8 - Pedri

[jamrock]

Comparing a 18/19 year old kid to prime xavi, pirlo, iniesta doesn't make for a good debate.

He has weaknesses in his hand like every young player that he will improve on over time.

Significantly better than de jong in that record & Gavi is asked to play higher and I doubt he had many more G+A than him this season.

Heard he set himself a 10 goal target this season that's good & achievable, but he'll never be a high assist/ goals player.

 

[KingLeo10]

Xavi 08/09 is the greatest central midfielder of all time.

 

[Birdy]

Pedri has fewer assists than 18 year old debutant Balde in La Liga this season so far... ease up on the hype a bit.

Just checked, 23 goals and he has assisted none of them. I get that we play on the wings a lot, but when good runs in the middle are being made, he should attempt the pass more. After all, he is the main playmaker of the team.

He has a lot to improve at making decisive passes. Nothing wrong being a fan favorite, he is very likable, but still... assists are a weak point of his.

How does he fare though in key passes to find the assister in super position to assist?

He was MOTM head and shoulders ahead of everyone tonight, because he was always finding the right man with his passes
You can't downplay that because he is not registering assists

 

[kattanib]

But Pedri is neither a game controller like Xavi/Pirlo nor a key pass/final ball machine like Ozil/KDB........

A large part of the Pedri hype is because he reminds people of Iniesta.

People giving him top 3 midfielders itw shouts are clueless.

Lol. Just rewatch todays game and see how Pedri was the brain and engine that moved the team and orchestrated things. Easily the most influential Spanish midfielder in the National Team in the WC

 

[Temptation]

Lol. Just rewatch todays game and see how Pedri was the brain and engine that moved the team and orchestrated things. Easily the most influential Spanish midfielder in the National Team in the WC

Yeah because the National Team Manager is a biased knob who wouldn't even start a baller like Thiago.........


I watched the entire game. He was bang average and played safe. So many opportunities to make line breaking passes but he chose to play the easy ball out wide. De Jong expertly played those risky passes and progressed the ball way better but won't get the credit. We know why.....

 

[kattanib]

Yeah because the National Team Manager is a biased knob who wouldn't even start a baller like Thiago.........


I watched the entire game. He was bang average and played safe. So many opportunities to make line breaking passes but he chose to play the easy ball out wide. De Jong expertly played those risky passes and progressed the ball way better but won't get the credit. We know why.....

Reliable & consistent are both products of what Pedri does game in game out. He has a role and he plays it quite well. Going risky doesnt make any sense in many cases when your mistake can cause a counter attack. Also Pedri gave Fati one hell of a lob pass that isnt his usual flavor

 

[kattanib]

Here is De Jong today:

https://youtu.be/tchGz-l-x3M

And here is Pedri today:

https://youtu.be/S6i2aFf2Rog

The difference is that one contributes to the game and the other controls the pace and direction of the game. One plays 1 step at a time, and the other is thinking 3 steps ahead .. but I wouldnt expect you to understand nor appreciate the value of such a player and let alone his age and experience

 

[putogusiluz8]

It's absurd to mention the word hype around Pedri. I think he has proven his place amongst the world's best talents, and not as a result of the "hype" that surrounds him. Just watch his 1st half performance against bayern this past week to see the skill, cool composure, IQ this kid has. Against one of the best clubs in the world he imposes his game.

Yes he is not giving as many assists as he should, but the only reason that's disappointing to begin with it's because of the high expectations that surround him, because we know he is capable it and he will achieve that level in due time. We seem to forgot we are still talking about a 19 year old.

Final product is not his strong suit, that's true, but it is not completely lacking either. We have seen improvements in this field in the last years since he cemented his place as a starter, and there's no reason to believe it won't continue to improve with time.

I don't remember Iniesta being a complete product at 19. Hell, not even Messi either. So what are we talking about here?

 

[mc_lovin]

Yeah because the National Team Manager is a biased knob who wouldn't even start a baller like Thiago.........

Tough luck when you get outperformed by 17 and 18 years old kids. Thiago never looked half as good as Gavi or Pedri for Spain.

Anyway, Pedri's game against Elche by numbers: 15/16 long balls, 5-key passes and 92/96 accurate passes. He simply didin't need to take more risks. Team looked comfortable winning the game in 2nd gear.

And yes, he's already up there with the best midfielders today. People are just cautious, because quite frankly he didn't have a lot of games last season and this one just started. Pedri last season was a revelation and a massive step up from his debut year. And so far he picked up where he left.

 

[Temptation]

Tough luck when you get outperformed by 17 and 18 years old kids. Thiago never looked half as good as Gavi or Pedri for Spain.

Anyway, Pedri's game against Elche by numbers: 15/16 long balls, 5-key passes and 92/96 accurate passes. He simply didin't need to take more risks. Team looked comfortable winning the game in 2nd gear.

And yes, he's already up there with the best midfielders today. People are just cautious, because quite frankly he didn't have a lot of games last season and this one just started. Pedri last season was a revelation and a massive step up from his debut year. And so far he picked up where he left.

Enrique also gives preference to players like Ferran Torres and Eric Garcia and the goalie Unai Simon. Enough said.

It's more than obvious that Thiago is Spain's best midfielder right now. Whenever he's fit he's terrific and makes a huge impact. He's not getting enough opportunities for Spain despite being considerably better than these kids.

Pedri is not even close to top 5 midfielders in the world. That's disrespectful to the great midfielders with a great body of work. Can name many better. Not near World Class yet.

