Like Dejagah, Bryan's performance on Saturday provoked mixed opinions. In the video clip in the 'Dejagah' thread he features (positively) quite a number of times and in the Opta stats (posted by the Club) he also comes out strongly: "Ruiz was at the heart of many of Fulhamâs attacking moves and so itâs no surprise that the playmaker was the busiest man in a white shirt as he was involved in 75 ball events. His input was good defensively, as well as going forward â Ruiz won possession of the ball 11 times, successfully challenged for three headers and played 13 passes into the final third of the pitch." Personally I still think he should/could have done better. There were too many times when he created problems or didn't create openings by dwelling on the ball too long. There was a classic example in the second half when JAR was free on the left and the crowd was screaaming at Bryan to give him the ball but Instead Bryan cut back inside (possibly because the ball was his right, rather than his favoured left, foot) and he lost control. I think he still needs to learn that in the premiership, he doesn't have all day to pass and doesn't always have to try and pull off the most difficult pass. ln other words, sometimes 'simple is best'. Here is a link to the full Opta stats article by the Club - http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/february/05/opta-evaluation
What I've said about Ruiz is that I'd like to see him worrying the opposition defense rather than our own defense. Some of the problem is when he is deep, there should be other players willing to do one-twos with him, help him out, he is one-footed and that is always going to hinder him. But in most games he has played he has either assisted in good moves, or created opportunities for other. He reminds me of someone like Liam Brady who was one footed, but Ruiz isn't up to the same level, yet.
