That's start this by saying I am not having a go at him. I feel Rodriguez would play better if he played through the middle. Yes he puts in a lot of effort with tracking back etc as a lot of our plays do. But at times he seems wasted playing wide. My question is: Does Rodriguez play out wide simply because we have no one else? What with the rumours we had bid for Piatti (but he got injured) in August this could be the case. I just wanted to know some other peoples opinions.
Yes you're right, he is more effective in an attacking sense when he's playing up front, however, he's unlikely to get ahead of Osvaldo and Lambert in the pecking order so he has to make do. Personally I think he's unfairly reviled and, like Welbeck, has a much bigger impact than it appears. He's extremely fit and works very hard; along with Lallana he's the best we have at pressurising the opposition defence and tracking back, and I think that he is capable of making things happen when he gets the chance. Obviously against the likes of Man United all attacking players' impacts will be limited, so it's perhaps not fair to judge him on the basis of that game.
He's got a great work-rate and pressures well, and is capable of some smart inter-play in tight areas. However, far too often he lacks composure and belief in his finishing, and is clumsy with heavy first touches.
The difference in our pressing when Rodriguez is out there is noticeable; he's quite effective at chasing the ball and breaking up play. In attack, though, he struggles in situations where he's asked to do more than run off the shoulder of the defender and shoot. Against teams playing high, he can be a punishing option...against organized defenses, he goes missing.
I would like to see him play against Fulham with Lambert and Osvaldo even though he has his faults he offers that extra attacking threat even out wide on the left.
A bit like Walcott at Arsenal, Jay would be more of a goal threat if allowed to play through the middle, but he's not going to be a first choice striker. His pace offers a big threat wherever he plays. We may not see him at his best out wide, but that's where he's best for the team.
Plays better in the middle. Runs hard and puts pressure on the defense, though he doesn't often actually win the ball. He's fast. Put it all together and he's decent enough, I suppose. I don't dislike him, but I don't like him nearly as much as Pochettino seems to. A good Premier League player, but perhaps no longer good enough for us. I suspect he'll be a bench player next season but hopefully he can improve and surprise me.
Also a bit like Walcott, he has inconsistent technique. In terms of his finishing, he can be brilliant and truly mediocre in the same game, and you don't know what you're going to get in any given opportunity. That's not to say that the other strikers have nailed-on consistency themselves, but they are better at it than Jay.
He had a couple of amazing games for us last year and a I can also remember him coming on as a sub and changing the game around (don't ask me to say what games, I can't remember). He was running at and taking on defenders at pace with great success. But I have felt for a long time that he had started to believe his own publicity if you like and for a while it seemed that whenever he got the ball it would be another head down charge, eventually running out of space and losing the ball. This year, he has lost his way a bit, no doubt, but I do feel that there is a decent player in there somewhere.
My thoughts exactly. Unless someone gets injured (wash my mouth out with soap) he will only get rare chances as a second striker....tough for him that he was given a chance against United. He offers us an option, so his misfortune is to play out of position...however, I bet he prefers that to not playing.
The annoying thing about Jay Rod is that he has so muhc potential! He is a good instictive finisher (see Swansea, Chelsea last year in both league and cup) but struggles when he has time to think. No doubt in my mind that we've got a great young (slightly raw) player on our hands though. He has pace, strength, height, fitness and a great attitude. He'll come good soon!
