Rodwells form????

[mawders]

i thought he had a decent game against Utd, and got forward a few times. He needs to stop with the sideways passes, but then if there is a lack of movement up front then knocking it sideways is better then losing possession trying to fit the ball through the eye of a needle. I like it when he goes on runs that end in a shot...he did that in the first half and almost got a goal out of it. It's a confidence thing with him and he is getting more confident each game and his partnership with Felli is promising.

I thought Barkley showed why he should be sub at best. He didn't do anything badly particularly but his lack of experience was obvious. He has bags of confidence though, so use him sensibly this season - a few starts against lower teams and 20-30 mins in other games and next season he will be a better player for it

 

[Tubey]

I don't know whether your expecting to much Tubey in the attacking side of Rodwell's game. He has never been a player with massive offensive tendencies and personally over the past few games he is definetely becoming a better attacking option. I know its fustrating watching him sometimes because of the simple passes he plays but like Scott Parker his role shouldn't be to make those game chaging passes, it would be nice if he did but that isn't the way he plays or is probabaly told to.
Also in regard to Rodwell becoming a Centre Back in the future I am not so sure, physically he is fine but mentally I am not sure whether he has that drive or confidence in beating the best strikers to be playing on the last line.
I do see him definetely as a defensive mid in the future mainly because he like to start plays from the back and sit a little bit off the play which is where he feels comfortable.

I'm not expecting driving runs, expressive passes etc. from Rodwell. That's not the frustrating part. I'm simply expecting him to want the ball and distribute correctly, as all too often he receives it, shields it whenever someone comes within ten yards of him then passes backwards, destroying momentum.

He also doesn't charge in and win the 50/50s like you'd expect a defensive midfielder to do. Fellaini does it expertly. His short passing game is amongst the best in world football too.

Rodwell is just a shadow of Fellaini, and it's exacerbated by the fact they're so similar and playing alongside eachother. That is not a long term midfield partnership for Everton unless they had two attacking wingers and/or a flamboyant attacking midfielder who they could anchor. To ask them to box to box is useless under Evertons current set up.

The reason I see him as a potential world class centre-half is that when he was on form and confident, he got his head up in possession and picked out some beautiful passes. Sitting deeper as a ball playing centre-half would allow him to see the game in front of him without the pressure of picking up the ball and spinning to face the opposition.

I don't believe he has the awareness, confidence or general ability to play in midfield, unless it was alongside a more offensive player.

As I'd rather have Fellaini in the midfield every day of the week, that means Rodwell drops to the bench for the foreseeable future, plays right back or something daft, or starts to be considered as the long term replacement for Distin.

He's strong, composed, mentally switched on, decent in the standing tackle and his positioning is decent. We have a potential world class centre-half on our hands, yet we used him right wing against QPR and continue to shatter his confidence by playing him where he currently is.

 

[Jamo Martinez]

I saw the last ten minutes of the first half and then the whole second half. Rodwell was ok without being exceptional. But that was the same for the whole team.

 

[McBain]

I think your selling him well short Tubs.

Getting sent for the Silva tackle would have you thinking twice, and putting that kind of talent at centre half is a complete waste, don't you think?

 

[Mvflusk]

You can pick apart his game and say this pass was bad and that positioning was woeful but he doesn't make any mistakes that anyone else doesn't. For example giving the ball away.

Rodwell attempted 52 passes (excluding crosses) and 48 were successful, a 92.3% success rate. Compare that to Baines or Fellaini, our two highest rated players, who made 36 and 44 successful passes (again, excluding crosses) with 11 and 7 being unsuccessful respectively, 76.6 and 86.3%.

And where does this "Rodwell or Fellaini BUT NOT BOTH" mentality come from? They work well together and it's a good tool to switch them over, one going forward one sitting in front of the CBs, to mix up the game and put off the opposition. I'd happily see a midfield built around them both.

 

[Tubey]

I think your selling him well short Tubs.

Getting sent for the Silva tackle would have you thinking twice, and putting that kind of talent at centre half is a complete waste, don't you think?

Absolutely not. You build a side from a solid base at the back. Having an athletic, powerful centre-half would be a tremendous boost for us.

