Diego Rico

Why is the debate so binary? He wasn’t crap. He was poor offensively but it hardly helps that when Fraser switches wings it left a huge gap between fullback and sadly too static king/Wilson. He can pass the ball as the neat corner routine first half showed (but billing shot like an over-excited 14 year old) and similarly fantastic accurate cross field ball second half.

He had a poor season last season so maybe he is over concentrating on defence given his lack of confidence? If so, I would rather have smith left back with Stacey right, especially in a back 3 with wing backs.

I thought he was crap because it was the basics that he was struggling with. Passing and positioning. He looked shot of confidence and his passes, at least in the first half when he was on my side, were rushed and 'hit and hope' type balls. No surprises that half of them went to the opposition.
 
Especially in our team.
What exactly is our team. We are no longer the expansive team that got promoted. We are in fact one of the most defensive sides in the league. Our full backs no longer attack. None of our midfielders are allowed in the box. While we keep playing this way, we may as well play defenders who can defend. It’s not as if Smith or Daniels have offered much going forward in the past 12 months either.
 
What exactly is our team. We are no longer the expansive team that got promoted. We are in fact one of the most defensive sides in the league. Our full backs no longer attack. None of our midfielders are allowed in the box. While we keep playing this way, we may as well play defenders who can defend. It’s not as if Smith or Daniels have offered much going forward in the past 12 months either.

Of course our full backs have to attack. Even if they don't, our wing backs definitely have to attack.

Full back is one position that he's never been able to recruit successful in. They've all failed so far so Rico shouldn't beat himself up too much about it.
 
But some of our best football last year was when they didn’t attack. We absorb pressure and we countered with breathtaking efficiency.

Of course you are correct we need full backs to attack. We can’t keep thinking we will get away with our counter attack strategy. We pretty much got found out late last season.

As it happens I think with 2 defensive midfielders, defensive full backs and with the dreaded 4-4-2, we are favourites to beat an over excited Villa. The key will be not thinking we’ve cracked it after our win on Saturday the same way (myself included) we are doom and gloom after last Saturday.
 
I really am surprised at how people expect a foreign player to adapt to a new team so quickly. He didn’t even have a decent run of 10 games in a row last season for us to judge.

I think the issue is he’s compared to Lerma who settled in well and was outstanding.

I’d like Rico to be given a fair chance before we do an Ibe and completely write him off.
 
What exactly is our team. We are no longer the expansive team that got promoted. We are in fact one of the most defensive sides in the league. Our full backs no longer attack. None of our midfielders are allowed in the box. While we keep playing this way, we may as well play defenders who can defend. It’s not as if Smith or Daniels have offered much going forward in the past 12 months either.
And yet we scored more goals than anyone outside the top 6
 
I don't want to sell the bloke but he was crap on Saturday. It doesn't matter how good you are defensively if you can't pass and don't pick up the right position to cause trouble offensively. Especially in our team. Perhaps all the players that were having a go at him throughout the game also fall into the "people who don't understand" category too.

It looks like there's a player in there but he's got to be better than that performance.

Rico went wide in space, the ball was passed across the back 3 then when rico was more closely marked he was the token forward pass which he then had to pass backwards to keep possession. Ake seemed more agitated by the lack of movement of the front players than by rico.

The tactics and lack of substitutes were more of a concern, lack of goals in home matches is becoming a bad habit.
 
Rico went wide in space, the ball was passed across the back 3 then when rico was more closely marked he was the token forward pass which he then had to pass backwards to keep possession. Ake seemed more agitated by the lack of movement of the front players than by rico.

The tactics and lack of substitutes were more of a concern, lack of goals in home matches is becoming a bad habit.

Don't necessarily disagree with this. I'm not saying Rico is a write off, just that he wasn't very good on Saturday. For the record the front three were also crap, as was Howe. Crap game from most of them tbh.
 
I think it's too early for us to sell him. After working with him for a whole season and seeing some improvement I'm sure Eddie would want to give him more time. I think he will have until the end of the season to impress. After that, if he doesn't make it, I think we will have to write him off.
It's a worry that he still struggles with simple things like getting back and offering an outlet to Ake when we are passing the ball around at the back. He can often be found snoozing in the opposition half and I'm not sure how he can justify that, he only has a couple of jobs to do and one of those is to get back quickly to offer an outlet down the left.
I agree that he was no worse than many other players on Saturday. I also think he is a good player but he either fails to understand or is unable to play the role we are asking him to play. Eddie really does have his work cut out if he wants Rico to be an integral part of the team this season. I hope he's successful but I do have my doubts.
OBX also has a valid point. I doubt either of those teams would be willing to pay enough for us to consider letting him go. Quite apart from the fact that Eddie will not have given up on him yet, we're a bit short of cover if he should leave.
I can't see Rico being allowed to leave just yet, unless it's for those famous "personal reasons" - that COULD happen I suppose but I hope it doesn't. He might still just need time to click with what we are asking him to do.
 
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Don't necessarily disagree with this. I'm not saying Rico is a write off, just that he wasn't very good on Saturday. For the record the front three were also crap, as was Howe. Crap game from most of them tbh.

Yes.

I suppose the difference is the others have all been phenomenal for the most part. I always think that if Rico played a game like a Charlie Daniels average game we would all be raving about him.

We bumped into his family and him once by the beach and they are the nicest people who made huge time for our kids. I couldn’t want someone to succeed more on the back of that....spurious though it is! Every time he sets foot on the pitch I will him to do well but he just can’t get on the teams wavelength and never looks sure where he should be and gets constant bench and team instruction. For a guy that nailed top flight in Spain it just doesn’t add up but I’d take the cash if we are offered close to what we paid, sadly.
 
As much as I would like all our signings to succeed, I agree with Neil Dawson. I just can't envisage how Rico will find a role in the team.
 
If the Kelly injury turns out to be a three week job rather than six weeks I guess it's possible the club may take an offer. However, if Kelly won't be back until after the window closes I think the risk is too high. Complications can occur in a recovery, as we've seen many times before.

For what it's worth, I hope Rico stays the season. If it doesn't work out then that's life in football sometimes and next summer both parties can move on. However, there are plenty of examples of foreign players struggling for a year or more and then suddenly blossoming when English football finally clicks. Fingers crossed he's one of those.
 
...I would love him to succeed, but just can't see him doing that, although we have seen very little of him so it does seem to soon to be writing the guy off.

For all concerned if we could recoup our fee and he could return to Spain then it would probably be for the best...
 

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