Ruiz!

[F(f)CUK]

I might be in the minority, but I am delighted to see that Ruiz was given a start in the behind closed doors friendly. The guy has talent and he should make more of it.

[nose]

Nose better to have an opinion,than no opinion at all!

i am obliged.
in fact i don't mind when people disagree with me, I am well used to it, but i expect them to say why they disagree, isn't that part of the fun of the MB.
E.G. Blingo has a different opinion re the manager but he certainly made very valid arguments when we debated and so we have a proper discussion, one or two others are just a bit more trying....

[nose]

I might be in the minority, but I am delighted to see that Ruiz was given a start in the behind closed doors friendly. The guy has talent and he should make more of it.

strangely and despite all i have said about ruiz, you might be suprised to learn I too am delighted he has been given the opportunity. I/We could be wrong, the championship as part of a younger team may just suit him perfectly. I do think people should be given a chance to show what they can do, however I still believe it won't work out but the team is hardly firing on all cylinders yet so it is right to try him and the friendly was an ideal start. then, if it goes well, the bench and if he can fnally prove himself well and good.

It's just I can't see how he will be able to change his game that much.

[ron]

Don't get too excited... Ruiz's appearance may just be another manifestation of the random events and choices that typify Magath's jumbled mind.

[dannyboi-ffc]

I wasnt a ruiz fan in the past but I have always believed he was talented, I just didnt think he had the personality and mentality to be strong enough in match day situations. He seemed to freeze, plus jol used him terribly. Im delighted he is staying, not many players out there would of come to us with the talent he has, I just hope we make the most of it.

What scares me is that ruiz isnt too different from holtby in the style of their game and felix misused holtby terribly. It will be a nightmare if ruiz ends up on the wing.

Fingers crossed but I think this is a much bigger positive than it is a negative.

[dannyboi-ffc]

Don't get too excited... Ruiz's appearance may just be another manifestation of the random events and choices that typify Magath's jumbled mind.

yep dont forget mitroglou played against that dodgy side in austria and then he was sold, so it isnt concrete ruiz will play. But with the window closed id imagine it is more than likely he will play in most games

[Forever Fulham]

I understand how the Ruiz naysayers feel the way they do.  Not without reason.  He was largely ineffective when he played under Jol and after Jol left (with the same surrounding cast remaining).  But I and other North Americans have seen him play for Costa Rica before, as well as during, the World Cup.  He's the bona fide leader of that team, and opponents try to beat him up every game.  He not only absorbs the physical punishment, he battles through it, and he is extremely effective.  Those of you who watched Costa Rica in the last World Cup saw how intense and physical each game was, how they went at Bryan.  To no avail.  The outcome of each game, as in any WC game, is momentous.  So teams play like there is no tomorrow.  There often isn't.  Do you really think he was unmarked, untouched, not roughed up, in those World Cup games?  That was the real Bryan Ruiz, the one the idiot Jol said was the player Fulham couldn't afford to lose (remember?)   What makes Bryan so special on the Costa Rican MNT (as well as the club team that preceded Fulham), but then so stifled for Fulham?  I don't know for sure, but here are my suggestions: 1. The players then around him--their age, fitness, movement off the ball, Berbatov deep, lazy Bent, no true distributor from center mid, always pinned in our own half; and 2. Jol's inability to make in-season adjustments to formations, fitness, style of play.  I believe a poster noted a few months ago that Ruiz covered more ground than any other player for us last season based on stats.  He had no one to pass to.  He had to hold on to it too long.  With Dempsey, there were link ups and effectiveness.  While we tear him down based on his ineffectiveness last season, we have to remember that he beat Italy and England.  Some of those games were a revelation.  That's the Bryan I remember.  But now we have a chance to see him shine and in the process win a lot of games, games we are losing now.  He has youth and speed and off ball movement to work with now.  He has dribblers and passers now.  He has clever hungry players on the roster.  This isn't Jol's team now.  He should be on the pitch providing the missing piece.

[Forever Fulham]

I should add that Bryan was wasted out of position on the wing last season.  But you all know that already.

[nose]

