Sergi Roberto

[Jombi]

True defenders defend first, Roberto does not have typical defensive instincts - only natural since he's largely played and been schooled as a midfielder moving possession forward.

Sergi, I have no doubts will improve but as a defender he currently lacks the technique & aggression required to platoon the flank.

Your hyperbole aside about mistakes, Roberto was repeatedly getting beat by Celta's wingers to get past him or put the ball into the box. As a fullback, you cannot be

Sergi lacks the technique and aggression to platoon the flank? Hysaj? Are you serious? He's not fit to lace Roberto's shoes. He's rubbish going forward and his defensive work is nothing special. He got skinned alive by Niang against Milan. But since he's "a natural RB" I guess thats OK?

This impossible standard people set for Roberto was used against Masche for years as well. Whenever a mistake happened, he was "not a real CB" and people demanded we bought someone who never made mistakes. Roberto did fine and was one of our best players last game. What did Alba do last game? The "real LB"? Lets not forget we got crushed 4-1 by Celta last season and Alves had a nightmare of a game, far worse than Roberto had now. It can happen. It doesnt "prove" anything.

 

[FCBarca]

One has been schooled as a defender his whole career, the other has been doing it for a season yet you would conclude the former isn't fit to tie the latter's boots. Same former who captain's his NT as the youngest to do so and led their play at the Euros, same one who is considered one of the best young talents in Serie A but sure you saw him get skinned by Niang so not a natural defender

I'm not expecting an impossible standard of logic but just a bare minimum, let's try eh?

 

[Jombi]

One has been schooled as a defender his whole career, the other has been doing it for a season yet you would conclude the former isn't fit to tie the latter's boots. Same former who captain's his NT as the youngest to do so and led their play at the Euros, same one who is considered one of the best young talents in Serie A but sure you saw him get skinned by Niang so not a natural defender

I'm not expecting an impossible standard of logic but just a bare minimum, let's try eh?

zero logic from you there. There are thousands of players who've been schooled as a right back their whole career. Are they all better than Roberto? Natural this or natural that means NOTHING when they cant perform at the required Barca level. You're using Celta's crossing as an argument for why Roberto isnt good enough and claim a so-called "natural" would perform so much better. Remember Alves against Celta?? It makes the suggestion of Hysaj all the more silly. He's frequently skinned by mediocre players even if he's a natural RB. Its ludicrous to claim Roberto lacks the quality to platoon our RB when you want Hysaj!

 

[FCBarca]

zero logic from you there. There are thousands of players who've been schooled as a right back their whole career. Are they all better than Roberto? Natural this or natural that means NOTHING when they cant perform at the required Barca level. You're using Celta's crossing as an argument for why Roberto isnt good enough and claim a so-called "natural" would perform so much better. Remember Alves against Celta?? It makes the suggestion of Hysaj all the more silly. He's frequently skinned by mediocre players even if he's a natural RB. Its ludicrous to claim Roberto lacks the quality to platoon our RB when you want Hysaj!

Was the discussion about thousands of other players or Roberto vs say Hysaj who has been schooled as a defender his entire career? Did I make a claim that thousands were better than Roberto either? Not very logical comparison, again

I used several factors in pointing out how Roberto, while an intelligent Barcelona schooled midfielder, was repeatedly beaten by his winger by the dribble or in putting in dangerous crosses into the box along with his failure to properly close down on defense. Overall, these are requisite skills a defending fullback has to nail down first & foremost - the offensive side of things is the gravy.

Hysaj is a coveted fullback, it's silly to diminish it - moreover, when you actually watch him play you see a defender who also loves to attack. A leader and an intense competitor that has already worn the Captain's armband. You may not like the player but the reality is that he is a more natural defender than Roberto

 

[Jombi]

Was the discussion about thousands of other players or Roberto vs say Hysaj who has been schooled as a defender his entire career? Did I make a claim that thousands were better than Roberto either? Not very logical comparison, again

I used several factors in pointing out how Roberto, while an intelligent Barcelona schooled midfielder, was repeatedly beaten by his winger by the dribble or in putting in dangerous crosses into the box along with his failure to properly close down on defense. Overall, these are requisite skills a defending fullback has to nail down first & foremost - the offensive side of things is the gravy.

Hysaj is a coveted fullback, it's silly to diminish it - moreover, when you actually watch him play you see a defender who also loves to attack. A leader and an intense competitor that has already worn the Captain's armband. You may not like the player but the reality is that he is a more natural defender than Roberto

Hysaj made Evra look like Roberto Carlos on stereoids in the Euros. Hysaj is definitely not Barca quality and far below Sergi Roberto's level. Its funny you say a player first and foremost must not be beaten by his winger. Hysaj is repeatedly beaten, and is frequently caught out of position and loses his marker. I guess thats OK, though, because he is so natural....

 

[FCBarca]

Hysaj made Evra look like Roberto Carlos on stereoids in the Euros. He is definitely not Barca quality and far below Roberto's level. Its funny you say a player first and foremost must not be beaten by his winger. Hysaj is repeatedly beaten, and is frequently caught out of position and loses his marker. I guess thats OK, though, because he is so natural....

