Ricardo Pereira ACL

[lcfc sheff]

I just want him to be fit first before we debate anything, it could be a lot longer than we think.

[hackneyfox]

13 hours ago, Angus Scott said:

Sorry I'm confused, can you tell me which 2 players we sold for 185 mill & counting?

Oops, £135m and counting.

[pazzerfox]

3 hours ago, Bert said:

Why? He’s having a decent season. Nothing more than 7/10 though. Made plenty of mistakes that have gone unnoticed. Ricardo and Castagne when fully fit are miles ahead of Justin. 

Disagree with that.  Has Castagne really been miles better than Justin?  Could you really see Castagne scoring a goal like Justin did against stoke?

[AjcW]

1 minute ago, pazzerfox said:

Disagree with that.  Has Castagne really been miles better than Justin?  Could you really see Castagne scoring a goal like Justin did against stoke?

Castagne post injury is nowhere near Justins levels this season. Before that though he was looking on a par with Ricardo. I think we should just all be happy we have 3 outrageous options  

[Ric Flair]

3 hours ago, Bert said:

Why? He’s having a decent season. Nothing more than 7/10 though. Made plenty of mistakes that have gone unnoticed. Ricardo and Castagne when fully fit are miles ahead of Justin. 

He'll play RCB/LCB in a 3-4-2-1 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Bert said:

Why? He’s having a decent season. Nothing more than 7/10 though. Made plenty of mistakes that have gone unnoticed. Ricardo and Castagne when fully fit are miles ahead of Justin. 

Same with Ndidi - I thought Mendy was excellent early in the season but Wilf is a level above. Justin is improving rapidly but if/when Ricardo is back at it, it's got to be him and Castagne. If we continue to compete on three fronts they'll all have a big part to play anyway.

[mazarron fox]

3 hours ago, Bert said:

Why? He’s having a decent season. Nothing more than 7/10 though. Made plenty of mistakes that have gone unnoticed. Ricardo and Castagne when fully fit are miles ahead of Justin. 

Castagne average over 15 games is 7.02 so how is that miles better than JJ ?

[brucey]

Saw a stat yesterday that Castagne is our player with the highest points per game this season when he plays, Albrighton being second highest.

 

I think Justin keeps his place at least until both of the others have proven they are back to their pre-injury levels. Unfortunately there's a possibility that may never happen with Ricky.

[Bert]

33 minutes ago, mazarron fox said:

Castagne average over 15 games is 7.02 so how is that miles better than JJ ?

Well I’m not talking about it like that, but seeing as Castagne has only played 11 games this season, I find that hard to believe. 
 

When both are fully fit, both are better (currently) than Justin. You play your strongest 11. 

[Bert]

32 minutes ago, Guest said:

Same with Ndidi - I thought Mendy was excellent early in the season but Wilf is a level above. Justin is improving rapidly but if/when Ricardo is back at it, it's got to be him and Castagne. If we continue to compete on three fronts they'll all have a big part to play anyway.

Totally agree. The improvement from Justin is amazing and personally didn’t see him hitting this level he’s currently performing at, and he’s only going to get better. 

[daddylonglegs]

11 hours ago, Nod.E said:

Our options at the back are incredible.

 

Could play Justin at CB in a 5 against teams we needed to play more counter attacking football. 

 

Yet even in doing that you'd have to drop one of Evans, Soyuncu and Fofana if all fit.

 

It's not fair, but as others have said you can't not play one of the best full backs in the world. And for me you can't not play Castagne either, his engine opens up so much space for us.

 

Obviously an exaggeration but imagine we had Messi. Imagine Barnes played on the right. His good season doesn't mean you'd play Barnes over Messi. 

It's not that mental of a comparison.

 

Messi is the best RW in the world on form. 

Ricardo is the best RB in the world on form. Justin has done a great job but he doesn't get near Ricardo. 

[AKCJ]

Would be staggered if Justin gets dropped.

