Robinho: The Substituted Substitute

[Ted Hughes]

We don't gain anything by making a scapegoat out of Robinho, we only lose. Some of the people on here who demanded he played every game & called him the answer to all our problems are just plain fucking stupid, he's never been that player. He could still be a fantastic player for us though, not to make a good team great but to add something special WHEN we have a great team that's good enough to carry him.

Why would a great team want to carry a passenger? You really have me confused there.
A great team in modern football is eleven players all pulling in the same direction - not ten players serving the whims of the eleventh.

By carry him I mean a team that can win the ball pass, move & give it him in areas where he can do damage & make runs that he can pick out rather than expecting him to win tackles & set up attacks on his own which he can't do. He can run around after the ball & hurry people up which he did today but he'll never be a Tevez or Bellamy.

Lots of great teams have carried a player who only creates, sometimes more than one, so it's not anything new.

Exactly what i just told mister Ant London on the telefono. Brasil can get away with that because of the sheer class around Robson in hopes of one or two moments of pure magic from him. In the Prem, you just don't have that luxury even if yr Chelsea.

Depends who you're playing against, where & when.

[feedthegreek]

your entitles to your opinion but if a manager subs a sub
its surely the manager realising he has made a mistake in the first place.

[shawzy]

Im fuckin frustrated with him.Hes a world renowned superstar of football and should be ripping defences apart.Yes he does play at his best with Ireland because they have an understanding and link up well,but its no excuse Stevie being injured.
Walking down the tunnel made him look a total spoilt brat and i cant see Mancini putting up with that lame attitude.
We need fighters on the pitch not premadonas.If i was Robbie id be a man and give my wages back to the club.160k for that crap display is an insult to the fans.

Sorry for the negative rant but im fuming with him.

[Ted Hughes]

We don't gain anything by making a scapegoat out of Robinho, we only lose. Some of the people on here who demanded he played every game & called him the answer to all our problems are just plain fucking stupid, he's never been that player. He could still be a fantastic player for us though, not to make a good team great but to add something special WHEN we have a great team that's good enough to carry him.

It depends on what "the answer to all our problems" is defined as being. No one player can ever carry a team through a season.

I am not sure what you are inferring about his abilities, but people here seem to forget exactly how great of a player he CAN be. I still remember last season, when he was making absolute fools out of Premiership defenders. At will. (Of course, I would argue that defenses in the Prem aren't exactly tight, but that's another conversation) He has the potential to be one of the best playmakers in the world.

I think his primary problems are related to a lack of fitness, confidence and a growing frustration that appears to take hold of him whenever he can't "turn it on" at will. He is definitely the type of player that needs a long run of games to rectify the first two problems, and a couple of goals to begin to fix the third (confidence) issue. No doubt about it.

All that being said.. and keep in mind that Robbie is one of my favorite players.. I vote that his time with us is done. One cannot just throw temper tantrums, like a three year-old child, whenever circumstances are tough on the pitch and/or bench. He complains to the ref at minimal contact with others, he tries to do things that he used to be able to do last year, but cannot currently, and the team suffers for it. He could really learn from his countryman ('dinho) about how to play back into contention and travel the road back to fulfillng his tremendous potential.

Along those lines, I wonder why AC Milan has not made a bid for him (so asks my wife, who is a Rossoneri fan)? He would seem to be a better fit there. Barcelona keeps popping up as a buyer, but I just don't get why they would want him, given that he really wouldn't add much, other than some depth?

He's a player who on the whole can only function in a team that's playing well. Otherwise he won't change anything, he'll just make it worse. AC Milan have Ronaldinho who's still better than him. Even though fatter & older, he's also stronger & can score/deliver free kicks.

[glossopblue]

hes coming back from injury!! give him a chance!! scores on tuesday hes an hero!!!

[KinkyKinkladze]

hes coming back from injury!! give him a chance!! scores on tuesday hes an hero!!!

