What's new

Antonio Rudiger

What has disappointed me most in Rudigers return is his passing from defence. This past two matches has seen his hit several long diagonal balls which land short of their target and easily dealt with by the defender.

 
Dean said:
Since we’re questioning him, when did the consensus form that Rudiger is a top CB anyway? Was it just coz he was absent and the others are so poor? I don’t remember him getting much praise last season. I mean - he’s not great with the ball or in the tackle, is he? May have issues with his temperament too. Am genuinely curious to hear the defence now.
Click to expand...
Come on, he got a lot of praise last season and was blatantly our best ddffnder. I dont understand your desperation to claim every one of our players as overrated and rubbish, it's very weird. 

 
Davey Baby said:
Yeah, Kepa probably said something to him, like, "You should have let it run through to me, what are you doing?", quite rightly too.

Rudiger's reaction is pathetic IMO, and not what you want when you're trying to see the game out.
Click to expand...
How could Rudiger know Lacazette or Aubameyang isn’t sneaking in behind him? He needed to hear from Kepa and he didn’t get anything, so decided to play it safe. Then he got criticism from Kepa, to be honest I would have reacted the same in the heat of moment.
 

That’s how I saw it anyway, and Kepa really doesn’t strike me as the kind of goalkeeper to be shouting orders at defenders.

 
dansubrosa said:
That’s how I saw it anyway, and Kepa really doesn’t strike me as the kind of goalkeeper to be shouting orders at defenders.
Click to expand...
As someone who generally sits behind the goals I’d like to say that I’ve never heard Kepa once in the year and a half he’s been our keeper. It can get pretty quiet at The Bridge too. 

 
Munkworth said:
As someone who generally sits behind the goals I’d like to say that I’ve never heard Kepa once in the year and a half he’s been our keeper. It can get pretty quiet at The Bridge too. 
Click to expand...
That does not surprise me. Almost at levels of Drinkwater, Baka and Emerson for useless waste of money signings.

 
dkw said:
Come on, he got a lot of praise last season and was blatantly our best ddffnder. I dont understand your desperation to claim every one of our players as overrated and rubbish, it's very weird. 
Click to expand...
Um, what? Seriously what are you talking about? Are you sure you’ve got the right person?

 
Think Rudiger just needs a run of games to get fully up to speed, he has come back into a very unstable backline where never mind the personnel our management seems undecided about whether we should play a back 4 or 5.

In reference to the Kepa incident I think it was clear Kepa didn't communicate to Rudiger who rightly puts it out of play however once its been cleared the response seemed very exaggerated however its understandable as it felt like a very emotionally draining game for the players. 

 
axman2526 said:
That does not surprise me. Almost at levels of Drinkwater, Baka and Emerson for useless waste of money signings.
Click to expand...
It wasn't too long ago we were saying Emerson looks a good signing. Some thing's amiss with him at the moment. Since his return actually. I think he'll improve though.

 
axman2526 said:
That does not surprise me. Almost at levels of Drinkwater, Baka and Emerson for useless waste of money signings.
Click to expand...
Not even close 

Especially when being backed up by a person in the crowd saying they cant hear him.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Dean said:
Since we’re questioning him, when did the consensus form that Rudiger is a top CB anyway? Was it just coz he was absent and the others are so poor? I don’t remember him getting much praise last season. I mean - he’s not great with the ball or in the tackle, is he? May have issues with his temperament too. Am genuinely curious to hear the defence now.
Click to expand...
Wow. Any time he's played pre-injury he's been flawless and easily our best defender. Certainly better than anything we've had recently (Cahill, Luiz etc). He was superb last season. And yes he is great in the tackle. Quick, good in the air, reads the game very well and better than most CBs with the ball. Give the man some time to get up to speed.
 
venom2011 said:
Wow. Any time he's played pre-injury he's been flawless and easily our best defender. Certainly better than anything we've had recently (Cahill, Luiz etc). He was superb last season. And yes he is great in the tackle. Quick, good in the air, reads the game very well and better than most CBs with the ball. Give the man some time to get up to speed.
Click to expand...
Ok. I shall give him time. My post was deliberately a bit provocative btw - an invitation to put my doubts to rest. You’ve made the case well and i’m standing down. 

 
venom2011 said:
Wow. Any time he's played pre-injury he's been flawless and easily our best defender. Certainly better than anything we've had recently (Cahill, Luiz etc). He was superb last season. And yes he is great in the tackle. Quick, good in the air, reads the game very well and better than most CBs with the ball. Give the man some time to get up to speed.
Click to expand...
He wasn't flawless, he was solid for the most part but had his share of errors, some costly.

I think the way Rudiger is seen on the forum has more to do with how low our standarts have become over the last several years rather than the player himself. We used to have world class CBs in the recent past, and Tony is not in the same class as JT, Carvalho or Gallas and never will be. Not his fault, obviously, but when you play for a top club, the expectations are always high.

Ideally, someone like Rudiger should be a backup in a top side, solid, experienced pro you can call upon when your first choice centerbacks are suspended/injured/tired. At his absolute best he may even remain a starter, as long as he's paired up with truly world class CB and they complement each other well. But I just don't see him as being the focal point of our defence, someone to build the backline around. He's simply not good enough.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
abramovich said:
Not his fault, obviously, but when you play for a top club, the expectations are always high.
Click to expand...
Who has a better CB in the Big 6 than a fit Rudiger?

Manchester United? I'd take Rudiger over Maguire, at worst call it a push
Arsenal - right...
Manchester City - Laporte?
Liverpool - Van Dyk
Spurs -  Alderweireld, Vertonghen are solid, but they can't keep a clean sheet for anything

Is Rudiger World Class? No, but I'd say there's only one World Class CB in the Big 6 clubs right. Of course, they're miles ahead of everyone else and Van Dyk is a big reason why. So that goes to your point... my point is, that they're awfully damned hard to find out there...

 
Skinnedy said:
Is Rudiger World Class? No, but I'd say there's only one World Class CB in the Big 6 clubs right. Of course, they're miles ahead of everyone else and Van Dyk is a big reason why. So that goes to your point... my point is, that they're awfully damned hard to find out there...
Click to expand...
Certainly agree with that last point.

 
Van Dyk is definitely the stand out CB in the Premier League right now and a big reason behind Liverpool's success the last year or so. I would say beyond that the best CB pairing is at Leicester. Evans and Soyuncu may not be fashionable names, but they have been excellent this season. I never rated Jonny Evans at United but he has done really well since leaving them. 

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top