fans asign as player to moan about no matter how they perform Rodri is just another in a long line of "easy to slag off" players who actually do a decent job for us.

 

[Phil Mitchell Foden]

Irony isn't always intentional.


Convenient that, considering the facts that disprove the second half of what you said.
How am I supposed to refute stuff you've pulled from your arse?
Rodri's passing range is superb but I have no way of proving that to you.


This from a man complaining about someone else's arrogance. Goodnight.

Irony exists or it doesn't, unintentional or not. Pretty straightforward.

You haven't provided a counter argument, you glossed over my points and just said I was talking shite. That's not an argument. Hope this helps.

 

[Phil Mitchell Foden]

Disagree with opinions expressed in this, which I presume are yours and you are not writing on behalf of "people". You claim Rodri/Ferna have the "cosiest job", quite a statement, have you acually played in their position at PL winning level or are you speculating again, like you do when interpreting Pep's actions. Speculate on this, their job looks cosy because they are each in their own way very good at it.
"He plays for the most dominant possession side in the league", this is the bit I tend to agree with, after all he is very much part of the reason we dominate possession, something to think about, maybe re watch the 53 games he played last year, where we mostly dominated possession. Do you think Bissouma is good enough to play 53 games for the Champions, and find it cosy.

Spectacularly missed the point fella, just like our mate @kun.

The player in the holding role does have the cosiest job on the pitch - when we're in possession. They have freedom of the entire pitch and options all over the place. Given we're the most dominant possession side in the country, that's the vast majority of time. And that's my point.

When we're out of possession, that's when the player in the holding role really gets tested, and when their job really becomes much more difficult. Then, they have to be the full package.

And this is precisely my point, and why Rodri's flaws only show up so often, because we're so dominant, but when they do show up they're absolutely glaring because they're often in the biggest games in tightly contested fixtures.

It's the cosiest role on the pitch when we're bossing it and dominating dross everyweek, which is most of the time. But as an all round role, it's one of the most testing and important roles in the whole side. The player that plays that role is pivotal to the football we play, in possession and out of possession.

Pep had Xavi and Busquets there at Barca, Alonso and Lahm at Bayern.

A player playing that role doesn't have to have Xavi's passing range to be a success, or not be a liability as the bare minimum. They don't have to be a Kante/Fernandinho hybrid to be a success when we're out of possession to be a success in that role, but they have to do the fundamentals well. And ultimately I feel this is Rodri's biggest flaw.

He's not the most gifted footballer, he's reasonable in possession, prone to the odd error and doesn't really have a killer pass in him, but he keeps the ball ticking over well enough and doesn't lose possession a great deal. That's not ideal in the role, but it's passable if defensively he was sold - but he isn't. At all. It's his single biggest flaw.

I'm not even commenting on Bissouma's suitability btw, just observing that we haven't adequately replaced Fernandinho as far as I'm concerned. And this grows more and more obvious the more time passes.

 

[samuelyeboah]

I am just astonished at how the poster compared Rodri to 3 players, one of which is a center-back (Baresi), and another one they got the name wrong (Makélélé). Really impressive stuff

 

[Blue warrior]

Rodri is a good footballer just wish he had more athleticism to cover ground quickly when the ball turns over on the counter. Hopefully Lavia can keep developing and take his chance when it arises.

 

[Phil Mitchell Foden]

A few things

Last season Rodri had the highest pass accuracy in the league at 93% successfull

The most completed passes of an outfield player in the leagues

Had the most touches of any player in our squad

Player 34 leagues games and numerous cup games so was first choice in his position all season and wasn't displaced as said and was undisputed number one as DM.

Was only second to cancelo for interceptions and breaking up opposition attacks and above PotY Dias.

A good d defensive midfielder goes unoticed about their business, hence why when a mistake happens (he only caused two incidents which led to a goal against all season) it is noticed and jumped upon.

I will admit I have criticised him in the past, and undevalued his actual contribution, because he just goes about his business in a non spectacular way, so any fuck up is noticed, however he is a very good player for us.

Since I have been going in the 80s, every City team I have seen has had fans asign as player to moan about no matter how they perform Rodri is just another in a long line of "easy to slag off" players who actually do a decent job for us.

Rodri is the most conservative and cautious passer of the ball at the club, he plays at the very spine of the midfield and has options all over the pitch in the most dominant possession side in the country. Why do you champion a high pass completion from him as a valid counter argument? It's not. It's to be expected. It doesn't discredit anything I've said.

It's a perfect example of a stat not telling the whole picture. De Bruyne consistently averages around 81% pass completion and no-one would ever cite there to argue he's not a good passer of the ball, and if they did we'd laugh at them.

