Just read through some of the posts on here and yes I agree to a point. Yes our defence looks vulnerable and against top class attackers they were brutally exposed. KD looks nervous, ponderous and isn't inspiring confidence but tell us something we didn't already know! I was more than pleasantly surprised at Ramirez in his first appearance, looks like he could be a class act? For what it's worth think that both the Happy Clappers and Doom-Mongers on this board should try and get some kinda perspective!
Yeah I wanted someone to start a Gaston thread. I missed all of the game today as I was on the line for a game between two Ryman League sides. Just managed to catch the score, and the general feeling that our defending and performance was shocking. How was Ramirez? Seen some say he looked head and shoulders above everyone else when he came on.
Ramirez looked pure class, his dribbling, ball control, and surprisingly, his physical presence on the ball, were from a different planet. He only played 45 minutes, but he was possibly the only player, or certainly one of few players that I would say had a good game today. Early days but looks like he could become £12M well spent.
Could tell he's a top class talent. Did little in the way of chance creation other than a couple of long shots so you won't be too impressed on Match of the Day but watching his 45 you can tell he's very talented. Played a few through balls that were let down by poor first touches, tried dangerous central balls that were let down by a lack of attacking instinct from other players (notably Lambert who I thought was poor today). Certainly didn't look "too lightweight" either, which was a concern when we signed him.
I thought Lambert was poor today too Dan. I mentioned it earlier but no picked it up. I also think Jayrod gave their CB a harder time in his ten minutes he was on.
From the dodgy stream I found Ramirez looked exciting. He made a few runs, jinxing past a few Arsenal players which all being said is no mean feat! At points it looked like the ball was on an elastic band tied round his toes, looked like he'd lose it but then the ball would come back to him. With a bit of time to train with the team and when understanding grows between them I can only see good things. His cross-come-shot to Lambert was awesome, basically a thirty yard grass-cutter straight through the middle of the Arsenal defence. This boy is going to be gold.
If we go down then what's he going to do? He's a European player, he is simply too good for the Championship-maybe a loan to a Premier League club?
As you can see, the general consensus (thus far) is very positive. Ramirez ghosted around in front of their back four and caused problems straight away. Obviously needs to "bed in" so everyone is on the same wavelength. Apart from Yoshida and JWP, the rest were pretty damn poor today....so can't wait until the whole team are back firing on all cylinders. The new additions should definitely bring a new dimension to our game.
Yep the only other player who inspired me apart from Gaston was JWP the others were wholly inadequate. It was a very disappointing performance. We didn't close down, gave them far too much space and we looked very very nervous. I thought was far more influential than Lallana, where was he
JWP was MOM today for me. Very like Paul Scholes always asking for the ball, always available. Ramirez was quality when he came on but he also brought Adam into the game in the second half. Problem with Lallana is that he pings off Lambert. They are like a 2 man roadshow sometimes and as Lambert had a bad day, Lallana didn't have that usual zip. Mainly due to the opponents but the gap between midfield and attack was massive in the first half. Once Ramirez came on he and Lallana started to get into the space between midfield and attack and we managed to keep the ball more. However JWP is the main man at the mo. However much his training over the past 'x' years at the academy has cost it is money equally well spent as the Gaston Money.
To be honest, Lambert was awful today, but then that's allowed every now and again. The part that worried me was that I thought he was poor because he was up against two aerially dominant CB's and if he isn't winning balls in the air then his lack of pace is brutally exposed. I agree that J-Rod gave them a whole lot more trouble when he came on. Saying that, bad day in the office perhaps for Rickie, and everyone has those. Ramirez was different class when he came on. The team seemed nervous to pass him the ball for the first few minutes of the second half but he started coming back to demand the ball and when he did he started dictating the midfield. He's special. No doubt. More than that though, he defended well, tracked back and tackled. Not this luxury that some (who had never seen him I'd think) were predicting.
As I said in another thread - we've had one bad result in four. That was the Wigan result. Keep the faith.
Well put - there was one point where he made a very good block of a low cross while tracking back, I praised Fonte for it before realising it was Ramirez. Very encouraging start from a guy who was put in a game where we had our backs against the walls, after having a maximum of two or three training sessions at a club where he doesn't speak the language.
He's got great movement too. Reminded me slightly of Le Tiss in the sense that he was seeing a far more developed game than the majority of the other players so some of his passes and movements were spot on, but just not "realised" by the others. It's going to take them a while to get used to that, but it will lift their own ability too.
Let's hope Ramirez (chicken man*) can keep playing at this rate. *Chicken man because of a fantastic restaurant I know called "Ramires" http://www.restauranteramires.com/
He was superb St.K and has surely earned himself a start next Saturday. DTGW - what game was that? I usually try and get a friendly fan in the stand to tell me the Saints score.
