82 | Rico Lewis - 2024/25

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BigOscar said:
Honestly think he's the new Zinchenko tbh. Neat, tidy, good at pressing, but just doesn't have a position where you'd want to play him. Too slow and weak at fullback and poor in behind, not creative enough to play in midfield. Just don't seem to have an obvious position imo, which us a shame as he's a good player, but just not one I'd want to play anywhere
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To be honest, I think he‘d be fine if he played the same role as Zinchenko. Starting at full back and just stepping inside alongside the deepest midfielder. Instead, Pep‘s asking him to start at right back and get up 30 yards into the inside right position. Impossible task, and pointless anyway, given he doesn‘t really do anything creative in those spaces anyway.
 
King Jay said:
Can’t do anything. Never understood the hype. Don’t see anything special and it has nothing to do with this game it’s been like that forever for me.
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He originally got into the side because Pep was pissed with Cancelo. He gets game time now because of injuries and Walker being 34 and playing like it.

I said it ages ago that Rico has become Peps pet project and is afforded mistakes/poor performances that others simply wouldn’t get away with. He’s either a RB who can’t defend, or an AM who doesn’t score or create. People get excited on here because he “knits things together”. Great.

When Pep goes, I am 100% convinced Rico won’t get a look in under a new manager.
 
Had two simple 8 yard passes to put Phil and Haaland in 1v1 but chose to dribble and lose the ball instead.

He offers nothing in the final third and makes us much weaker defensively. I don't understand what Pep is trying to do playing him so high up the pitch, what wrong with the position Delph/Zinchenko played alongside the holding midfielder?
 
Yes go on. Lets start blaming a 19 year old academy kid of our own. That will help. Not defending a poor performance on the night by the player, but the comments I read on here and which are based on tonight's result is absolutely out of order. Get a fck grip.
Rico will come good. 100 percent he will.
 
sh249 said:
To be honest, I think he‘d be fine if he played the same role as Zinchenko. Starting at full back and just stepping inside alongside the deepest midfielder. Instead, Pep‘s asking him to start at right back and get up 30 yards into the inside right position. Impossible task, and pointless anyway, given he doesn‘t really do anything creative in those spaces anyway.
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That position only works if you're dominating games, as soon as they attack the right hand side, he's a free pass. If you're Dani Akves or Marcelo, sure its worth that risk, but if your Lewis or Zinchenko, and all you offer is more control, no actual creativity, then that's a bad trade off.

Without Rodri, I just don't t see how you can risk him I'm defence
 
BigOscar said:
That position only works if you're dominating games, as soon as they attack the right hand side, he's a free pass. If you're Dani Akves or Marcelo, sure its worth that risk, but if your Lewis or Zinchenko, and all you offer is more control, no actual creativity, then that's a bad trade off.

Without Rodri, I just don't t see how you can risk him I'm defence
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I agree that we need control, but I think we could have that with Lewis playing that role. Our football in 2017/18 and 2018/19 was sublime, and that was with Delph and Zinchenko doing that exact job alongside Fernandinho. Hardly world-beaters.
 
If he cannot play as a conventional right back he simply has to come out of the team, absolutely everybody is now exploiting the massive gaps he leaves.

Their second goal straight from kick off is a great visual representation to see the biggest problem we have and see how easy it is for the opposition to take advantage. Immediately from kick off Rico just ignores his defensive duties and pretty much runs upfront, he forces kovacic to come over, he gets done with ease and suddenly they're right at our now back 3 and it's then turned into 5v3 straight from kick off. Nobody in midfield has the legs to get back in and Rico is nowhere to be seen.

Pep's absolutely to blame more than anything for asking him to do this but Rico himself is far from blameless. We talk about his game intelligence a lot but hes clueless defensively. he has to learn some defensive nous, it was his decision to break from the backline instead of staying in line.

We need a back 4 not a back 3
 
At this point in his career, he's a specialist player. Effective against some teams but limited against others. He's still developing.
 
Thaksinssoldier said:
Nowhere near it.

We’ve allowed far better players to leave.
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Get this out the way 1st…We all know that Cancelo is a cock. However, I can’t help but watch Rico and just see a Poundland Cancelo. He’s no better defensively and significantly worse than him in the opposition half.

Cancelo was dropped for some high-profile mistakes (notably at Anfield) and then spat his dummy. Now i am watching Rico make similar mistakes and other than Rico being a nice kid, I’m not seeing how the team has come out of it for the better?
 
Pep clearly loves him.. whilst I am far from convinced. Pep knows about a million times what I know about football so I’ll leave it to his good judgement, but for me his lack of strength and athleticism is apparent and every time the ball falls to him in the business end of the field it breaks down, so I’m struggling to see what Pep is seeing.

Bet I look like a right mug in 18 months time and hope that I do!
 
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