Very underrated player.
Sergi Roberto
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Indeed.
Some of the "arguments" against him in this thread are so ridiculously stupid that I wonder if those posting them understand football at all.
£40m for Sergi Roberto is not just a bargain – it's robbery. Unfortunately, it probably won't happen at all.
40m for the new oshea is a bit too much. If we remove the zero..
He's a fantastic footballer, really underrated. The fact Barca are signing Paulinho rather than making him a key figure underlines how/why they've lost their magic and identity in the past few years.
Agree. Not gonna happen though as clearly to put pressure on Bara to confirm where his standing is within the club. I've watched him live and on Tv and imo he's better than Herrera as his ceiling is higher.
Spanish John o shea, lets stay away, specially for 40 million.
I disagree. Barca were interested in singing Herrera and you just signed Paulinho for £35M so if Roberto is as good as you say he is then why isn't he getting the chance to play in midfield this season? Herrera is comfortably better than Roberto.
I'm not saying he's a bad player btw I do rate him and would actually like us to sign him.
He's a decent player and good value due to his clause but he's not the winger that Mourinho is after.
Wow, great punchline. Talk about nailing it.
Perhaps it's for the best. After all, we don't want a Spanish O'Shea do we?
He played well enough for a player who had his preseason cut in half imo.
Do I have to point out the many big games that Barça's midfield have been non existent? Herrera has been fantastic for a while now, he's done it week in, week out over a sustained period of time. You just can't give Sergio that same benefit of the doubt just because he couldn't get into the weakest midfield of any major club.
Barça are crying out for Herrera's work rate, disclipline etc coupled with his technical ability.
The heady days of Barça are gone, the players that everybody coverts are lessening by the day.
He is quite a player. He can be helpful for us but i don't think of him as a starter, certainly not ahead of Matic, Herrera and Pogba. We need to switch to a three man mid field and incorporate Herrera. We can also use Herrera in one of the holding positions in the 4-2-3-1 formation and play Pogba upfront behind Lukaku. Mata on the wing is definitely not a good idea as he cannot break at pace but the man is a passing genius and needs to play in the center. Sergi Roberto is a total non-fit for us and i rather Mr. Woodward sign a winger and a LWB.
Cules were really happy when we signed Somedo as it meant Bob as our midfield signing this summer which is all we wanted this whole time. He was not available to play in the midfield as we needed him to play RB and our midfield was shambles. I am sure he would displace anyone currently in our midfield be it rakitic or Gomes. The signing of Paulinho will have some effect on the playing time of Bob early in the season as Paulinho's transfer is a big money one and there would be pressure to play him. But I'm optimistic and sure within a couple of months Bob will replace him easily.
As for transfer to Man Utd, I'm sure it's not happening this summer, probably next summer if he doesn't get enough playing time even after proving himself. Moreover, you guys are packed in the Mid, but if he arrives I'm sure he will eventually replace Herrera.
As for transfer to Man Utd, I'm sure it's not happening this summer, probably next summer if he doesn't get enough playing time even after proving himself. Moreover, you guys are packed in the Mid, but if he arrives I'm sure he will eventually replace Herrera.
I don't believe Roberto gets us to a higher level or offers a different dimension to our current midfield. He's not a bad player and in this market 40m sounds about right, but it seems like a lateral move to me rather than one that would take us up a notch.
There's a reason we were a better team when Herrera was dropped at the weekend. Not because he's a bad player but because it's not difficult to improve upon him. The fact Valencia and Herrera were our best players last year says more about the team than them as individuals.
Totally agree with Infordin that he's a better player myself. I'd be surprised if he was behind Herrera in the pecking order for the Spain squad by the time the World Cup comes around.
We have been a better team with Herrera in the side for a long time now and his worth is crucial. I think you're getting far too carried away with Sunday's game and the need for Herrera will be very evident at some point in the near future. If and when we roll into a tougher game with Matic and Pogba in a two this will be even clearer.
We played superbly with Herrera in the 11 too.
It's not difficult to improve on Herrera doesn't make Sergi Roberts better than Herrera.
For 40m Euros, he really should be an option for some of the other bigger PL teams in the league who need a CM. Liverpool? Chelsea? If the choice was between him and Drinkwater... His tactical flexibility to play RB is just an added bonus. Probably do even better as a RWB in Chelsea's system.
Surely there must be more good players in Spain with release clauses that now appear adequately priced with the way the market is?
Surely there must be more good players in Spain with release clauses that now appear adequately priced with the way the market is?
It's actually very difficult to improve on what Herrera brings to the side, especially in terms of attitude, drive and desire. It's more abstract, but it sets the tone and involuntarily wins games. Think Chelsea last season, and Juanfield before that. The knee jerk from Sunday is bordering on hilarious (and depressing) especially when the next 0-0 shitfest is right around the corner.
too early to lay down your judgment based on just one game.wait until we face the fluid attacking team like Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool then have your say
Remember Matic was on the opposite side last season against us?
Hererra was not Mourinho's first 11 when Mourinho come into reign.Hererra earn his position from the bench.
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This is more a player for the likes of Brighton or Newcastle, then for us. Would be hilarious if we sign him.
