Fernando

tolmie's hairdoo said:
Fernando has been our best player for three months and it's been startling to see how good he actually is on the ball when he breaks forward between the lines.

His pass selection is very good and our whole league season started to unravel the day Fernando was subbed against Spurs at home, as we chased the win.

I still hold Hart responsible for the error in Paris, even if Fernando's touch was heavier than Yaya after a cake binge.
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this.
 
Must admit that I got it completely wrong about Fernando.

I remember stating a season or two back that he was a shite version of De Jong and whilst it has undoubtedly taken Fernando a while to settle in, he is without doubt a huge upgrade.
 
Dax777 said:
He isnt though. But the fallacy that he is, persist. He didn't just have a decent 45 against Arsenal. He had one against PSG, against Real, against Swansea. He has pretty much been good since he became a full-time starter.

And his Ball skills are grossly underrated. So ischis IQ. Which may be 2nd only to Kev's on the squad. The way he maneuvers the ball into the correct space to create separation is exquisite. I think he is a shoe in to stay.
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Good at defending but But he really isn't good enough going forward. He doesn't pass the ball forward anywhere near often enough or far enough and he doesn't advance into space when it's offered.
A player to rotate in for playing against lesser lights or to cover for injuries but not first choice.
 
BlueAnorak said:
Good at defending but But he really isn't good enough going forward. He doesn't pass the ball forward anywhere near often enough or far enough and he doesn't advance into space when it's offered.
A player to rotate in for playing against lesser lights or to cover for injuries but not first choice.
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He is a holding midfielder. And while there are some who are great going forward, most aren't (or better yet, restrict themselves). I don't see him as a starter next season. My dream will be for him to be Gundogan's backup at the DM position.
 
IcriedwhenTueartleft said:
Fernando is symptomatic of the sort of player we have at City, has one good game every 6 weeks and everyone is suddenly hailing them as the great saviour, the great player we always knew they would become or even better, when they don't play and we lose then that defeat is down to the fact that "so and so didn't play".
He's average, good enough sometimes for us and then distinctly mediocre for a few games too and, has the odd howler in him (PSG away/heading past Hart on Sunday afternoon)....too often he gets caught dawdling on the ball, he wants too much time on it.
Players like Fernando wouldn't get near the first team at RM, Barca or Bayern because they're not good enough. The guy has been here 2 full seasons and hand on heart, you could count the number of great performances on two hands (at a push), likewise you could probably count the amount of assists he has on one hand, and the same for goals. For a midfielder, that is pants.
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The first bolded portion is mostly exaggeration. He has done very few of those things you mentioned. And to consider a freekick deflection a howler is ridiculous.

As to the 2nd bolded. I give you Casemiro at Real Madrid. Serge Tasci at Bayern Munich. Rafinha at Bayern Munich and Batra at Barcelona. By the way, none of these guys are bad players. They are actually good at what they do, but Fernando is comparable to everyone of them.
 
The guy seems very genuine and very popular with the other players.
He is never going to be a top player but does a good job for the team and thanks to overcoming a difficult 1st season is a very useful squad member.
 
BlueAnorak said:
Good at defending but But he really isn't good enough going forward. He doesn't pass the ball forward anywhere near often enough or far enough and he doesn't advance into space when it's offered.
A player to rotate in for playing against lesser lights or to cover for injuries but not first choice.
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I think he's a great squad player. And to be honest, he has shown in the last few months that he is a capable defensive midfielder. Anyway, I would rather he break up play and get the ball to our other creative/attacking outlets rather then take on those roles himself. Why criticise him for a skillset which is role doesn't necessitate? What next, Hart is shit because he never whips in crosses, Aguero doesn't make any defensive clearances?
 
ninjamonkey said:
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.
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This all day long.
 
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.
 
ninjamonkey said:
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.
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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.
 
OrigamiNinja said:
De Jong>Barry>Garcia>Fernando
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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.
 
geoff clipp said:
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.
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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.
 
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.
 
OrigamiNinja said:
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.
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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.
 
geoff clipp said:
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.
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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.
 
OB1 said:
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.
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It would be nice if more were in the oppositions net! :-)
 
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.
 
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