I wonder how opinions have changed since I posted this? That potential is a hell of a lot closer to realisation isn't it?
I refer you to my earlier answer..... sometimes fans don't have the correct understanding of the game to read or see a player's ability. My next word will be "Ramirez".
Adkins couldn't get the best out of Jay...he played him out wide and he looked like a little boy lost. He also had to contend with the fact that he cost a decent amount of money and displaced a fan favourite Billy Sharp. Lambert is the more versatile player....makes sense for him to go on forays and leave JRod centrally where his speed and skill will get us the goals. Rickie seems okay with it and says that Jay is happiest as the central striker. These apparently small decisions by Mauricio are making a hell of a difference.
Bulk up?? Mick Channon never 'bulked up'. Looked a bit bambi-ish in his younger days, preferred his right foot, saved his best headers for when heading for goal, had a turn of speed. I'd like Jay R to develop in the Channon mould rather than the Beattie mould. It would fit his physique and his natural talents..
Liverpool `Bulked` up Owen so he could `impose` himself and (the thinking went) to help stop the injurys. Although Owen was fantastic, I always think we could have seen more from him, he lost a bit little speed being heavier therefore he lost feet/inches in runs before he got caught.
That's an interesting comparison: JayRod to Channon. I'd never thought of that, yet now I see there is something to consider there, especially the way Jay has started marauding down the wing.
This bloke. Looks pretty useful if you ask me. [video=youtube;0c3-ycbYe5k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c3-ycbYe5k[/video] Sorry about the sound quality.
If Jay can improve his finishing up to Beattie's standard, he'll be a better player than Beattie. And for me, with my Beattie man-love, that is saying something. For me, him and Morgan have improved the most under Poch. (Not that Morgan was exactly poor before hand!!)
Credit for being consistent and persistent. However, I think the team has a better shape when Davis plays. Ramirez might have skill but right now doesn't fit into the team that well. Now, I know you like to argue that the rest of the team aren't good enough for him but if that is the case then he needs to adapt.
I've always been a big fan of Jay's (he was my pick on the "He could do a job for us" thread a couple of years ago), so I was delighted when we signed him. There is no doubt that he is now playing in a role that uses his talent in the best way and he is always a threat with his direct, pacy run through the centre, which frightens the life out of oppo defences. Working with Rickie, he can't fail to improve his technique, composure and finishing and I believe that he will become one of the top English strikers in the next few years.....As my signature says.."For the future"
James Beattie was a bit one dimensional really. Great running into the box and muscling his way on to the end of crosses, and he could strike a ball as well as anyone. But he turned slower than the Queen Mary II, had the acceleration of a Ford Sierra, and the touch of a rhino. Jay has a lot more to his game than that. And doesn't "bulk up" mean get fat? Rickie's looking pretty slender these days.
I think that's a very harsh memory of James Beattie. He became an established Premier League striker, who made the most of his skills. Truthfully, you could call him the bustling Centre Forward [like lazy pundits say of Lambert], but he was way better than most at doing that job. Hugely better than Holt, for example. And he could turn opponents, and he had pace, and he would run down loose chances. That was his game. Certainly not one-dimensional.
I didn't mean to totally denigrate the guy. Nothing wrong was an old fashioned centre forward, and he scored some great goals for us. But you make him sound like Alan Shearer, and he wasn't in that class. He wasn't even in Emile Heskey's class. And Beattie wasn't that quick, he needed a god run to get his speed up. Jay Rodriguez on the other hand has real pace, by which I mean he can change gear quickly, he has balance, touch and vision. More dimensions, in other words.
Despite my admiration for Gaston's ability, I thought we should have started with Davis last week also; certainly the right selection yesterday. Ps. You make me sound like I keep harping on about the same things ....
