Really good article
People tend to forget that Ramsey basically carried the whole of the midfield last season and was asked to play in a number of different positions. In the absence of Fabregas, Nasri and a whole host of new players coming in, he was the one constant in there. He worked his socks off and never got any credit for it, just a load of abuse when towards the end of the season he tired and his form dipped badly.
The lad is only twenty one and has already shown that he's got enough skill to make it at Arsenal. As you point out, he basically had to start again after his horror injury. So his progress has been slow. There are areas he needs to improve on, giving the ball away in midfield is a big crime and especially without a DM, it puts us on the backfoot, but he's no more guilty than some others.
That said, so far this season - whilst nobody has really shone - Ramsey has put in some of the better performances in our team. He's a hard worker, committed and ready for the cause. Let's hope that some of our fans can reflect the same sentiments towards him
While most of the time I just come on here and read in the background and generally agree with many of your posts (especially your replies to HIAG on the Spurs board) I do feel you completely (and unfairly) discount certain fans' views if they're not the same as your own.
I think it's perfectly acceptable to have an opinion that a player is not good enough for the team you support. Having that opinion doesn't mean you're a bad person because you've made said player a scapegoat.
1. I don't agree that Ramsay carried our midfield last season so don't accuse me of 'forgetting' that. I simply don't acknowledge it as true. I can acknowledge you have that opinion though.
2. I don't agree that Ramsay has shown the skill that he can make it at Arsenal. Most players can have flashes, or even whole games, where they look impressive, Ramsay included. But this doesn't mean they are good enough for a team in the long term. Look at Nani, Torres and Henderson... each can look, or have looked, good at times but none of them are really consistently good enough to be first-XI material.
3. You say he needs to improve his distribution in midfield. If that is what he doesn't do well, what
does he do well? I've yet to see him have too many great games of defending or attacking since his comeback. The same can be said of Denilson when he was here (another you said was unfairly labelled a 'scapegoat', even though in my opinion he was fairly labelled as 'not offering much to the team').
4. I don't agree that Ramsay has put in some of the better performances. Although, even this was true, it wouldn't mean a lot given the poor performances of most of the squad.
Agreed that booing, or actively not supporting, players is not going to help them... or the team... but blindly supporting players who don't deserve it doesn't achieve much either. Praise should be earned, not used as a carrot.
Being a 'hard-worker', 'committed', 'ready for the cause' and an 'ever-present last season' are not qualities that define a good player... more an indictment of our current squad that they can all be used to describe Aaron Ramsey. He's about the same standard as someone like Steve Sidwell. Give it a few years and I reckon he'll be at somewhere like Fulham, Everton or Villa.