Thought he had an oustanding game yesterday and his partnership with Rickie had the Sky commentators salivating! Looks well worth his fee now and seems to be getting better game by game. Was impressed with his psot match interview when he was presented with MOM. Very down to earth. I'm sure he's going to continue to improve and I'd be surprised if next season he's not knocking loudly on Hodgson's door!
No, if any saints player isn't brilliant straight away, then he is crap and should be sold straight away Joking aside, JayRod took loads of stick early on as shown recently when someone dug up the old thread. Saints fans must be patient and despite what some have said, you can be patient in th Premier League. In that very thread I said he'd come good. If the quality is there then a good coach will find a formula that will bring out the best in a player. Jay has been steadily improving with game time and will continue to do so. He has made some wrong decisions lately, like the one on one v Chelsea's and the one against Reading yesterday; on both occasions he tried to open his body up for his right foot and should have passed (Chelsea) or shot left footed (Reading). But guess what? He made a mistake/poor decision and young players will do that yet as they continue to play each game, they improve and those decisions improve. My bet is that he works on his left foot finishing this week in training. Well done Jay, you are looking one hell of a player and deserve all these current accolades. Never doubted you. Note to Saints fans: don't go too hard on a player too early.
I was one who thought that JRod wasn't quite good enough for Saints...he looked a bit lost. Also because I was annoyed at the summary loan of Sharp. Luckily, I'm not on the hiring committee.
I meant summary as in 'without warning'. Sharp was astonished. I have completely forgotten what 'summer' means....is that a weekend in July?
Weeks ago, I mentioned to my lad that Jay's head was down. He looked hangdog and lacking in confidence. At the time I said that all he needed was to slot a couple in to regain the spark and he'd be fine, as he quite clearly had the ability. Now, my ability to read stuff like this is usually awful. I'm used to my predictions making Mystic Meg look like a genius, so I'm pleased to see that for once I was right. His body language is now that of a player who has remembered he can get past defenders and score. He's started to look like a lad who can go far. Looking forward to watching it. Vin
And another thing; defenders seem to have realised that he can do it and they run a little bit scared of him, which helps. Vin
He seems a very shy lad. Took time to settle which is understandable considering the dramatic change to his life. Moving down south, moving up a level, playing out of position in a new team with a large transfer fee. Was impressed with him against Sheffield Wednesday early in the season when upfront on his own and knew he had the ability. Has something we've not had in the team for a long time and that's direct running with pace and he is not afraid to pull the trigger
Yes he's certainly not afraid to shot from anywhere. He must love playing with Rickie, some of his weighted passes yesterday were superb!
In his first 26 appearances in all comps, he took 43 shots; in his last 5, he has taken 29. Think he has found his shooting boots.
One of the things we were all saying was missing taking shots from outside the area. He will shoot rom anywhere.
The guy has so much more potential to realise. I also think we should afford Ramirez more patience, a few of us have been quick to criticise his contributions.
Gave the ball away a few times yesterday but also made some sublime passes. For me next season he could be huge!
He has genuine pace, with blistering acceleration. He has shown this in the last few games, but yesterday he had Mariappa and Morrison literally falling over themselves trying to cope with him. Him and Rickie together have become a strike force to be reckoned with, especially if we can keep Lallana fit.
My criticism of Rodriguez has generally been a criticism of his finishing. I remember one or two occasions (can't remember the specific games unfortunately) earlier in the season where he had great chances but his shots tamely looped into the keeper's arms. He's certainly improved that part of his game and is playing very well and getting goals but, as flt was saying above, there's still room for even more improvement. If you were being harsh you could argue he should have had a hat trick yesterday so if he can find that little bit extra and take those chances we're gonna have one hell of a player.
Lallana was really praising JRod up yesterday...said what a great talent he was and that now he is showing on the pitch what he has always shown on the training ground. Also mentioned that he found it hard coming here from Burnley...took time to settle.
Not completely solved it - there was one play against Chelsea where he lobbed his guy on the half way line, ran threw on goal and passed it straight to Cech. I do love Jay, though, he's brilliant, and only 23, so loads of time for him to refine his finishing.
Even Lambert did that...beautiful through ball put him one on one with the keeper..you'd have bet your house he would score. Got caught between two minds and fluffed it.