De Bruyne has the most deadly killer ball in the whole of Europe and is consistently trying to execute the final pass in tight areas, from all manner of angles and distances. His percentage does him an enormous disservice and is worthless without context.

The exact same is true of Rodri, it's completely misleading to present his average the way people often do, as you've done here. Because the context is that he's a cautious passer of the ball playing at the base of one of the most dominant possession sides in Europe.

Rodri does a job for us, but I'm truly amazed at how so many overvalue his contributions. There's almost some kind of bizarre pride taken in it, like pseudo intellectualism. Not necessarily yourself, but certainly the OP I replied to.

I accept people seem to vary from one extreme to another with Rodri, and that often leads to shit discussions about him, but there needs to be a more frank discussion about him IMO. He's one of the weakest senior outfield player we have at the club IMO, in one of the most important roles in the side.

He has enormous boots to fill in Fernandinho's role, and it isn't easy, but I don't think he's demonstrated he can, frankly. And I don't think a flattering pass completion average says otherwise.

 

[Phil Mitchell Foden]

I am just astonished at how the poster compared Rodri to 3 players, one of which is a center-back (Baresi), and another one they got the name wrong (Makélélé). Really impressive stuff

Baresi played in a sweeper role and was renowned as one of best readers of the game there was, what point do you think you're making here or discrediting?

And I spelt Makelele's name wrong, what a gotcha that is. Lol. Pathetic.

 

[urban genie]

Rodri is the most conservative and cautious passer of the ball at the club, he plays at the very spine of the midfield and has options all over the pitch in the most dominant possession side in the country. Why do you champion a high pass completion from him as a valid counter argument? It's not. It's to be expected. It doesn't discredit anything I've said.

It's a perfect example of a stat not telling the whole picture. De Bruyne consistently averages around 81% pass completion and no-one would ever cite there to argue he's not a good passer of the ball, and if they did we'd laugh at them.

De Bruyne has the most deadly killer ball in the whole of Europe and is consistently trying to execute the final pass in tight areas, from all manner of angles and distances. His percentage does him an enormous disservice and is worthless without context.

The exact same is true of Rodri, it's completely misleading to present his average the way people often do, as you've done here. Because the context is that he's a cautious passer of the ball playing at the base of one of the most dominant possession sides in Europe.

Rodri does a job for us, but I'm truly amazed at how so many overvalue his contributions. There's almost some kind of bizarre pride taken in it, like pseudo intellectualism. Not necessarily yourself, but certainly the OP I replied to.

I accept people seem to vary from one extreme to another with Rodri, and that often leads to shit discussions about him, but there needs to be a more frank discussion about him IMO. He's one of the weakest senior outfield player we have at the club IMO, in one of the most important roles in the side.

He has enormous boots to fill in Fernandinho's role, and it isn't easy, but I don't think he's demonstrated he can, frankly. And I don't think a flattering pass completion average says otherwise.

So basically, what you are saying is you don't personally rate him.

That is fine, some people disagree with you.

Is Rodri another Ferdy? No like ferdy wasn't another Barry or Dejong, all 3 served us well as DM in their own way, just as Rodri is doing.

No DM need to be a carbon copy of the last, but do the job needed around his team mates, Rodri fills that role in his own style, and as results show is effective at it.

With our attacking tallent a conservative passer in our holding role is not such a bad thing as the champions league final shown, when we used a more attack minded holding midfielder to lesser effect.

 

[Phil Mitchell Foden]

So basically, what you are saying is you don't personally rate him because he is different in style to Fernandinho

That is fine, but you decided to speak for the people and as such people have disagreed with you, and then tried to analyse and diagnose peoples thinking on your own personal outlook.

Is Rodri another Ferdy? No like ferdy wasn't another Barry or Dejong, all 3 served us well as DM in their own way, just as Rodri is doing.

No DM need to be a carbon copy of the last, but do the job needed arpund his team mates, Rodri fills thqt role in his own style, and as results show is effective at it.

At no point have I tried to speak for other people. I said I think it's fair to say it appears Pep's lost some trust in Rodri, but I'm not speaking for Pep. It's an observation. And it's my opinion.

It's not a case of not rating Rodri because he's isn't the same "kind of player" that Fernandinho is, I don't rate him because he's inferior in literally every single department to Fernandinho, bar his ability to win aerial duels. I don't think he's an adequate replacement.

And they are similar kind of players.

You say they're not because there are things that Rodri simply cannot do that Fernandinho used to do with ease until he was nearing retirement. But they play exactly the same role in the side, and have the same expectations upon them when they start in that holding role, Rodri just doesn't do it as well, it's that simple.

