Sorry TH but Rodri is way above the levels of those players.I understand why people should justify why they don't take to a certain City player.
For me, you have sugar-coated it to the extent because we all know Pep and a lot of Blues consider him a top player.
I don't consider him any better than Javi Garcia or Fernando in many aspects, which is criminal for the money we paid.
Perhaps it was because I was simply under the misapprehension he was Fern's long-term replacement?
He's not fit enough to wipe his arse at 36, never mind a peak Fern.
But who is, that's the real problem?
Sometimes I look at Rodders and think there is something great waiting to burst from its box, certainly when I saw him maul Burnley away the season before last.
That night, even De Jong said it was one of the most complete showings from a defensive midfielder he had seen.
Sadly, it was against Burnley, and we haven't seen much like it since.
Also, you get statements about Rodri's lack of pace, but how many 6ft3 DMs do you see covering every blade of grass?Pep also signed Xabi Alonso at Bayern, who had no issue with the pace of the English league, mainly because it's not actually any faster than any other league as is lazily suggested. Sure, some individual teams in England have a lot of pace, but that's true of any country.
Pep wanted Jorginho before he got Rodri. The Jorginho that just won the Champions League Final despite his lack of pace. Rodri would have absolutely flourished next to Kanté and in front of a back three too.
The fact is we attack with a lot of players ahead of the ball and if we get caught out we get exposed, that has always been the case. But check our goals against column and it really doesn't look any different whether Rodri, Fernandinho or anyone else plays that role.
Form? It’s a champions league final! Fuck form you play the best players available and pep decided NOT to go with Rodri as DM.Sorry TH but Rodri is way above the levels of those players.
He has been a mainstay of our team for more than 90% of the season and only lost form in the last couple of weeks which led to him being dropped for the 2nd leg of the UCL semifinal and final.
Form? It’s a champions league final! Fuck form you play the best players available and pep decided NOT to go with Rodri as DM.
That makes no sense as,instead,he included the most out of form player in our squad,and one who also had the added effect of destroying our balance and shape.Sorry TH but Rodri is way above the levels of those players.
He has been a mainstay of our team for more than 90% of the season and only lost form in the last couple of weeks which led to him being dropped for the 2nd leg of the UCL semifinal and final.
Rodri holds on to the ball to long and then gets jumped on , losing position of the ball.Sorry TH but Rodri is way above the levels of those players.
He has been a mainstay of our team for more than 90% of the season and only lost form in the last couple of weeks which led to him being dropped for the 2nd leg of the UCL semifinal and final.
Garcia did in 13/14. But toure carried him and a lot of the team to that title.Probably! But both of those players were also capable of decent one-off games.
Both also won Prem titles?
Also, you get statements about Rodri's lack of pace, but how many 6ft3 DMs do you see covering every blade of grass?
He's a big lad. His size has been very PL useful. He's good on setpieces defensively, and he normally is very good at bouncing players off of the ball.
In fact, people talk about him being knocked off the ball and giving away under pressure (which has definitely happened), but they seem to ignore the fact he's statistically right at the top for PL midfielders playing passes under pressure and I've seen him multiple times a game overpower someone. If anything he's tailor made for the PL.
Garcia did in 13/14. But toure carried him and a lot of the team to that title.
Fernando signed the following summer and stayed for 3 years without winning the title. We won centurions in 17/18 the year he left.
They were both average players and were the tip of the iceberg of our poor recruitment in those 12/13, 13/14, 14/15 years that also included:
Rodwell
Nastasic
Sinclair
Maicon
Jovetic
Navas
Demichelis
Mangala
Bony
Thankfully we’ve improved significantly since!!