Current Player #20 Rúben Rodrigues

He also needs to tighten up on his first touch, often very sloppy, meaning he's under pressure by the time he takes his 2nd touch.
 
Was thinking yesterday both he (and Bodin) should have come off a bit earlier. Some poor decision making all round, but those two caught my eye the most.

💯 agree though. Once up to speed, looks a great prospect.
 
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I know a Notts County ST holder. Said he was obviously a step above the National League, and did a fair amount of showboating (nutmegs etc), which we've obviously not seen in L1. He hasn't quite caught the pace yet. As others have said, he needs to release the ball slightly quicker. Good player, though, and works hard.
 
Maybe some extra individual high intensity training would benefit him, maybe bringing some of the kids in to bite at his heels and get him used to improving his first touch and thinking quicker and moving the ball quicker?
 
Rodrigues is one of the most technically gifted players at the club, but I don't think we're utilising him correctly, or enough yet. It still feels like he is on the periphery.

It may well be in part down to the player (getting up to speed) but I also think we need to work smarter to find ways to get him on the ball, centrally, more often. It may be about others trying to create space for him, it may be giving him a bit more licence to find that space.

If you watch his goals for Notts County, the vast majority came from excellent finishes from outside or the edge of the box - through the middle. Often second balls falling to him, sometimes being found in that pocket.

For whatever reason he's not finding himself in those positions. Ironically Brannagan found himself in them a couple of times yesterday - but the resulting shots, whilst on target, were really poor. I'd have wanted it to be Rodrigues in those scenarios.

Whilst we're at it, I'd also like to see Rodrigues taking free kicks off Brannagan. We've not looked like scoring from these this season. It feels a little as though Brannagan (undoubtedly a senior player now) is pulling rank by taking set pieces, but I don't think it's necessarily best for the team at this point.

At the moment, Rodrigues seemingly has a relatively junior role in the team and I want him front and centre.

I've seen enough to suspect that OUFC will be successful if and when Rodrigues becomes a focal point for this team.
 
He's a great player but he needs just to improve his final ball and decision making. Gets into all the right positions but one or two times yesterday he missed out on feeding either Harris or Tyler through and chose the wrong option. Keep his head down and he'll improve and find more and more of these opportunities. It's great to actually have someone who can carve the midfield and defences apart the way he does without having to blister forward.
 
I agree with most, at the moment it feels like he is adjusting to how much time he has on the ball in L1 compared to how much time he had in the conference. Clearly has class though and it's going to come. I am impressed with his work rate at times too which wasn't necessarily expected. He won the ball back beautifully late on yesterday but then made a poor pass. Yesterday both him and Bodin were guilty of that old saying 'they did all the hard work'. Bodin must have turned brilliantly three times just to give it away.
 
If he can get his fitness levels up where he becomes one of the fitter players in the team he will go to the next level hopefully with us we are lucky to have him .
 
I'm beginning to see what Notts County fans meant about Rodrigues' pressing. He is very good at getting a touch on a clearance to stop a defender from clearing their lines.

There was a noticeable moment towards the end of the game with Exeter and also against Stevenage on the weekend about 20 seconds before Leigh equalised - granted it was from when RR just lost the ball but he got a toe to the clearance and it deflected out to Leigh, who then recycled it and a moment later it ends up in their net. It obviously doesn't always work out but it's clear to see that he's been signed because he carries out a role in this system well.

How refreshing to have a clear way of playing and we have then found the players that fit into that. Manning, Hogg and Waldron deserve a lot of credit.
 
Osei Yaw said:
I'm beginning to see what Notts County fans meant about Rodrigues' pressing. He is very good at getting a touch on a clearance to stop a defender from clearing their lines.

There was a noticeable moment towards the end of the game with Exeter and also against Stevenage on the weekend about 20 seconds before Leigh equalised - granted it was from when RR just lost the ball but he got a toe to the clearance and it deflected out to Leigh, who then recycled it and a moment later it ends up in their net. It obviously doesn't always work out but it's clear to see that he's been signed because he carries out a role in this system well.

How refreshing to have a clear way of playing and we have then found the players that fit into that. Manning, Hogg and Waldron deserve a lot of credit.
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I thought he was the best player on the park on Saturday. Makes absolute sense why people would opt for Leigh but I thought Rodrigues was outstanding. His press, as you say, is relentless but never seems to be at full sprint - he paces himself and does just enough to force a decision without over committing. When he can get the ball it’s a full-blooded attempt - not many 10s will give you that. He shares the mileage with his strike partner superbly.

But it was really his contribution in possession I liked most this week - because it hasn’t always been there. This was the first time he really had the eyes in the back of his head which he needed to find to really start affecting games. He megged a few opponents, got flicks away and just played a really intelligent game against a team that won’t hesitate to kick you up in the air. Very unselfish player by nature as well. Super player emerging.
 
Swaby39 said:
When he can get the ball it’s a full-blooded attempt - not many 10s will give you that.
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That’s the Dutch in his upbringing. It’s why Bergkamp is probably still my favourite ever player. Technically sublime, but he’ll break your f*****g legs.
 
Wish I could take credit for this, but sadly not my work…

Walking away from the ground after the Bristol Rovers game on Saturday, and heard a group of lads singing a song they’d made up about Reuben Rodriguez - I only caught it a couple of times, so may have misheard it slightly, but thought it was brilliant!

It was to the Heaven is a Place on Earth tune - bit like the Rangers song for Johnny Lundstram - think it went as follows:

“Oooh baby do you know what it’s worth, Reuben Rodriguez is the best on Earth.

He’s silky, skilful and Portuguese, his goals will take us up the league!”

Has anyone else heard it on match days??? Thought it was really good - hope it catches on 🙌🏻
 
Sung by many clubs, Vale for instance sing it about Ben Garrity. Rangers used to sing it about Jon Lundstram
 
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