The comparisons with De Jong and Barry are interesting, but they played in different sides with different expectations on them and their roles. De Jong simply wouldn't have the quality to get into this side.

Barry has some of Rodri's physical limitations but he was a much better reader of the game, better positionally, better in the challenge, and had a bigger array of passes in his locker.

For me, it's simply does the player tick the boxes. Rodri can do a job, I just don't think he's the answer.

 

[Phil Mitchell Foden]

So basically, what you are saying is you don't personally rate him.

That is fine, some people disagree with you.

Is Rodri another Ferdy? No like ferdy wasn't another Barry or Dejong, all 3 served us well as DM in their own way, just as Rodri is doing.

No DM need to be a carbon copy of the last, but do the job needed around his team mates, Rodri fills that role in his own style, and as results show is effective at it.

With our attacking tallent a conservative passer in our holding role is not such a bad thing as the champions league final shown, when we used a more attack minded holding midfielder to lesser effect.

You need to stop editing your posts after I've replied mate, that was a more reasonable post than the one I replied to. Albeit I still have disagreement.

Re the CL final, 30 year old Fernandinho would've started that game I think. Speculation, but I don't think Pep trusted Rodri in the holding role given how poor his form was towards the end of the season, and given all the flaws he has to his game I've touched on, particularly in such a tightly contested game. Fern was a good option to bring on, but maybe he worried about him picking up a card early with that Spaniah ref he has beef with being influenced by the talk pre match about Fern getting away with murder.

Ultimately though I think he played Gundogan in that holding role because he wanted us to move the ball better, he wanted more quality in midfield, and out the back. Quality that Rodri doesn't have.

If Rodri had those attributes I think he would've started that game. That's why I believe a younger Fernandinho likely would've started.

Obviously I'm speculating, but likewise you are when implying if Rodri starts it goes better. There's a chance it would, in theory we'd be less exposed, not Gundogan's natural position, but likewise there's every chance Rodri loses his battles and gets a little triangle played around him like he's a traffic cone as we see all too often.

 

[urban genie]

You need to stop editing your posts after I've replied mate, that was a more reasonable post than the one I replied to. Albeit I still have disagreement.

Re the CL final, 30 year old Fernandinho would've started that game I think. Speculation, but I don't think Pep trusted Rodri in the holding role given how poor his form was towards the end of the season, and given all the flaws he has to his game I've touched on, particularly in such a tightly contested game. Fern was a good option to bring on, but maybe he worried about him picking up a card early with that Spaniah ref he has beef with being influenced by the talk pre match about Fern getting away with murder.

Ultimately though I think he played Gundogan in that holding role because he wanted us to move the ball better, he wanted more quality in midfield, and out the back. Quality that Rodri doesn't have.

If Rodri had those attributes I think he would've started that game. That's why I believe a younger Fernandinho likely would've started.

Obviously I'm speculating, but likewise you are when implying if Rodri starts it goes better. There's a chance it would, in theory we'd be less exposed, not Gundogan's natural position, but likewise there's every chance Rodri loses his battles and gets a little triangle played around him like he's a traffic cone as we see all too often.

Sorry I eeread your post and thpugh my original reply was a little harsh.

I ain't implyimg Rodri starting means anything, a game can go any way no matter the line up who knows what would hqve been the result if ferdy or rodri had played.

What we know is a holding conservative or tidy DM suits us more going off the last 4 season and our performances.

Honestly as Rodri was the back up to us losing out on Jorginho, and seeing him get better every season at chelsea I lament us missing out on him more than anything, but am very happy with rodders perfomances over a season.

 

[Phil Mitchell Foden]

Sorry I eeread your post and thpugh my original reply was a little harsh.

I ain't implyimg Rodri starting means anything, a game can go any way no matter the line up who knows what would hqve been the result if ferdy or rodri had played.

What we know is a holding conservative or tidy DM suits us more goingnoff the last 4 season and our performances.

Honestly as Rodri was the back up to us losing out on Jorginho, and seeing him get better every season at chelsea I lament us missing out on him more thqn anything, but am very happy with rodders perfomances over a season.

No worries mate.

Yeah I would've liked to have seen Fernandinho start the CL final, but who knows what would've happened. I think Pep knows he got it wrong on the day though, deep down.

Yeah it would've been interesting to see what Pep could've done with Jorginho tbh. Can't win them all though like you said.

We'll have to see though, like I said I think this is a really big year for Rodri. It's difficult as well because I don't see a clear standout, and obtainable, alternative name that would tick every box and be worth spending big on. They'd all be gambles to a degree, Bissouma included.

