82 | Rico Lewis - 2023/24

Status
Not open for further replies.
Haaland94 said:
36 touches today. Only Alvarez and Haaland had less. Not involved enough, both offensively and defensively, in a midfield position. Average showing. In comparison, Nunes had 25 touches in 20 minutes. I don't think it was a game for him, not at this stage of his development.
Click to expand...
He was playing the inside right midfield position in a 4-1-4-1, with Foden outside him and Bernardo behind him. Both of those things exposed him to the counter, given his remit was to press forward as much as possible.

For me, he is wasted in that role, as he is far more suited to playing alongside a 6, with the ability to slot into the 8, rather than being asked to play more as an 8 and slot into the 10.

There were many players off the boil and the game was both hectic and fractured in the middle of the park, so no-one covered themselves in glory on either team.

To single Rico out, then say the occasion was too much for him or his age was a negative does him a disservice, IMHO.

While he may never be of the technical prowess of a Bernardo (and few ever will), he has the ability to learn that “Jack of All Trades” ability and make himself extremely useful to the team in a number of roles.

At this point, I don’t think anyone thinks there is a Right Back hiding in there, but he has the ability to play multiple roles in a fluid Pep system.

If I’m being honest, I’m struggling think of a player who played better than he did and yet he was nowhere near a MOTM performance, which just about sums up the team performance.
 
Pep loves him for a reason, but he isn't ready for big games. Wasn't ready last season and Pep dropped him after we lost at Spurs in early February, and he isn't ready now either. So few touches for a midfielder is poor. Tbh, hope he doesn't start at Old Trafford. In hindsight, Pep should have gone with Nunes who can progress the ball from deeper positions and maybe with Akanji over Ake.
 
alexmcity said:
Pep loves him for a reason, but he isn't ready for big games. Wasn't ready last season and Pep dropped him after we lost at Spurs in early February, and he isn't ready now either. So few touches for a midfielder is poor. Tbh, hope he doesn't start at Old Trafford. In hindsight, Pep should have gone with Nunes who can progress the ball from deeper positions and maybe with Akanji over Ake.
Click to expand...
I’m sure he will be a good player for us in time. As you say he was pulled out of the side late last season for good treason and the results followed. It’s not a downer on the lad as he’s a good prospect but not ready for the big games.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Unread Posts

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

SIGN UP
Back
Top
✖
  AdBlock Detected
Bluemoon relies on advertising to pay our hosting fees. Please support the site by disabling your ad blocking software to help keep the forum sustainable. Thanks.