I've been watching Rav closely........

BigAl76

BigAl76

Well-known member
I think he is starting to have a slight dip in form.
After coming back in to the side since his injury I've noticed a few errors creeping in to his game and his normally superb positioning sense has gone off a bit.
I hope it's not the start of that 2nd season syndrome that players can have after a promising 1st season.
Dont get me wrong, I would still have him in my starting 11, but if the 'slightly off' performances continue I'd looking closely at giving him some time out of the side.
Only problem is that he provides a good balance to the centre halves. Simply replacing him with Clarke would probably make the 2 centre halfs a bit unbalanced as Clarke pays on the left of centre.
 
Me and you both

fmttmboro.com

Rav Van den Berg

This happens with every young player. We go overboard when they first break in. We then start to criticise when they don't meet the inflated standards.
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Also, I bet Woody tore him a new one for his soiree into the box against Sheff Utd at 1 nil up with 5 minutes to go....!
 
I think Clarke with the left foot switch brings another dimension to our attacking play too and it could be a chance to get Doak one on one with his man even earlier as Clarke can pick a out a good old Diag. I'm sick of harping on about him tbh but Clarke should be starting for us.
 
Glover_elbow said:
He is still class and returning from injury. Lets not panic i remember gary pallister having similar dips in form as a young player. Rav will find the grove again, it would be completely mad to drop him
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Not sure it would be mad like.

Edmundsons been very good and Clarke was the top performing centre back before his recent injury.

Rav hasn't looked as good alongside Edmundson as he did alongside the aggressive Clarke.
 
BigAl76 said:
I think he is starting to have a slight dip in form.
After coming back in to the side since his injury I've noticed a few errors creeping in to his game and his normally superb positioning sense has gone off a bit.
I hope it's not the start of that 2nd season syndrome that players can have after a promising 1st season.
Dont get me wrong, I would still have him in my starting 11, but if the 'slightly off' performances continue I'd looking closely at giving him some time out of the side.
Only problem is that he provides a good balance to the centre halves. Simply replacing him with Clarke would probably make the 2 centre halfs a bit unbalanced as Clarke pays on the left of centre.
Click to expand...
Don't think it would unbalance things. Edmundson only ended up on LHS because he replaced Clarke when he got injured. He is right footed so think he would be fine replacing Rav if we felt he needed a break from the team.
 
anth25 said:
Don't think it would unbalance things. Edmundson only ended up on LHS because he replaced Clarke when he got injured. He is right footed so think he would be fine replacing Rav if we felt he needed a break from the team.
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Spot on
 
Diego said:
Not sure it would be mad like.

Edmundsons been very good and Clarke was the top performing centre back before his recent injury.

Rav hasn't looked as good alongside Edmundson as he did alongside the aggressive Clarke.
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Of course it would be mad rav has had a couple of blips but hes the best centre back by a country mile
 
Glover_elbow said:
Of course it would be mad rav is had a couple of blips but hes the best centre back by a country mile
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Not at all. I think anyone who says this is going off potential rather than what they are doing right now.

Clarke is the most aggressive defender we have. Something we lack massively in this team. He is the best defensive header of the ball at the club. He is the best long passer out of defence and he is the biggest threat in the opposition box. He has always performed well at this level and is a high quality proven championship centre back. He is also left footed which brings a natural balance.

Rav has a higher ceiling there is no doubt. But when young players go through little spells of not being at their best there is always an argument to bring them out for a couple of games.

Especially when you wouldn't be particularly weakening anything by going with Edmundson and Clarke.
 
Diego said:
Not at all. I think anyone who says this is going off potential rather than what they are doing right now.

Clarke is the most aggressive defender we have. Something we lack massively in this team. He is the best defensive header of the ball at the club. He is the best long passer out of defence and he is the biggest threat in the opposition box. He has always performed well at this level and is a high quality proven championship centre back. He is also left footed which brings a natural balance.

Rav has a higher ceiling there is no doubt. But when young players go through little spells of not being at their best there is always an argument to bring them out for a couple of games.

Especially when you wouldn't be particularly weakening anything by going with Edmundson and Clarke.
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It would be like rioch dropping pallister and playing Mowbray and Kernaghan. Absolutely insane
 
Not seen too much wrong in his game tbh, perhaps he could be a little more physical at times but he seems to okay positionally & reads the game well enough, rarely gets beat 1 on 1, wins enough headers and is decent on the ball. Edmundson on the other hand has defended very well in the past couple of games but has given the ball away loads with stray or stupid passes. I've not seen his stats but from the eye test it's slightly concerning giving our style of play. its a competitive 5 we have for the CB positions.. I'm sure they'll all have a run at some point this season and every pass, tackle & header is under the microscope.
 
BigAl76 said:
I think he is starting to have a slight dip in form.
After coming back in to the side since his injury I've noticed a few errors creeping in to his game and his normally superb positioning sense has gone off a bit.
I hope it's not the start of that 2nd season syndrome that players can have after a promising 1st season.
Dont get me wrong, I would still have him in my starting 11, but if the 'slightly off' performances continue I'd looking closely at giving him some time out of the side.
Only problem is that he provides a good balance to the centre halves. Simply replacing him with Clarke would probably make the 2 centre halfs a bit unbalanced as Clarke pays on the left of centre.
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Couldn't agree more , thought he was terrible against Watford , thought he could have done more for the 1st goal yesterday. Until his injury Clarke was our best defender this season.
 
I've nowt against Edmundson, but come on, are we really advocating playing him ahead of VdB?
Of the fit CB's, play your best players who play best together.
Clarke and VdB should start.
When Fry returns he should have to fight to dislodge Clarke.
VdB is an asset with the highest potential and needs developing. He should play but be made aware of his development areas.
 
I would say so yes. If The Fridge is playing better than Rav, I'd like to see Clarke come in for Rav but switch positions with the aforementioned Fridge.
I'm not saying we should drop him immediately. What I was saying is that I've noticed a few small errors creeping in that could indicate a spell of poor form.

Highlighted in no small way with him bombing forward at the end of the Sheff Utd game. It highlights potential poor decision making.

For the record I am Ravs number one fan - when Djksteel isnt in the starting 11 (I love that man!), so I HOPE he continues to improve and impress.
 
BigAl76 said:
I think he is starting to have a slight dip in form.
After coming back in to the side since his injury I've noticed a few errors creeping in to his game and his normally superb positioning sense has gone off a bit.
I hope it's not the start of that 2nd season syndrome that players can have after a promising 1st season.
Dont get me wrong, I would still have him in my starting 11, but if the 'slightly off' performances continue I'd looking closely at giving him some time out of the side.
Only problem is that he provides a good balance to the centre halves. Simply replacing him with Clarke would probably make the 2 centre halfs a bit unbalanced as Clarke pays on the left of centre.
Click to expand...
I think he lacks a big of aggression at times. He is coming back from injury so I'd expect a period of getting back up to pace. I would also say Clarke being alongside him does help as he is naturally more aggressive and does a lot of the dirty work VDB doesn't do (yet).
 
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