Player Watch Player Watch: Cristian Romero

[HildoSpur]

He is maturing in front of our eyes. Top class this season. VDV has brought the best out of him. So assured and confident now. World class

 

[dirtyh]

He’s a reaper of souls. Absolute class and has everything.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Has he even got a yellow this season

Huge credit to Ange & the other coaches!

His discipline improvement is massive this season.

 

[mark87]

 

[Nebby]

Had my doubts but boy has he matured this season. Another master stroke by Ange to give him a leadership role within the group. These guys could become the long-term defensive unit we’ve been dreaming of.

 

[mark87]

 

[Joely]

Has stepped up and led by example. The style of football suits him as encourages him to put out fires further up the pitch and licence to bring the ball out. Also helps he now appears to have a CB partner he trusts, especially when it comes to being isolated and having to defend one on one. Just glad we seemed to have finally moved on from some of the poor CB's we've played over the last few seasons...it was so glaringly obvious they were not up to it.

 

[SargeantMeatCurtains]

If he wasn’t so vitally important in the back 4, I think Romero would be a very decent stand in for Bissouma. Hes so calm on the ball, even under pressure, and has an eye for a pass.

 

[mark87]

Best defender we have had since Ledley.

Better than Toby and Jan? Big call.

 

[ginola99]

Better than Toby and Jan? Big call.

Certainly equal to.

 

[Tucker]

Certainly equal to.

He needs to maintain this form for about 18-24 months before he’s earned that.

Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s great, but they were consistently great. He’s show a huge improvement in temperament and calmness. He’s certainly taken his game up a level this season, VDV seems the ideal partner for him too.

 

[Cavehillspur]

Absolutely superb on Saturday along with Micky.

 

[bubble07]

Better than Toby and Jan? Big call.

Better than Toby and Jan? Big call.

Too early to say that. Will need atleast 1 season together playing like they are

 

[al_pacino]

If he wasn’t so vitally important in the back 4, I think Romero would be a very decent stand in for Bissouma. Hes so calm on the ball, even under pressure, and has an eye for a pass.

Maybe. The issue when this sort of thing comes up is he has all of the skills on the ball and being a CB plenty of defensive instincts, but he's also very used to nearly all of the play being in front of him. Didier Zokora looked nice running with the ball and sweeping up but when players ran off him they were out of sight, out of mind.

 

[tevezito]

Why it needed 25 VAR replays is beyond me, though. It’s as if the referees don’t know the handball rules any more and were buying themselves time.

I think the VAR took 23 of those replays to check whether Maddison had been fouled. And then didn't bother asking the ref what he thought when he went to the monitor.

 

[tevezito]

Better than Toby and Jan? Big call.

He can only really be fairly be compared to Toby, since they are the RCBs, but I think he is definitely already as good as Toby ever was and will easily surpass him. He's a consummate defender and can also play out of the back with a much wider range of passing than Toby. He shares the long diagonal, but can also play a much wider range of passes. And the way he waits and lures a pressing attacker in and then passes it through them is pure Ange's style of football.

Many criticise him for indiscipline / rashness last season, but that was simply him to trying to do it all by himself, with Dier / Sanchez alongside him. If there's blame to be dished out, it goes to Conte. Cute was doing the best he could with what was in front of him for his manager.

 

[tevezito]

And he had another superb performance tonight for Argentina. They are so good. They actually played much better without Messi than with him.

 

[king_yid]

And he had another superb performance tonight for Argentina. They are so good. They actually played much better without Messi than with him.

Agreed. Hitting the woodwork 5/6 times the 1-0 flattered Paraguay. Not to mention Gonzalez was Richarlisonesque in his finishing tonight.

 

[Oscar22]

 

[Rollo]

He’s unreal. Just ask Haaland.