The problem Ceballos has or even Pepe for that matter has nothing to do with them. It's a problem we are facing as a club, which is that we are sinking fast and we needed our players to deliver yesterday.
It's quite obvious that players from abroad need time to adapt, but time is something we are short of. Ceballos has come in to replace Ramsey, and he's not hit the ground running, and we have suffered. It's not his fault, he's simply been expected to perform miracles. Same goes with Pepe.
I think one of the issues is that by virtue of loaning a player, you are almost consigning yourself to defeat before the player has even arrived. Whether it was Suarez before or Ceballos now, the lack of commitment pretty much ensures neither party is going to truly excel. If there was a commitment via a long contract, then there would be a much stronger desire to succeed. As it stands, Ceballos can hide away from taking responsibility or really pushing himself when the going gets tough, knowing full well that he will be returning to Madrid by the end of the campaign.
Whoever decided loaning players for us is a reasonable option needs to be sent to the guillotine.
There are so many players in our team that need time to develop, but that's exactly why we find ourselves in 11th position. So the obvious question is, should these players be developing elsewhere and have we made a grave error in backing a bunch of players who shouldn't be in this position? The answer as it stands is a resounding yes, and the table is unequivocal proof of that.
People were nonchalantly stating throughout the summer to get rid of the deadwood and promote the kids, and whilst it sounded pretty darn attractive on paper. The reality is that deadwood are ruthlessly criticized, whilst the youth receive a blind eye. People aren't fair in their judgements, and those deadwood are often better performers than the kids who replaced them.
Edit: Got a little carried away on the bog. Lol!