Rodri - 2019/20 Performances

[Jumanji]

A few quick thoughts I had on him watching the game again this morning:

His memory of the field is impeccable.
What I mean by this is he would turn and pass the ball IN BETWEEN THE LINES without really having the requirement of fully seeing the man he was passing to. Some of his threaded passes to feet definitely caught both teams off guard. I kept thinking to myself, "how in the world did he see player xyz standing there?!"

This really impressed me, and this is something that Fernandinho doesn't have in his locker (as much).

He was a bit slow to release the ball sometimes, but I think it's a bit of him not wanting to mess up on his first big day. I think him not fully trusting his teammates yet was also a factor.

This guy's gonna be good. Very solid debut. Once he feels like a part of the team, he's gonna put himself about more in midfield, putting more responsibility on his own shoulders, and making the midfield his own.

Dinho might have a problem when Rodri gets acclimated.

 

[Sir Joe Aguero]

In our first 12 games, we've got 10 teams out of the Top Six. Great time for him to gel with the team, understand his role and Pep's expectations, and further develop his fitness. We'll see the best of him soon enough.

 

[Mon Autre]

He doesn't play the kind of position where it's easy to make an instant first impression. The job he has to do isn't as exciting as others but it's integral to how we play. I think he looked more than up to the job. Obviously it'll take a bit of time to settle and get used to how the team plays but I was really happy with him. Looking forward to seeing him grow into the role this season.

 

[Fast Forward To The Past]

A few quick thoughts I had on him watching the game again this morning:

His memory of the field is impeccable.
What I mean by this is he would turn and pass the ball IN BETWEEN THE LINES without really having the requirement of fully seeing the man he was passing to. Some of his threaded passes to feet definitely caught both teams off guard. I kept thinking to myself, "how in the world did he see player xyz standing there?!"

This really impressed me, and this is something that Fernandinho doesn't have in his locker (as much).

He was a bit slow to release the ball sometimes, but I think it's a bit of him not wanting to mess up on his first big day. I think him not fully trusting his teammates yet was also a factor.

This guy's gonna be good. Very solid debut. Once he feels like a part of the team, he's gonna put himself about more in midfield, putting more responsibility on his own shoulders, and making the midfield his own.

Dinho might have a problem when Rodri gets acclimated.

Dinho will become a CB of sorts.
Pep has put midfielders at left back. He's even put a top notch midfielder in goal.
I don't think he'll stop there when given the chance.

 

[Fast Forward To The Past]

had some quality moments but also needs to adapt to the fast pace of the pl. wont have as much time as he did in spain. once he gets this down he will be massive. very good passes with both feet.

KDB and David must have played in a very slow league last season because they seemed more of the pace than Rodri. And I don't even want to know where Gundo came from.
People seem to forget that Rodri played for Atletico Madrid.
The PL team that can offer us a similar (or higher) game pace than a Madrid derby is Liverpool and he passed that test.
With flying colours even, considering it was off the back of a less than ideal pre-season in a new team and involved a large and abrubt step-up in opposition strenght.
He'll be fine.
As for having less time on the ball in the PL. In his position?
When you see him play, do you get the impression that he is not used to getting closed down quickly?
Midfield congestion and a well organised high press is more a feature of Spanish football than PL.
The PL is more focused in and around the boxes and that is where he has to adjust and watch his back a bit.
So... I would say there are advantages to him having played in Spain as well, considering features of that game are becoming much more commonplace in the top half of the EPL.

Anyway. Ranting a bit here...
The fact a certain Rio Ferdinant had to do the whole "Rodri has to adjust to the much higher pace of the EPL" routine might be contributing factor. LOL.
Considering he spent his European career getting run ragged (pun intended) by said slower LaLiga opposition more often than not, one would think he might be a bit more modest.
It just looks like self-aggrandisement to me and most of the pundits and media keep repeating it. Not a good look.