You can pick apart his game and say this pass was bad and that positioning was woeful but he doesn't make any mistakes that anyone else doesn't. For example giving the ball away.

Rodwell attempted 52 passes (excluding crosses) and 48 were successful, a 92.3% success rate. Compare that to Baines or Fellaini, our two highest rated players, who made 36 and 44 successful passes (again, excluding crosses) with 11 and 7 being unsuccessful respectively, 76.6 and 86.3%.

And where does this "Rodwell or Fellaini BUT NOT BOTH" mentality come from? They work well together and it's a good tool to switch them over, one going forward one sitting in front of the CBs, to mix up the game and put off the opposition. I'd happily see a midfield built around them both.

But those stats indicate the problem. Nearly every single one of those passes were five or ten yarders, where he gives the ball to the nearest man to shirk the responsibility of doing something with it. He also dallies on the ball. He got dispossessed in the first half as he had no clue who or what was around him, then panicked and completely lunged at Jones to pick up a booking.

He hasn't got the nous needed to play what I'd call a "360 degrees" kind of game. He can't spin on the ball and pick a pass.

The reason a midfield of Rodwell and Fellaini won't work in the Everton set up is what I explained before - they don't have the two or three creative players ahead of them to allow us the luxury of two holding midfielders. In fact, Rodwell and Fellaini are part of the reason we can't attack properly at the moment, as they play like a guard for the centre-halves.

There was a point in the match yesterday when Osman and Saha were closing down the United defence right back to the 'keeper. Where were Fellaini and Rodwell? Not stepping up into the gap in central midfield. Nope, they were deep inside their own half.

If we had an attacking midfielder in the mould of Lampard or something, or two wide players like Young or Sturridge, then Fellaini and Rodwell would be fine in the centre. We don't, so we need a "give and go" midfield instead. So it's Fellaini and someone else as far as I'm concerned. Rodwell isn't the answer.

 

[Goat]

Maybe we should play Arteta and Fellaini, cos hes our most creative player.

Oh wait a minute.......


The problem with playing 2 Defensive Midfielders in midfield, is that they are Defensive Midfielders.

Its wrong to expect either of them to be playmakes, cos that isnt their game.

Fellaini bossed that midfield yesterday, so took all the "glory", but he was defo supported by Rodwell, who for me and people who understand football, sniff, is starting to look a real player.

 

[kenada_blue]

Absolutely not. You build a side from a solid base at the back. Having an athletic, powerful centre-half would be a tremendous boost for us.



But those stats indicate the problem. Nearly every single one of those passes were five or ten yarders, where he gives the ball to the nearest man to shirk the responsibility of doing something with it. He also dallies on the ball. He got dispossessed in the first half as he had no clue who or what was around him, then panicked and completely lunged at Jones to pick up a booking.

He hasn't got the nous needed to play what I'd call a "360 degrees" kind of game. He can't spin on the ball and pick a pass.

The reason a midfield of Rodwell and Fellaini won't work in the Everton set up is what I explained before - they don't have the two or three creative players ahead of them to allow us the luxury of two holding midfielders. In fact, Rodwell and Fellaini are part of the reason we can't attack properly at the moment, as they play like a guard for the centre-halves.

There was a point in the match yesterday when Osman and Saha were closing down the United defence right back to the 'keeper. Where were Fellaini and Rodwell? Not stepping up into the gap in central midfield. Nope, they were deep inside their own half.

If we had an attacking midfielder in the mould of Lampard or something, or two wide players like Young or Sturridge, then Fellaini and Rodwell would be fine in the centre. We don't, so we need a "give and go" midfield instead. So it's Fellaini and someone else as far as I'm concerned. Rodwell isn't the answer.

Its all we've got though.

And Rodwell can find a pass, he did it against Villa and spread distribution from one end of the pitch to the other.

BUT...his and Fellaini's game are dictated to how the team is set up to play. Get the ball, pass wide.

There's a problem with the tactics employed by the team rather than the players. We play it wide with no real wingers and rely of deliveries from players that cant deliver...apart from Baines.

But I agree, Rodwell hides. But he'll get out of that.