Manchester City Season in Review: Fernando

During the close season, Man City Square is going to review each member of the 2015/2016 Manchester City squad and grade them for their year. Next up number 6 – Fernando

Continuing our on-going analysis of Manchester City player performances, we reach the enigma, the man with one name and many roles – Fernando. The more cautious of the two in Manuel Pellegrini’s patented and unchangeable 4-2-3-1 line-up, Fernando and his partner in crime Fernandinho oft get lumped together by Citizens as “the Nands”. Why? Well, they look alike, their names sound alike (Fernandinho only has one name too,) they are both from Brazil, they play way too close to each other, the list goes on.

So similar is Fernando to Fernandinho that, were it not for play style and ability, I’d find it nigh impossible to tell them apart. You see, Fernandinho is in many ways the driving force behind City going forward and, in 2015/2016, showed us his skill, determination, creativity and attacking prowess. Fernando, on the other hand, demonstrated almost none of those things, yet that’s not necessarily a bad thing

How did the 28 year old defensive midfielder fare in the season just passed? It depends who you ask. I’ve heard many suggest he took a step forward this year, though I can’t say I ever saw it, physically or metaphorically. It’s far easier to remember the defensive howlers that cost games than the passes which contributed only minimally to the final result. I have no doubt Fernando had more of the latter positivity than the former negativity, but what did it really provide for Manchester City?

Take Fernando’s stats for example. On the year he had a passing accuracy of 89% in 17 league appearances which is impressive, but his average number of passes per game, 38, is among the lowest in the midfield on the team. For comparison, Fernandinho had a pass accuracy of 86% in the league, but that was with an average of 47 passes per game. Further, while Kevin De Bruyne may only have had a pass accuracy of 78%, he too was hitting 45 passes per game on average and had a key pass rate of 3.2 per game, more than double that of Fernando and Fernandinho combined.

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OK, so, we established that perhaps Fernando isn’t the most exciting player on the park, but then what exactly does he do? His defence has been average at best, shaky at worst and he’s had a middling effect on Manchester City’s fortunes going forward. How exactly is this a step forward?

To be fair, Fernando is a sum more than his parts. His contribution across the board may be average, but that may well be because defensive midfielders are ultimately jacks of all trades, masters of none. No, it’s invisible stats like work rate, effort and presence that Fernando and indeed Fernandinho excel at, perhaps more so than any others on the team. The Nands in 2015/2016 were the engine going forward and going back that kept City running through the season with all it’s injury potholes and Pep Guardiola announcement diversions.

Speaking of Pep, how will Fernando fit into his Manchester City? My honest opinion is that he may well not. As we’ve discussed many times before, with a massive cull on the way there will be many who are sacrificed to improve the team for the better. Ultimately Fernando’s lack of attacking prowess, and that of the defensive midfielder in general, may well be the wind that carries him elsewhere.

Pep likes possession football, passing, flowing and always attacking. Fernando’s overall contribution may be solid, but it’s not going to fit with with Pep’s style like, say, that of potential signing Toni Kroos would. Further, having struggled through the year with a back four like a trap door in a canoe, Guardiola won’t take any chances on plugging the holes with a defensive midfielder, instead seeking straight (expensive) upgrades to the defence itself with players like Aymeric Laporte.

So, it seems to me there won’t be much space for Fernando going forward. Already rumours of interest from Villareal and other clubs are widely discussed and, at 28, he’s unlikely to wait long before finding top flight suitors. It’s a shame but if Pep won’t play him every game then it’s best for us and for him, the only question is whether he would be leaving us on a high note after 2015/2016.

Next: Guardiola vs Mourinho

In the end, I’m not sure Fernando took much of a step forward at all, more like stood his ground. That’s OK too. He made some mistakes, but he always gave his best and was a solid, if largely unspectacular part of a team with more ups and downs than a roller-coaster. Not the best but far from the worst, a candidate to keep in any other year. That’s worth 6.5 out of 10 in my book.