Sounds like he was a failure when hes probably our 2nd best player this season.
Frenkie de Jong
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Sounds like he was a failure when hes probably our 2nd best player this season.
Reading into it too much then. I'm more saying that he lifted his performance to a very high level. Prior to that I think he's been above average overall, some games excellent, large periods of just sort of being there. 2nd best player probably though. Hard to tell which players are standing out other than Messi because we play so well as a team this second half of the season.
True, his marking is amateur and defending corners not so good too. Needs to work on it.
fergus90
Senior Member
I'd only watched De Jong for a whole 90 mins once before he joined us so had no real idea what to expect on a weekly basis. Although I've been a bit disappointed with his overall impact and decision-making sometimes, I thought he was superb in the second half of the final and could see why some people rave about his abilities a lot. His abilities I'd argue we've never really seen a lot of during his time at Barca anyway.
His stamina and work-rate were always impressive but he really took the game by the scruff of the neck on Saturday.
I hope he can build on that going forward and keep that high level of performance most weeks.
His stamina and work-rate were always impressive but he really took the game by the scruff of the neck on Saturday.
I hope he can build on that going forward and keep that high level of performance most weeks.
"that whole La Masia midfield and front line were skilled at it (Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Messi, Pedro)." Yes, Pedro was very good at team awareness, connective play, one-touch passing. My point was there wasn't a weakness in that lineup where the flow would fall apart, not that Pedro had the same brilliance or creativity as those others. He was trained in and proficient at scanning.
I'm always puzzled that scanning is not a more common proficiency among players. It's not hard to learn, just requires practice and a lot of concentration. Defenders would benefit greatly, too. When you hear a defense being accused of "ball-watching," it's their lack of scanning and having no idea of opposition players coming in behind them. So why isn't scanning trained as much as other essential skills (outside of La Masia)?
You?re absolutely right about Pedro. He had the awareness to know when it had to be a one touch, where to walk, to create space and to keep the attack flowing. Also was good to play himself out of tight situations but always in a teams perspective. Not overdoing things. They were like a orchestra. Anticipating perfectly at eachother. Pep was a great influence in that, I?m 100% sure. Besides them having talent
I think that you can train pre scanning but it?s better to have the talent. You can train dribbling too and become good at it but it will never be like Messi, meaning that on the moment supreme when it has to happen that idea must pop in your head. Let?s say you have a game where all the balls are easy to give and all of sudden that pre scanning pass has to be given in order to win the Final of the CL, its usually goes wrong with players that don?t posses that talent. So in a game against Real where all the 11 are also good at pre scanning you have to be talented to make the difference in that topic. Can it help you in becoming better at it? For sure. Will it help you become that stand out like Xavi? No because he?s born with it. The therm pre scanning can be used for many aspects in the game. Some are good at it in a way to keep attacks fluent but are bad in given that elite pass where it?s also required.
This being said. I remember 2 passes at Ajax against PSV and Standard Liege where he saw an impossible angle and totally surprised the opponent. He can do it but it?s not consistently
In the first half you could see again that he waste so much chances to create danger. Like the 1-2?s with Sergi Roberto but he chooses to turn back. Danger gone. His pre scanning was horrible the first half. Still has difficulties when being closed down by more players to think outside the box and find the solution playing forward.
H? has to make this step in order to become world class. You can?t always rely on your dribbling when the situation suits you. It?s time to learn how to free yourself from unexpected approaches by opponents. Now being placed centre back in the 2nd half doesn?t fasten this process
H? has to make this step in order to become world class. You can?t always rely on your dribbling when the situation suits you. It?s time to learn how to free yourself from unexpected approaches by opponents. Now being placed centre back in the 2nd half doesn?t fasten this process
Bobo32
Senior Member
But he is impressing me as a CB once again in the second half so far, some nicely timed passes, cool on the ball, and so on. Looks dominant and in control there.
Yess in 3-5-2 he?s good at it but for his own future it?s not good because in a 4-3-3 he?s not a cb. Still most clubs play 4-3-3
BerkeleyBernie
Senior Member
On what basis? He's not even in the top 10 midfielders. You think he'd beat out İlkay Gundoğan, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, or Phil Foden for a starting spot on Man City? Joshua Kimmich or Leon Goretzka for Bayern? Casemiro, Toni Kroos, or Luka Modrić for Real Madrid? Bruno Fernandes for Manchester United?
That's 10 midfielders, for starters (let alone forwards like Mbappe, Benzema, Messi, Lewandowski, Haaland...)
At City he'd probably play with Gundo and KDB in midfield, with Foden/Silva being in the front three. Frenkie is different, but better than Goretzka. He'd also start ahead of 35 year old Modric lol.
And Bruno wouldn't compete with Frenkie.
He'd comfortably slot into any team in the world.
Richard.H
Senior Member
Not so sure about starting ahead of Modric. He is currently playing very well.
BerkeleyBernie
Senior Member
Disagree.
Not a guaranteed starter in the top eight teams but probably good enough for the rest. Regardless, not a top 5 or top 10 player in the world, nor do I think he has the potential to be so. That's talking Balon D'Or quality. I don't see it. He's a solid athlete but with a lot of flaws.
Modric still might have the higher peak but he's consistent nowadays and a bit out of form lately.
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