Karim Rekik

[Damocles]

This is an interesting argument lads but let's try and keep it fun. Remember, the EDS/Academy forum isn't the main forum and we're all just making predictions here on the future of our great club. It's ok to disagree with each other and no grudges need to be held.

Come on Nev, spinzer. You lads are better than this

 

[Neville Kneville]

This is an interesting argument lads but let's try and keep it fun. Remember, the EDS/Academy forum isn't the main forum and we're all just making predictions here on the future of our great club. It's ok to disagree with each other and no grudges need to be held.

Come on Nev, spinzer. You lads are better than this

I don't see what's wrong with what I've posted tbh.

I was replying to a pretty sarcastic post re Rekik & am making the point that, if being called up for the Dutch pre World Cup squad proves Rekik is good enough for City, then it applies to all the other players in the squad too.

There have been threads all season blowing everything out of proportion with this kid & I don't get it. We don't do this with the other kids, we discuss them sensibly, the good v the bad in their play. The verdict is usually that we leave them to get on with it, not that we hurry them back & throw them into important positions in the first team squad, which has been advocated many times in threads re Rekik.

His age is unimportant when it comes to the first team, it's purely down to whether we should trust him to be marking people like Suarez & Sturridge next season if we pick up an injury.

I strongly advise against it & think we should have proper Premier League defenders. If he becomes one, in the future, good luck to him.

 

[spinzer]

This is an interesting argument lads but let's try and keep it fun. Remember, the EDS/Academy forum isn't the main forum and we're all just making predictions here on the future of our great club. It's ok to disagree with each other and no grudges need to be held.

Come on Nev, spinzer. You lads are better than this

I don't see what's wrong with what I've posted tbh.

I was replying to a pretty sarcastic post re Rekik & am making the point that, if being called up for the Dutch pre World Cup squad proves Rekik is good enough for City, then it applies to all the other players in the squad too.

There have been threads all season blowing everything out of proportion with this kid & I don't get it. We don't do this with the other kids, we discuss them sensibly, the good v the bad in their play. The verdict is usually that we leave them to get on with it, not that we hurry them back & throw them into important positions in the first team squad, which has been advocated many times in threads re Rekik.

His age is unimportant when it comes to the first team, it's purely down to whether we should trust him to be marking people like Suarez & Sturridge next season if we pick up an injury.

I strongly advise against it & think we should have proper Premier League defenders. If he becomes one, in the future, good luck to him.

Im not saying that his call up makes im a starter for us when he comes back, but he is alot further then most of, if not the rest of our academy players. 19 year old and called up to the dutch national team is quite a feat, and i really can't figure out why you won't agree to that. Obviously he is still quite raw, and as i earlier have stated, which i still believe in, i think he should be loaned out to a premier league club. Don't think he is ready for the top flight yet, but hey, Nastasic did pretty well at his first season here.
Maybe you are just being pessimistic because you have seen alot of City talents destined for the first team - failing completely?
19 year old and nobody knows how far he can go. Still leaves alot to be developed offcourse, but he sure has the time.

 

[Damocles]

Alright lads, as I said it's not about a single post from anyone but because it's something that started as a simple bit of disagreement and is starting to escalate.

I think Nev is saying that he isn't good enough for City's first team now in his opinion and spinzer is saying that he might one day be good enough. I don't think you guys disagree with each other but you've started talking past each other a bit. Nev seems to agree that he might be good in the future. Spinzer seems to agree that he's probably not ready for a Kompany-like role. It's just the scale of the stuff in the middle that's causing it.

No need to be sarcastic or aggressive due to this stuff boys. I think we're all hoping he'll be good enough for our first team one day. There's no right or wrong here and no need to get attached to an opinion personally.

As I said, this isn't the main forum and we're hoping to be a bit more easy going and pleasant around here. You two know your stuff and are important posters in our little Academy bubble so I'd hate to see the relaxed and friendly attitude we've got going disappear over a player.