 

[mc_lovin]

Enrique also gives preference to players like Ferran Torres and Eric Garcia and the goalie Unai Simon. Enough said.

It's more than obvious that Thiago is Spain's best midfielder right now. Whenever he's fit he's terrific and makes a huge impact. He's not getting enough opportunities for Spain despite being considerably better than these kids.

Pedri is not even close to top 5 midfielders in the world. That's disrespectful to the great midfielders with a great body of work. Can name many better. Not near World Class yet.

It's not though. I have watched nearly all Spanish national team games in the last 14 or so years and Thiago was consistently average. Opposed to Pedri, who has been the best midfielder in a Euro already, or Gavi, who looked like an absolute key player from day 1.

Enrique has also been spot on in selecting his team so far. Garcia is very good (same for Barcelona) and well, Ferran is without alternatives. Unai Simon has been impressive as well, who would you rather see? Fecking de Gea?

 

[Temptation]

It's not though. I have watched nearly all Spanish national team games in the last 14 or so years and Thiago was consistently average. Opposed to Pedri, who has been the best midfielder in a Euro already, or Gavi, who looked like an absolute key player from day 1.

Enrique has also been spot on in selecting his team so far. Garcia is very good (same for Barcelona) and well, Ferran is without alternatives. Unai Simon has been impressive as well, who would you rather see? Fecking de Gea?

Thiago is always good for Liverpool so he should obviously get support and playing time from the manager. He's performing well in the PL and CL level. Pedri is yet to prove himself in the CL and plays in a weaker league than Thiago. Consider Thiago's accomplishments with Bayern and he has to be in the starting 11 based on merit. And with Thiago, you can't even give the "he doesn't fit into the system" excuse because he's technically on a different level to the Spain NT starters.

Ferran? You need to stop going to these extents to defend Enrique.

Garcia was a massive joke until the start of this season. Tiny sample space.

DDG, Robert Sanchez are definitely better than Unai Simon. You laugh at De Gea but even current DDG is clear of Simon who is a nobody.

This forum calls Busquets and Alba finished liabilities everyday and guess what? Enrique starts both.

 

[ajnotkeith]

Garcia has been 'very good' the same way Araujo has been very good, Christensen has been very good, Balde has been very good, because all games bar two this season (Sociedad and Bayern) have been played against much worse quality teams with toothless attacks, that have barely been able to enter our box once and test the centrals or backline. All our defenders have been 'very good' in that sense because none of them were tested properly by anything yet, that isn't a credit to Garcia.

He and the others have just had very little to do.

Only decent attacking teams we have played so far this season are Sociedad and Bayern.

For Sociedad he lost Isak for the first goal and he had some unfortunate luck when it went in off his boot for the goal. Bayern he was benched.

 

[mc_lovin]

Thiago is always good for Liverpool so he should obviously get support and playing time from the manager. He's performing well in the PL and CL level. Pedri is yet to prove himself in the CL and plays in a weaker league than Thiago. Consider Thiago's accomplishments with Bayern and he has to be in the starting 11 based on merit. And with Thiago, you can't even give the "he doesn't fit into the system" excuse because he's technically on a different level to the Spain NT starters.

Ferran? You need to stop going to these extents to defend Enrique.

Garcia was a massive joke until the start of this season. Tiny sample space.

DDG, Robert Sanchez are definitely better than Unai Simon. You laugh at De Gea but even current DDG is clear of Simon who is a nobody.

This forum calls Busquets and Alba finished liabilities everyday and guess what? Enrique starts both.

There are no extents I go to to defend Enrique :S Who is the alternative to Ferran? It's literally picking out of a bunch of bad to average options. Disagree about de Gea as well, who is a decent shot stopper, but really freaking bad on the ball. Unai performed very well for Spain. And again, both Gavi and Pedri were just better than Thiago. Period.

Garcia has been 'very good' the same way Araujo has been very good, Christensen has been very good, Balde has been very good, because all games bar two this season (Sociedad and Bayern) have been played against bad teams with toothless attacks that have barely been able to enter our box once and test the centrals or backline. All our defenders have been 'very good' in that sense because none of them were tested properly by anything yet, that isn't a credit to Garcia.

For Sociedad he lost Isak for the first goal and he had some unfortunate luck when it went in off his boot for the goal. Bayern he was benched.

Garcia also played his part in a very good Euro campaign (and the mickey mouse Nations League). He's just a good player, albeit not world class (and probably never will be). For free he has been a nice transfer to say the least.

 

[Temptation]

There are no extents I go to to defend Enrique :S Who is the alternative to Ferran? It's literally picking out of a bunch of bad to average options. Disagree about de Gea as well, who is a decent shot stopper, but really freaking bad on the ball. Unai performed very well for Spain. And again, both Gavi and Pedri were just better than Thiago. Period.



Garcia also played his part in a very good Euro campaign (and the mickey mouse Nations League). He's just a good player, albeit not world class (and probably never will be). For free he has been a nice transfer to say the least.

Pedri and Gavi are better than Thiago??

Thiago was one of the most crucial players in Bayern's sextuple win. Was the heartbeat of our team that just competed for every single trophy till the last day of the season and is fantastic whenever he plays in any competition.

But sure Pedri and Gavi are better because they have played well against few mighty La Liga teams.

No sane person will rate Pedri and Gavi higher than Thiago currently.

Tell me why Enrique starts a finished Busquets over Rodri who is consistently delivering World Class performances for years now.