Riise

[kopash]

awful last night. We need a more accomnplished left back. Shame we are not going for Bale but maybe Rafa thinks Insua is capable.

[Eth]

Aurelio was starting to look good at LB before injury - its a bit harsh on Riise though - has had a decent season in my opinion - very dependable

[Johnny H]

Bale would be a gamble, and a £10m one at that. Good player, great potential, but I think a fit Aurelio is better.
Insua is only 17 and not ready for regular first team footy.

[kopash]

Aurelio was starting to look good at LB before injury - its a bit harsh on Riise though - has had a decent season in my opinion - very dependable

Decent yes. But perhaps we need more? Or maybe it's more down to the lack of decent left winger?

That said, not sure he is good enough defensively and I would have thought in the years he has been at the club he would have improved his right foot by now (Barca goal apart! )

[Pacman]

Aurelio was starting to look good at LB before injury - its a bit harsh on Riise though - has had a decent season in my opinion - very dependable

Agree with that

[Zapater]

Riise is a player i really like, just because I'm so used to seeing him around here, not the greatest, pretty average infact but I like him. I would be sad to see him go but if he did it'd be justified.

Aurelio imo is a very good player and it seemed everytime he was starting to settle and play some good stuff he got injured. I'd like to give Aurelio a good shot once his fit and if he can maintain fitness I'm sure he'll be the answer to our left back problems. His game against Arsenal was spectacular.

[Harv]

i must say i was dissapointed with him.

When you look over and Jankulovski is marauding down their left delivering quality crosses....i was a tad jealous.

Our full backs really need to be upgraded, in an attacking sense. Finnan is as solid as they get. But he just doesnt overlap.
Ive been saying it all along. Our central players are forced wide due to our fullbacks simply not overlapping enough.

It needs to be sorted asap

[Dutte]

Riise's got one real quality, a good shot. Other than that he's not good enough. He's got decent enough pace and overall good physical ability, and he's always giving 100%, but he's techinque is pretty much non-existing. His only option going forward is to play the ball ahead of him and the defender and then try to outpace him, and that very rarely works. His right leg is absolutely rubbish (yes, I saw the Barcelona match). And back techincal ability defending is not good enough either, he's simply unable to keep track on offensive players' twists and turns and is not to difficult to get past. Yesterday he was our worst player by miles. He's good at sending text messages though.

Did I mention that he's not very well liked in Norway

[brikkis]

awful last night. We need a more accomnplished left back. Shame we are not going for Bale but maybe Rafa thinks Insua is capable.

**** sake he had a bad game and now we should get rid of him? He has done well imo since Rafa took over.

[BrooklynRed]

[QUOTE=Harveybirdman;467059
Our full backs really need to be upgraded, in an attacking sense. Finnan is as solid as they get. But he just doesnt overlap.
Ive been saying it all along. Our central players are forced wide due to our fullbacks simply not overlapping enough.

It needs to be sorted asap[/QUOTE]

Hmm. For me, the issue is Pennant and Zenden; Several times Finnan or Riise could have made an overlapping run and been played into space, but instead Pennant/Zenden kept the ball at his own feet and attacked the flank on his own. With neither Pennant nor Zenden being great defensive players (and because they are moving into such advanced positions) you better believe I want Finnan and Riise back just a little further to cover their asses when the move on the wing breaks down. I don't think our full backs are the problem; For me, its the fact that our wingers don't get enough dangerous balls into the penalty area. The reason our central players are going wide is because (Pennant yesterday aside), we aren't beating people on the wings and they are supporting the advanced play of the wingers. It makes no sense to have Finnan running into the corner with Pennant (and bringing his man with him into such a tight space) when he can lag back, show for the ball for support, and be on cover when the break starts the other way. My two cents are that Riise and Finnan are solid; I don't want my goals all coming from full backs anyway! Instead, we need to improve our wing play in the midfield. Our Defensive prowess is terrific; if we were putting more goals in the net, we'd be unbeatable.

[Darth Marty]

I think Riise is good enough, i really do, his overall game is up there with the best of them, just consistency lets him down, that said i cant think of a left back id prefer as he gives his all and is nothing but committed. And hes a good left sided player, make no mistake, we are all very harsh on him but what cover does he have from left mid?? not ****ing much.

[badpiggy]

riise gave the ball away so often last night - worse than garcia on a distracted day.

[Parm]

i must say i was dissapointed with him.

When you look over and Jankulovski is marauding down their left delivering quality crosses....i was a tad jealous.

Our full backs really need to be upgraded, in an attacking sense. Finnan is as solid as they get. But he just doesnt overlap.
Ive been saying it all along. Our central players are forced wide due to our fullbacks simply not overlapping enough.

It needs to be sorted asap

Jankulovski was **** last night, he was no where. I thought if we had a top notch rw then we could have exploited the gaps he left. Instead JP and Finnan did their best but couldnt conjure up a cros between them

[lfcruleus]

Ive always thought he was bloody awful, Pedersen is supposed to be a match of the day player, Riise is the ultimate MOTD player. Scores great goals 2/3 times a year, positionally bloody awful, no real dribbling skill or tackilng skill. not bad in the air. Terrible goal celebrations and hes a ginger.

[Marky]

He's a fantastic player. Nuff said.