 

[Neville Kneville]

This is an interesting argument lads but let's try and keep it fun. Remember, the EDS/Academy forum isn't the main forum and we're all just making predictions here on the future of our great club. It's ok to disagree with each other and no grudges need to be held.

Come on Nev, spinzer. You lads are better than this

I don't see what's wrong with what I've posted tbh.

I was replying to a pretty sarcastic post re Rekik & am making the point that, if being called up for the Dutch pre World Cup squad proves Rekik is good enough for City, then it applies to all the other players in the squad too.

There have been threads all season blowing everything out of proportion with this kid & I don't get it. We don't do this with the other kids, we discuss them sensibly, the good v the bad in their play. The verdict is usually that we leave them to get on with it, not that we hurry them back & throw them into important positions in the first team squad, which has been advocated many times in threads re Rekik.

His age is unimportant when it comes to the first team, it's purely down to whether we should trust him to be marking people like Suarez & Sturridge next season if we pick up an injury.

I strongly advise against it & think we should have proper Premier League defenders. If he becomes one, in the future, good luck to him.

Im not saying that his call up makes im a starter for us when he comes back, but he is alot further then most of, if not the rest of our academy players. 19 year old and called up to the dutch national team is quite a feat, and i really can't figure out why you won't agree to that. Obviously he is still quite raw, and as i earlier have stated, which i still believe in, i think he should be loaned out to a premier league club. Don't think he is ready for the top flight yet, but hey, Nastasic did pretty well at his first season here.
Maybe you are just being pessimistic because you have seen alot of City talents destined for the first team - failing completely?
19 year old and nobody knows how far he can go. Still leaves alot to be developed offcourse, but he sure has the time.

I would not put Rekik in our top 10 prospects for the first team personally, not so far.

And it's true that I've seen loads of defenders who didn't make it & imo quite a few who were better at defending than Rekik. His advantage is that he's better on the ball than most of them, but not all of them. He's good on the ball but not brilliant but I could in fact imagine him getting much better in that area & becoming a clever player.

My opinion on Rekik as a defender is that he's too slow & not dominant enough in the air to be a Premier League centre back. I have the same opinion of Nastasic but I rate him as faster & better in the air than Rekik, so out of the two i would imagine Nastasic has the best chance, but tbf to Rekik, he is a bit more agressive, so perhaps he will overtake Nastasic one day. if I was looking for a centre back, for City though I would be looking for pace & agility as well as ball control & I wouldn't stop until I found that player . Neither are right for our team imo.

Jason Denayer has the raw material but he too is currently not strong enough in the air to be trusted with the job. If he doesn't improve 50% in that area, he never will be a top Prem centre back, but he is also young & does have a jump on him, so there is no reason he can't be dominant in the future.

Rekik is very heavy legged & slow on the turn, which is not the kind of player I envisage in this current City style. We need quick footed, players to cope with our open style imo. In a more solid type team, like a Mourinho setup Rekik may be fine one day. He may even learn to deal with his disadvantages & be great for City one day, but I think he has his work cut out to be a City player.

Right now, he needs to be out on loan again & playing in a better league than the Dutch one & be tested more & see if he can go up a level imo. Then if he impresses, we can start to talk about potential for the Premier League.

To rely on him now, as many have suggested on here, would be suicide & cost Pellegrini his job imo. He is not up to it, even if he looks ok for a game or two,, the shit will suddenly hit the fan & it'll cost us big.

 

[CityFan94]

I think this lad could go on and become world class.

I know that's quite a statement - but this lad is quality.

Interesting to note he's been called up into the Holland squad ahead of van Djik (a player we're linked with) - despite being 3 years younger.

On what are you basing the opinion that he could become world class, as opposed to, for instance, the many many young players at various clubs who didn't reach that level ?

His EDS performances, or his current performances ?

A bit of both. I was very impressed with him for the EDS and have kept an eye on him since. It's been an ideal situation for him at PSV (Bruma is a donkey beside him) but he's impressed.

He reads the game excellently for an 18 year old. That's something that will continue to improve the more games he plays at senior level.

