I know I bang on about A-Rod's stats but I just find it strange that people can't see the work he does linking defense and attack and providing an outlet to pass to for teammates under pressure. He's not a crunching tackler or a playmaker and the combination of being slowish and having great positioning means he never really looks like he's busting a gut, which maybe makes people think he's not doing anything, whereas the stats show just how involved he is.
I think he's a similar type of player to Busquets and I guess there's a lot of people who can't see how vital Busquets is to that Barcelona side either
That is a fanciful comparison and it goes to the main criticism of A-Rod. He just does not influence the game at all in an attacking sense. Busquets plays as the deepest midfielder and at times drops in as a third centre back. Then on attack the play builds through him. Rodriguez plays further forward than that generally, or as one of two defensive players, yet while is passing is fairly accurate at times he has absolutely no attacking instincts and his passing is completely functional. Plus as you say he is pretty slow. Have you ever seen him play a one two, or lay on a chance for anyone? I have barely seen him have a shot. He has no goals or assists in 50 appearances but yet he isn't really a defensive player either, and he isn't an attacking player - so what is he? Yes Finkler and Roly were quiet on the weekend but we have seen what they can do in an attacking sense in previous games. We have never seen that with Rodriguez at all.
For me he has to be able to get in the team ahead of Lia as the most defensive midfielder otherwise he doesn't warrant a place in the starting line up. And if you can't get in the team ahead of Lia then are you really an A-League quality import?
There are some issues with the Nix team potentially stopping them being a top 4 team, but the majority of them boil down to form.
The one constant thorn in our side is this guy.
The so called a rod.
He sure isn't worth an import spot and personally I wouldn't even put him in an all white squad if he ever became eligible.
I would prefer Moses Dyer
Time to flush the toilet and move on from this guy