Kongolo

[Filo]

The weak link today for me, not the player we thought we were getting, glimpses of talent but alot of aimless running about

[DonnyOsmond]

He needs to have some time at a lower level.

[mrfrostsdad]

At least DF saw he was rubbish as well and took him off

[drfchound]

Someone may be along soon to question why we are slagging a player after we have won 3-0.

[RedJ]

He needs sending back. Woeful at times. A few glimpses of quality but they're too few and far between.

[Filo]

Someone may be along soon to question why we are slagging a playe4 after we have won 3-0.

No need to wait, I'll explain, he's been shite for large parts of his time here, we can find better than him, he has some raw talent but I'd prefer he develops and learns elswhere. At the miment I fail to see what Man City see in him

[GazLaz]

I said it after his first appearance.

[balbyrover]

Don't mean to put a downer on things as it's a good well deserved 3 points today but i agree.
I will be very disappointed if we are to extend his loan, his contribution is often non existent when on the pitch.  There must be better options out there.

[selby]

  He has the ability to take a defender on and beat him, and out pace them, he has laid four goals on this season from wide right,beating his man and putting in a delightful cross begging to be put in the net, as he did today (the best ball into the box of the game ) that went straight across the six yard line, and defenders hate.
  I can't think of many more of our players apart from Blair and Coppinger who can do that, he has problems of positional sense when he does not have the ball.
   That's why he is with us and is getting better, and could become a big player in the second half of the season, if still with us.

[Filo]

  He has the ability to take a defender on and beat him, and out pace them, he has laid four goals on this season from wide right,beating his man and putting in a delightful cross begging to be put in the net, as he did today (the best ball into the box of the game ) that went straight across the six yard line, and defenders hate.
  I can't think of many more of our players apart from Blair and Coppinger who can do that, he has problems of positional sense when he does not have the ball.
   That's why he is with us and is getting better, and could become a big player in the second half of the season, if still with us.

He's not getting better, the only time he looked decent was the 2nd half at The Emirates

[POD]

Someone may be along soon to question why we are slagging a player after we have won 3-0.

It's not that simple.  Not everyone plays well in a convincing victory, just as some players play well in a heavy defeat.  The objective of this forum for me is to give balanced opinions.  Great win today, but there are still issues to address if the team is to move forward, including who we should or should not be keeping for the second half of the season. 
Rodney was good at times today going forward, but his tackling was woeful.  He put in the best cross of the game which Marquis failed to reach, but overall his contribution was not up to the standard required and Fergie was right to bring him off.

[drfchound]

Someone may be along soon to question why we are slagging a player after we have won 3-0.

It's not that simple.  Not everyone plays well in a convincing victory, just as some players play well in a heavy defeat.  The objective of this forum for me is to give balanced opinions.  Great win today, but there are still issues to address if the team is to move forward, including who we should or should not be keeping for the second half of the season. 
Rodney was good at times today going forward, but his tackling was woeful.  He put in the best cross of the game which Marquis failed to reach, but overall his contribution was not up to the standard required and Fergie was right to bring him off.

I agree with you POD but my post was not a criticism of what you had written mate.

[selby]

  Apart from that, loan players have to get some game time or we will have to pay part or all the wages.

[Geoff Blakesley]

When I first saw Rodney he reminded me of Bambi. All legs and not in control of his movements. He has improved with guidance from the coaching team but rarely looks dangerous when bearing down on goal and seems to lack the confidence to shoot. We haven't enough quality to carry this youngster so I would let him go.

[donny dave]

Slowly working through criticising the whole team.
I thought he was ok today. 

[Donnywolf]

He will surely never get within sniffing distance of Man Citys starting 11 + subs

True he will improve but not that much - a Harry Worley type loan. We can get a better loan Player for sure probably from a lesser Team

That said he was a lot better today than I have seen before - he seemed to want to get involved. Heading Tackling doing "surging runs" albeit in first gear and he even fouled somebody as well !

... and when our Manager took him off I even for once applauded with "thanks" rather than "relief"

[hoolahoop]

He looks dangerous......sadly he isn't.  I think there is so much more potential there . You see just odd glimpses of it and the it's back to that poor decision making bearing forward and that poor tackling of his . Certainly not sure what Citeh saw in him but there must have been that odd glimpse I have seen far too occasionally .

Sorry Rodney win, lose or draw..........you look far too weak, lost  and raw.

[POD]

Slowly working through criticising the whole team.
I thought he was ok today. 

Dave, you always stick up for Rodney!

[roverstillidie91]

My granddad who came with me today his thoughts on Kongolo was he seemed to not do a great deal with the ball just pass it to the side as opposed to running at players.

Maybe a lack of confidence or something? I could see he was getting stuck in somewhat with tackles etc I would personally support him and give him a chance see if he improves.

[adamtherover]

Fergie must surely know if he wants to establish a good relationship with city, kongolo must he given decent game time.  This is forward thinking, hopefully not at the expense of the present.

[hoolahoop]

Fergie must surely know if he wants to establish a good relationship with city, kongolo must he given decent game time.  This is forward thinking, hopefully not at the expense of the present.

I agree there is summat there but it's pulling it out on a regular basis that's Fergie's problem. Is he lazy,  incapable or had natural talent and instinct coached out of him .
We see this a lot from Loanees from higher clubs where they are out of their depth in the lower leagues and unable to cope without the time and space normally afforded them . Some , the really clever ones, quickly adapt and start to make both quicker and more correct decisions during phases in the game , others well they either get binned by their parent club or get passed round further in the hope that they will show the skill and determination to break through eventually . Obviously some lose their way during development, get side-tracked or just believe they are " big-time Charlie's " because of the label attached to them and stop working hard .

I would like to think that Rodney although talented has momentarily stopped developing as a player for some reason or another - the key is can DF identify the problem and unlock his potential before his career goes into freefall .
For the record , I would love Rodney to prove us all wrong and start to show us he has a footballing brain and can work that into our team now that the pressure on the side is easing somewhat.

[selby]

  Would some of you like to amend your thoughts  on this guy,  some of you must have thought of a career in scouting.

[graingrover]

He is starting to get down the flank instead of tracking into midfield .. and that will enable those sadly missing crosses to multiply.

[dknward2]

He has stepped up his game recently hope he can keep going

[selby]

  If you read some of those posts, they  are way out.

[RedJ]

Maybe they look like it after the last two or three games but they were certainly true at the time. He still has to do it on a consistent basis, but he has improved.

[selby]

  Red, even then only two or three weeks ago, people should have been able to see his talent, he needed to be encouraged to do what he did well in a game, not get rid of it as soon as possible, someone must have done it.
  As I posted at the time, he can be a big player for us in the second half of the season.

[roverstillidie91]

Like MM said in the other thread, supporters who try and encourage players through good and bad they recognise this.

You can either get behind your team or give them unsavoury treatment but as much frustrating when things aren't going our way that bit of extra positive attitude can go a long way during a game even a season.

[BigKeif]

To answer your question selby, my thoughts about him are reserved until the end of the season to see if he continues his performances. I’ll admit that the last 2 games he has been good but to say he’s proven us all wrong isn’t true because the previous 4 months he’s played consistently rubbish (my opinion of course) but that being said, I hope that I do change my mind come the end of the season because that would mean he’s played consistently well to the end.

[ravenrover]

I know to some this will sound strange but I thought we went to pieces after Rodney came off. We lost our shape down the right ad Whiteman seemed to go into a 2nd defensive position alongside Houghton rather than wide right, and as for Alfies performance when he came on well enough has been said.