Very comfortable on the ball, which is vital for the modern day centre back. Being comfortable on the ball, especially under pressure, is one of the most important traits in a centre back now and Rekik excels at this.

Dominant in the air. At 6'2 he has a real presence at the back and is dominant in the air. He's a strong and imposing centre back.

He's not the quickest centre back you'll ever see, but reading the game is 100 times more important.

Being a regular in the PSV team and now in the Holland national squad at 18 years old shows how talented he is.

I believe Rekik will be good enough to play for us.

 

[MC ID]

snip for space

I think your general point is correct, for our team and how we currently play I don't think he'd be good enough at the moment, just like Nasty seems at odds with our new setup. In a Mancini/Mourinho etc system both would thrive to varying degrees I think, Rekik could certainly have a very good career but like Nev I don't think he'd currently work out at City. His best chance with us will be if we can find a team with a similar style to ours and they stick with him for a year allowing him to develop the parts of his game that we need, personally I'm hoping that this will be one of the bright points about New York City FC.

Just because he doesn't fit into our style doesn't make him a bad player, chances are he'll end up in a very decent team likely in the Serie A.

 

[Neville Kneville]

I think this lad could go on and become world class.

I know that's quite a statement - but this lad is quality.

Interesting to note he's been called up into the Holland squad ahead of van Djik (a player we're linked with) - despite being 3 years younger.

On what are you basing the opinion that he could become world class, as opposed to, for instance, the many many young players at various clubs who didn't reach that level ?

His EDS performances, or his current performances ?

A bit of both. I was very impressed with him for the EDS and have kept an eye on him since. It's been an ideal situation for him at PSV (Bruma is a donkey beside him) but he's impressed.

He reads the game excellently for an 18 year old. That's something that will continue to improve the more games he plays at senior level.

Very comfortable on the ball, which is vital for the modern day centre back. Being comfortable on the ball, especially under pressure, is one of the most important traits in a centre back now and Rekik excels at this.

Dominant in the air. At 6'2 he has a real presence at the back and is dominant in the air. He's a strong and imposing centre back.

He's not the quickest centre back you'll ever see, but reading the game is 100 times more important.

Being a regular in the PSV team and now in the Holland national squad at 18 years old shows how talented he is.

I believe Rekik will be good enough to play for us.

Well I hope you are correct & I'm wrong, but I don't see him as dominant in the air at all, quite the opposite, & that's another reason I would prefer him in another league. It's too easy to get away with stuff unchallenged there. Rekik has great body strength, but is heavy. Nastasic would have no problems winning headers in Holland either. I don't understand why people were so impressed with his EDS performances though, as whenever he came up against decent oppo, like the rags or Liverpool etc, they made him look a right chump.

If Rekik does become a player who can win key headers v people like Dzeko or Negredo though, then I would agree he can possibly make up for his lack of pace & become a top defender, but I haven't seen any evidence of that so far.

Also, Bruma is rated higher than Rekiik in most games. So when he gets consistently blamed for Rekik's mistakes, it seems strange to me.

But as I say, I hope you are right & I am wrong.

 

[Neville Kneville]

snip for space

I think your general point is correct, for our team and how we currently play I don't think he'd be good enough at the moment, just like Nasty seems at odds with our new setup. In a Mancini/Mourinho etc system both would thrive to varying degrees I think, Rekik could certainly have a very good career but like Nev I don't think he'd currently work out at City. His best chance with us will be if we can find a team with a similar style to ours and they stick with him for a year allowing him to develop the parts of his game that we need, personally I'm hoping that this will be one of the bright points about New York City FC.

Just because he doesn't fit into our style doesn't make him a bad player, chances are he'll end up in a very decent team likely in the Serie A.

Would like to see him playing in Italy next. It would be a much better way to compare him to our other defenders. Nastasic was very good there & even Savic gets by, so it's not the Prem, but it's definitely a grade up from the Dutch league & a good 'in between' test.

 

[LoveCity]

:D