Oriol Romeu

[OneMoSalah 8,614]

Romeu is a decent midfielder, however he is by far our worst. Of course he is still very young (esp as DMs use to come class much later than most players, same way as CBs and many Goalies) but as said he has all the attributes, right size, still mobile, quick minded, good technique, nice passing but I think he is not so much more than Mikel. Look, any player can become-given he is coached the right way- sharp, pressing and decisive. But attributes that enable you to star in match-deciding moments are much harder to develop. Ask Mikel, does never score goals, seldom gives the decisive pass or assist and is never seen making crucial tackles on the other side of the pitch. Great midfielders that are not only a complementary part but a major part of the squad can do that. We have seen Lamps doing all this at any time, regardless of his age. Remember him robbing Messi and incenting the counter? Remember him working himself past three defenders and setting up Anelka against villa in 2009, rmember him incenting a counter himself, sprinting forward to collect the ball, dribbling past to defenders and hitting one with his left foot from 18 yards into the far bottom corner (vs mancity in 2008? Remember all these stunning goals that proved to be crucial, testament of his technical brilliance, vision, determination and power? These are the moments that stay in the people's memories, that make a worldclass midfielder. Mikel, Busquets and all these average guys every club has to make sth. of the hard work. If they do nothing more than that, no-no one will remember. Even guys like Schweinsteiger or Ramires have those moments. Makelele could as Xabi Alonso does now pass like a god and forsee how the play goes. U simply have to offer sth more than only being the player Romeu is, if not your only a less experienced Mikel.

Wouldn't class Mikel or Busquets as average. You're also making the Makelele role sound like it is unnecessary and is an "average" players role...

[Magic Lamps 11,450]

Wouldn't class Mikel or Busquets as average. You're also making the Makelele role sound like it is unnecessary and is an "average" players role...

Formulated it unclear, maybe. mikel and busquets are the only ones that do nothing special but are more than average. The average guys are the people at the other clubs no one knows.

Makelele was so great because he was so good at it.To be good as a D means either to be perfect in the Makelele way or to offer sth different. Romeu does not so there is a reason why he seldom plays.

[OneMoSalah 8,614]

Formulated it unclear, maybe. mikel and busquets are the only ones that do nothing special but are more than average. The average guys are the people at the other clubs no one knows.

Makelele was so great because he was so good at it.To be good as a D means either to be perfect in the Makelele way or to offer sth different. Romeu does not so there is a reason why he seldom plays.

Busquets is one of the most vital players for Barca and Spain. Same with Mikel/Romeu for Chelsea as they offer balance to their teams.

Busquets is underrated by many and one of the finest in this role in the last 10 years. He is tactically and technically sound, breaks up opposition play constantly, distributes the ball brilliantly and then fills in the gaps his teammates leave when pushing on. As does Mikel/Romeu for us. I don't know why Makelele is seen as a different player as he did exactly the same. He was on another level than Mikel/Romeu are right now. You don't have to score goals constantly or do lots of tricks etc. to be seen as a great player.

[Miguelito 459]

Romeu is a decent midfielder, however he is by far our worst. Of course he is still very young (esp as DMs use to come class much later than most players, same way as CBs and many Goalies) but as said he has all the attributes, right size, still mobile, quick minded, good technique, nice passing but I think he is not so much more than Mikel. Look, any player can become-given he is coached the right way- sharp, pressing and decisive. But attributes that enable you to star in match-deciding moments are much harder to develop. Ask Mikel, does never score goals, seldom gives the decisive pass or assist and is never seen making crucial tackles on the other side of the pitch. Great midfielders that are not only a complementary part but a major part of the squad can do that. We have seen Lamps doing all this at any time, regardless of his age. Remember him robbing Messi and incenting the counter? Remember him working himself past three defenders and setting up Anelka against villa in 2009, rmember him incenting a counter himself, sprinting forward to collect the ball, dribbling past to defenders and hitting one with his left foot from 18 yards into the far bottom corner (vs mancity in 2008? Remember all these stunning goals that proved to be crucial, testament of his technical brilliance, vision, determination and power? These are the moments that stay in the people's memories, that make a worldclass midfielder. Mikel, Busquets and all these average guys every club has to make sth. of the hard work. If they do nothing more than that, no-no one will remember. Even guys like Schweinsteiger or Ramires have those moments. Makelele could as Xabi Alonso does now pass like a god and forsee how the play goes. U simply have to offer sth more than only being the player Romeu is, if not your only a less experienced Mikel.

