Fernando

[BLUE THUNDER]

not good enough...his passing ,other than when he goes short and sideways, is woeful. If he's going to be our starting holding midfielder we wont be going anything other than backwards. Not to the level we aspire to.

 

[OrigamiNinja]

Have you actually watched him this season or are you still judging him on a few bad months last year when he was playing with an injury?

He's been crucial for us since January and has been excellent in our best performances this season. Other than Kante, I don't think there has been a better player in the league this season doing the job he does.

He's not a world beater but he doesn't have to be to have a role in our side. He's excellent at covering space when team mates are dragged out of position, has fantastic positional sense, something Pep seemingly values very highly, and has the added benefit of actually being pretty decent on the ball too and a lot better than people give him credit for.

There's a lot of areas that need strengthening or a change in personnel to suit Peps style this summer. Replacing Fernando is very low on the priorities list.

De Jong>Barry>Garcia>Fernando

How is that possible in a "top" team? How do you continue to replace players, who we consider not good enough for where we want to be, with worse players? We have just struggled to finish 4th in a league won by Leicester, finished 3 points ahead of Southampton and may very well finish level on points with the worst United side in living memory. Players like Fernando are one of the main reasons for this. How many times do we see teams just cut right through the middle of us? There's barely a game that goes by without me shouting "where the fuck is Fernando"?. This clown was labelled the octopus and I hoped it was because he was everywhere, what has transpired is that he gained that moniker because a) he doesn't have a backbone and b) when he makes a "tackle" his legs are like jelly.

To suggest only Kante is better than him in that position is fanciful at best and arguably crazy but even if this were true the difference between the quality of the two is like night and day.

It'll be a great watch next season when Pep tries to get our midfield pressing and Fernando needs a respirator and an ambulance after 15 minutes.

 

[geoff clipp]

De Jong>Barry>Garcia>Fernando

I think Barry was a far superior player to De Jong, though I don't think they're entirely comparable and he was never a replacement for De Jong.

I liked De Jong and he was a great player for us, but Barry was absolutely integral to our first title win whereas by that point De Jong was the answer to a question that was no longer being asked in our squad alongside that group of players (as proven by the number of appearances he made that year)

I think we've really missed Barry since he left. Far more than De Jong.

As for Fernando, he's not quite up to the standard required but he'd have probably been remembered as fondly as De Jong if he'd been around in that era and asked to do that job.

 

[OrigamiNinja]

I think Barry was a far superior player to De Jong, though I don't think they're entirely comparable and he was never a replacement for De Jong.

I liked De Jong and he was a great player for us, but Barry was absolutely integral to our first title win whereas by that point De Jong was the answer to a question that was no longer being asked in our squad alongside that group of players (as proven by the number of appearances he made that year)

I think we've really missed Barry since he left. Far more than De Jong.

As for Fernando, he's not quite up to the standard required but he'd have probably been remembered as fondly as De Jong if he'd been around in that era and asked to do that job.

The De Jong>Barry or Barry>De Jong argument was a long running saga. Does anyone argue that the both of them were far better than Fernando?

Pep states he wants a thousand midfielders..................Fernando still wont make the cut.

 

[Phil1]

He's done a job the last few months but if we've got plans on winning leagues and European cups then him as our main defensive midfielder/holding midfielder or however you want to characterise his position won't be good enough. Certainly not as a starter.

 

[geoff clipp]

The De Jong>Barry or Barry>De Jong argument was a long running saga. Does anyone argue that the both of them were far better than Fernando?

Pep states he wants a thousand midfielders..................Fernando still wont make the cut.

I think Barry was better than Fernando and I agree Fernando isn't quite at the level we need. I think he's better than Garcia and though. Hard to say whether he's better/worse than De Jong as I don't think De Jong would make the cut either for Guardiola. Fernando might well have done his job quite nicely in place of De Jong during that era but I guess we'll never know.

 

[Tugay One Cup]

It'll be a great watch next season when Pep tries to get our midfield pressing and Fernando needs a respirator and an ambulance after 15 minutes

Keeping possession means the pressing happens in short, intensive bursts.

 

[OB1]

I think Barry was better than Fernando and I agree Fernando isn't quite at the level we need. I think he's better than Garcia and though. Hard to say whether he's better/worse than De Jong as I don't think De Jong would make the cut either for Guardiola. Fernando might well have done his job quite nicely in place of De Jong during that era but I guess we'll never know.

I think this is about right. Barry was self evidently better than De Jong in the eyes of the manager. Barry was the best of that bunch but he was essentially replaced by Fernandinho. De Jong did bring added personality and aggression to the equation but, for example, he was never likely to score a goal and even Nando does that occasionally.

I have no idea if he will stay or go but I do believe that his first season was messed up by one hospital pass by Kolarov against Stoke; in fact, if I had to pick one single moment that screwed up last season's campaign, it would be that. If Nando had not got injured then, I doubt we would have lost that game...

I am one of those who consider Nando to have been one of the team's better players in the final phase of this season but I have no prediction on whether he will stay or go. What I am optimistic about is that the combination of Pep and, hopefully, some serious improvement of the playing resources over the summer will help to bring the best out of the players that remain from the current squad: I think part of the problem has been a lack of belief and confidence on the part of too many players.

 

[OrigamiNinja]

I think this is about right. Barry was self evidently better than De Jong in the eyes of the manager. Barry was the best of that bunch but he was essentially replaced by Fernandinho. De Jong did bring added personality and aggression to the equation but, for example, he was never likely to score a goal and even Nando does that occasionally.

I have no idea if he will stay or go but I do believe that his first season was messed up by one hospital pass by Kolarov against Stoke; in fact, if I had to pick one single moment that screwed up last season's campaign, it would be that. If Nando had not got injured then, I doubt we would have lost that game...

I am one of those who consider Nando to have been one of the team's better players in the final phase of this season but I have no prediction on whether he will stay or go. What I am optimistic about is that the combination of Pep and, hopefully, some serious improvement of the playing resources over the summer will help to bring the best out of the players that remain from the current squad: I think part of the problem has been a lack of belief and confidence on the part of too many players.

It would be nice if more were in the oppositions net! :-)

 

[Mike D]

I honestly can't see him being around next season. He's been a good squad player and has shown signs of improvement but does not possess the technical ability to survive under Pep.