16 | Rodri - 2021/22 Performances

[FantasyIreland]

Lavia is class and I hope it is him too. Great chatting with you.

Likewise,on both ;-)

 

[MarsLlama]

Meh, Busquets was never quick. Or Xabi Alonso. Or Jorginho. Or Guardiola. They all seem to cope fine with playing the role.

Jorginho is not a better player than Rodri, he just happened to win more last season, and in today's fucked up football world that equates to being the better player?

I swear if England had won the WC people would still think Jorginho was wank and it'd be one of the English Chelsea boys lapping up the praise.

Jorginho has none of the physicality of Rodri but is no faster and has a shorter passing range. Also no goal threat except when the ball is on the spot.

 

[MarsLlama]

Essentially people want a guy who's just as athletic as Fernandinho but has all the passing qualities that he has too. And I'm not sure that player exists. Fernandinho is an incredibly unique footballer, both physically and intellectually he's on a tier above almost anyone else. We've had to replace him with a more traditional regista/DM type and IMO we've got one of the best in the world at that.

 

[FromPollockToSilva]

Jorginho is not a better player than Rodri, he just happened to win more last season, and in today's fucked up football world that equates to being the better player?

I swear if England had won the WC people would still think Jorginho was wank and it'd be one of the English Chelsea boys lapping up the praise.

Jorginho has none of the physicality of Rodri but is no faster and has a shorter passing range. Also no goal threat except when the ball is on the spot.

I also think Rodri is better than Jorginho. My point was that a lack of speed has hardly inhibited Jorginho’s career as he’s the first name on the team sheet for pretty much every manager he’s played for

 

[Tugay One Cup]

Jorginho is not a better player than Rodri, he just happened to win more last season, and in today's fucked up football world that equates to being the better player?

I swear if England had won the WC people would still think Jorginho was wank and it'd be one of the English Chelsea boys lapping up the praise.

Jorginho has none of the physicality of Rodri but is no faster and has a shorter passing range. Also no goal threat except when the ball is on the spot.

Jorginho has a much, much, much better passing range than Rodri.

I'm a big Rodri fan but I can also recognise the strengths in others. Some of the passes Jorginho plays are insane.

 

[mccity]

Jorginho has a much, much, much better passing range than Rodri.

I'm a big Rodri fan but I can also recognise the strengths in others. Some of the passes Jorginho plays are insane.

Jorginho is a class act definitely.

One of the things that makes Rodri better than people realise is that although he's slow he's a big fucking unit (unlike all the other slow Pep style DMs). And for the most part he's really good at using that to his advantage.

The amount of times I've seen him win aerial duels or just nonchalantly bump guys off the ball is really impressive, especially in this overly physical league. He's not 100% successful but he's improving, and with experience he's going to be incredibly efficient with this one day soon hopefully.

A lot our pressing high up the pitch is greatly assisted by the human refrigerator that is Rodri.

 

[FromPollockToSilva]

Jorginho is a class act definitely.

One of the things that makes Rodri better than people realise is that although he's slow he's a big fucking unit (unlike all the other slow Pep style DMs). And for the most part he's really good at using that to his advantage.

The amount of times I've seen him win aerial duels or just nonchalantly bump guys off the ball is really impressive, especially in this overly physical league. He's not 100% successful but he's improving, and with experience he's going to be incredibly efficient with this one day soon hopefully.

A lot our pressing high up the pitch is greatly assisted by the human refrigerator that is Rodri.

The amount of headers he wins (and Fernandinho too) is so important in that role. It's something we'd really miss if we had a Kanté-type in there.

In terms of using his frame, one area he does need to improve on (and I'm confident he will) is not going down too easily when put under physical pressure. Referees aren't likely to give you a decision on that if you've been bouncing players around all game like he does, and we've seen a few occasions where he's left appealing for a foul as the opponents come away with the ball

 

[mccity]

In terms of using his frame, one area he does need to improve on (and I'm confident he will) is not going down too easily when put under physical pressure. Referees aren't likely to give you a decision on that if you've been bouncing players around all game like he does, and we've seen a few occasions where he's left appealing for a foul as the opponents come away with the ball

Agreed. He has that John Stones curse of it always ending up in a goal when it does go wrong too, so he needs to be as careful as he can be.

He's better than when he arrived thankfully (Cancelo and is too whilst I can mention it, hopefully Jesus follows suit as well).

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

Rodri does break up plays, does prevent counter attacks, does link up play from deep in both halves, maybe Pep has a broader opinion of his role and plays him because he fulfils the role Pep sees. At his best Ferna was much more than a midfield destroyer and much more than what you term a "so-called DM".

This post is in accord with how I perceive both Rodri and Fernandinho. Nonetheless, my previous post stands.

 

[Phil Mitchell Foden]

As I've said before, Rodri looks like he fits the bill when we're flat track bullying dross, but there are still glimpses of some major weaknesses to his game even then.

We had 80% possession against a garbage 10 man Arsenal on the weekend, and the consensus seems to be that he played really well.

Despite that overwhelming dominance we had against Arsenal, Rodri still got turned about 3 or 4 times leaving us exposed at the back. Perfect example of that here, 15 seconds in:



This happens every single week with Rodri, and it's genuinely alarming. In the tightly contested fixtures against the better sides this gets punished, and we've seen it before time and time again. You get tested more out of possession and those flaws will be exposed.

It's a big weakness for us as far as I'm concerned, especially with Fernandinho's age. This position is a worry, and I fail to see how anyone else can honestly say otherwise.