Yeah I know that. Mendy doesn't have the skill like a midfielder to play that role, but also we have no one else who can create width on the left so he needs to be there. I'm just saying that doesn't help Rodri in defending counters.Mendys biggest strenghs are going high up the wing and playing like a wing back he cant do the zinchenko/ delph role very well
Things i like about Rodri in this team:
- ability to break the lines with a pass and not scared to try
- ability to find the out-ball when in a dangerous press
- adds more height and uses it quite well
- quite quick with the ball at his feet when moving forwards and can break the lines by just running through
- thunder-bastard of a shot, something we don't try much.
Things he needs to improve:
- when he loses the ball, it's always in a position where we can't afford to because they can easily by-pass him on the break
- his reactionary time when losing the ball needs working on as does his turning speed. If you can't get the ball you need to slow it down enough that others can get in position.
- although he breaks lines, he doesn't try and play killer balls. This is something you will remember that Fern did on occasions which got us some good goals. He 100% has the ability to do this.
- What he lacks in speed, he should make up in positioning. At times his positioning is top class but then other times he's just not got it and then we're fucked as he's over-committed.
- although he is great with the out-ball, i feel he puts himself in unnecessary positions by being slow on the ball when he doesn't need to sometimes. This is something that Fern did as well, it may be something that Pep wants them to do.
All in all, been a decent first season. The issue is that it seems Pep had gone balls-deep on this signing and can't see past making it work. Due to the importance of the position, we probably needed someone to come in and immediately be the best, someone like Kante, but i think Rodri will get where we need him to be.
Agreed, his position is the most important in the team and that's why we needed someone to hit the ground running. Unfortunately for him, a lot of the players around him have failed this season.There are very few players who could come in and do what we needed them to in that position. In our setup he is often the only man around. Our full backs are often high up the pitch and our defenders are backing off with runners so he has a lot of ground to cover. He just needs to learn how to control that situation. Having Laporte behind helps a lot. That role defensively stands out like a sore thumb but it's no coincidence he looks better with Laporte behind him. The whole defence does because he just gets his position right and the others feed off that.
i dont think fernandinho was ever going to play in midfield based of peps comments i think he was just hoping that he wouldnt have to throw him in the deep end like he did when laporte got injured. He's said over and over again gundy and rodri are his dms now.He is doing exactly what Pep wants, keeps the ball moving round, wins majority of his battles in the air and on the ground. What do people want him to do?
As has been mentioned, a settled back four behind him would help. If Fernandinho wasn't being played as CB then Rodri wouldn't have played this much imo, he would have had 12mths under the master then really took off next season. As its happened, hes come in early and hasn't looked out of place.
Treated the ball like a hot potato tonight which is unusual for him