Given his performances this season, that may be the best option for him.

http://encyclopediadramatica.com/An_Hero

[BlueMoonAwoken]

The problem is, there's been an increasing groundswell of animosity growing toward Robinho & it will end up with him getting the treatment inside the ground, which will ruin our season if we're not careful.

Ive never heard anyone at the ground abuse him , but if he thinks the fans will love him for playing half decent at home and doing fuck all away from home he needs his head checking. Yeah maybe he will come on against united and score maybe he will play in the away leg and do fuck all and we lose. Maybe he needs some booing from the home fans to truly shock him. You cant keep putting your arm around a player saying " its ok son your still a great player" .

Yeah he was coming back from an injury 2 months ago. I know everyone hates ronaldo but if we paid 32 million and got him least the pritty boy got hit hard in the prem but kept getting up and working his arse off. Maybe robinho needs to be shown a video tape of how ronaldo was treated in the english game and how he triumphed. Because all i ever hear out his mouth is how he plans on being the best in the world i mean come on!! ?????????????????

[Citeh&Crew]

We don't gain anything by making a scapegoat out of Robinho, we only lose. Some of the people on here who demanded he played every game & called him the answer to all our problems are just plain fucking stupid, he's never been that player. He could still be a fantastic player for us though, not to make a good team great but to add something special WHEN we have a great team that's good enough to carry him.

It depends on what "the answer to all our problems" is defined as being. No one player can ever carry a team through a season.

I am not sure what you are inferring about his abilities, but people here seem to forget exactly how great of a player he CAN be. I still remember last season, when he was making absolute fools out of Premiership defenders. At will. (Of course, I would argue that defenses in the Prem aren't exactly tight, but that's another conversation) He has the potential to be one of the best playmakers in the world.

I think his primary problems are related to a lack of fitness, confidence and a growing frustration that appears to take hold of him whenever he can't "turn it on" at will. He is definitely the type of player that needs a long run of games to rectify the first two problems, and a couple of goals to begin to fix the third (confidence) issue. No doubt about it.

All that being said.. and keep in mind that Robbie is one of my favorite players.. I vote that his time with us is done. One cannot just throw temper tantrums, like a three year-old child, whenever circumstances are tough on the pitch and/or bench. He complains to the ref at minimal contact with others, he tries to do things that he used to be able to do last year, but cannot currently, and the team suffers for it. He could really learn from his countryman ('dinho) about how to play back into contention and travel the road back to fulfillng his tremendous potential.

Along those lines, I wonder why AC Milan has not made a bid for him (so asks my wife, who is a Rossoneri fan)? He would seem to be a better fit there. Barcelona keeps popping up as a buyer, but I just don't get why they would want him, given that he really wouldn't add much, other than some depth?

He's a player who on the whole can only function in a team that's playing well. Otherwise he won't change anything, he'll just make it worse. AC Milan have Ronaldinho who's still better than him. Even though fatter & older, he's also stronger & can score/deliver free kicks.

Ahh, I'll kindly disagree. As I said, my wife is an AC Milan fan, and watches their matches weekly when possible.. which means that I must watch their games. I would hardly call Ronaldinho "fat" by any stretch. In fact, he looks almost as lean as he was in 2005, and his game shows it; his "burst" is back, to sum it up.

As for your assessment of Robbie only functioning on good teams? I dunno. He certainly made us better last year when he was in, and we weren't necessarily playing well. But then again, your statement could be a blanket characterization of most players, since it is so subjective.

Anyway, let's see what happens. I, for one, hope things pan out. I hope Robbie scores a hat trick against ManU.

[9secondlegend]

i am loosing faith with him.
we all know what he is capable of but this season he really does not look interested.
i have stuck up for him when a few of my mates have been slagging him , but he is doing no favours for himself at all.
when he was subbed he looked like he was expecting it.
commentaters , newspapers and pundits love to point out hes not doing the job hes paid to do and at the moment its impossible to argue against them.

[Grob]

Robinho and Petrov are passengers away from home. You can get away with playing one on a good day but both......

