Sergio Rico - Unpopular opinion alert

[LVBPTS]

when you watch this, is it fair to say he was better than most liked to admit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LFWVJCMRTU

[Jim©]

I actually thought he was a very very good keeper let down by the poor defence in front of him last season.
This season just goes to prove that fans need a scapegoat; Onomah got it initially, Mawson's been blamed a good bit, TC, Parker etc. It was the same last year, when in reality his save %s were ok.

Fabri's save % were much higher than the other two (78.3% of shots on target saves), Rico was 65.2% and Betts 47.4% (only a reserve keeper for Huddersfield was lower than him ouft of the 38 GKs used last season)

[Jimsbeerbelly]

Why is it an unpopular opinion? Surely all these post do, is try to wind up other members, by stating that it's unpopular, and saying that 'most liked to admit'?

However you look at it, you could have put de Gea behind that defence that season, and, he'd have looked pretty average.

Based on him as a keeper, I think he was ok.

[FFC1987]

Hmm, I liked Rico and as I remember it, apart from people who really wanted Betts in goal, a lot of others did too. I could understand if you posted this about Fabri but Rico had a lot of fans.

[Whitestone]

He was the best we had last season. Rodak is an upgrade though.

[Statto]

IIRC it was broadly acknowledged on here that he was an upgrade on Bettinelli and a good keeper.

Yes there were a small minority who disagreed.

And even from the majority, plenty of criticism of his failure to catch crosses, and general complaints about the back five looking like a group of strangers because of the way they were thrown together by Tony Khan.

But none of that equates to "most" on here not admitting that overall, Rico was an inherently good player.

[colinwhite]

Great shotstopper ,that was never in doubt and good with both feet. Reluctant to come for crosses however and flapped when he did come out. Noy good enough for the PL in this regard and he also had a good number of errors in him. If you compare him to the last PL standard keeper we had (Schwarzer ) then he was pretty poor IMO.

[RaySmith]

Great shotstopper ,that was never in doubt and good with both feet. Reluctant to come for crosses however and flapped when he did come out. Noy good enough for the PL in this regard and he also had a good number of errors in him. If you compare him to the last PL standard keeper we had (Schwarzer ) then he was pretty poor IMO.

Agree, he was terrible with crosses, and seemed to panic, and got worse as relegation became a near certainty.
But it's true that our defence was vulnerable, especially in the air - and that was our undoing in  a few games - teams put in high balls and we couldn't deal with them.

We desperately needed a Schwarzer type keeper to instil a bit of confidence at the back, and could still do with someone of that quality, though Rodak has done well, and Betts also imo _ don't think there's that much between them, but would give the jesrey to Rodak at the moment..

[LVBPTS]

Why is it an unpopular opinion? Surely all these post do, is try to wind up other members, by stating that it's unpopular, and saying that 'most liked to admit'?

However you look at it, you could have put de Gea behind that defence that season, and, he'd have looked pretty average.

Based on him as a keeper, I think he was ok.

if i wanted to wind people up, i would have said something more inflamitory...take a chill pill and relax. not everyone is out to get you

[Dr Quinzel]

He was 'alright'. Had obvious faults, but deserved to be number one.

That said, I'm a strong believer in never using a youtube video to judge a player.

[Chesh]

when you watch this, is it fair to say he was better than most liked to admit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LFWVJCMRTU

Nope, not for me.

Videos like this flatter to deceive, as did the one I looked at when he signed.

Unfortunately he couldn't do the basics, like catch very simple crosses or weak shots.

IMO Rodak is a better keeper.

[Woolly Mammoth]

when you watch this, is it fair to say he was better than most liked to admit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LFWVJCMRTU

My observations were was that he did not command his area enough for me, flapped at crosses and punched when he should have caught the ball. He also seem to lack communication skills.
At the end of the day his alround game was not quite good enough, although he was a step up from Fabri.

[charlieFFC]

The absolute state of our back line's defending on that video makes me sick.

[ALG01]

I do not like these type of compilations they mislead. And even saying that the vast majority of saves shown on the clip are routine; to be fair he was an ok shot stopper but certainly at best not a step up on what we had.

What the clip doesn't show is his total inability or desire to come for a cross, whether punching or catching made no difference, he just went missing. He sent a shock wave of anxiety through the defence because of his indecisiveness, and IMO he was a dreadful keeper and whoever thought he was worth getting clearly had not the first idea about what was needed in playing in England.

The only thing I can say in his defence was he was much better than Fabri, but then so am I.

[@jolslover]

He was a good keeper and best we have had since Schwarzer imo.

[Milo]

Never forget his inability to catch a cross, corner, or indeed anything!

It caused us so many problems. Great shot stopper though... undeniably.

[Whitesideup]

Very good, even great shot stopper. But as for commanding his box ... look at the Winks goal to win the game against Spuds. Winks, all 5 foot 9 of him, headed in from 4 yards out to win the game with 20 seconds to go. The result didn't matter. But look at where Rico was when the ball was crossed .. two yards off his line. Instead of coming out and claiming the ball, he retreated to his line. He was expecting the ball to the far post, was well positioned, and then ...well, not the mark of a top class keeper. And yes, all keepers make mistakes, but a) this was decision making at its very worst, not just a mistake, and b) this only reflected his ability with the ball in the air. I'm not sure that his shot-stopping made up for that.

[Penfold]

He was a good keeper and best we have had since Schwarzer imo.

On that basis, we've been weak goalkeeper wise for a while as Schwarzer was, for us at least, a far superior keeper.

I don't suppose having our defence in front of him helped but always looked suspect on crosses. However, as Milo states, good shot stopper.

[Dixie]

when you watch this, is it fair to say he was better than most liked to admit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LFWVJCMRTU

Nope, not for me.

Videos like this flatter to deceive, as did the one I looked at when he signed.

Unfortunately he couldn't do the basics, like catch very simple crosses or weak shots.

IMO Rodak is a better keeper.

My thoughts exactly... some good saves, that has to be noted, but not a single catch that i can remember - every shot is parried back into the danger zone! Even looking at the video, most shots are put right back in front of the goal.
Also, i just can't move on from Liverpool at home!

[Dr Quinzel]

He was a good keeper and best we have had since Schwarzer imo.

Damning with faint praise is the phrase here, I think?

I really like Rodak now. I think he could become something special for us.