Great idea SeBass it is! I always referred to Eliot and Ryan as Ebenno and RyBen to a mate. Seemed fair.
Maybe we should just do the whole squad that way? Alne sounds like a teenage skin complaint Dimbo our blonde striker Wehoo celebrating already Majar the cockney army officer
I tried - with all my might, to find some to add to SeaBass (patent pending) but failed dismally. Along comes Rob, my knight in shining armour
I agree pretty much with Rob. I've previously defended Ruddy not because he's played particular well, but because 1) He's one of our few players who performed well last time we were in the PL 2) Because until now our defence and in particular our CB pairing (Martin / Bassong) has been so poor and left him very exposed. With the improvement in our defence since Bennett & Wisdom have come in his confidence and consequently his level of performance should start to improve. If it doesn't then Rudd should be given a chance, it's just a question of when. I'm not sure it would be a good idea to give Rudd his first start away to Man U or Tottenham. So in my mind Watford is a key game for Ruddy. If he doesn't come up with the goods then I think I would start Rudd against Everton.
I've not seen Declan play for a while, but if we rewind 18 months, I would have described him as a good shot stopper, whose all round game was a touch weaker. Ruddy may not have had the pure shot-stopping ability of the better keepers in the League, but he was solid and commanded his box well. Now though, are those real strengths of Ruddy any longer? He flaps at crosses, his kicking is a shadow of what he was, and his decision making is questionable at times. If I was to indulge in amateur psychology, I'd say his injury has had an effect on how well he can kick, and that damaged his confidence. That and a dip in his performance in aerial duels has led to some worry for his place, and in trying to impress and therefore redeem himself, he's second guessing decisions and thats leading to even more mistakes. For me, you take him out of the firing line and get him working on his mental game. But thats only possible if Rudd can step up. Rudd's loan at Preston pitched him into a physical league where shot stopping alone won't get you by. But he still appears to have thrived. Arguably, the PL requires less of this side of a keepers game than the lower leagues. More quality shots come from outside of the box, and there's less reliance on long balls and crosses. You can get away a little more with being more of a shot stopper. Rudd has looked good in the League cup, and I genuinely cannot remember the last time Ruddy put in a match winning or MOTM performance. Meanwhile at Rotherham the opposition manager was full of praise for Rudd. To me, he gets a chance before the Carrow Road crowd get on Ruddy's back even more, as that'll be more damaging to the team as a whole. Rudd would come in with people prepared to be patient with him. Even if he makes a mistake every game, is that any worse than Ruddy right now?
Spot on, DH It's in everyone's best interests when the guy is clearly going through a hard time - and his 'understudy' is busting a gut to show what he can bring to the party.
It's a BIG call fro AN to make - perhaps even bigger than starting with LG yesterday. We'll have to wait and see!!!!
I hate to say it but yes, maybe now is the right time to give Rudd a go though it does pain me to say it. JR has been brilliant for us in the past and hopefully will be again but for the last season and a half, it hasn't been his best time. It goes back pretty much to when chelski were sniffing around and I have wondered if that period may have had an impact on a subliminal level?
Speaking to an Arsenal fan mate at work this morning and he was asking how bad our back-up keepers must be for Ruddy to keep getting picked week, after week. And he wasn't just basing this on Sunday's game, he reckons he's spotted him as a massive weak link for a while and can't believe how he is still our #1
While I understand some kind of loyalty from AN to JR, I can't help but feel that if he persists with him, it is going to come back and bite him on the bum. Not being quite good enough to survive a season in the PL is one thing but to have a player who is sadly too inconsistent in such a key role making the task just that bit harder, is another.
Ruddy in the past used to knock out Drogba - his command of the area was immense. On Sunday he was throwing air punches and air catches - one of his attempts to come for a claim looked like he'd never played in goal before, such was the uncertainty.
