Rodrigo Hernandez - Atletico confirm deal - p192

Status
Not open for further replies.
Fast Forward To The Past said:
A player with fernandinho's repertoire is even harder to find than a top playmaker. (Is there even a similar player out there at this level?)
Instead of repacing likes per like we will probably look for a more typical playmaker first. Simply because a typical DM is a liability in Pep's system.
If he has defensive attributes than that's a bonus. This Rodrigo fellow looks very good to me in any case.

Whoever we get and whatever his skillset, Pep will instill a fighting spirit in him.
For some reason that seems to be more than enough for us to function against even the most physical opposition.
Click to expand...

Pep has been looking for a 'physical' alternative to Fernandinho, all season. He's even tried Sandler there.

We have a club full of lovely ball players who could knock a ball around just as well as Gundogan & be 'instilled with a fighting spirit' to play that position.

But Pep instead has tried John Stones, Danilo, Delph, Sandler.

Imo, irrespective of who we sign, he should also try Eric Garcia there pre season. He can both pass & defend & could be an option in the cups imo.
 
Neville Kneville said:
Pep has been looking for a 'physical' alternative to Fernandinho, all season. He's even tried Sandler there.

We have a club full of lovely ball players who could knock a ball around just as well as Gundogan & be 'instilled with a fighting spirit' to play that position.

But Pep instead has tried John Stones, Danilo, Delph, Sandler.

Imo, irrespective of who we sign, he should also try Eric Garcia there pre season. He can both pass & defend & could be an option in the cups imo.
Click to expand...

I think that was more out of necessity. And they all turned out to be a liability anyway.
And that is the whole point I'm trying to make...
One would obviously expect a player like Gundugan to be a defensive liabilty but in a posession based team that expection gets quite literally turned on it's head.
Not just in theory but in practise. As we have seen.
We don't have a club full of ball players who can succesfully play there. Not even close... You could make a case for KDB and that's about it.
As for "just knocking the ball around"...
I do hope you watched De Jong vs Spurs.
If the fact that we missed out didn't make you cry a little bit inside than I don't know what to say...
The Position is about vision, comfort and speed of tought.
You are constantly at the root of a domino effect that either ends in a succesfull attack or an opposition counter. It requires a feel for the game that is very rare.
That's why we don't get much weaker when Gundo plays there instead of Fern.
Gundo can't fix problems the way Fernandinho does, but he is slightly better at preventing them because he is better at the subtle art of dictating the game. (when on form...)
Things even out...
I don't have anything against players with top defensive qualities. Quite the contrary!
My point is that if you make defensive prowess your FIRST priority you are more likely to end up with a player that causes a lot more problems than his defensive skills can fix.
Like Kante at Chelsea.
There is a reason he doesn't get trusted in Jorginho's position.
And it's not because Sarri is as "stupid" or "stubbern" as the media and pundits would like you to believe.
 
Bruno/KDB free kick to the giant Rodrigo attacking the ball. Possibly exciting times ahead.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top
✖
  AdBlock Detected
Bluemoon relies on advertising to pay our hosting fees. Please support the site by disabling your ad blocking software to help keep the forum sustainable. Thanks.