What’s Missing : 6 November 2022

The Daily Merengue is a place where you can feel free to discuss all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name!

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Missing Karim

The numbers look really good but we clearly miss Karim’s input and control in the final third. Unfortunately it looks like we won’t get anything close to Karim from last season because his body is giving up. The guy is 35 and he gave everything last season. I expected way too much from him this season.

Standing still or moving slowly?

Karim’s absences are becoming the norm and Rodrygo, Fede and Vinicius are stepping up to the plate and delivering some mature performances. Rodrygo’s numbers will have to improve and his physical condition will have to improve in order to maintain a high level. He is used to getting breaks and now he’s having to start almost every game. Even if Rodrygo’s numbers keep improving, it is increasingly likely that we will need to add a forward in January. Fede is already playing miracle football, playing 3 different roles in the same game. Vinicius is playing about as well as any world class winger. All three are posting great numbers but we cannot expect them to survive the January and February period with Karim being constantly unavailable.

Island Hype?

Pedri 2.0. Real Madrid did not see Pedri’s technical quality for some reason and it may be true that there’s a particular quality he didn’t show that is very important at the club. It is possible that they made the right call even though he is very talented. Time will tell and perhaps he’s in the best environment and would not have thrived at Real Madrid.

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