Impossible to take you seriously with all the hyperbole

 

[Jombi]

Impossible to take you seriously with all the hyperbole

Impossible to take you seriously when you use an average performance against Celta as proof of anything while ignoring all the crappy defensive work of Hysaj. When confronted with the performances of Hysaj in various games you simply ignore it, while being extremely critical of Roberto. To say that Roberto isnt good enough because he got beaten a few times, while naming Hysaj as the solution is just funny.

You also ignored the comments about Alba and Alves which is interesting. Alves had a worse game against Celta last season when we got hammered 4-1 than Roberto had now.

 

[BBZ8800]

Hysaj made Evra look like Roberto Carlos on stereoids in the Euros. Hysaj is definitely not Barca quality and far below Sergi Roberto's level. Its funny you say a player first and foremost must not be beaten by his winger. Hysaj is repeatedly beaten, and is frequently caught out of position and loses his marker. I guess thats OK, though, because he is so natural....

Imo, it's not fair to compare someone's plays at Euros (against world class opponents) while Roberto mostly play as a RB against Celtics, Gijons and similar.
Those teams are of really poor level.
Ok, Roberto is surely better than Vidal/Montoya/Douglas, who aren't good enough even to play against Celtic and Leganes.

But that still doesn't mean that Roberto is that good.

For now, all we know about Roberto is:
1. that he is good enough against low and midtable teams
2. he is exposed to some extent against stronger opponents, even though a sample is small, and he is yet to play a larger amount of matches against RM, Bayern and top teams
3. he doesn't have a stamina like Alves to play 3 matches per week in a row or 50-60 matches per Season. He is already dead tired at the beginning of October

People started to write a few days ago how Roberto can be the best RB in the world.
Well, we should slow down with those estimations.

Roberto proved that he is good enough for La liga, against all teams placed 6th-20th on a table.
We are yet to see how he will cope against top5 teams on larger samples.
And then, how will he cope at the highest level, in knockout matches against Bayern, Real, Atletico, Psg, City and similar.

So, let's wait before we say that he is good enough for a top level.
But also, we can't write him off yet because he played like 1-2-3 semi-big matches as a RB in his career.

 

[Jombi]

Imo, it's not fair to compare someone's plays at Euros (against world class opponents) while Roberto mostly play as a RB against Celtics, Gijons and similar.
Those teams are of really poor level.
Ok, Roberto is surely better than Vidal/Montoya/Douglas, who aren't good enough even to play against Celtic and Leganes.

But that still doesn't mean that Roberto is that good.

For now, all we know about Roberto is:
1. that he is good enough against low and midtable teams
2. he is exposed to some extent against stronger opponents, even though a sample is small, and he is yet to play a larger amount of matches against RM, Bayern and top teams
3. he doesn't have a stamina like Alves to play 3 matches per week in a row or 50-60 matches per Season. He is already dead tired at the beginning of October

People started to write a few days ago how Roberto can be the best RB in the world.
Well, we should slow down with those estimations.

Roberto proved that he is good enough for La liga, against all teams placed 6th-20th on a table.
We are yet to see how he will cope against top5 teams on larger samples.
And then, how will he cope at the highest level, in knockout matches against Bayern, Real, Atletico, Psg, City and similar.

So, let's wait before we say that he is good enough for a top level.
But also, we can't write him off yet because he played like 1-2-3 semi-big matches as a RB in his career.

Really? Roberto has been great against Atletico Madrid, against Gladbach and in Bilbao this season. Last season he also played against top opposition and did great. To claim that he is "exposed" when he did much better than Alves did there last season and was one of the best players in a team full of underperformers is quite interesting to say. Who was better than Roberto? Alba? He was worse. Doesnt mean Alba is "exposed". Roberto was not responsible for any of the goals. And why do you claim he is "dead tired"? Has he stated that he is dead tired? Thats news to me.

I also find it interesting that you claim Hysaj is doing so great against world class opponents (I suspect you mean Evra in the Euros?). IMO Evra is far from world class, he's like 35, but Hysaj made him look world class. And its not just the Euros of course, I have yet to see any game where Hysaj really stands out against top class opposition like Real Madrid or Bayern, but I have seen him get beaten badly by mediocre players in Serie A on numerous occasions and offering nothing going forward.

 

[BBZ8800]

Really? Roberto has been great against Atletico Madrid, against Gladbach and in Bilbao this season. Last season he also played against top opposition and did great. To claim that he is "exposed" when he did much better than Alves did there last season and was one of the best players in a team full of underperformers is quite interesting to say. Who was better than Roberto? Alba? He was worse. Doesnt mean Alba is "exposed". Roberto was not responsible for any of the goals. And why do you claim he is "dead tired"? Has he stated that he is dead tired? Thats news to me.

I also find it interesting that you claim Hysaj is doing so great against world class opponents (I suspect you mean Evra in the Euros?). IMO Evra is far from world class, he's like 35, but Hysaj made him look world class. And its not just the Euros of course, I have yet to see any game where Hysaj really stands out against top class opposition like Real Madrid or Bayern, but I have seen him get beaten badly by mediocre players in Serie A on numerous occasions and offering nothing going forward.

