However, speaking on The Stand with Eamon Dunphy, John Giles has noted that he thinks he’s spotted a weakness in Rice’sDeclan Rice game.
Indeed, the Leeds United legend says that Rice gets ahead of the ball too much, claiming that his positioning and reading of the game isn’t good enough sometimes, claiming that he’s often not in the right position to receive the ball after a sequence of more than a few passes.
Sheffield United v Arsenal FC - Premier League
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Declan Rice’s positioning isn’t great
Giles spoke about the midfielder.
“There are times when I watch him that he gets ahead of the ball too much, I’m talking about positional sense now, that is very important for a midfield player, and some players don’t have it. If you stand in the centre-circle all match you get a certain amount of the ball, that’s how it goes, but the great midfield players are able to read the game and are in a new position to get it there. Not many players can do that, and Rice can’t do it,” Giles said.
Will learn
Giles is right, Rice’s reading of the game isn’t as good as a player like Jorginho’s, but let’s not forget, this is Rice’s first season playing for an elite club who look to control every match.
Rice has only been playing in this system for a few months, and with age and the right coaching he will become more attuned to the fine details of how this team builds play and where he needs to be in certain phases.
Luckily, Rice’s incredible pace more than makes up for his positional radar being a bit off at times, but, in time, he should learn the finer details of how this team works and operates.
0 Comments