Players season ratings

[balotelli's back pocket]

Completely agree mate.

He's the kind of player that it's very easy to see the good aspects of his game - goals and assists.

But the bad parts of his game - going missing, not getting on the ball, not getting in to space, not covering defensively, you don't notice if you are just a casual fan watching on TV or whatever.

When kevin goes missing, he really goes missing, he can be world class one game and not pass it 5 yards the next. Needs to sort that out, but i think he will be ok

 

[Tricky_Trev]

Totally agree mate. One of the problems we've had this season is that with the 4231 shape we play, whoever is in the number 10 position has to completely run the game for us. The ball always goes through them, they dictate the way we play, knit the team together. It's no coincidence that when Silva was on his best form in the first 5 games, we got the best performances as a team.

When Silva's form dropped, so did that of the team. When DeBruyne has played there we've looked sensational on the break at times, his early balls and directness can be devastating for teams that are allowing space in behind them. The problem comes when a team is sat deep allowing no space behind, DeBruyne's attributes become completely redundant. I know he played the majority of the game in Madrid from wide, but the emphasis was still on him to get on the ball and dictate play. He wasn't interested.

Although he's had a poor season, we missed Silva in the Madrid game more than any other. There was no one on the pitch interested in getting on the ball, showing feet and looking to get at Madrid. Even at his worst, Silva always takes that responsibility to give an option, get on the ball, dictate play. But against Madrid we had absolutely no one even trying to get on the ball in advanced areas. DeBruyne followed up that performance against Arsenal, he hid, went missing.

I've seen many people claiming DeBruyne will be our "playmaker" for the next 5 years. Against footballing teams that leave space in behind, he will be near enough unstoppable. Be against tough, resilient teams who sit back? I just don't see it.

For me it's a fitness issue with De Bruyne. He seems to me to be a player that has to actively conserve energy otherwise he can't make it through 90 minutes. And that's just not good enough. He needs to lose some body fat, imo and really work hard on his stamina and general fitness. Pep will demand that everyone is 100% 'at it' all game, but I currently don't see how De Bruyne can do that. Like many in our squad, he has poor fitness for a professional athlete.

 

[Shaelumstash]

When kevin goes missing, he really goes missing, he can be world class one game and not pass it 5 yards the next. Needs to sort that out, but i think he will be ok

He's an incredible talent mate, I'm sure he'll be absolutely fine. The strange one for me though is that Guardiola believes in possession above everything else and that's the weakest part of DeBruyne's game. Pep believes in high work rate and defensive discipline when out of possession and against that's a real weakness of DeBruyne's. Strangest of all is that DeBruyne is at his absolute best when playing on the counter attack, and Guardiola never plays that way.

KDB has outstanding ability so I'm sure he can still be a huge success for years to come, but I he's going to have to alter his game to be a success under Pep.

 

[Shaelumstash]

For me it's a fitness issue with De Bruyne. He seems to me to be a player that has to actively conserve energy otherwise he can't make it through 90 minutes. And that's just not good enough. He needs to lose some body fat, imo and really work hard on his stamina and general fitness. Pep will demand that everyone is 100% 'at it' all game, but I currently don't see how De Bruyne can do that. Like many in our squad, he has poor fitness for a professional athlete.

I've seen a few people mention DeBruyne's fitness mate, I'll have to be totally honest and say I haven't noticed, but I guess there must be something in it with so many people saying it.

Personally I think it seems he sulks when he's not playing as a number 10 with absolutely no defensive responsibilities. He reminds me of the really skillful players with an attitude problem when you were a kid. Give them the ball and they can be brilliant. Ask them to put in a shift for the team and they'll spit their dummy out.

 

[Akiva]

Hart 7.5 Regressing slower than most of Mancini's side
Willy 5 First he was shite, now he's all right
Zabba 5 Shows flashes of the same gutsy attitude but far less of the capability
Sagna 7 Our best defender, for what it's worth, a keeper
Otamendi 6 Blows hot and cold, sometimes in the same game
Mangala 4 Just blows. A giant white flag of surrender flown before the opponents when his name is attached to the team sheet
Kompany 6.5 Brilliant but becoming a liability
Clichy 6.5 Eh, not bad, not great but not disastrous either
Kolarov 4 Looks like he doesn't care, isn't a particularly good player anyway
Fernando 7 Big improvement all round, a few blunders aside has been rock solid
Fernandinho 8.5 One of our best players this year, if not the best
Yaya 4 Barely moves anymore, time for him to go
Nasri 6 Injuries etc, but obviously there's still some talent there
Navas 7 Runs and runs, full of creativity let down by an inept final ball
Sterling 5 Had low expectations but he's still the biggest disappointment of the year
Delph 4 Not good enough to play for any country, let alone England
KDB 8 When he's on, he looks a league above everyone else. Best stats for the year too
Iheanacho 7.5 Amazing introduction, but starting to get a touch greedy
Aguero 8 Still the best raw striker in the league
Bony 2 Looks lost out there. Somehow worse than useless. Needs to move on and find himself again

 

[bobom]

He's an incredible talent mate, I'm sure he'll be absolutely fine. The strange one for me though is that Guardiola believes in possession above everything else and that's the weakest part of DeBruyne's game. Pep believes in high work rate and defensive discipline when out of possession and against that's a real weakness of DeBruyne's. Strangest of all is that DeBruyne is at his absolute best when playing on the counter attack, and Guardiola never plays that way.

KDB has outstanding ability so I'm sure he can still be a huge success for years to come, but I he's going to have to alter his game to be a success under Pep.

I think a lot of this is true, which is why the prospect of Pep working with KDB on improving is so exciting...

 

[NQCitizen]

Hart 6

Zaba 4
Sagna 8
Vinnie 6
Otamendi 7 (most underrated)
Mangala 6
Demi 4
Clichy 7
Kolarov 4

Yaya 3
Delph 5
Fernando 8 (most improved)
Fernandinho 8
Navas 6
Nasri 7 (when fit)
Silva 6
Sterling 6 (sort of unfairly hated by fans)
Kdb 8 (poty, just)

Nacho 8
Aguero 8
Bony 2


I think Sagna, Clichy, Fernando and Fernandinho's professionalism stands out in a season where so many threw in the towel or had a strop.

Best player of the Pelle era = Fernandinho. Should be as much a legend as Zab, Vinnie, Yaya, Silva and Aguero.

 

[nktakm]

Nacho's low ratings from Whoscored stem from his sub appearances

The defender ratings there are for the most part horseshit too

 

[ono]

Another fucker who must be pissed if you think that Fernandinho was only worth a 6 or less.Can I sincerely hope that you seek medical help !!!

Said it a million times on here, he's a good player but he has caused us problems in big games with brainless pressing and bad positioning. Maybe a 6 is harsh and a 7 is more apt. No way an 8 like some have said though.

Sorry if that upsets people.

 

[Eds]

Said it a million times on here, he's a good player but he has caused us problems in big games with brainless pressing and bad positioning. Maybe a 6 is harsh and a 7 is more apt. No way an 8 like some have said though.

Sorry if that upsets people.

You must be fishing or you don't watch many games