I am a huge rodri fan and rate him really highly. He is not and never will be better than Fernandinho though.
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Lack of pace on the wings
- Thread starter Cityinmyheart
- Start date
I don’t disagree. His performances from one week to the next have never been so bipolar. I understand the argument that he has set standards for himself so high that any drop below is noticeable, but the weekend performance was bad by any players standards. The issue is when he plays badly it isn’t just that he doesn’t have an impact but due to the type of passes he tries to play he actually just loses the ball a lot for us. This makes him a detriment. It’s definitely a cause for concern as we have also relied on him so heavily this season to be the cutting edge- his best performances have been the teams also.The elephant in the room and increasingly so, is the slowing down of Kev.
His risk reward ratio was always offset by his and others' ability to get back in on the turnover of the ball.
Kev has had some truly shocking performances this season and Everton was another, where he was trying to force it when his fitness was letting him down.
He looks more and more for that killer pass when his legs can't take the strain.
I guess the question is what do you do about it? Would performances be more consistent without him? Bernardo and gundogan have had some fantastic games when they’ve played together without Kev from memory. But, can we really drop our best player when he’s still so important in a lot of games…
Great shout both in passion and out of possession I’m not a fan of the formation atm. 442 out of possession without the real pressure from the top two in Kev and haaland (would be different with Alvarez). In possession a 3-2-4-1 (back 3 w/ Rodri and other fullback in front)All this talk about systems, the biggest one for me has been the 442 we play when out of possession, which is designed to cover Kev's deficiencies fitness wise. We're not in the right shape to win it high up the pitch anymore
the blue panther
Well-Known Member
I disagree re KDB. It's only a game ago since we were saying he's back to his best. He's entitled to an off day after 3 games in a week, and when he's probably risked some chocolate, a nip of alcohol, or a pig in a blanket.
Oh ye of little faith! Cu at Stamford Bridge on Thursday when Walker and Foden reappear and we transform into title contenders again as we put Chelsea to the sword.
Oh ye of little faith! Cu at Stamford Bridge on Thursday when Walker and Foden reappear and we transform into title contenders again as we put Chelsea to the sword.
This is my first reply here even though I am here for almost 2 years. So go easy on me.
This is actually the first time, Pep is playing without a pacy tricky winger.
In his Barca and Bayern days, he had pacy wingers or strikers that played as wingers.
Now it feels like we have 6 players (Inverted rb, cdm, two 8's and both wingers) in the field playing the same way. They all can interchange their position and you won't see any significant changes. They aren't bringing anything new to the table that can create threats to opponent. KDB getting old is also creating this problem.
When we played with a false 9. It worked because we could easily play with the ball untill chances arrived. But now that we have Haaland. Players need to release the ball early. So they are looking sloppy. And it's not their fault either. We have played in a false 9 system for 2 years. So it won't be easy for them to just abandon it from their dna.
I can see two paths from here.
1) Either Pep finds a system(like he always did) to bring the best out of all our players
Or 2) Go back to his pre false 9 period. For that, we will need atleast one pacy wingers. One tempo controller like David Silva. We can all talk about how great Bernardo or Gundogan (Gundo is better than Bernardo for the role) is. But neither can do what Silva did.
And one fast and strong fullback.
This is actually the first time, Pep is playing without a pacy tricky winger.
In his Barca and Bayern days, he had pacy wingers or strikers that played as wingers.
Now it feels like we have 6 players (Inverted rb, cdm, two 8's and both wingers) in the field playing the same way. They all can interchange their position and you won't see any significant changes. They aren't bringing anything new to the table that can create threats to opponent. KDB getting old is also creating this problem.
When we played with a false 9. It worked because we could easily play with the ball untill chances arrived. But now that we have Haaland. Players need to release the ball early. So they are looking sloppy. And it's not their fault either. We have played in a false 9 system for 2 years. So it won't be easy for them to just abandon it from their dna.
I can see two paths from here.
1) Either Pep finds a system(like he always did) to bring the best out of all our players
Or 2) Go back to his pre false 9 period. For that, we will need atleast one pacy wingers. One tempo controller like David Silva. We can all talk about how great Bernardo or Gundogan (Gundo is better than Bernardo for the role) is. But neither can do what Silva did.
And one fast and strong fullback.
Very much the elephant in the room and very much something that needs discussing.The elephant in the room and increasingly so, is the slowing down of Kev.
His risk reward ratio was always offset by his and others' ability to get back in on the turnover of the ball.
Kev has had some truly shocking performances this season and Everton was another, where he was trying to force it when his fitness was letting him down.
He looks more and more for that killer pass when his legs can't take the strain.
KDB is now a player that has wonderful moments but as you say has some shocking games, he is a luxury player , nothing wrong with that but we are starting to collect those type of players, Mahrez and Grealish are similar, but can we afford to have them in the team at the same time?
Saddleworth2
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He had a terrible World Cup. I don’t think fitness was the reason. since that, he has played three games in a week. Brilliant in the first two and poor in the third. He is still fast enough to run past most. If memory serves me correct he has 14 assists and the season isn’t half way through. What worries me far more is nobody seems capable of stepping in with the assists when Kevin is below par.agreed. I said this last year about him.....he just looks half a yard slower (not that he was ever lightening quick) but you can see there is a strain on him at times.
Saddleworth2
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Luxury player with 14 assists and season not half way through.Very much the elephant in the room and very much something that needs discussing.
KDB is now a player that has wonderful moments but as you say has some shocking games, he is a luxury player , nothing wrong with that but we are starting to collect those type of players, Mahrez and Grealish are similar, but can we afford to have them in the team at the same time?
bluemoon32
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- City
Rodri is a fantastic player but he is not as good as Fernandinho, thats not putting Rodri down whatsoever, it is just that Fern was on another levelRodri is better than Fernandinho. People here think pace= good. I guess Xavi, Busquets and Iniesta were poor and not the best midfield ever. Reality is we have been more succesful and competitive the slower we've become. The problem right now is not our style, it is that Walker has been injured for months. I am 100% as soon as he is back, we'll be a different team.
He is still a superb player, but he can't play 3 games in a week anymore, and if he does he has to have a free role and that's when he becomes a problem.Luxury player with 14 assists and season not half way through.
His fitness / condition is the issue, not his ability.