Fernando

I imagine this is because he rarely gives the ball away saying that he only plays safe sideways backwards passes.
 
Had a monstrous game against Arsenal. I think we may have taken the 3 points had he stayed on. I saw something in him in that game that made me think its totally fine if he sticks around. Peps system will give us far more structure and cohesiveness defensively which should make his job easier.
 
He's a tactical intelligent player who does what he's told, so I'm not surprised Pep would think he could do something with him (much more so than Delph). He's very reliable on the ball, people seem to confuse being unadventurous with being poor with the ball, but if you're a holding midfielder then you really shouldn't be trying risky passes very often, it's much more important that you consistently pass the ball to a teammate in space. Unfortunately our movement from attacking players has been pretty non existent for most of the past year so the safe pass for a player is usually a backwards or sideways one, but he's been just as willing to pass it forwards if the players in front of him actually get in space instead of just standing around.

My one criticism of him would be that his movement to make himself available for the ball hasn't been as good as it was at Porto, but given that none of our players seem to try to move into space I can't help but feel that will improve under a manager who values that as highly as Pep does, instead of a manager who clearly doesn't give the midfield much thought at all.
 
BigOscar said:
He's a tactical intelligent player who does what he's told, so I'm not surprised Pep would think he could do something with him (much more so than Delph).
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I will agree on Fernando, but where do you get the impression that Delph cannot also fit in ?

He was often played stupidly out of position last season, I still don't think we should write him off (though injuries are the biggest concern for me), I think there is as much reason to think Pep can work with Delph as Fernando, and Delph is 2 years younger, not to mention quicker.
 
cleavers said:
I will agree on Fernando, but where do you get the impression that Delph cannot also fit in ?

He was often played stupidly out of position last season, I still don't think we should write him off (though injuries are the biggest concern for me), I think there is as much reason to think Pep can work with Delph as Fernando, and Delph is 2 years younger, not to mention quicker.
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I think he just runs around a lot pretty aimlessly, rather than really thinking about what he's doing and why, I don't think he has any discipline. Technically I think he's hit and miss, capable of some good things, but also pretty sloppy. I think he's far more suited to playing for a bad/average team where he can run around doing whatever he wants and occasionally coming up with a great moment, rather than consistently doing a reliable job. I just don't see what position he is supposed to play, as he's nowhere near consistent enough with the ball to play as a central midfielder in a Pep team and he's not disciplined enough to play as the deeper midfielder imo.

I really don't rate him tbh and never have, I think he's a quintessentially British box to box midfield player, all running, no thinking.
 
BigOscar said:
I really don't rate him tbh and never have, I think he's a quintessentially British box to box midfield player, all running, no thinking.
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You may well be right, but who knows what Pep can make him into, left back wouldn't surprise me, we'll see I guess, we should not write him off yet, as he was criminally misused at times last season.
 
karen7 said:
Why? played in a 3 or with dinho he has been good,a more rigid structure will suit him much better
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Some people made their minds up about Fernando in 14/15 when he was playing through injury, and stopped actually watching his performances since then - why bother? Theyd already made up their minds.

His form after Christmas last season was excellent, and with Guardiolas need for midfielders and our lack of them, it shouldn't really be a surprise that he's staying.

He'll probably move on next summer but for now he's a very handy player to have around.

If he can stay fit.
 
I'm happy with that. Gives us another option in the centre of the park which is vital for certain games. He's stepped up this season unlike many others.
 
Since Pep like to switch players position, I hope he use Nando & Dinho as CBs when needed instead of spending a lot to buy new CBs.
 
I think he like Bony, Nasri, Navas, Zabletta, Kolorov and Demechelis knows that his time his up with us. A good squad player but not good enough for the next level and the fact that he counts as a foreign player isn't in his favour.
 
cleavers said:
You may well be right, but who knows what Pep can make him into, left back wouldn't surprise me, we'll see I guess, we should not write him off yet, as he was criminally misused at times last season.
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Fernando had a poor first season partly due to injury but has grown in stature over the last 6 months. I agree with the assessment that his job is not to pick out a killer pass but to gather up the ball and give it to a man in space. Some of the criticism is way off the mark and he may not be on his bike this summer as many seem to think.
As for Delph who knows. Personally I can't see him making it here under Pep. It is true he has not yet had a real chance to show what he is made of but unless he can stay fit and be more disciplined in his play I don't think he will fit in. This belief which I have heard on here a lot that he can be converted into a Pep left back is interesting but not sure how realistic it is.
 
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