I understand how the Ruiz naysayers feel the way they do.  Not without reason.  He was largely ineffective when he played under Jol and after Jol left (with the same surrounding cast remaining).  But I and other North Americans have seen him play for Costa Rica before, as well as during, the World Cup.  He's the bona fide leader of that team, and opponents try to beat him up every game.  He not only absorbs the physical punishment, he battles through it, and he is extremely effective.  Those of you who watched Costa Rica in the last World Cup saw how intense and physical each game was, how they went at Bryan.  To no avail.  The outcome of each game, as in any WC game, is momentous.  So teams play like there is no tomorrow.  There often isn't.  Do you really think he was unmarked, untouched, not roughed up, in those World Cup games?  That was the real Bryan Ruiz, the one the idiot Jol said was the player Fulham couldn't afford to lose (remember?)   What makes Bryan so special on the Costa Rican MNT (as well as the club team that preceded Fulham), but then so stifled for Fulham?  I don't know for sure, but here are my suggestions: 1. The players then around him--their age, fitness, movement off the ball, Berbatov deep, lazy Bent, no true distributor from center mid, always pinned in our own half; and 2. Jol's inability to make in-season adjustments to formations, fitness, style of play.  I believe a poster noted a few months ago that Ruiz covered more ground than any other player for us last season based on stats.  He had no one to pass to.  He had to hold on to it too long.  With Dempsey, there were link ups and effectiveness.  While we tear him down based on his ineffectiveness last season, we have to remember that he beat Italy and England.  Some of those games were a revelation.  That's the Bryan I remember.  But now we have a chance to see him shine and in the process win a lot of games, games we are losing now.  He has youth and speed and off ball movement to work with now.  He has dribblers and passers now.  He has clever hungry players on the roster.  This isn't Jol's team now.  He should be on the pitch providing the missing piece.

i love the eloquence of your piece, and you may have read a few posts above I have said why not give him a chance but I say with all due respect that I do not recognise the potrait of the man you have painted. I too saw the world cup games and in the slower conditions with no fixed position and nobody really bothering to mark him because he is so ineffective, he got a bit of room and didn't embarass himself. he was also allowed to drift further forward because it suited costa rica.
If the world had been even slightly impressed by him, he would have left for a bigger club and in fact there has been no real desire from anyone except to get him on the cheap. we wanted to sell him now because now is the only time we are likely to recoup any of the bizarre outlay. but in truth he is not that good, i have seen him so often and he doesn't hold the ball because the players are letting him down, he holds it because he is a schoolboy style player that needs to turn three times with it before deigning to release it. as a result in england he is caught in possesion endlessly, and breaks up quick breaks from defence because he fails to make a timely early pass.

you may have seen him occasinally in america and costa rica, we saw him every week in england. the chances of him being a success are minimal.... BUT i do still say, under the new regime, give him a try, if i am wrong then it will be to the benifit of the team.

[Fernhurst]

f i am wrong then it will be to the benifit of the team.


Well said, I've watched him with increasing frustration every week under Jol but still have an underlying feeling he can benefit this seasons squad.

[Alan_C]

Ruiz is about as gifted a player that I have seen at Fulham in my forty odd years of attending.

It's sad that I can only thing of his two chipped goals and the performance in the 3:3 game away at arsenal as the means of supporting my arguement.

With players making moves for him to pass to and his natural ability he could take this league by storm. Like the youngsters being old enough if they are good enough, Bryan is comfortably able to play at a higher level than this and while we have already seen that physically it is tougher, we are raving (rightly so) about Hyndman and David, Bryan has that and more to offer. So long as he is played in the right place (not on the  wing) and those around him find space or head towards it for him to find.

[Max Headroom]

Ruiz to Russia???? Errr niet

It's a war zone

[Pluto]

I understand how the Ruiz naysayers feel the way they do.  Not without reason.  He was largely ineffective when he played under Jol and after Jol left (with the same surrounding cast remaining).  But I and other North Americans have seen him play for Costa Rica before, as well as during, the World Cup.  He's the bona fide leader of that team, and opponents try to beat him up every game.  He not only absorbs the physical punishment, he battles through it, and he is extremely effective.  Those of you who watched Costa Rica in the last World Cup saw how intense and physical each game was, how they went at Bryan.  To no avail.  The outcome of each game, as in any WC game, is momentous.  So teams play like there is no tomorrow.  There often isn't.  Do you really think he was unmarked, untouched, not roughed up, in those World Cup games?  That was the real Bryan Ruiz, the one the idiot Jol said was the player Fulham couldn't afford to lose (remember?)   What makes Bryan so special on the Costa Rican MNT (as well as the club team that preceded Fulham), but then so stifled for Fulham?  I don't know for sure, but here are my suggestions: 1. The players then around him--their age, fitness, movement off the ball, Berbatov deep, lazy Bent, no true distributor from center mid, always pinned in our own half; and 2. Jol's inability to make in-season adjustments to formations, fitness, style of play.  I believe a poster noted a few months ago that Ruiz covered more ground than any other player for us last season based on stats.  He had no one to pass to.  He had to hold on to it too long.  With Dempsey, there were link ups and effectiveness.  While we tear him down based on his ineffectiveness last season, we have to remember that he beat Italy and England.  Some of those games were a revelation.  That's the Bryan I remember.  But now we have a chance to see him shine and in the process win a lot of games, games we are losing now.  He has youth and speed and off ball movement to work with now.  He has dribblers and passers now.  He has clever hungry players on the roster.  This isn't Jol's team now.  He should be on the pitch providing the missing piece.

Great post! I agree completely.

[SouthWest6]

[love4ffc]

The man is still with us and had a good WC.  I see no reason not to play him and see whats what. 