we know that you have a man crush on lamps, but this is a bit out there. lampard and mikel play completely different roles to the point that there is no point in even comparing them. not every single midfielder has to be like God Lampard. and i see mikel making crucial tackles, and also interceptions (i think there was one against shaktar iirc, where if he didnt get to it, it was basically a breakaway). also, something people dont realize is the holes that mikel fills. he clogs space where potential dangerous passes could be placed. my theory is prevention of dangerous attacks in the first place is more important and effective than dealing with recovering and reacting to them when they occur.

like @ said mikel keeps balance. probably the most underrated thing in the world of football in balance and mikel does it for chelsea and busquets does it for barca. and i agree with ryan again here in the fact that as much of a prick that busquets is, he is probably the best in the world at it and has been for quite some time. he's been a mainstay in the barca and spain team for years; he is way more than average. he's world class

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[BlueLyon 9,359]

Romeu definately has potential to be one of best DMs in world in couple of years. But question is if he can do it here. In case he wont play much, we should loan him to Valencia or somewhere, where his progress will evolve.

Why so much pessimism towards our young players?

[termninja 5,290]

Keep an eye on him now under Rafa, he may turn out well and feature more. I have a feeling Benitez will give him more freedom with his passing and give him the Alonso role...I hope he turns out well.

[Kieran. 6,317]

Keep an eye on him now under Rafa, he may turn out well and feature more. I have a feeling Benitez will give him more freedom with his passing and give him the Alonso role...I hope he turns out well.

Hope he takes his chance, we have a real player on our hands here...

[termninja 5,290]

Hope he takes his chance, we have a real player on our hands here...

Aye. Had a great start under AVB, but then went under radar after it...

Come on lad, you can do it!

[Kojo 4,676]

Imagine if Romeu was from our youth, the amount of support and hype around him would be unreal.

Just because he's a barca product and the fact he might not be our player next season, we don't show im support.

If you're 19 years old and you put in the performences against Man City like he did, you just know he will one day end up a great player. He just needs to get back to himself, and i really hope Rafa can do it, he looked really good against City last game, only had a few minutes but made marked his man in the box twice and stopped the ball from getting to him, i think it was Aguero.

Something Mikel seriously lacks, Mikel has a very low concentration span, Romeu seems to be gifted at man marking sometimes, i really hope he puts in a good performance so we can see him back to his old self, like he was under AVB.

[Kieran. 6,317]

Imagine if Romeu was from our youth, the amount of support and hype around him would be unreal.

Just because he's a barca product and the fact he might not be our player next season, we don't show im support.

If you're 19 years old and you put in the performences against Man City like he did, you just know he will one day end up a great player. He just needs to get back to himself, and i really hope Rafa can do it, he looked really good against City last game, only had a few minutes but made marked his man in the box twice and stopped the ball from getting to him, i think it was Aguero.

Same problem as Sturridge at the moment, they lack match fitness. When you don't get a chance for months, obviously you're gonna struggle when shoved back out there.

Romeu will get back to the level he was last year with continuous starts. And obviously he can get better.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Not his best match yesterday. Too many misplaced passes that often led to dangerous counters. Reckon he just needs more playing time, but we really missed Mikel last night.

[DH1988 1,194]

Needs to buck up his ideas tbh, Mikel goes to ACON soon or we are simply going to dip into the market to get a sub.

[Clevemayer 764]

Imagine if Romeu was from our youth, the amount of support and hype around him would be unreal

...

If you're 19 years old and you put in the performences against Man City like he did, you just know he will one day end up a great player. He just needs to get back to himself, and i really hope Rafa can do it, he looked really good against City last game, only had a few minutes but made marked his man in the box twice and stopped the ball from getting to him, i think it was Aguero.

