THE Ryan Babel thread

[Shaggy]

This is already being discussed in the Babel thread.

This is the Ryan Babel thread



"They say we're young and we don't know..."

Hello?

Anyone got any bananas?

[tomasjj]

He is concerned about his World Cup place....yeah...right.
First things first lad.

[Havors]

The stupid big oaf is getting played out of position! He is most definately not a left winger!!

I think we would see a much improved player if he was to play up front or in behind torres. He is fast, strong and can strike a ball. Crossing, passing, dribbling he is crap at.

I have always thought he was a striker as he has no intelligence and the only thing he understands is shoot! shoot! shoot! must score goal! must score goal!

[kev776]

I think around £5m is a more realistic value for Babel.

What a dumb statement, we dont have 5m to spend.

[Nicey]

Kev did a funny

[Nick77]

no. drop lucas. he isnt up to it but stays in the team.

This is the one thing I cannot get my head around with Rafa. He gives Lucas chance after chance even though for the most part he hasn't looked good enough yet Babel not only gets very few chances (well a lot less than Lucas) & gets played out of position. So I can understand his frustrations to an extent...

[dww]

I really don't think Babel is played out of position. He has been a left sided forward most of his career and currently he is playing in much that role.

Lucas gets a lot of chances because he does a lot of the things Rafa asks of him. Babel doesn't and consequently gets less chances. Would be my take on the issue. But then my assessment of Lucas' worth is totally at odds with yours so there we go.

[Reece]

This is the one thing I cannot get my head around with Rafa. He gives Lucas chance after chance even though for the most part he hasn't looked good enough yet Babel not only gets very few chances (well a lot less than Lucas) & gets played out of position. So I can understand his frustrations to an extent...

Perhaps Rafa (like some posters on here) actually feels Lucas does bring something to the team, and thus he continues to play him.

Plus, there are currently multiple alternatives to Babel - Riera and Benayoun. Whereas at the moment there aren't any real alternatives to Lucas (other than dropping SG back there but that's another argument). When Aquilani is fit I don't expect to see Lucas playing every game.

[Delinquent]

The stupid big oaf is getting played out of position! He is most definately not a left winger!!

I think we would see a much improved player if he was to play up front or in behind torres. He is fast, strong and can strike a ball. Crossing, passing, dribbling he is crap at.

I have always thought he was a striker as he has no intelligence and the only thing he understands is shoot! shoot! shoot! must score goal! must score goal!

Strikers still need game intelligence. Babel wouldn't know an intelligent run if it ran him over, stopped, and reversed back over him.

He has no idea how to apply himself on a football field - when to pass, when to shoot, where to run, how to draw defenders, how to make space etc. He's absolutely clueless and at this stage of his career that's unacceptable. What's more, he's had several opportunities to show what he can do up front and largely failed to impress there either.

He can have absolutely no excuses. He came here as a wide forward in a 4-3-3 and that's largely how he's been played (albeit with the added responsibility of supporting the fullback). There is absolutely no evidence to support the theory that Babel would be transformed as a striker. He's hardly ever played there at the highest level. If he wants to play there, perhaps he could take a leaf out of (his idle) Henry's book. Henry served his apprenticeship on the left and was moved further forward on the strength of his performances. All Babel's performances have shown us thus far is that he's out of his depth at this level.

It is a common mistake to blame the manager, the tactics, the formation or whatever when a bright young prospect fails. More often than not however, it's because they just weren't good enough. See Ryan Babel.

[Delinquent]

This is the one thing I cannot get my head around with Rafa. He gives Lucas chance after chance even though for the most part he hasn't looked good enough yet Babel not only gets very few chances (well a lot less than Lucas) & gets played out of position. So I can understand his frustrations to an extent...

Everyone knows how much emphasis Rafa places on attitude and application. It's quite obvious why Lucas gets more games.

[Kenneth]

Everyone knows how much emphasis Rafa places on attitude and application. It's quite obvious why Lucas gets more games.

Hmm, not sure it is to be honest.

[tomasjj]

I'd stick Babel on the right, to be fair.
That will allow him to shield the ball better as he is very right footed, and he will become less predictable.. i.e. not cutting in 90% of the time.

[Delinquent]

Hmm, not sure it is to be honest.

Really? Why?

[Craig_H]

I'd stick Babel on the right, to be fair.
That will allow him to shield the ball better as he is very right footed, and he will become less predictable.. i.e. not cutting in 90% of the time.

So he'd go on his right foot on the OUTSIDE 90% of the time. Equally predictable

[Tee]

I would tell Babel to stop throwing his toys out of the pram, give him a big hug and tell him to go out there and destroy his opponents. He can do it, he just doesn't know it yet. Go on Rafa, tell him.