Martin Jol alluded to this in the interview after the match but I thought I'd put a thread together to get everyone's views. Ruiz has been the creative spark in the side when he's played. Is it a coincidence we haven't scored many since he's been injured. It hadn't even occurred to me before hearing the big man mention it. An interesting thought or way off the mark? I wish he wasn't out for so long! Wasn't Jol visibly relieved and happy for the 3 points last night? Phew COYW
I think he's coming good and proving himself to be a big part of our side, we were saying as much the past week. Let's hope he puts his hamstring wobbles behind him when he comes back!
As a rule I hate saying, 'I told you so' on this board, but that's exactly what I said a week or two back! Ruiz was missing in late Jan/early Feb immediately after we sold Dembele too. Our flat run then was put down to selling Moussa, but I wondered at the time if part of the problem was that we were missing Ruiz as well.
I have to agree Craving! Having been a little critical of Bryan Ruiz last season, I started to eat humble pie since the first day of this season. Last night just COULD have been a perfect night for him. It was a real pity that he got injured and then extended. Warm-up against Blackpool, then tear Wigan apart !!!!!! (forgive some arrogance just occasionally).
Just some facts and figures since Dembele left and Berba joined - * Bryan has played in 6 games (coming on as sub after 30 minutes in 2 of them) In those games Fulham scored 13 and conceded 13 goals. He has 1 goal and 2 assists. * In 4 of those matches Berba also played and Fulham scored 10 and conceded 9 goals. * In the remaining 6 games that Bryan did not play, Fulham scored 6 and conceded 5 goals. Berba has played in 5 of those games. Note: I have left out the games against West Ham and Sunderland in these stats since both games were ‘aberrations’.
According to the Fantasy Football transfer Bryan has 7 assists Duff has 5 assists Riise has 4 assists on Durham & Goff they have been trying to sell Berbatov to Spurs for us in January. So nice of them to be worried about us NOT.
I was very critical of Bryan last season but am happy to say that this year he has been brilliant and he is becoming a favourite of mine. He has become physically stronger IMO and this has given him the edge in those battles where last season he would have ended up on his backside. As for talkshite. They seem to have some sort of contract with spurs because all they ever want to do is sell our players to them. Perhaps they get a percentage cut or something.
To be honest it's a very mixed picture Bidley. The only thing that can be said with certainty is that we have never lost when both played. Unfotunately I don't have the skills to present the 'facts' as a picture, but the raw data is : In Bryan's 6 games - 1 defeat when Berba did not play (Man City at home) - 1 draw when Berba did not play (Southampton away) - 1 win (Wigan away) when he and Berba played - 3 draws (Reading away, Everton home and Arsenal away) when he and Berba played In 5 games Bryan did not play but Berba did - 2 wins (Aston Villa and Newcastle both at home) - 1 draw (Chelsea away) - 2 defeats (Stoke away and Spurs home) Game neither Bryan or Berba played - 1 win (West Brom home) EDIT: Looking at it again I suppose you could put a spin on it and say, we only lost 1 game (Man City at home) in the 6 games that Bryan played However that's probably too simplistic since, in the games Bryan played we took 7 pts from a possible 18 although 4 of the 6 games were away. In the games he didn't play we took 10 pts from a possible 18 although only 2 of the 6 games were away. Not all that conclusive really, except the one thing we all already knew - the team do best when Bryan and Berba both play.
Cheers C58. I personally think he's come on leaps and bounds and perhaps could fil the position that dembele had last season. He's definitely better going forward than backwards!
Like the Captain, I wrote about this two weeks ago after the home loss to Tottenham, a game in which both Dempsey and Dembele produced assists. The loss of Murphy, Dembele and Dempsey, (1, 2 and 3) in assists for us last year has dramatically hurt the team's ability, not just to score goals, but to actually control the game. Last year, Duff, Murphy, Dembele and Dempsey would control the midfield offensively and defensively, dictating the tempo of the game. This nearly always true at the cottage, and sometimes on the road, against all but the best teams. I think our mid four were up there with the top four or five teams in the league, particuarly in the second half of the season. The most dramatic example was last year's fixture against ManU, a game in which Dembele showed the ManU midfield how the game is supposed to be played. But with the loss of Murphy, Dembele and (to a lessor extent) Dempsey, we're reacting and not controlling the game. When Murphy and Dembele had the ball last year, you could see the team visibily relax, confident nobody could get the ball from Murphy and Dembele, which gave Dempsey, Duff and the forwards confidence to run into the gaps. There's just less confidence out there now, forcing Berbatov and forward X to come back and help out. Unfortunately, I don't see an easy solution out there for us. Middle midfielders with the quality of Murphy and Dembele are rare, and even if we can pick up someone like Huddlestone or Scotty Parker at the break, it will take months for them to jell with the rest of the team.
How so, Bidley? I'm writing about the lack of creativity we're getting from the midfield. Maybe I've strayed off target a little in that I'm not lauding Ruiz' creativity, but even if he were back tomorrow, we'd still have a problem.
Captain said that our flat run in September was put down to Dembele leaving, but Ruiz was also out which may also have been a big factor. Nobody said we didn't have a problem, either. Dembele leaving has been our biggest problem all season, but it always has been a problem and it's always been there, even when we win (which we have done, convincingly, without the three) - we have to live with what we have and not keep blaming every blip we have on those three leaving. It's not like we've had an especially torrid time since Dembele left anyway, we've been alright. But yes, a replacement is due. All I'm saying is is that we've played well and gotten good results without Murphy, Dempsey and Dembele.
Bidley's right, DR. My point was that Ruiz is now our key creative player, filling Murphy's boots albeit in a more advanced role on the pitch.