Something Mikel seriously lacks, Mikel has a very low concentration span, Romeu seems to be gifted at man marking sometimes, i really hope he puts in a good performance so we can see him back to his old self, like he was under AVB.

so this will be bad for Romeu, cause we're gonna play zonalmarking under Rafa for sure...

had a bad game yesterday, was a bit disappointed with him, thought he would do better, but he is below par for quite some time now, he is still young and can go to bigger success and grow into his role, right now, he isn't a replacement for Mikel while at ACON, get Vidal, I said this before he signed for juve, and now he has ripped us apart when we played them in CL

[OneMoSalah 8,614]

Don't see why hes getting all this criticism, under AVB he looked 5 times the player Mikel did and I rate Mikel highly.... OK Robbie rated Mikel more and he's been a beast for us so far this season but still the boys a talent, if it hadn't been for Mascherano signing and Busquets not getting injured ever he would have played at Barca for sure. Personally I rate him more than that Jonathon Dos Santos guy, hes much better.

He didn't play bad yesterday, he was ok. Just a bit rusty, give him more game time and he'll get better.

[Clevemayer 764]

Don't see all the criticism, under AVB he looked 5 times the player Mikel did and I rate Mikel highly.... OK Robbie rated Mikel more and he's been a beast for us so far this season but still the boys a talent, if it hadn't been for Mascherano signing and Busquets not getting injured ever he would have played at Barca for sure. Personally I rate him more than that Jonathon Dos Santos guy, hes much better.

I only said he looks below par since that january under AVB where he did steal Mikel's place and I again said he can go to bigger success, he isn't a bad player, but neither the best DM since sliced Bread( or maka cause he is the Sliced Bread in the manner of DM's), but he can be a great player... I just couldn't belive all the ppl starting singing praises on him for his first 2 games...

and even later when he played nearly the same role as mikel did plus a bit mor aggresiveness in his tackles what I really liked about him but not that shielding quality of Mikel, so he has one plus attitude and one minus...

and all this he passes faster and more forward have been discussed and clearly withdrawn after looking at they're stats but still, he is very young and can be a very good player, maybe worldclass if handled right... but he was woefull yesterday...

[Milan 17,835]

What I like about him is how he can distribute long passes to both sides and with his both feet. Sorry but I think you can't see that very much with Mikel on the pitch.

[Muzchap 8,966]

Don't see why hes getting all this criticism, under AVB he looked 5 times the player Mikel did and I rate Mikel highly.... OK Robbie rated Mikel more and he's been a beast for us so far this season but still the boys a talent, if it hadn't been for Mascherano signing and Busquets not getting injured ever he would have played at Barca for sure. Personally I rate him more than that Jonathon Dos Santos guy, hes much better.

He didn't play bad yesterday, he was ok. Just a bit rusty, give him more game time and he'll get better.

Agree - we cant bench players for months and then expect them to perform - that's reserved for Hernandez + Solksjaer...

Our rotation policy has been shit - because of injuries and loans to all our other squad players...

I think the whole team looks deflated - really, really need to get JT + Lamps back on the pitch to boss these people about and provide some motivation...

Football is as much about confidence/desire as skill - look at the supposed 'weak' teams in the league - no name players - but they fight and work hard for each other and grind out results - we need a bit more of that in our team...

Hopefully RB can do this - otherwise we are well and truly fucked this season

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

Don't see why hes getting all this criticism, under AVB he looked 5 times the player Mikel did and I rate Mikel highly.... OK Robbie rated Mikel more and he's been a beast for us so far this season but still the boys a talent, if it hadn't been for Mascherano signing and Busquets not getting injured ever he would have played at Barca for sure. Personally I rate him more than that Jonathon Dos Santos guy, hes much better.

He didn't play bad yesterday, he was ok. Just a bit rusty, give him more game time and he'll get better.

He didn't look five times better than Mikel. He had a very good run of games where he started 8 times in two months and he generally played quite well but people always exaggerated how good he was (as they will do with any new player), don't appreciate how small the sample size was, and ignore the fact that he's mostly been mediocre to bad since then . He is a young player with promise and deserves to get into games to see what he can do and I like him as the backup to Mikel, He's a good passer for a defensive midfielder, but his positioning is still pretty poor. I like him and think that he has a good future, but the people thinking he was a world-class player were always being ridiculous.