On Saturday against Wolves John Ruddy completed his rise to be one of the best keepers in the country. All season the improvement has been there for all to see, but, there was still something missing, in my opinion he didn't command the penalty area as a man of his size should. On saturday, we saw it at last, the bollicking he gave Elliot Ward made that final step. It was what I'd been waiting and hoping for. The big man NOW own's his penalty area, he's arrived at the top and I love him for it. What we now have is a Captain in the goal keeping position, a Captain in midfield in 'Howson' and Captain marvel up front. WOW how good is that? ILD OTBC
sitting as close to the goal as i do, its been very noticeable how ruddy's command of his area has improved over the past two years. he seems a bit of a 'gentle giant' - i don't know, i've never met him - but he has been very vocal to his defence all season and he certainly wasn't early in his city career. he really is a very good keeper and at 25 is nowhere near his prime. i wouldn't be surprised to see bigger clubs come in for him come the summer, especially if he gets a call up. not bad for a fee in the region of £300k!
Spot on ILD, as you'll know, I've always been a fan of big JR, having barnies with the like of Carrabuh on the old 606 and on 12 yards, but now I can't believe anyone can question his credentials!
I've NEVER doubted JR's ability (my username on 12 yards was 'JRfan' and I have the number '1' on the back of my home shirt). I know he's always had his doubters and I've had several 'discussions' with other fans. Like 'Supers', I'm in row J in the N&P lower just behind the goal, so can see and hear his commands. He will be getting my vote for POS, especially for his save from Suarez which gained us a point at Anfield and his save at the Liberty (can't remember the Swansea player) which gained us 2 points!!!!
what happened to carrabuh? i know he used to get some grief but sometimes he made good posts, although i'd suggest he was almost always wrong with what he said. it was quite amusing at times!
I met him in John Lewis a couple of months ago, 'gentle giant' Yes, friendly Yes, Big man Yes. I didn't push myself at him, just said Hello John, thanks for what you're doing for the team! He shook my hand! I did doubt him at first, but, I WAS WRONG, top man, top keeper well on his way to becoming a City keeper legend. ILD OTBC
i think some people made their minds up about ruddy after he made a mistake in a friendly against everton (i think) where he let the ball slip through his fingers. only a friendly i know but there were certainly people around me moaning 'our new keeper isn't as good as forster'. well i said at the time he had all the attributes to make a top keeper and although he had a few shaky moments early in his city career he always gave me far more confidence than forster ever did. he makes mistakes (which keeper doesn't?) but very few overall and i'd love to see his performances recognised by england, especially as their is hardly a deluge of top english keepers at the moment. for me, he is easily, EASILY, the 2nd best english keeper
I wouldn't say he is a gentle giant at all... he knocked Didier Drogba out stone cold, and I remember him running through the entire Stoke team to claim the ball on a corner.
i meant his personality. adam drury is very quiet and considered but stick a winger in front of him and he'll kick him black and blue
That is the problem when a player comes into the team replacing a player who's become a bit of a "hero", they are quite often compared unfavorably. I can only go from what I see on The League Show, MOTD etc, and I must admit I thought he was a bit jittery in his first few games, but now I think he's silenced all but the severest of critics and turned into a really fine 'keeper.
He was on a hiding to nothing after Forsters heroics in the last few games of his season. Everyone was saying move heaven and earth to sign him and all of a sudden comes JR with a less than impressive record as a No 1 goalie. But credit whoever spotted him with good vision. And at 25, he can create a dynasty much the same way as Gunny did.
Ruddy was a masterclass in buying from Lambert. He is nothing short of quality. England is an absolute certainty.
May well do Dave, but you know as well as I do that KK was a far better keeper. Somehow, back in the day, you just had that feeling of 'safety' when Keelan was between the sticks. On the odd occasion when he was injured we'd all have a panic attack !
They seem to favour keepers more now then back then, anyone old enough to remember Nat Lofthouse knocking the ball and Harry Gregg into the back of the net for the winning goal in the 1958 cup final! Lofthouse himself said recently that would never be allowed today, not even by Howard Webb in favour of Man Ure!
But were there as many shots, crosses, long throws, high balls into the box and were the 'keepers back then relied on for their accurate kicking to start counter-attacks?
Keelan did BECOME a really good keeper. But I wouldn't say he was "far better" than JR when he first came into the side. He was very agile, and a great shot stopper. But he had a hot-head streak which opponents knew all about and would play on. He was very ready to come for crosses and high balls, but in my opinion TOO ready at times. Fearless but sometimes reckless. I would say JR has himself under control in a way Kevin didn't, and I think JR will develop into a better all round keeper than KK. Only my opinion.
Carra, you may have heard the saying "you have to be mad to be a goalkeeper" ? Well there's a bloody good reason for that, back in the day 'keepers were kicked in the head, elbowed into the net if they had the ball in their hands and basically were 'roughed up' by the old fashioned (Grant Holt), centre forwards. KK gave as good as he got as well as making breathtaking saves. Us old 'uns are sometimes accused of looking back through rose tinted glasses, but when I recall KK's performances those glasses are perfectly clear. It's just a shame that there isn't much TV archive footage of his skills. Same could be said for George Best. You remember KK sticking one on that Northampton, (I think), forward Dave ?