 

He's been the most consistent player in the team this season.

 

I personally think Ricardo will play in the current Albrighton role.

 

With the ball;

Kasper

Justin Fofana Evans

Ricardo Ndidi Tielemans Castagne

Maddison

Vardy Barnes

 

Without the ball;

Kasper

Justin Fofana Evans Castagne

Ndidi Tielemans

Ricardo Maddison Barnes

Vardy

[jeffschlupp]

As others have said, it's not hyperbole to say Ricardo is genuinely world class, and arguably our most talented player. I would play him in most positions on the pitch, he is that good going in both directions, on the ball, positionally and so on.

 

I'm a huge fan of Justin and he has been immense, but if you're looking at playing our 'strongest' team when Ricardo is back to 90 minutes at full speed, it's a no brainer to play Ricardo and Castagne at full-back.

 

In 3 at the back, time will tell because when we've trialled it I haven't been that impressed with Ricardo in it, but I think we've only used it once or twice while he's been here. Likewise Soyuncu.

 

But having three top full-backs who can all play on either side is a brilliant luxury to have when you have 22 league games and at least three more knockout games - likelihood is you've got 2 full-back spots up for grabs across perhaps 25-30 games - well that is 17-20 appearances for each of the three on average, and you're not even including Thomas/Albrighton at RWB/Fuchs in that.

[Paninistickers]

Interesting was Rodgers' comments last week when swapping  Castagne  with Jim Justin, about Justin is needed on the right when there's an obvious offensive  threat - zaha, rashford. 

 

I'm gonna say it.  I think Jim Justin is a top top class defensive RB.Simpson level. Has anyone seen his 1 v 1 duels? Maybe some statsgeek can dig them 1 v 1s out. He won't be dropped. 

 

Ricardo will hopefully be unleashed in the Albrighton/Praet inverted winger RM role....partnered by either Castagne or Jim at full back dependent on opponents 

 

Edit to add: as an aside, I don't think Castagne looks quite the same player in the left. 

Edited 15 January 2021 by Paninistickers

[SpacedX]

4 minutes ago, Paninistickers said:

Interesting was Rodgers' comments last week when swapping  Castagne  with Jim Justin, about Justin is needed on the right when there's an obvious offensive  threat - zaha, rashford. 

 

I'm gonna say it.  I think Jim Justin is a top top class defensive RB.Simpson level. Has anyone seen his 1 v 1 duels? Maybe some statsgeek can dig them 1 v 1s out. He won't be dropped. 

 

Ricardo will hopefully be unleashed in the Albrighton/Praet inverted winger RM role....partnered by either Castagne or Jim at full back dependent on opponents 

Simpson level???

 

Danny Simpson rose to the task that he was given superbly. Very solid in a back four, dependable but not a modern FB, a dubious passer of the ball, limited going forward and lacking versatility. Justin far surpasses him both currently and in terms of potential. 

[Paninistickers]

1 minute ago, Line-X said:

Simpson level???

 

Danny Simpson rose to the task that he was given superbly. Very solid in a back four, dependable but not a modern FB, a dubious passer of the ball, limited going forward and lacking versatility. Justin far surpasses him both currently and in terms of potential. 

You're  right. Badly worded from me. I meant Simpson in his defensive role.only. Justin is way above Simpson in every other way, as you rightly point out 👍

[adam95581]

24 minutes ago, AKCJ said:

Would be staggered if Justin gets dropped.

 

He's been the most consistent player in the team this season.

 

I personally think Ricardo will play in the current Albrighton role.

 

With the ball;

Kasper

Justin Fofana Evans

Ricardo Ndidi Tielemans Castagne

Maddison

Vardy Barnes

 

Without the ball;

Kasper

Justin Fofana Evans Castagne

Ndidi Tielemans

Ricardo Maddison Barnes

Vardy

I really like that, but what about Cags...

[Raw Dykes]

5 minutes ago, adam95581 said:

I really like that, but what about Cags...