[Holders]

I understand how the Ruiz naysayers feel the way they do.  Not without reason.  He was largely ineffective when he played under Jol and after Jol left (with the same surrounding cast remaining).  But I and other North Americans have seen him play for Costa Rica before, as well as during, the World Cup.  He's the bona fide leader of that team, and opponents try to beat him up every game.  He not only absorbs the physical punishment, he battles through it, and he is extremely effective.  Those of you who watched Costa Rica in the last World Cup saw how intense and physical each game was, how they went at Bryan.  To no avail.  The outcome of each game, as in any WC game, is momentous.  So teams play like there is no tomorrow.  There often isn't.  Do you really think he was unmarked, untouched, not roughed up, in those World Cup games?  That was the real Bryan Ruiz, the one the idiot Jol said was the player Fulham couldn't afford to lose (remember?)   What makes Bryan so special on the Costa Rican MNT (as well as the club team that preceded Fulham), but then so stifled for Fulham?  I don't know for sure, but here are my suggestions: 1. The players then around him--their age, fitness, movement off the ball, Berbatov deep, lazy Bent, no true distributor from center mid, always pinned in our own half; and 2. Jol's inability to make in-season adjustments to formations, fitness, style of play.  I believe a poster noted a few months ago that Ruiz covered more ground than any other player for us last season based on stats.  He had no one to pass to.  He had to hold on to it too long.  With Dempsey, there were link ups and effectiveness.  While we tear him down based on his ineffectiveness last season, we have to remember that he beat Italy and England.  Some of those games were a revelation.  That's the Bryan I remember.  But now we have a chance to see him shine and in the process win a lot of games, games we are losing now.  He has youth and speed and off ball movement to work with now.  He has dribblers and passers now.  He has clever hungry players on the roster.  This isn't Jol's team now.  He should be on the pitch providing the missing piece.

Great post! I agree completely.

I would love to see such a talented player play for Fulham again. My memory is long enough to remember his understanding with Dempsey that was close to telepathic and I have no doubt that FM will have analysed the reasons for his more recent lack of effectiveness.

We'll have to see if he now includes or excludes him for football- or non-football reasons. Bryan is 29 and will want to use this year as productively as possible. Playing or not (and he'll be wanting to play) he'll stay fit and I have no doubt give his best if given the chance. He'll be wanting to impress, after all.

I'd like to see how FM would play him (and have already anticipated responses that it'll be at right back).

[nose]

Ruiz is about as gifted a player that I have seen at Fulham in my forty odd years of attending.

It's sad that I can only thing of his two chipped goals and the performance in the 3:3 game away at arsenal as the means of supporting my arguement.

With players making moves for him to pass to and his natural ability he could take this league by storm. Like the youngsters being old enough if they are good enough, Bryan is comfortably able to play at a higher level than this and while we have already seen that physically it is tougher, we are raving (rightly so) about Hyndman and David, Bryan has that and more to offer. So long as he is played in the right place (not on the  wing) and those around him find space or head towards it for him to find.

whilst i cannot agree re his talent.... although he has some ability... you have absolutely made the case why not. I too can only recall two chip goals and one performance where he showed that he made the difference. i really thought the chop goals would have been a catalyst for his confidence, but it never happened.

I do recall he was very poor in the cup game V burton and more than any other single game, to me, that showed why he is a fish out of water here.

[RaySmith]

Ruiz undoubtedly has talent, and , if he wants to plays for the club and isn't about to leave, should be given a chance to fight for his place.

But I don't think he should be given automatic selection-what message does that send out to the other players in the squad?

I also think that people who say he will immediately have an enormous positive impact on the team's performance, are not necessarily right.

And where were these people when nearly everyone on these forums was slagging Ruiz off for his performances? - and, indeed, Jol's  continued selection of him was  another stick used to beat Jol for his useless management.

But I hope the people who say he will do very well for us are right, and wish him all the best what ever the future holds for him.

[epsomraver]

Ruiz undoubtedly has talent, and , if he wants to plays for the club and isn't about to leave, should be given a chance to fight for his place.

But I don't think he should be given automatic selection-what message does that send out to the other players in the squad?

I also think that people who say he will immediately have an enormous positive impact on the team's performance, are not necessarily right.

And where were these people when nearly everyone on these forums was slagging Ruiz off for his performances? - and, indeed, Jol's  continued selection of him was  another stick used to beat Jol for his useless management.

But I hope the people who say he will do very well for us are right, and wish him all the best what ever the future holds for him.

It was obvious to most that Ruiz and Berbatov could not play together, Jol chose to know better and we saw the results.I lost count of the number of times Ruiz got the ball looked to move it forward to find Berbatov in an offside position , then had to turn and get caught in possesion and the crowd got on his back for it.With runners we should see a different Bryan

[Harold Shand]

I don't think anyone doubts his talent.

It's his heart and motivation that is the worry.