Overreaction | 18 February 2026

The Daily Merengue is a place where you can feel free to d all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name! Shoutout to the mods who do a fantastic job, Ezek, Valyrian Steel, Felipejack, Juninho, NeRObutBlanco and yours truly, Kung_Fu_Zizou

Half-Time in the playoffs! High drama! Another win for the Merengues.

Goals change games! However, goals do not eliminate consistently poor play. Poor play catches up when the margins get smaller. I’ve seen many occasions where fans suddenly see the game differently because of the result. The performance is quickly forgotten.

Players go from hero to villain and then to hero again in minutes or seconds. Players are talented in the 15th minute and not good enough for the club in the 60th minute. This eventually translates into drawn out unintelligible narratives about players.

Fede Valverde

Every player has their limitations. It is no misuse of language to exclaim that Fede struggles in the slower phases of the game and thrives in end-to-end duels or where he’s afforded space to operate. Majority of players are in fact, that way inclined. It is necessarily the case that while vey talented, Fede’s saving grace will be the inclusion of Trent Alexander Arnold. Fede’s comfort in rotating between number 8, fullback and RW make him the ultimate foil for Trent. However, without Trent, Fede will always be more useful at RB than in midfield. This is also due to the lack of an elite progressor of the ball from deep who would allow Fede to focus on his elite off the ball work. It also cannot be overstated that absent the unique profiles of Trent and an otherworldly ball progressor, Fede simply doesn’t add to the midfield as anything more than a duplication of qualities that do not transform such a team.

Kylian, The Absolute Best

Kylian is a huge player. He’s everywhere, left, right, centre, just being a behemoth for the opponent to deal with. He shrinks almost everyone else. This is not a fault. It is merely nature. He’s simply that big. He’s awesome. It necessitates reducing other players not to elevate him as he doesn’t even need it but to balance out the team. This will likely not happen this season or the next. We can pray though. It’s free!

Huijsen and Asencio

On paper they provide a near perfect balance but in reality, immaturity and impulsiveness leave a lot to be desired. There’s also an element of self-pity that creeps in. They’ve not had the luxury of playing consistently with senior players for years to learn and grow. They have to figure it out on their own for the most part due to the injuries affecting the more senior Cans in the squad. This forces us to be patient with them. I genuinely do not mind giving them time but they quickly become the object of ire from a demanding fan base that refuses to accept that magnifying mistakes and identifying players solely by their weaknesses doesn’t paint a picture of truth anymore that a slip suggest a sheer lack of balancing ability from the victim of a fall.

Jude, The Maestro in Utero

Jude Bellingham is an elite talent. Let the memes and silly takes fall by the wayside. Jude is learning and growing despite not in the linear fashion we would like to see in a perfectly curated development environment. His skill set is insane and he has a great football IQ. He’s a genuinely proper, thorough footballer. It will take time as all greatness does. Jude is not exempt from the insanity of the project bambino under Flo’s current regime. If anything one might argue Jude is a rather prominent beneficiary. He is ultimately to fall victim to its ills as others in the team will do too.

The Best Way for GG

A 4-2-2-1-1. This would accommodate Vini on the left, Kylian down the middle and Fede would we play the balancing RM, RCM role to help in midfield and provide width in moments. This would require a kind of fluency that could likely not be sustained over the course of a season. If teams can pin Fede back, he could be nullified as an attacking option forcing th team to take big risks on the right side. The left side would also be shaky with Vini playing more as a 3rd attacker increasing the need for extra cover to help Carreras making it easier for opponents to stretch our midfield and expose the soft underbelly in the heart of our defence.

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