Fernando has turned it around

[leighton]

Think Fernando will stay. Look at the way Pep teams play they can generally defend and attack like the best of them. We need I think he may well be the 1 sitting in front of the back 4. The energy will come from others around the midfield to press the ball all the time. Feel players with high work rate in general in all areas will help. KDB we will see more of pressing when we dont have the ball and Sterling too. Sterling can do it has the legs to do it. Does KDB have the legs to do both not too sure. Also feel Silva will love to play in a Pep team hopefully next season no niggling injuries and we have options already in the squad.

 

[almir]

Maybe it's just me, but Navas seems to be putting a shift in. It's just his ability dragging him down.

Putting a shift in was never something anyone could take off from Navas. He always worked very hard, harder than anyone in our team. Putting a good cross in is other story, though this season he didn't have much choice as usually there's nobody in the box.

 

[Hungarian blue]

Think Fernando will stay. Look at the way Pep teams play they can generally defend and attack like the best of them. We need I think he may well be the 1 sitting in front of the back 4. The energy will come from others around the midfield to press the ball all the time. Feel players with high work rate in general in all areas will help. KDB we will see more of pressing when we dont have the ball and Sterling too. Sterling can do it has the legs to do it. Does KDB have the legs to do both not too sure. Also feel Silva will love to play in a Pep team hopefully next season no niggling injuries and we have options already in the squad.

Whilst Fernando has been more than reliable throughout this season, and, overall very good, I can't see him in a Pep team. He's been a professional coach for 8 seasons now and never ever used a specialist DM in his starting eleven, neither he even had one in his senior squad. Xabi Alonso, Kimmich, Thiago, Busquets and even Vidal are completely different type of players. He would consider him as a waste in midfield, which he sees probably as the most important part of a footballing side.

His movement when we have possession is quite limited and just too negative, something even Pep might be unable to change. :)

I like him and you can watch back that I was mostly always supportive of him and thought the criticism towards him was way over the top, but I'd rather sell him now for a similar fee which we had brought him in, and give a shot to Aleix Garcia / M. Garcia / Byrne / Davenport / Bryan etc. They are much more suited to what we will try to play, and, importantly, Pep can sort of form them into his own liking.

 

[bobom]

Yes, he's been providing great cover for the back four. But I've been watching him really closely in the last few matches and he really doesn't do much for us in possession. Quite the opposite: he never seems to offer himself as a passing outlet to the defence. Yesterday there were a couple of time where Sagna and Otamendi were under pretty minimal pressure, and instead of finding space to give them an easy pass he just pointed up front as if to say "Lump it up there".

I think it's a mental thing - he sort of switches off once we've regained possession, when that's actually the exact time we need to build up attacks through him. It's not asking him to spray the ball around, just do the simple stuff - find space, take the ball, move it on. Making sure it's Silva, Nasri, de Bruyne playing the risky passes and not Mangala and Otamendi.

Having said that, he's had such an improvement this season. But he should offer so much more going forward. But I could imagine him as a centre back...

 

[Phil1]

He's been a bright spot in an otherwise grim couple of months. Still looks uncomfortable in possession and he's hardly likely to deliver any killer balls but as a hardworking defensive midfielder he's got most of the tools needed to do the job well. The more minutes he gets the better he's looked though I'm not sure it'll be enough for Pep to consider him a starter.

 

[mancityscot]

improved a heck of a lot lately. still feel he's a bit limited but cant fault his effort and performances lately. huge improvement and could well have saved his city career

 

[Le Havre Oswald]

I like him

 

[stony]

Garcia turned it around in the end too. It didn't save him from being fucked off.

 

[BigOscar]

Garcia turned it around in the end too. It didn't save him from being fucked off.

It's the genius plan of buying a specialist holding midfield player, spending a year using them about once a month out of a position as a standard central midfielder, then after a year or so when they start to adapt and get used to what is being asked of them and actually start to play well, sell them and replace them with another specialist holding midfielder so we can start it all over again. Presumably we are lining up another £15m holding midfielder from Portugal as we speak so we can continue this ridiculous pattern

 

[Lomas has a lob on]

He has improved, much like his predecessor Garcia!
With all the other probable in's & out's, I wouldn't be surprised if he still remained part of the squad. He is ideal for certain games and opponents! Not sure he does enough on the ball for Pep's liking though.