Re: Fernando
Porto fan again. This thread has been a good read. Some of the things described are exactly why he was somewhat of a cult figure at Porto, while other players were collecting accolades and receiving attention, he was the unsung hero who did all the dirty work.
With that said, I don't think he is near his peak. Unless the lack of physicality in the Portuguese league deceived me and made Fernando look stronger than he is, he has a lot more speed and agility than he has been showing. I feel like he has been a bit slow, beaten in situations that he wouldn't normally get beat - which is why I even understand some associations made with Javi Garcia on this thread. Fernando looks like he put on some weight as well. Perhaps it's something planned for the Premier League, but he definitely can be even faster and more agile than this. An example(these highlights are full of them): <a class="postlink" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkaqXlnWLrs&feature=player_detailpage#t=277" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkaqXln ... page#t=277</a> Great speed and agility. Lasts the whole match. Finished all his seasons in peak form. He is leaner as mentioned.
His best position would be just to let him control the whole pitch behind two other central midfielders. He has been playing with Yaya in a two man midfield and taking more responsibility linking up play. He has looked better than expected with the ball at his feet, he has really developed that area the last few years. Curious to see whether Fernandinho was on the bench just because he arrived late from the World Cup or by what it looks like Pelegrini really is a big believer in Fernando(he should know him well, because he played against Porto a couple of times with Spanish teams).
He is amazing going dow to the floor, making clean tackles and getting straight back on in a second. Makes us think that he goes to the ground to much, but he is just so incredibly good that it's just exciting to watch. He reminds me a bit of Carvalho(former Porto and Chelsea centre back) who was also great at making "last ditch" tackles so to speak. It's an art.
For someone that makes so many tackles and is so physical, he is very composed, hardly ever sent off and managed to manage his yellow cards well. This is a major difference to Mangala. Even stronger physically(built like a rock) but not as composed(he's younger and less experienced) and so, with him I expect a lot more growing pains, unless being more challenged will bring a whole new focus to him, you will cringe at some of his errors. He made too many silly errors, launching into tackles in needless situations, with his man with the back turned towards goal, mental lapses, some of which could be attributed to being a bit lackadaisical, something that can't happen in the Premier League. The errors will be more heavily punished and he has more competition for his place. He is a hard worker, so he should be fine in the end.
A couple of gifs requested in earlier pages:
