82 | Rico Lewis - 2024/25

[Mcfc_110]

I'm not sure if he's ever going be good enough for midfield or fullback for the level we want to be at but he's not exactly being helped by Pep right now either. Personally think the inverted fullback role he's being asked to play is only highlighting his weaknesses as a player and our weaknesses as a team. He's on a bad run and just think he and the team would benefit massively from a simplified role and being asked to just play RB. Right now he clogs up the middle and ends up on the ball where you'd much rather see Phil and Kev on it in advanced positions or Kovacic and Bernardo deeper. Then off it he's miles out of position and doesn't have the pace to recover. When he does have to recover suddenly he has to sprint out of central midfield, which then opens up huge gaps around Kovacic and nobody ahead has the legs to get back in. CBs then have to be dragged out of position to either cover the glaring holes out wide or in front of them. If the whole team is on song and confident you can probably deal with these issues better. Right now though the whole team, and in particular the defence, is shot on confidence. It only takes a split second of doubt in a decision to stick or twist and there's a chance against us.