Having just watched his BBC post match interview, and reflecting on the tactical and all round improvement in play (albeit that it still hasn't materialised into as many points as we'd all like), I'm prepared to give the fellow more time. Come what may in the remainder of the season, I think he's slowly earning the right to be a serious permanent candidate for the role.
Mr Ramsey'll do me....Very good set up today and execution was nearly spot on, suppose he should have played McCarthy. His use of Henry neutralised Hazard. We were solid and had the most shots on goal, don't remember Green needing to make a save.
I will judge him at the end of the season. I wasn't at all pleased with his appointment in the first place. Some of the performances have been decent but don't forget one thing, we haven't won at home since before Christmas. That is pure relegation form. If he gets us safe, I would be willing to soften my stance on him and possibly praise him. If we go down, he simply has to go. My only way of judging him is up or down. Remember, he has just presided over 5 consecutive P.L. home defeats. Hardly inspiring results.
Please don't make me cry!! Courtois easily the busier keeper until 88th minute. Onwards and upwards (hopefully).
Looking at the replays he saw little of the actual shot, and moreover I fully believe there were a couple of defenders there who might have lent a more substantial hand earlier in the move that led to the goal... so are they blameless or should we accept that either we win together or lose together? My reading of this is that blaming one of our own ultimately benefits no-one. Mistakes happen - and as I said elsewhere, if Matty had put his chance a foot further to the (his) right of the keeper, or if a handball had been given from Charlie's first shot in that goalmouth scramble, or if Clint had had a better connection from the edge of the box we might be having an entirely different conversation - it's all ifs and buts... and we lost. We know mistakes were made, but it genuinely benefits no-one to pick out one player aside from the facts of the goal. Isla was asleep, the back four arguably had time to clear the ball - we didn't... they scored - doesn't make Green a **** keeper... just a keeper that made an error.. and they all do, especially when you are at the bottom of the table in a team where the back four have not inspired confidence all season. On another tack... people talk about the goalkeeper commanding his defence, but what if the keeper has less that 100% confidence in the people in front of him - I wonder how does that affect his decision making/kicking/punching? But then that would be unfair... no? It's a team game... we can (and do) all criticise, but I think sticking to (and discussing) the facts rather than taking one event and extrapolating that into an assessment of a player's entire season's performance seems at the very least a bit unfair. Referring to the OP, I'd be very happy with CR as a permanent appointment - despite recent results at home - he had given us some of our mojo back, offers continuity, stability and (on the evidence of today's performance) even a possibility of rekindling some pride in our team.
On the other hand he has got 4 points from the last 9, could/should of had more and has shown good performances that I have enjoyed. Bearing in mind two factors....... 1) When he took over, he had a mismatched team, low on confidence and low on points. He was thrown in at the deep end in a job many experienced managers would not have taken. 2) He has never managed a premier league team so in terms of learning how to handle and adapt in games, he was learning on the job. Unfortunately we are in a position where that luxury may end up in relegation but he was bound to make mistakes Based in the last three matches, IF his upward curve continues for the remaining games I would be happy with him in charge whatever league we're in
Also Ramsey inherited a squad that desperately needed to strengthen in jan and didn't. He has also lost two of our best players to longer term injury and his captain for three games for being a twat
Sorry. It was only meant as tongue in cheek and a poor attempt at humour. A difficult art to perform in writing on the internet.
Yes he was thrown in at the deep end with Harry's unbalanced squad. You can use stats to suit any argument you want. His overall record is P10, W2, D1, L7. In any league, against any level of opposition, that is relegation form. If we mirrored those results over a whole season, we would get less then 30 points. Before we acclaim him as the messiah, lets wait till the end of the season.
In this instance, I don't think the stats give a fair reflection of the change we've seen. This was always going to be the harder part of the season in terms of tougher games at home and our winnable games being hidden behind the seemingly insurmountable obstacle of an away game. Apart from Palace, all the losses have been narrow (a single goal I think) and we've had the typical dearth of luck that blights most relegation zone teams. Each game seems to have a unique plan (some more baffling than others to us lay supporters) rather than the one, negative tactic fits all approach. The players seem more clued up and hitherto disappointments have suddenly started looking like proper footballers. From the reports from some of the regulars too the apparent increase in effort from the players has brought an increased enjoyment. Momentum is a difficult thing to shift and a run of luck (self-made) equally so but we have a man that carries himself with quiet pride (in the club more than anything else)and dignity that has performed a fantastic turnaround that would become miraculous with survival. I would expect little more from a seasoned name compared to Ramsey. It's once again not a joke to be proud of our club and Ramsey has made that possible. I hope he stays whatever.
I said on another thread: "Of course, we all immediately loved Ramsey after the Sunderland result but I started to wonder about him after the disappointing displays against Crystal Palace and Everton. Now, after the heart-warming Chelsea display, I feel very positive again. Clearly, I should wait until the end of the season and have a few more games on which to judge him. Nevertheless, there are promising signs in terms of generally rational team selection and tactics. We could do a lot, A LOT, worse than stick with him. On one thing there is no doubt, he handles himself well in front of the press: his defence on TV yesterday of Green was excellent, even if I didn't necessarily agree with him!"