Alba played 100 matches as a LB against top opponents in a CL, Euros, World cups, La Liga.
If he plays good in 90 matches and plays bad in 10 matches, he is not exposed. He is a guy who is proven, but sometimes plays bad.

When Roberto plays 3 matches against good opponents, and plays well 2 times and bad 1 times=we have no idea is he actually good or bad.

So, let's give more time to Roberto to see whether he is the best RB in the world, good for Barca in CL knockout matches, not good enough for Barca in knockout matces etc.

Also, about AM, Bilbao and Gladbach, only AM is a world class, top 5-6 in Europe opponent.
Bilbao and Gladbach are good opponents, but not those which will decide whether Roberto or any player can play in the matches of the highest level.

About Hysaj, I didn't follow him too much.
I just think that it is wrong to compare matches from Euros and matches against Celtic and Leganes.
Even Bartra looked like a lion in majority of matches at Camp Nou.

I am not saying that Roberto is Bartra, but we can't say too much from those (weaker) matches, unless if you are extremely poor, like Vidal, and you'll be exposed even against those opponents.

 

[Jombi]

Alba played 100 matches as a LB against top opponents in a CL, Euros, World cups, La Liga.
If he plays good in 90 matches and plays bad in 10 matches, he is not exposed. He is a guy who is proven, but sometimes plays bad.

When Roberto plays 3 matches against good opponents, and plays well 2 times and bad 1 times=we have no idea is he actually good or bad.

So, let's give more time to Roberto to see whether he is the best RB in the world, good for Barca in CL knockout matches, not good enough for Barca in knockout matces etc.

Also, about AM, Bilbao and Gladbach, only AM is a world class, top 5-6 in Europe opponent.
Bilbao and Gladbach are good opponents, but not those which will decide whether Roberto or any player can play in the matches of the highest level.

About Hysaj, I didn't follow him too much.
I just think that it is wrong to compare matches from Euros and matches against Celtic and Leganes.
Even Bartra looked like a lion in majority of matches at Camp Nou.

I am not saying that Roberto is Bartra, but we can't say too much from those (weaker) matches, unless if you are extremely poor, like Vidal, and you'll be exposed even against those opponents.

So has Alba played better than Roberto in the tough matches they've both played? Absolutely not. Quite the opposite. Yet people somehow feel the need to judge Roberto as not good enough and want us to sign players who are not fit to tie his shoes, like Hysaj. Roberto is held to a ridiculous standard. And no one is comparing Celtic matches with anything, thats just something you brought up. Roberto has played against Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, Bilbao, Gladbach, Roma etc with great success. No need to try to pretend he can only cut it against Celtic and Leganes.

 

[NorthernVictory]

+Real Madrid.

 

[BBZ8800]

Roberto has played against Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, Bilbao, Gladbach, Roma etc with great success.

Ok, let's change it to:
1. Roberto has proven that he is good enough against weaker and midtable La liga teams
2. a current sample of around 5 matches against better teams (Roma, Gladbach, Sevilla, Bilbao) is hinting that he could be good enough, but a larger sample is needed, since he showed some weaknesses also
3. about how good is Robrto against absolutely TOP teams (Real, Atletico, Bayern, City, Psg), we have no idea since he played only 1 match as RB in his career against those teams (AM), so much more time and a much larger sample is needed before we will be able to estimate his ability on the highest level

+Real Madrid.

In Real:Barca 0:4 at Bernabeu, he played as some hybrid between a RW in 433 and a right midfielder in 442.
Dani Alves played as a RB at Bernabeu.

In Barca:Real 1:2 in April, Dani Alves again played as a RB in 433, and Roberto watched the game from a bench.

So, Roberto played a total of 0 minutes as a RB in those matches.
So, those 2 matches against Real Madrid bring zero new infos about his ability as a RB against top teams.

 

[te amo barca]

Ok, let's change it to:
1. Roberto has proven that he is good enough against weaker and midtable La liga teams
2. a current sample of around 5 matches against better teams (Roma, Gladbach, Sevilla, Bilbao) is hinting that he could be good enough, but a larger sample is needed, since he showed some weaknesses also
3. about how good is Robrto against absolutely TOP teams (Real, Atletico, Bayern, City, Psg), we have no idea since he played only 1 match as RB in his career against those teams (AM), so much more time and a much larger sample is needed before we will be able to estimate his ability on the highest level



In Real:Barca 0:4 at Bernabeu, he played as some hybrid between a RW in 433 and a right midfielder in 442.
Dani Alves played as a RB at Bernabeu.

In Barca:Real 1:2 in April, Dani Alves again played as a RB in 433, and Roberto watched the game from a bench.

So, Roberto played a total of 0 minutes as a RB in those matches.
So, those 2 matches against Real Madrid bring zero new infos about his ability as a RB against top teams.

Roberto played twice vs Atleti as a RB, one was away at Calderon last season and he has done very well.

 

[jayjay]

he only has one speed, needs to slow down sometimes