Nigel De Jong

Sorry, he's weakest link in the team, spent much of his time chasing shadows and looked absolutely clueless in 2nd half, his passing ability is limited, more likely to pass a ball sideways & backward rather than forwards, one good pass in 90min it's not good enough, NO PACE, and down right average defensive midfielder... need to offload
 
Maybe he's finally getting back in form. That's a good sign, although it is near the end of the season.
 
CityCTID said:
Sorry, he's weakest link in the team, spent much of his time chasing shadows and looked absolutely clueless in 2nd half, his passing ability is limited, more likely to pass a ball sideways & backward rather than forwards, one good pass in 90min it's not good enough, NO PACE, and down right average defensive midfielder... need to offload
I'm assuming you didn't watch the game, therefore I'll forgive your ignorance.
 
He was good today nothing more.On the Barry front he had an important block just before our 3rd goal.Our season would have finished right there if he had not got back.
 
bennyboy said:
He was good today nothing more.On the Barry front he had an important block just before our 3rd goal.Our season would have finished right there if he had not got back.

That block alone more than made up for his shite 1st half performance
To his credit he played really well 2nd half
 
ForzaMancini said:
Thought Nigel was absolutely excellent today. His performance was as good as Tevez's and Kun's. Strong in the tackle and surprisingly good on the ball today. I remember last season he would have been one of the first names on the team sheet to then becoming a sub player for us following his injury but I think today he showed he still has a big role to play for us this season and in future years. Fingers crossed he signs a new contract soon.

If only he improved his forward distribution he would be really a top notch defensive midfielder. He better had improve Or I got a feeling we could be back in for di Rossi of Roma .
 
chrismcfc1 said:
ForzaMancini said:
Thought Nigel was absolutely excellent today. His performance was as good as Tevez's and Kun's. Strong in the tackle and surprisingly good on the ball today. I remember last season he would have been one of the first names on the team sheet to then becoming a sub player for us following his injury but I think today he showed he still has a big role to play for us this season and in future years. Fingers crossed he signs a new contract soon.

If only he improved his forward distribution he would be really a top notch defensive midfielder. He better had improve Or I got a feeling we could be back in for di Rossi of Roma .

Think that ship has sailed now. He will be 30 next season, i think(and hope) we go for Javi Martínez in the summer. Only 23 and he will end up world class
 
He has the tenacity in his game that we otherwise lack in midfield. He is City's Makalele basically. It makes me laugh when people criticise him for things because nine times out of ten they don't consider his actual job specification which is to protect the back four and break down and limit the fluency of the oppositions midfield. Today he done so exceptionally well and allowed Samir and David the freedom to play as they did. It's no coincidence that his presence in the team has allowed them both to play better as a result.

He's not meant to be creative, lightening quick etc. Mancini utilises De Jong's strengths, not highlights his weaknesses and it's about time those who criticise his performances appreciate what he contributes rather than what he doesn't.
 
kippaxwarrior said:
Think that ship has sailed now. He will be 30 next season, i think(and hope) we go for Javi Martínez in the summer. Only 23 and he will end up world class

De Jong only turned 27 in November so isn't that close to 30. Barry has improved in the past two years as an all-around footballer and he is 31 so there is no reason De Jong couldn't. Some midfielders often get shrewder and smarter as they age. To be honest I've seen De Jong make quite a few clever forward passes, they are just infrequent. Is this a confidence thing or is he instructed to keep it simple? The pass to Zaba today was excellent, reminded me of Pirlo's assist for Simone Pepe's overhead kick for Juventus at weekend, if a striker was on the end of that it could have been a goal.

His future might depend on his contract situation more than his talent level. We need a squad (our squad depth is lacking and overrated) and De Jong doesn't seem to have raised a fuss about spending a lot of time on the bench but if he does want higher wages and we don't want to give them, it's his own doing if he leaves.
 

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