Aaron Ramsdale

[OTF 10527]

4 minutes ago, Meenzer said:

 

Even if Trafford is a side-step, he's a 10 years younger than Pope side-step, so that's not bad.

Just reading "Pope side-step" makes me nervous.

[SoHelpMeGod 241]

Ramsdale has got to be our keeper for the rest of the season. Already looks better than Pope right now, who I'd say we need to move on in the summer. Shame, but that's football and he's just not good enough. Ideally, we'll look for a younger upgrade in the summer to start in goal and maybe a strong backup as well, but the latter is just a personal preference. 

 

Think we need to build from the back in the summer - GK and LB are what we should be looking for first IMO, then cover up front and anywhere else. Hopefully, we'll have the financial space to do it. 

[Rayvin 8292]

Interview with Howe today suggests are are going to go straight back to Pope IMO. "Best shot stopper I've ever worked with".

[Gemmill 62966]

It does kind of make sense to stick with the player we actually own, and not prioritise the loanee that will cost us over £20m to sign in the summer. 

 

Also none of us know what these lads look like in training. It might well be that the GK coaches are telling Howe that Pope is his number one. 

[Craig 12319]

12 minutes ago, SoHelpMeGod said:

Ramsdale has got to be our keeper for the rest of the season. Already looks better than Pope right now, who I'd say we need to move on in the summer. Shame, but that's football and he's just not good enough. Ideally, we'll look for a younger upgrade in the summer to start in goal and maybe a strong backup as well, but the latter is just a personal preference. 

 

Think we need to build from the back in the summer - GK and LB are what we should be looking for first IMO, then cover up front and anywhere else. Hopefully, we'll have the financial space to do it. 

He's played one game where the opposition didn't turn up. Let's not run away with things just yet. 

We continue to monitor the situation on a match by match basis and react accordingly. As others have said, Pope is the better technical goalkeeper, but he needed to have a break - for his own confidence if nothing else. 

[Toonpack 15504]

Clery's done a piece on twitter (no video) about Pope/Ramsdale, not on there myself but seen couple of screenshots on bluesky (link below) if anyone wants to have a neb at full piece if you're on twittler these days.

 

https://bsky.app/profile/greyeyemagpie.bsky.social/post/3m6wgwrk7f223

 

 

[Kid Dynamite 9298]

2 hours ago, Gemmill said:

It does kind of make sense to stick with the player we actually own, and not prioritise the loanee that will cost us over £20m to sign in the summer. 

 

Also none of us know what these lads look like in training. It might well be that the GK coaches are telling Howe that Pope is his number one. 

Might as well have stuck with Dubravka as a backup with that logic.
 

If Ramsdale is felt to be better for the team then I don't care whether we own him or whether he's on loan. The best player should start.

[Holden McGroin 9861]

I think the consensus on here when we signed him was that he was better than Dubs, therefore we have better strength in depth.

 

He is also loan which also brings up doubts as to whether he'll even be here next season.

 

[Craig 12319]

Ramsdale is definitely a better option than Dubravka, and has age on his side. 

Playing regular first team football was more priority for Dubravka than it is for Ramsdale as well given it's WC year and almost certainly Dubravka's last international tournament.

[Kid Dynamite 9298]

What was clear from the Summer was that we wanted an upgrade on Pope. You don't chuck £30+ at the youngest GK in the league to play second fiddle. We were also in for the young Spanish lad that ended up at Barcelona. Pope might be the best shot stopper Howe has ever worked with, but a blind man on a galloping horse can see his passing is amongst the worst in the league and he's prone to stupid mistakes.
 

When we couldn't get Trafford we moved on to Ramsdale, who we have been consistently linked with for a couple of seasons. I think we've paid a few million for a loan fee which isn't pocket change. Stands to reason that he was brought in as at least competition for Pope if not as his short term replacement

[Craig 12319]

Competition, and cover. It was clear Dubravka didn't want to play second fiddle so we needed a solution for cover with Chaka Demus also departing and them not wanting to rely solely on Ruddy. 

Trafford and Garcia were clearly options we were looking at, but neither of them came to fruition - at that point we were looking specifically for cover, not necessarily competition.

[sammynb 4167]

On Dubravka, he's having an otustanding season in a team that is a fraction of what he was playing behind here. He's kept Burnley in games that they haven't deserved to still be competitive in.
Good luck to him but it is funny watching him, Sels and Darlo, all our cast offs, having decent seasons. Even Woodman ending up at the bin dippers, albeit as 3rd choice.

Back on topic, I hope we don't go back in for Trafford and they pull another one from behind the sofa that is a suprising shock and first choice from the off.

[toonotl 4649]

11 hours ago, Gemmill said:

Also none of us know what these lads look like in training. It might well be that the GK coaches are telling Howe that Pope is his number one. 

 

This seems a pretty common sentiment but I don't see how it matters in this circumstance. The problem isn't ability (which shows in training over the course of thousands of repetitions) but correct decision making under pressure (which shows very slightly in training, of course, but overwhelming matters more in the high pressure moments of a match). We can all see Pope's consistently making terrible decisions under pressure. He basically looks like his nerves are shot. I know, Gemmers, that you're not disagreeing that he needed to be taken out of the team for this very reason, so fair fucks. I'm not arguing with you here. It's this notion that I'm taking issue with that coaches see something we don't in this situation. I call bullshit, not because they don't in general, but because I think it is almost irrelevant in this particular circumstance.

 

I think Howe is being slightly stubborn on this one. I'm just some idiot but whatever, I'd be starting Ramsdale and letting him know it's his spot to lose now because he's earned a chance at it. If he responds to the pressure and does better then so be it. Personally, I actually really like Ramsdale as a keeper. I think he was harshly pushed out at Arsenal by Legoheed's preference for that Spanish flapper from Brentford. I know fuck all, but I think Ramsdale's confidence did take a knock from that situation and then perhaps also even more so afterwards. This is a chance for him to take on a similar contest for the #1 and win it. Arguably, Pope has responded to Ramsdale coming in much worse than Ramsdale ever did to the situation at Arsenal.