To be fair, I thought he was one of our better players at Old Trafford. Obviously not good enough for us in the long term though.
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United post-match thread
- Thread starter rickmcfc
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To be fair, I thought he was one of our better players at Old Trafford. Obviously not good enough for us in the long term though.
Colin Bells Boots
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To be fair, I thought he was one of our better players at Old Trafford. Obviously not good enough for us in the long term though.
Take your point Ric but I fully expect him to be jettisoned when the first opportunity presents itself. He has looked out of his depth since his arrival imo.
I think Fernando's barely adequate if we play a dual pivot with one of Silva/KDB/Gundugan in the hole. But even then, he's a liability.
Believe me - I'm fully aware of how detrimental Fernando is to our side.
Fernando doesn't move into space to provide passing opportunities; he doesn't cut off passing lanes correctly when we press; he fails to read the game, not moving decisively to the danger point; he's apt to ball chase to no purpose; his passing is typically slow and extremely conservative, often going sideways or backwards, his defensive movement is off, failing to provide cover when others move out of position for tactical reasons, etc.
Besides all that what is wrong with him?
Terra Passenger
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Don't get me started, LOL. I did say "etc." - meaning, that there's more to come.Besides all that what is wrong with him?
Well, actually Collin Bell got me started... so maybe I should say, "Don't fuel the fire!" :-)
Fernando can break up play - he's a fairly good tackler. As part of a dual, the other pivot can largely cover for Fernando's inadequacies.
In a dual, Fernando's role is simply to break up play when possible, and pass the ball to the other pivot when he wins it back. He can largely do that.
Which is why I think that Fernando is barely adequate - I'd kill for a suitable replacement that could challenge Fernandinho for a starting role. But, we have other more pressing holes to fill.
Still, I doubt Fernando will be with us come next season.
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Terra Passenger
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I'm actually not sure about that - his movement is godawful on offense and he can't read the game on defense.Fernando is one of those players who is better without the ball than with it (not meant in an unkind way)
I'm actually not sure about that - his movement is godawful on offense and he can't read the game on defense.
He read Pogba fairly well on a number of occasions the other night. I do agree with you generally though, can't see him here next season.
Eccles Blue
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We can still hug though right?
Of course, I've been told I am a great hugger!! :-)
Terra Passenger
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Fernando is a good tackler and pretty good one-on-one defender - which is why I think he has a role in our side this season. I think we're in agreement :-)He read Pogba fairly well on a number of occasions the other night. I do agree with you generally though, can't see him here next season.
Not reading the game is failing to see where a pass is likely to go and moving accordingly or failing to see that a teammate has left a huge opening and providing cover. Fernando seems entirely incapable of this.
Looking straight at a man, charging in and anticipating where he might pass the ball is different - this is more instinctive than actually being able to read the game - Fernando seems to be good at this.
It's a curious thing though - until I rewatch a game, stopping action and reviewing play to assess blame and to evaluate player positions - it's really hard to figure out just what's going on and who is doing well and who is really screwing up.
The first (and only so far) match I've done this is City versus Spurs - it's only after I reviewed the action frame-by-frame so-to-speak that Fernando's weaknesses became crystal clear.
Maybe I'll do the same for the latest Darby - but probably not. The Derby was a really strange game - most of our best players didn't start, and as a result, passing was awful and pressing broke down. The entire game failed to follow Pep's philosophy (keep the ball, high press to win it in their side, attack,attack, attack).
I'm not sure that there's any reasonable conclusions to draw from rewatching that game.
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