Not having a go at the EPL BTW. I think it's the most entertaining league. And there is a reason for that IMO.
The character of a league or a nation's football is not defined by it's top teams but the bulk of teams below it.
And here you see a very different approach to the game in England than Laliga and the rest of Europe.
In Europe (especially LaLiga) teams try to gain more control over the game than the opposition and they will try to maintain a semblance of control even against stronger opposition.
In England, teams often try to sabotage the control the opposition has, even at the cost of their own control over the game.
There is a focus on causing more random situations by using long balls, winning second balls, straight up getting the ball into the box, etc.
More often than not this causes both teams to lose control towards the end of the game and you get the typical end-to-end stuff with big spaces, big mistakes and top entertainment.
That's what causes the "pace of the EPL" perception, but it is also easy to see why it isn't applicable to top teams anymore. Especially not us.
The main feature of the average City game is facing a double-decker bus.
Teams cannot randomize the game because our control is too big and they also can't do an organised press higher up the pitch because it's not a well ingrained part of English football culture yet.

In any case, the money that this entertainment value brings along with the advantage of the English language seems to have genuinely moved the EPL ahead of the rest of the European leagues.
The gap just isn't nearly as big as everyone thinks yet. But it will get bigger.

 

[Tevez City]

Gave the ball away and caused some counter attacks.

Its his first serious game for City, hopefully he will do better in the future.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

This guy looks the real deal to me. Impeccable awareness and passing between the lines. He will also offers something else from setpieces where we aren't brilliant at either end of the pitch.

 

[without a dream]

Promising start, easy to see why he gets compared to Busquets, hopefully he gets somewhere near his level.

 

[merz]

KDB and David must have played in a very slow league last season because they seemed more of the pace than Rodri. And I don't even want to know where Gundo came from.
People seem to forget that Rodri played for Atletico Madrid.
The PL team that can offer us a similar (or higher) game pace than a Madrid derby is Liverpool and he passed that test.
With flying colours even, considering it was off the back of a less than ideal pre-season in a new team and involved a large and abrubt step-up in opposition strenght.
He'll be fine.
As for having less time on the ball in the PL. In his position?
When you see him play, do you get the impression that he is not used to getting closed down quickly?
Midfield congestion and a well organised high press is more a feature of Spanish football than PL.
The PL is more focused in and around the boxes and that is where he has to adjust and watch his back a bit.
So... I would say there are advantages to him having played in Spain as well, considering features of that game are becoming much more commonplace in the top half of the EPL.

Anyway. Ranting a bit here...
The fact a certain Rio Ferdinant had to do the whole "Rodri has to adjust to the much higher pace of the EPL" routine might be contributing factor. LOL.
Considering he spent his European career getting run ragged (pun intended) by said slower LaLiga opposition more often than not, one would think he might be a bit more modest.
It just looks like self-aggrandisement to me and most of the pundits and media keep repeating it. Not a good look.

Not having a go at the EPL BTW. I think it's the most entertaining league. And there is a reason for that IMO.
The character of a league or a nation's football is not defined by it's top teams but the bulk of teams below it.
And here you see a very different approach to the game in England than Laliga and the rest of Europe.
In Europe (especially LaLiga) teams try to gain more control over the game than the opposition and they will try to maintain a semblance of control even against stronger opposition.
In England, teams often try to sabotage the control the opposition has, even at the cost of their own control over the game.
There is a focus on causing more random situations by using long balls, winning second balls, straight up getting the ball into the box, etc.
More often than not this causes both teams to lose control towards the end of the game and you get the typical end-to-end stuff with big spaces, big mistakes and top entertainment.
That's what causes the "pace of the EPL" perception, but it is also easy to see why it isn't applicable to top teams anymore. Especially not us.
The main feature of the average City game is facing a double-decker bus.
Teams cannot randomize the game because our control is too big and they also can't do an organised press higher up the pitch because it's not a well ingrained part of English football culture yet.

In any case, the money that this entertainment value brings along with the advantage of the English language seems to have genuinely moved the EPL ahead of the rest of the European leagues.
The gap just isn't nearly as big as everyone thinks yet. But it will get bigger.

writing pl was probably lazy on my part but for sure its true in the case of pool

 

[Dazzle84]

He's fucking huge, that's my first impression. I love the Barry comparisons - I absolutely loved Barry so if he's as good as him he'll do me.

Liverpool are probably the hardest pressing team we'll play, be interesting to see what he's like against a possession focussed side - so we'll probably have to wait until champs league to find out