For someone who has so much talent to produce so little is a shame.

[Redna]

Are we bitters,are we wankers or are we Manchester City FC fans. I´m the latter and occasionaly some of the other but not the first;).Everton wanted this badly, real badly and we were plain. On the verge of non-existant. One game can't make such an intriging athmosphere. Support the team as we have thrue thick and thin. Expectations are high , rightly so, with the money invested but if we start to dube. What about the great sheik. Keep it up lads and lass.
CTID!!

[Lev Bronstein]

I don't know enough about his earlier career. I know that Real Madrid kept telling him that he was the one that the team would be built around and felt betrayed when they were obviously saying the same stuff to Ronaldo. Is he one of those players who've been constantly flattered throughout their formative years - fawning sycophants going on about how he was the future of Real Madrid, Brazil etc?

Or was he constantly reminded of the need to keep working his bollocks off if he expected to be the best?

I mean this seriously, with us he has the chance to prove that he really is one of the worlds greats. But to do so he must adapt to the conditions and overcome them: not expect conditions to adapt to him. Should he fail with us he may well go to Barca or similar and be a great player for them. But he will always carry that shadow of being a great player in a great team, not a true great in himself.

At the moment he has problems. He may well be coming back from injury, he's not the first and won't be the last. It's a shame that he didn't take his chance today. A class goal to revive his team in a difficult situation might have been just the stimulus to kick-start his season and be seen as the turning point in the upward march of City: but it didn't happen and became less and less effective and more easily bullied as the game went on.

Mancini has an interesting problem. He could well decide that the solution is to show faith when all else are losing it, confident that in the end it'll work out and the rewards will see City climb to a higher plane. However, show too much faith, to the detriment of the team and results, and Mancini loses his job. Robhino would then be labelled as the man who got Mancini the sack - and then where would he be?

On the other hand - and this could be my dirty mind coming into play - Mancini could be building up to a conversation with the higher ups along the lines of "I've given him every chance, but, talented as the guy is, we'll win nothing with him -let's get rid."

[walmai]

He played at our place last Spring - March by recollection - and looked good in very brief patches.

I haven't seen him play better since that time, when not injured of course.

Looks from afar to be the most obviously underperforming player in your squad.

However, the most obvious feature of the highlights in yr match tonight was the space given to Everton, in midfield, allowing them to come forward repeatedly. Maybe Vieira's signing wasn't as surprising as I first felt.

[9secondlegend]

Are we bitters,are we wankers or are we Manchester City FC fans. I´m the latter and occasionaly some of the other but not the first;).Everton wanted this badly, real badly and we were plain. On the verge of non-existant. One game can't make such an intriging athmosphere. Support the team as we have thrue thick and thin. Expectations are high , rightly so, with the money invested but if we start to dube. What about the great sheik. Keep it up lads and lass.
CTID!!

ok
i wont admit when our players arent doing what they are supposed to. i will bury my head in the sand and pretend we are the greatest team in the world, and our players can do no wrong.

[MaineRoadMemories]

If Robinho was sold this window I would not even blink. That speaks volumes for his contribution to our club during the last 12 months.

[Nick]

He played at our place last Spring - March by recollection - and looked good in very brief patches.

I haven't seen him play better since that time, when not injured of course.

Looks from afar to be the most obviously underperforming player in your squad.

However, the most obvious feature of the highlights in yr match tonight was the space given to Everton, in midfield, allowing them to come forward repeatedly. Maybe Vieira's signing wasn't as surprising as I first felt.

This is what really concerned me in all of Mancinis first few games. Everything was glossed over because we won, but mancini seems to let teams come at us, and waits for the counter. Giving quality players time and space is a big no no.

I also hope that all these defensive training sessions are not at the cost of attacking sessions! Because many times, away from home, we look like we couldnt buy a goal. Yet im sick of the shit I hear about ''city will always get a goal because of their attacking players''. We could still be playing now and we wouldnt have had a shot on target.