 

[PragueBlue]

I know some people prefer a more athletic, all-action sort of DM in the Fernandinho mould but personally I would rather stick with Rodri.

He's a much better player than many give him credit for. He reads the game well, retains possession well (though sometimes takes him a few mins at the start to get up with the speed of the game), passes the ball well but yet keeps it simple when needed.

He's still young and will continue to develop into the kind of DM that we need.

 

[kun]

Irony exists or it doesn't, unintentional or not. Pretty straightforward.

You haven't provided a counter argument, you glossed over my points and just said I was talking shite. That's not an argument. Hope this helps.

You said "Pep clearly doesn't trust Rodri"

I said "He played more than any other player last season"

This is a counter argument. Hope this help.

 

[kun]

Spectacularly missed the point fella, just like our mate @kun.

The player in the holding role does have the cosiest job on the pitch - when we're in possession. They have freedom of the entire pitch and options all over the place. Given we're the most dominant possession side in the country, that's the vast majority of time. And that's my point.

In possession, our Goalkeeper has the cosiest job. In fact 99% of the time Ederson has the easiest job in the team.

And this is precisely my point, and why Rodri's flaws only show up so often, because we're so dominant, but when they do show up they're absolutely glaring because they're often in the biggest games in tightly contested fixtures.

It's the cosiest role on the pitch when we're bossing it and dominating dross everyweek, which is most of the time. But as an all round role, it's one of the most testing and important roles in the whole side. The player that plays that role is pivotal to the football we play, in possession and out of possession.

Well it's not my fault if you can't remember many of the excellent off the ball performances Rodri put in last season.
Fernandinho's flaws also get shown up in some big games. That what happens in big games. The same has happened to Stones, Aké, Kompany, Silva, Sterling, Agüero, Jesus etc etc. Big games are more difficult, so if you have flaws (which every footballer on the planet does) they will sometimes be shown up by top drawer players.

"Rodri's flaws show up so often" then how did he start 14 of our 21 winning streak?
playing against Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool. Winning all of them (obviously). Surely not if his flaws always get exposed against the big boys. He also played, and won, 10 Champions League games last season (including PSG away and Dortmund home and away), conceding just 2 goals in total.

Pep had Xavi and Busquets there at Barca, Alonso and Lahm at Bayern.

And? What is your point?

He also had Puyol and Márquez, and Ribery and Robben. So?

A player playing that role doesn't have to have Xavi's passing range to be a success, or not be a liability as the bare minimum.

Can't make heads or tails of this sentence. It's actually gibberish.
(Sorry if there is some typo that has completely had me, genuinely can't understand this)

They don't have to be a Kante/Fernandinho hybrid to be a success when we're out of possession to be a success in that role, but they have to do the fundamentals well. And ultimately I feel this is Rodri's biggest flaw.

He does the fundamentals well, that is why he loses the ball less than anyone else.

He's not the most gifted footballer, he's reasonable in possession, prone to the odd error and doesn't really have a killer pass in him, but he keeps the ball ticking over well enough and doesn't lose possession a great deal. That's not ideal in the role, but it's passable if defensively he was sold - but he isn't. At all. It's his single biggest flaw.

He literally created a goal with a killer pass yesterday. How bad is your memory ffs.

I'm not even commenting on Bissouma's suitability btw, just observing that we haven't adequately replaced Fernandinho as far as I'm concerned. And this grows more and more obvious the more time passes.

That is because Fernandinho is still here. If he'd have left we'd replace him.
Did we replace Kompany before he left? or Silva? or Agüero? No.

Pep Guardiola, Diego Simeone and Luis Enrique all rate him very highly.
"Phil Mitchell Foden" from Bluemoon thinks he's shit.

I know who's football opinions I trust more.

 

[Phil Mitchell Foden]

You said "Pep clearly doesn't trust Rodri"

I said "He played more than any other player last season"

This is a counter argument. Hope this help.

He didn't play more then any other player last season. Fernandinho, Gundogan, Dias, Walker, Stones, Bernardo, Mahrez, Foden and Ederson all had more minutes than him in the CL last season.

In the PL he had less minutes than Dias and Ederson.

And bear in mind in every other position in the squad there's a huge competition for places, and lots of rotation. Rodri's only competition for his role is a 36 year old Fernandinho, and he had less minutes than him in the CL.

Hope this helps.

https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/167/Archive/England-Manchester-City?stageId=18685

 

[kun]

He didn't play more then any other player last season. Fernandinho, Gundogan, Dias, Walker, Stones, Bernardo, Mahrez, Foden and Ederson all had more minutes than him in the CL last season.

