Player Thread: Patrick Roberts

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

They were good, but also playing against 9 men. Completely dominating possession is to be expected.

It was a bit like a training ground exercise at the end although I’d argue that was because they couldn’t handle the way we were playing. The first sending off was a result of mounting pressure and it was a foul that prevented a goal (we know this because we scored but the ref didn’t allow the advantage). The second sending off came with more unrelenting pressure at the start of the second half and they just resorted to kicking us. So the fact it got down to 11 v 9 for the last 40 odd mins was due to the complete dominance of city in the first 50 mins. Nothing you can do if they get themselves sent off.

Roberts and the 2 Garcias were excellent but as I said every outfield player contributed to the performance by the way we passed it about with such speed and conviction.

 

[Max]

I used to get my hopes up for nothing with Lopes in terms of starting position for cup games, because I thought he was great the few times he played (before the loan).

Whats different now is that Pellegrini himself has signed Roberts and seemingly kept him for the first team (along with Kelechi). Lets just say cup games would multiply my interest if I saw either one of them in the starting eleven.

 

[stablemcfc]

Based on the OS highlights, he had a cracking game against Juventus. Anyone watched on location? Was he that good the entire game?

Him, Nacho and Sterling (possibly add Barker to that list)... our future attack looks immense!

Watched the whole game via UEFA stream & whilst he was clearly the best player on the pitch, he still looked very raw at times - made some poor decisions that led to losing the ball when he ought to have passed, and some passes were a bit ambitious - but that was only maybe 10% of the time, majority of the match he played fantastic. What most impressed me was his stamina though, the whole match he was looking for & wanting the ball, and then once received it he would try and make something happen each time.

Look forward to watching more of him.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

WOW.I would say his technical ability is outstanding and is definitely not what needs to be improved.Does he really give the ball away too easily? Yes there might have been a co8uple of times in this game but I think they were where he tried a quick give and go and it didn't work but he was doing that to break through their defence.That's going to happen but he was doing it in the right area of the pitch so I don't see it as a major problem. Sometimes the ball is given away big deal but when he is on the ball he is a major threat to any defence both in creating chances and scoring goals. A true star in the making.

As with Sterling, who is obviously a great little player and Jovetic before him, they are great players but if and when they give the ball away it has to be in the right areas, which is that attempted final killer pass into the box, not 25-30 yards from goal with 6 or 7 players committed to attack, leaving us open and vulnerable to the counter. As you can see from Fernandinho, Yaya, Silva and Nasri, the key attribute to our attacking midfielders is not losing the ball when we have committed to attack. Usually that lost ball is due to an untidy flick, poorly thought out pass, or an attempted dribble when a pass is on. Those four player rarely do that, which is why they are such quality midfielders. That is what we REQUIRE and one of the reasons I look at a player like even Sterling as a work in progress for City.

 

[Centurions]

As with Sterling, who is obviously a great little player and Jovetic before him, they are great players but if and when they give the ball away it has to be in the right areas, which is that attempted final killer pass into the box, not 25-30 yards from goal with 6 or 7 players committed to attack, leaving us open and vulnerable to the counter. As you can see from Fernandinho, Yaya, Silva and Nasri, the key attribute to our attacking midfielders is not losing the ball when we have committed to attack. Usually that lost ball is due to an untidy flick, poorly thought out pass, or an attempted dribble when a pass is on. Those four player rarely do that, which is why they are such quality midfielders. That is what we REQUIRE and one of the reasons I look at a player like even Sterling as a work in progress for City.

Part of Roberts skill set is dribbling and clever footwork to get him past defenders where he can then disappear in a puff of smoke. You don't want to turn him in to Nasri and lose his most valuable skills. Sometimes you have to take a chance.

 

[Manchester_lalala]

Part of Roberts skill set is dribbling and clever footwork to get him past defenders where he can then disappear in a puff of smoke. You don't want to turn him in to Nasri and lose his most valuable skills. Sometimes you have to take a chance.

Exactly, him and sterling on each wing would give full backs no time to think.

 

[Neville Kneville]

Part of Roberts skill set is dribbling and clever footwork to get him past defenders where he can then disappear in a puff of smoke. You don't want to turn him in to Nasri and lose his most valuable skills. Sometimes you have to take a chance.

This.

Messi doesn't play it safe all the time. Of course if he was constantly losing the ball he'd have a rethink, but he gets tackled every now & then when he could have passed. If he never took that chance, he wouldn't be Messi.

 

[twosips]

As with Sterling, who is obviously a great little player and Jovetic before him, they are great players but if and when they give the ball away it has to be in the right areas, which is that attempted final killer pass into the box, not 25-30 yards from goal with 6 or 7 players committed to attack, leaving us open and vulnerable to the counter. As you can see from Fernandinho, Yaya, Silva and Nasri, the key attribute to our attacking midfielders is not losing the ball when we have committed to attack. Usually that lost ball is due to an untidy flick, poorly thought out pass, or an attempted dribble when a pass is on. Those four player rarely do that, which is why they are such quality midfielders. That is what we REQUIRE and one of the reasons I look at a player like even Sterling as a work in progress for City.

But we don't want every player to be a Nasri. Roberts reminded me of Robben the other day - a player that some think is a little greedy. And yeah, of course he is, but that's what makes him so brilliant but too.

My big worry is that we're already starting to turn Barker into Nasri. He's explosive, but if he plays it safe, like he did in preseason he'll be half the player he is.

 

[Centurions]

But we don't want every player to be a Nasri. Roberts reminded me of Robben the other day - a player that some think is a little greedy. And yeah, of course he is, but that's what makes him so brilliant but too.

My big worry is that we're already starting to turn Barker into Nasri. He's explosive, but if he plays it safe, like he did in preseason he'll be half the player he is.

I don't think we got Barker to play like that, if we did we would have done it earlier in his career. I'd put that down to nerves and his youth and inexperience.

 

[Neville Kneville]

I don't we got Barker to play like that, if we did we would have done it earlier in his career. I'd put that down to nerves and his youth and inexperience.

Barker imo has even more ability than Roberts, but he hasn't got the same confidence at this time. But Roberts has played first team football & the EDS is a huge step down for him. Had he never played at a higher level he might not be so much more confident than Barker.

I think Barker needs pushing. He is a genius imo but needs a bit of help to get to the next level. I'm not sure he will do by himself without someone giving him a lift up. We should not let him fail. He is potentially another Bale or better. We should put everything into making a player out of him.