Frenkie de Jong

[kattanib]

Don’t remember where I read it earlier today but EV said that today FDJ played in a different position than the last game, CM vs CDM, and thus FDJ is good at playing different roles and he will utilize that during next season

The fact that FDJ will not play in one position only will hinder his growth. Pure logic, if you do one thing you eventually master it but if you do plenty you are less likely to be a master of something

 

[jairzinho]

He can play anywhere in a midfield three.

His standout games last season were against Juve and Real. In both matches he played as DM.

 

[serghei]

He obviously should be played in one position mostly.

 

[Zidane82]

He apparently shone at Ajax when asked to play at CB !!

Crazy talented guy

 

[gregorrin10]

He apparently shone at Ajax when asked to play at CB !!

Crazy talented guy

He was basically starting beside De Ligt every game for the most part of 2017/18 season, and killed it. Then they got Blind so he could finally return to midfield and truly shine. But he could be more than a capable 4th or 5th CB option here as well, meaning he plays there in case of injuries only, while playing in midfield all the time in between of course.

 

[gregorrin10]

Don’t remember where I read it earlier today but EV said that today FDJ played in a different position than the last game, CM vs CDM, and thus FDJ is good at playing different roles and he will utilize that during next season

The fact that FDJ will not play in one position only will hinder his growth. Pure logic, if you do one thing you eventually master it but if you do plenty you are less likely to be a master of something

To be fair, we don't have a clear plan for him as of yet though. As long as Busquets is here, it would be foolish to limit him to CDM only, cause he'd be basically playing only every 3rd game, and I think Busquets could still recapture that world class level and we could prolong his career here for another 2 years, if we get players like De Jong, Arthur, Alena and Puig in front of him, so he's the only one doing the CDM work, which is how he was taught anyway with Xavi and Iniesta. Now with Rakitic always pushing to do the same job as him, because he doesn't have the balls and skill to actually play like a goddamn CM, it gets messy pretty quickly.

And if we get back to De Jong, he's still our best alternative for Busquets, so he shouldn't be playing CM only as well, although I do think it should be his primary position this season, mainly to get Rakitic and possibly Vidal to lose hope and just leave for the sake of their careers. And De Jong could be a spectacular heir to Iniesta as well, not just Busquets. He can even play the Xavi role, although with Arthur here that's not the best use for FDJ then and we should really divide and conquer in this case.

 

[Zidane82]

To be fair, we don't have a clear plan for him as of yet though. As long as Busquets is here, it would be foolish to limit him to CDM only, cause he'd be basically playing only every 3rd game, and I think Busquets could still recapture that world class level and we could prolong his career here for another 2 years, if we get players like De Jong, Arthur, Alena and Puig in front of him, so he's the only one doing the CDM work, which is how he was taught anyway with Xavi and Iniesta. Now with Rakitic always pushing to do the same job as him, because he doesn't have the balls and skill to actually play like a goddamn CM, it gets messy pretty quickly.

And if we get back to De Jong, he's still our best alternative for Busquets, so he shouldn't be playing CM only as well, although I do think it should be his primary position this season, mainly to get Rakitic and possibly Vidal to lose hope and just leave for the sake of their careers. And De Jong could be a spectacular heir to Iniesta as well, not just Busquets. He can even play the Xavi role, although with Arthur here that's not the best use for FDJ then and we should really divide and conquer in this case.

Fabulous post !!

 

[Arizona Scott]

I just don't agree with ya'll as Busquets. I mean he has all the world class midfield talent you could want with Spain and his strengths and weaknesses look the same playing with those players as we have seen for Barca for the last many years.

In fact last world cup Rakitic looked the much better player than Busi. Not that I think he is, I personally think they are pretty similar in total impact and both lack of pace has become big flaws. I think Busi/Raki and Vidal are all pretty comparable in net play, but I think Vidal and Rakitic probably better compliment FDJ and Arthur. Could be wrong but that is where I am at until I see a lot of combinations in real matches.

 

[mc_lovin]

Disagree about Spain, I wouldnt hold that against Busquets. Their attack is a mess - not fair too rate any midfielder by that standard. National football shouldnt be taken too seriously anyway, 99% is down to luck aka having a great generation across all positions - all recent world cup winners had the best squad by a large margin (Spain, Germany, France).