Yeah it's hilarious that downplaying of Herrera has started. It took 1 game, just 1.
Square peg in a round hole.
Matic is better than both of them though, saying that we dominated sides like that last season but didn't finish the numerous chances that we scored from last Sunday. That's not really Anders fault.
People keep saying how Barça mess this and that up but that's mostly on the administration side, they rarely misuse a player that leaves and proves everybody wrong.
Sergio looks a good player but there's a reason he's a jack of all trades type imo.
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Drivel.
He's a solid footballer with great technique. Whether he improves United is another matter, but to say he's only as good as players in newly promoted sides is laughable.
Nah not really. Other oh-so-talented players from Barca like Deulofeu or Halilovic clearly showed that you don't need to be a solid footballer to look good in most games in that side. A little bit of technique and some direct side-way passing is enough to not shine out as "bad". As a right back Roberto has been horrible throughout against better teams, and has cost Barca a lot lately. He is more then the clear weakness in a side that isn't really impressive defensively. I am pretty sure he wouldn't make the starting 11 at Everton, just as Deulofeu. Newcastle is his level
I don't particularly like him as a right back either (though I think he's had a number of very good games there, and some very, very poor ones), but as a CM he is an effective player. He played a lot there season before last and did a fine job. I don't think there is much between him and Herrera in that position. Both are quite aggressive and direct but can also play.
We seem well stocked now with Matic coming in, but I'd say he could improve the centre of midfield for another top 8 side, easily. City are quite short on numbers in that area as they seem to be all #10's, as are Chelsea. At the right price, he'd be a good signing for both.
The fact it's difficult to prove with anything more than anecdotal evidence is rather convenient, don't you think? In any case, I don't think that argument is particularly useful here given the intangible qualities you're talking about - attitude, drive and desire - are hard to miss in Sergi Roberto.
I don't know, too many players have looked "fine" in Barca's setup, and struggled in small teams like Stoke, Everton or Hamburger SV. I am not convinced by him. For me a player like Ruben Neves - who just joined Wolverhampton - is more talented..
Tbh you point was as good as the one that was made years back, that Liverpool had better win % without Suarez than With him in the side, which obviously ignored all the other variables, not to mention sample size was so small.
Yes, where have we heard this one before. Barca only has 3 great players and the rest of the team is being carried.
The key point was that he was deemed expendable the moment a player like Matic became available. Surely that speaks volumes. The fact that we didn't struggle without him was hardly unexpected and is a good indication of why he was deemed expendable, albeit I totally agree it can't be seen as concrete proof.
He was deemed expendable? That would be correct if Herrera is sold or on bench most of the time this season. As of now it's not as you are basing everything on just 1 game.
It is common sense. Pogba is undroppable. There are lots of games where Mourinho will want to play 3 attackers + Lukaku. Mourinho has said this about Matic:
If you can't see that Herrera is now relegated from being a fixture in the starting lineup then I'd suggest you're being wilfully ignorant. I'm a big Herrera fan, for what it's worth. I'm just not part of this growing **** which thinks any criticism of him is off-limits.Mourinho said:
So if in the next home game Herrera and Pogba starts that means Matic is expendable?
Like I said you are making lot of assumptions based on 1 game.
I'm not ignorant, it's just that you are way too quick to make some point which isn't there, at least yet.
How likely do you think it is that Herrera will play significantly less games than last season, and subsequently occupy a significantly less important role? What I'm going is making inferences from a small sample of disparate sources of information. That's how our brain works.
Obviously he will play less mins as last season he was the only midfielder who was defensively good, now we have 2 so mins will be shared.
Anyways the initial point was Segi Roberto replacing Herrera, just before Matic who is defensively good replaced Herrera doesn't mean Sergi Roberto will, as Herrera is better midfielder.
Edit: just saw your edit. Sorry you have very short memory if you think this is how it works. If so Darmian should have been our first choice RB, Di Maria should never have been worried about Young taking his mins, Martial should be playing as first choice #9. Ridiculously small sample sizes will give you wrong results than right. We have seen players who looked class in first few games before turning into average players, so yeah you are way too quick to make the point that might not happen at all.
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This is a very good point. These clauses always look outrageous when first floated, but now? Bargainsville, as the market has lost its marbles.
Ok, so we agree. He is now expendable, whereas last season he was indispensible. Glad we got there in the end.
I do have very short and very flawed memory. So do you. I really encourage you to watch that talk on the flaws of memory and our brain's reaction to limited samples of data from disparate data sources I linked above. The criticisms you're throwing at me are entirely correct but the implication that you're somehow above that line of thinking is simply wrong.
Doesn't that depend the game Herrera does play in, not the ones he doesn't. Maybe it is saying Pogba/Matic can cope against the lesser teams, but they might need Herrera against the teams that are actually any good. That makes him pretty important.
I also think that at times last season Ander was exhausted with the work he was putting in for the team. Now he can come in certain games and then be available when the games get really important and be more rested. Jose also has the option of being able to take Pogba/Matic out of the side and have a very able replacement for either.
Not sure what your point is. I don't have short term memory, I remember how good Herrera was last season, I remember how our players looked good initially before dropping level. That's why I'm not making any rash judgement on who is first choice and who isn't based on 1 game.
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