Sorry - he player more often than any other player. 53 times to be exact. I said that earlier and it would have made what I meant obvious but you didn’t bother reading my points from me earlier so you missed that.

In the PL he had less minutes than Dias and Ederson.

Rodri played 2750 PL minutes last season.
Fernandinho: 1185 mins
Dias played fewer than 100 more minutes than Rodri in the PL.
and yes Ederson played more minutes than any City player in the PL, he’s the fucking goalkeeper. Rodri still played more times in all competitions than Ederson.

And bare in mind in every other position in the squad there's a huge competition for places, and lots of rotation. Rodri's only competition for his role is a 36 year old Fernandinho, and he had less minutes than him in the CL.

Fernandinho wasn’t 36 last season - he was 35 - that is nursery level maths. Another point I made earlier and you clearly didn’t bother reading.

Oh look, another bold faced lie. Rodri played 785 Champions League minutes last season, Fernandinho played 342 (fewer than half).

I know maths isn’t your strong point but 785 is a bigger number than 342.

Hope this helps.

Honestly cannot believe you were complaining about arrogance you are one of the most obnoxiously arrogant people I have ever interacted with on here.

 

[samarasra]

At no point have I tried to speak for other people. I said I think it's fair to say it appears Pep's lost some trust in Rodri, but I'm not speaking for Pep. It's an observation. And it's my opinion.

It's not a case of not rating Rodri because he's isn't the same "kind of player" that Fernandinho is, I don't rate him because he's inferior in literally every single department to Fernandinho, bar his ability to win aerial duels. I don't think he's an adequate replacement.

And they are similar kind of players.

You say they're not because there are things that Rodri simply cannot do that Fernandinho used to do with ease until he was nearing retirement. But they play exactly the same role in the side, and have the same expectations upon them when they start in that holding role, Rodri just doesn't do it as well, it's that simple.

The comparisons with De Jong and Barry are interesting, but they played in different sides with different expectations on them and their roles. De Jong simply wouldn't have the quality to get into this side.

Barry has some of Rodri's physical limitations but he was a much better reader of the game, better positionally, better in the challenge, and had a bigger array of passes in his locker.

For me, it's simply does the player tick the boxes. Rodri can do a job, I just don't think he's the answer.

From "People don't rate Rodri for good reason" to "At no point have I tried to speak for other people". You need to read posts properly, especially your own.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

I know some people prefer a more athletic, all-action sort of DM in the Fernandinho mould but personally I would rather stick with Rodri.

He's a much better player than many give him credit for. He reads the game well, retains possession well (though sometimes takes him a few mins at the start to get up with the speed of the game), passes the ball well but yet keeps it simple when needed.

He's still young and will continue to develop into the kind of DM that we need.

Two players for every position, and Fernandinho will be gone in a year. There’s no point in just going for a squad player to replace him. We should be going out and getting a top class player as it’s a key position in the team. Any team that has very good defensive midfielders invariably does well.

The lad at Brighton (Bissouma) was brilliant last season and he’s started this season in the same light.

Why would we not go for him to be one of the two players for the defensive mid position with Rodri?

Rodri is okay. I always say he’s the perfect player in our team when we’re winning. We slow down somewhat and play at a pace that suits him more with tactics that suit him more. His attributes are perfect for this.

But when we’re chasing a game, he often doesn’t play well or do what we need him to. Sometimes when the game is fast he’s a bit of an issue as teams bypass him too easily. Even Harry Kane outpaced him last year and Kane’s slows as fuck.

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

Two players for every position, and Fernandinho will be gone in a year. There’s no point in just going for a squad player to replace him. We should be going out and getting a top class player as it’s a key position in the team. Any team that has very good defensive midfielders invariably does well.

The lad at Brighton (Bissouma) was brilliant last season and he’s started this season in the same light.

Why would we not go for him to be one of the two players for the defensive mid position with Rodri?

Rodri is okay. I always say he’s the perfect player in our team when we’re winning. We slow down somewhat and play at a pace that suits him more with tactics that suit him more. His attributes are perfect for this.

But when we’re chasing a game, he often doesn’t play well or do what we need him to. Sometimes when the game is fast he’s a bit of an issue as teams bypass him too easily. Even Harry Kane outpaced him last year and Kane’s slows as fuck.

Agree with a lot of this... with a bit of a different nuance.

Rodri is someone you give the ball to, to control the game. He finds the next pass. Rodri excels at this. He also breaks up some plays, but that's not his forte.

Rodri can play in fast-paced games IMO. Where he fails though - is in fast-paced games against top opposition where he needs to move rapidly to break up play. That's not his game at all.