Dont agree about the defending v Valencia and think he should do better but that has been discussed.
The rest of it is just excuses and if he is that mentally weak it is a problem.
Plenty of players, in fact the majority who sign for Real or Barca as youngish players will get rotated in the early stages and have to perform when get given a chance to prove they should play more.
You have it wrong way round though when mentioning the Atletico game. He was taken off because he was doing nothing going forward and just before came off actually just booted the ball out for a goal kick to them.
Roberto was taken on to provide more going forward as Aletico by that point were virtually leaving Semedo and Alba free. Roberto came on and assisted the equaliser.
Valverde made 100% the correct decision in that game to take him off and it worked. If Semedo cant handle that it is his own problem.
This idea that Valverde has destroyed his confidence is pathetic.
Hopefully he gets better but he has not been treated badly by Valverde in any way shape or form.
How can u possibly compare Sergi Roberto to Semedo? Roberto is a La Masia product and already has loads of experience in the first team since 2 years ago but tat guy is still no natural right back, regardless or not he did put a good cross, or simply had the vision to pick out Suarez. Player of his talent shud be used more in midfield as he was clearly better at dribbling and passing.
I'm not saying Semedo is gonna transform into a beast after few games with Barcelona, but Semedo HAD a promising start, even Suarez back in the days were struggling when he first started before the whole MSN thing. Semedo clearly had the momentum, and this was crucial but Valverde benched him straight for few games before the big Atletico game. Whether or not he was poor in the Atletico game, he shud be given more consistent time to establish himself.
Nothing abt being "mentally weak", just a foolish and senseless statement; you know nothing abt having that pressure on the pitch and he is clearly still new to the Barca system.
Full backs need good supports bcos they are mainly isolated on the flanks, Dani Alves with Messi is clearly one good example. But Semedo with Gomes, Semedo with Rakitic? Come on. Roberto was paired with Deulofeu. Even Roberto with Semedo would be great. I agree maybe he needs to work on his crossing but he still needs to lay down that foundation and connection first before everything else. I'm sure everything will come naturally.
In any case, Semedo showed he's capable against Murcia as Aleix Vidal connected well with him with 1-2s, even with Alena, so that he is able to run down the right flank to put in a clean cross. His pace shud be utilised, with our lack of wingers, but he simply needs a good support, no 2 ways abt it. Also, no point being overly harsh on him, and people being "critics" and "experts" for the sake of being it. If thats the case, players like Suarez shud be exiled considering his bad run of games. There's clearly some culmination of factors that stinting his development right now, that I cant ignore, rather than simply sticking to the belief that "maybe he's just not good enough". If people are so critical and unrealistic, we will never be able to find the "perfect RB" even if there is one. Even Paco Alcacer who seemed "useless" initially now seem to be an asset.
He is slowly regaining his confidence, but if Valverde decides to pair him with Rakitic in a 442 setup again, he simply cant do much.
