Tevez32mcfc
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 17 Mar 2014
- Messages
- 255
But this is my point really. There is no ideal "Rodri back-up" that exists in the world - nobody for Begiristain and Pep to find. Rodri's skillsets and attributes are unique. There are no midfielders in the world who fit the profile City fans want. Nobody who's as tall or strong, composed or measured, or as positionally disciplined - and especially not someone who has all those attributes, can be purchased for around £50m (or less), and will be happy to rotate in and out of the team whenever Rodri's fit. As I've said in other threads, literally every key player in our squad would be hugely missed were he to be injured long-term and sometimes you just can't legislate for that. You can't just stockpile like-for-like players on the off chance that someone ends up being injured for nine months. That's not realistic or fair, and when clubs like Chelsea do it they end up looking like a clown car.
The best City can do - in fact, the best any team can do - is build a squad of versatile players who can compensate for the skills of injured key players should they ever go missing. We've done that. Starting from the back and moving forward, we've seen over recent years that Lewis and Stones can easily slot into a two-man midfield behind the attacking line. As can Akanji in more extreme circumstances. Gvardiol has the skillset to at least be tried there. That's without getting into the midfielders we actually have, such as Kovacic and Gundogan, who have played as central midfielders their entire career, occasionally dropping to the base of the midfield when required. There's also talk of someone like Grealish being moved back there because of his strength, workrate, and ability to control the game. We tried with someone like Kalvin Phillips but he was permanently broken by that shoulder injury, and even he's never played on his own in the way Fernandinho and Rodri have done over the years.
Rodri being out for months on end is shit but people need to get their heads around the fact that an ideal clone exists who can just step in at a moment's notice.
Great post. Very rarely a player in his position is made favorite for a Ballon Do'or. There is literally nobody who can replace him. Definitely nobody who would be happy to sit on the bench anyway.
I would personally go back to the 4 solid defenders we had at the back end of the treble season who didnt push forwards as much with Kovacic in front. Let Gundogan play alongside him so we have control of the tempo and the other 4 can carry on as usual.
I'm not too worried about the smaller games as we have done ok without him already this season but its games like Saturday it becomes a concern.