Exactly. An embarrassment of riches in defence. Nice problem to have. I think players like Amartey and Thomas are very good backup, as well.

 

If we can give ourselves the same problem in midfield and up front, we'll be laughing. If we could add a forward, and a creative CM, even if it's just a short-term loan (with Praet and KDH to return), in this window, I'd be ecstatic. I suppose Ricardo or Under could make themselves the answer for RW this season, but we really could use a better alternative to Vards, and I hope the club have a plan to deal with the lack of cover for Youri/Maddison.

 

We've put ourselves in a great position again, and I'd really rather not see a repeat of the collapse last year.

[AKCJ]

24 minutes ago, adam95581 said:

I really like that, but what about Cags...

Just sums up how sensational we've been at recruiting defenders (Bennett aside) in the last 4/5 years or so.

 

Soyuncu starts for everyone bar maybe 3/4 clubs and yet he's stuck on Leicester City's defence with no clear path to the starting 11.

[Deeg67]

Moving Ricardo out of position to avoid benching Justin would be the definition of insanity.  Ricardo at 100% is our best player and arguably the best RB in the PL.  He won't be there his first game back but to regain that form he needs to play, and play in his preferred position.  There will be opportunities for Justin in the FA Cup and rotating the squad once Europa starts back up, and even that's assuming we're lucky enough to have Ricardo and Castagne stay healthy.

[hejammy]

7 minutes ago, Deeg67 said:

Moving Ricardo out of position to avoid benching Justin would be the definition of insanity.  Ricardo at 100% is our best player and arguably the best RB in the PL.  He won't be there his first game back but to regain that form he needs to play, and play in his preferred position.  There will be opportunities for Justin in the FA Cup and rotating the squad once Europa starts back up, and even that's assuming we're lucky enough to have Ricardo and Castagne stay healthy.

Actually playing Ricky in the Albrighton position would enable him to actually use his attack without having the need to sprint back as far as the RB position so you could argue that it could be a better position for him to start and get back to his best. 

[Deeg67]

Just now, hejammy said:

Actually playing Ricky in the Albrighton position would enable him to actually use his attack without having the need to sprint back as far as the RB position so you could argue that it could be a better position for him to start and get back to his best. 

You could argue it if you want - I'll argue against it.  You don't move better players to accommodate lesser players, and Ricardo is less likely to be re-injured playing where he's on most comfortable ground.  He's a right back and that's where he needs to play.

[Hoopla10]

At his best Pereira beats JJ. When that form returns, who knows. I'm presuming people on here will be fine for out right side to be open for exploitation while he finds that form? What I think people ignore is the great relationship JJ and Albrighton have built over this season. That for me is invaluable. They've both made each other better players. 

[hejammy]

1 minute ago, Deeg67 said:

You could argue it if you want - I'll argue against it.  You don't move better players to accommodate lesser players, and Ricardo is less likely to be re-injured playing where he's on most comfortable ground.  He's a right back and that's where he needs to play.

It's not as simple as moving better players to accommodate lesser players though is it? It's about looking at all the players you have at your disposal and then creating the best team possible. (unless you're Vardy ofcourse). JJ is a better player than Albrighton so that is the right comparison if you are essentially taking Albrighton out of the team to have JJ or Ricky in there. 

[OhYesNdidi]

A nice headache to have. For what it is worth, i thought id rank the three based on who i think is a better LB / RB. Feel free to disagree. 

 

RB 

1. Ricardo 

2. Castagne

3. Justin 

 

LB

1. Ricardo

2. Justin

3. Castagne

 

So, my conclusion is that i believe Justin is a better LB than Castagne but castagne is better on the right, Ricardo is better than both on both sides. I wouldn't really be against Ricardo playing RW for the rest of the season based on our options. I think the best option would be to play Castagne at RB and Ricardo at LB though. 

Edited 15 January 2021 by OhYesNdidi