[Ted Hughes]

We don't gain anything by making a scapegoat out of Robinho, we only lose. Some of the people on here who demanded he played every game & called him the answer to all our problems are just plain fucking stupid, he's never been that player. He could still be a fantastic player for us though, not to make a good team great but to add something special WHEN we have a great team that's good enough to carry him.

It depends on what "the answer to all our problems" is defined as being. No one player can ever carry a team through a season.

I am not sure what you are inferring about his abilities, but people here seem to forget exactly how great of a player he CAN be. I still remember last season, when he was making absolute fools out of Premiership defenders. At will. (Of course, I would argue that defenses in the Prem aren't exactly tight, but that's another conversation) He has the potential to be one of the best playmakers in the world.

I think his primary problems are related to a lack of fitness, confidence and a growing frustration that appears to take hold of him whenever he can't "turn it on" at will. He is definitely the type of player that needs a long run of games to rectify the first two problems, and a couple of goals to begin to fix the third (confidence) issue. No doubt about it.

All that being said.. and keep in mind that Robbie is one of my favorite players.. I vote that his time with us is done. One cannot just throw temper tantrums, like a three year-old child, whenever circumstances are tough on the pitch and/or bench. He complains to the ref at minimal contact with others, he tries to do things that he used to be able to do last year, but cannot currently, and the team suffers for it. He could really learn from his countryman ('dinho) about how to play back into contention and travel the road back to fulfillng his tremendous potential.

Along those lines, I wonder why AC Milan has not made a bid for him (so asks my wife, who is a Rossoneri fan)? He would seem to be a better fit there. Barcelona keeps popping up as a buyer, but I just don't get why they would want him, given that he really wouldn't add much, other than some depth?

He's a player who on the whole can only function in a team that's playing well. Otherwise he won't change anything, he'll just make it worse. AC Milan have Ronaldinho who's still better than him. Even though fatter & older, he's also stronger & can score/deliver free kicks.

Ahh, I'll kindly disagree. As I said, my wife is an AC Milan fan, and watches their matches weekly when possible.. which means that I must watch their games. I would hardly call Ronaldinho "fat" by any stretch. In fact, he looks almost as lean as he was in 2005, and his game shows it; his "burst" is back, to sum it up.

As for your assessment of Robbie only functioning on good teams? I dunno. He certainly made us better last year when he was in, and we weren't necessarily playing well. But then again, your statement could be a blanket characterization of most players, since it is so subjective.

Anyway, let's see what happens. I, for one, hope things pan out. I hope Robbie scores a hat trick against ManU.

I watch AC Milan too & the only 'burst' Ronaldinho's got is his arse through his shorts. He still has a great touch & mean free kick though. Robbie didn't make us better generally last year, he made us better at home for parts of the season. We were playing away against a physical side on the top of their game in January today. Not his kind of game. If we were more solid as a team he could make a difference in these kind of games coming on as a sub but not at the moment. Other games he could be the difference though. We need to play him at the right times.

[MaineRoadMemories]

Just been doing some research and Robinho has scored 3 goals for City in a full 12 Months.

Those were 1 against West Brom and 1 against Blackburn and 1 against Everton

[CityFanFromRome]

Today was a big wake up call for him. Either he ups his game big time, or he's off very soon. He reminds me of Julio Baptista in the last 12 months or so for Roma. A ghost on the pitch, can't beat his man, tries tricks that don't work and ends losing the ball. At least Baptista scored on a free kick this week...

For those comparing Robbie to Ronaldinho, Dinho is not the one of Barca, definitely, but he looks lively for Milan, finally. He can beat a man or two, has an eye for setting up goals and can score on free kicks and penalties. I never thought I would say this just few months ago, but I know who I'd rather have in the team atm.

[peg-6]

Robinho will be back. He only needs one goal to boost his confidence. Luckily, we have a manager who was a striker himself. I think Mancini knows how to deal with this kind of problem.