16 - Rodri

[fake9]

And if De Jong comes back strong, what do we do with Pedri? Push him into a 3 way competition with Olmo and Fermin? Use him as a sub like De La Fuente did? Signing of Rodri puts enormous pressure on Pedri imo.

Rodri if fit starts either way, and then we choose one out of Pedri and De Jong for the biggest games.

Send him to gym or sell. Enough is enough. He still looks like a teenager. Same for FDJ. There are better Spaniards than both

 

[fake9]

Problem with Frenkie and Pedri is that they aren't DMs(lots of ugly running, pressing and bullying). On the contrary they need a player of that exact profile so they can have the freedom to do their magic upfront. Rodri isn't exactly that either but he does take off a lot of the defensive burden.

They are not men, you can't afford someone to cover for half your midfielders when it would be the other way around in any serious team. It started with Busquets who refused to grow his body. It has to end at this point after years of humiliations and under achievements. If you can keep the Barcelona quality is fine, but first you need a proper body, Xavi had a proper body. I say and I repeat, we have the worse midfielders from 2016 onwards and to double down worse defenses too.
For me getting Paredes alongside Rodri was vital. Two proper strong midfielders to get a base.

 

[FCBarça]

I still cannot believe how fortuitous his arrival has been, madness

 

[Loki]

Rodri: "Pep Guardiola and Hansi Flick aren't alike at all. When I arrived at Barcelona, I thought I was stepping into the philosophy of rondo and possession, and the truth is that the first four days they gave me such a physical beating that I said. 'What have I gotten myself into?'" [@partidazocope]

 

[FCBarça]

Yeah, his full interview is interesting - they peppered him a lot about RM & BdO of course

 

[jamrock]

Flick big on physical prep is the least surprising thing in the world

Where has rodri been?. Now I don't trust him.

Hard sell!!

 

[Jamque]

Now we know why Bernardo chose to holiday in Madrid.

Even the F1 is slow there.

 

[MonteCuler]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2103029921002209507

I like how honest he is in interviews, a truly class footballer and person

 

[Andresito]

We need that CL trophy before we can speak Rodrigo

 

[GG1989]

We need that CL trophy before we can speak Rodrigo

At least he's honest.

 

[Origami]

At least he's honest.

“…sike!”

 

[Barcelonista10]

I mean the guy has eyes(seeing our defenders).

 

[Windhook]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Barca/comments/1wrf20f/a_closer_look_at_the_penalty_call_on_jude

I'm amazed once again how refs read Bellingham's twitch to make contact as a foul and not a dive. Ridicilous.

 

[FCBarça]

And the VAR, I mean the ref went to the screen and we could see he saw the same images as us and still confirmed a penalty - scandalous

No way this was mere incompetence

 

[Don Money Laporta Estruch]

Going to say it now as nobody has questioned it, but Rodri, though he has been fairly good here so far against cannon fodder, he certainly doesn't look like the Rodri of old.

I initially thought it was him taking it easy after a bad injury, but yesterday he was trying hard and looked slow on the turn and struggled to get back at times, just as he did at City last season. Commentators on my feed said the same.

It was the worry some of us here raised in the summer. Not that we were ever going to get a poor player, but that we weren't going to get the pre-injury Rodri that would be befitting of paying 70m + on a 30 year old for.

And the jury is still out on that one.

 

[GG1989]

Going to say it now as nobody has questioned it, but Rodri, though he has been fairly good here so far against cannon fodder, he certainly doesn't look like the Rodri of old.

I initially thought it was him taking it easy after a bad injury, but yesterday he was trying hard and looked slow on the turn and struggled to get back at times, just as he did at City last season. Commentators on my feed said the same.

It was the worry some of us here raised in the summer. Not that we were ever going to get a poor player, but that we weren't going to get the pre-injury Rodri that would be befitting of paying 70m + on a 30 year old for.

And the jury is still out on that one.

We had problem against weak teams as well.

I don't know how he'll perform against top teams but who do you suggest we should have signed in his place?

 

[MonteCuler]

Rodri gave us more control. Not everything is about UCL. We are cruising the league at the moment, in a way never seen before. Rodri is playing a big part. The performance against Sevilla was great and I especially applaud that one, because it was a tough away game against team that gave their all physically.

Worries for big CL games are reasonable. Rodri's team got raped by Arbeloa Madrid over two legs last year. Assuming Flick has FDJ, Pedri and Rodri all available he would have to think. There is a way to field all 3 of them, play Pedri in a 10 role but not necessarily in the way Olmo and Fermin play it. But a little deeper and more involved in midfield. FDJ could give Rodri more defensive support, though it's not clear if FDJ himself is on a better physical level.

One thing is clear, for the biggest games you look to field the best players. Not force them of course, that's stupid - but if you can find a way it works tactcally, every manager should do it. There is many ways FDJ could start

 

[thestig]

He has to be really motivated. He has never won a club trophy in his life.

 

[Windhook]

Just now I saw one of his actions. Everyone on Czechia expected him to pass back to GK, instead he turned around and passed forward, catching everyone in surprise.