Well, Romagnoli is a great player is most aspects. I mean, it is obvious that he lacks pace which is not really up to him and he is not good 1 vs 1 (up to him, but I won't be surprised if he improves this with the time) but his positioning, game reading, tackling, etc. are top quality. He clears a lot of balls each game, blocks a lot of shots and is very useful in general. Rarely covering offsides, rarely misplacing passes. Good in the air.
The problem is that he is the left CB next to a very offensive LB who is often caught out of position. In such situations he is left alone against a winger (usually very fast and tricky players) who already has the ball at his feet and has accelerated enough to just kick the ball around him and outrun him. In such situation Romagnoli has 2 options - try a tackle risking a foul therefore yellow + set piece or letting the opponent beat him. Both frustrating to watch. Another thing that is not helping him is that Kjaer is not fast either and can't cover for Alessio's lack of pace. Losing the ball in the midfield by Kessie or Bennacer often leads to situation 3 vs 3 because of our playing style with us having nobody fast enough. Calabria and Dalot are also not the fastest players you can find.
Romagnoli would be absolutely great in a more defensive team led by Simeone, Mourinho or Gattuso. He is not suitable for teams with high pressing style like Atalanta or Liverpool.
Having said that, fielding Kjaer-Romagnoli against Barella, Hakimi, Lautaro and Lukaku will be suicidal. We need Tomori because merda are very good at counters and apart from Theo we have nobody fast enough to keep up with them.
We pretty much agree on all. He has great qualities but unfortunately the aspects he is not good at, are what the team need the most right now.
he would excel with a Mourinho, Simeone team. But not for a team that want to play high and attacking football.
Now the 2nd paragraph starting with ?the problem is...? feels like, and I could be wrong, you?re trying to share the blame for his inadequacy with others...a modern attacking FB will sometimes get caught out of position, will sometimes lose the ball. That?s just normal in football let alone the style we?re playing (or trying to).
The midfielders trying to progress the ball through dribbling will sometimes lose it. It?s part of the game... and when they do, the team should be able to cope with it (most of the time) through complementarity of the players. A good team is made of complementary players. When that?s not the case, the odd piece should be changed.
To achieve that complementarity, Do we get a stay at home LB to help him? Or get (play) a faster CB that can cover and allow Hernandez to do his thing? ... no brainer
Having a faster good cb, that give Theo, but especially 79&4 (Since Theo Naturally does it), the freedom to join the attack with more confidence and purpose could really be a big plus to the way we play and make us more dangerous.
I could be wrong. But that?s how your point ?sounded? to me: ?he is good but the way Theo (79&4) play is not Helping him? ... which seems to be putting some blame for his shortcomings on them ... they play the way they (and the team) are supposed to play, and it comes with risks. And as a part of the machine, big part of his role (CB) is to mitigate those risks and he is simply badly equipped for it. Like having a Phillips screwdriver when you new a slotted one.
Let?s be clear, nobody is under the delusion that once a fast good cb on 1v1 get there we will no longer concede goals in that manner... but the chances are greatly reduced. Because at the moment, when player runs at him, it too often end up in a good chance.
When he played with Kalulu... I was less nervous when an opponent ran at Kalulu than him.