 

[xXKonan]

Even if Rakitic stays I think with the presence of FDJ, and Arthur and Valverde stating that he wants Roberto back in the Midfield this season, you will see less of the Rakitic-Busi duo for now on. We will still see it but not to the extent we are used to seeing due to recent additions.

The Roberto talk sounds like we already starting to dig the grave for the Rakitic-Busi pair. Not that I'm suggesting Roberto is the answer to him being the main workhorse Midfielder in the middle, but it generally sounds like Valverde seems pretty content with making that happen even if Rakitic stays.

 

[ThwiX]

He apparently shone at Ajax when asked to play at CB !!

Crazy talented guy

Remember watching him at CB against Feyenoord earlier this year and it was not a pleasant sight. Was to blame for at least 2-3 goals out of the 6 Ajax conceded in that trashing. Definitely not a position where we would ever want to rely on him.

 

[D10S_JC]

He resembles Pirlo more than Xavi. He is prone to play at a a deeper role.

 

[Marshall D Teach]

Even if Rakitic stays I think with the presence of FDJ, and Arthur and Valverde stating that he wants Roberto back in the Midfield this season, you will see less of the Rakitic-Busi duo for now on. We will still see it but not to the extent we are used to seeing due to recent additions.

The Roberto talk sounds like we already starting to dig the grave for the Rakitic-Busi pair. Not that I'm suggesting Roberto is the answer to him being the main workhorse Midfielder in the middle, but it generally sounds like Valverde seems pretty content with making that happen even if Rakitic stays.

Roberto being moved back to midfield could mean anything. It could mean:

-Additional competition for Vidal, FDJ and Arthur for the third midfield spot with the amazing Busquets-Rakitic duo taking the other two spots as usual
-The Busquets-Roberto duo replaces the Busquets-Rakitic duo, leaving the other midfielders to compete for the third spot (I think this one is the most likely, and it's also retarded and won't change anything)
-The Roberto-Rakitic duo replaces the Busquets-Rakitic duo, leaving the other midfielders to compete for the third spot
-Roberto takes the third spot in midfield alongside Busquets and Rakitic (oh god just thinking of this gives me nightmares, and I wouldn't put it past Retardo at all)
-Valverde plans to use a Roberto-FDJ-Arthur midfield (very unlikely).
-Valverde plans to use an FDJ-Busquets-Arthur midfield with Roberto as a rotation option, perhaps the obligatory 60th minute Arthur sub (could be worse)

I would be very (pleasantly) surprised to see Valverde play FDJ and Arthur together regularly.

 

[Zidane82]

Roberto being moved back to midfield could mean anything. It could mean:

-Additional competition for Vidal, FDJ and Arthur for the third midfield spot with the amazing Busquets-Rakitic duo taking the other two spots as usual
-The Busquets-Roberto duo replaces the Busquets-Rakitic duo, leaving the other midfielders to compete for the third spot (I think this one is the most likely, and it's also retarded and won't change anything)
-The Roberto-Rakitic duo replaces the Busquets-Rakitic duo, leaving the other midfielders to compete for the third spot
-Roberto takes the third spot in midfield alongside Busquets and Rakitic (oh god just thinking of this gives me nightmares, and I wouldn't put it past Retardo at all)
-Valverde plans to use a Roberto-FDJ-Arthur midfield (very unlikely).
-Valverde plans to use an FDJ-Busquets-Arthur midfield with Roberto as a rotation option, perhaps the obligatory 60th minute Arthur sub (could be worse)

I would be very (pleasantly) surprised to see Valverde play FDJ and Arthur together regularly.

You make some interesting points .

I fear my beloved Busqs will finally get somebody on his wavelength and level of ability in FDJ but they will have to carry and cover for Rakitic.

 

[khaled_a_d]

Remember watching him at CB against Feyenoord earlier this year and it was not a pleasant sight. Was to blame for at least 2-3 goals out of the 6 Ajax conceded in that trashing. Definitely not a position where we would ever want to rely on him.

I think he will still be an option for CB, probably as 4th/5th option when needed.
Sort of like Song/Adriano/Digne/Motta who all played a game or two at that position when we had injury crisis.
But obviously, he shouldn't play there if we have 2 healthy CB