Babel - will he make it somewhere else?

[Pablo]

For those of you saying he would thrive in slower league, I disagree. His decision making is too poor imo.

I agree with DWW that he could have moderate success somewhere else but I consider "making it" to be becoming a big world star, and I sadly just can't see it happening for him wherever he goes, his attitude and intelligence just aren't up to it.

[Darth Marty]

Babel is a very good player with terrific pace! he will succeed, but first he has to play!

Hi Ryan.

Your ****.

[red g]

Hi Ryan.

Your ****.

hope to **** he is sold in the transfer window

[breffniboy]

I think Babel has really suffered because of the way Rafa has never given him a sustained run in the team, irrespective of his form, to see for once and for all if he can cut it. That's why we're debating in this thread at all, because some, myself included, don't believe he's ever got a long enough run in the side to come good. Rafa showed a similar distrust of Yossi until injuries forced his hand and Benni got a run in the side and finally began to show what he can do; there were times prior to this that Benni got a run, played well and wasn't seen in the next match, and you can imagine this sort of treatment really getting to a more immature player like Babel who is still developing and probably had his confidence damaged. He completely lacks self-belief and more often than not checks back and inside/lays off rather than going at players like we believed he could and I think Rafa's cautious keep-ball approach to the game may have caoched some of his exuberance out of him. I'm not saying the same sort of blossoming would happen with Babel as with Yossi, but it might, and if he left tomorrow, I'd never be able to truly give a definitive opinion on his time with us because he hasn't played enough.
FWIW, I think he has always showed great potential as an out-ball man up front; Babel's physical strength battling defenders and holding the ball up has always been first rate for me, almost scary how he shrugs off defenders.
Just my opinion, all this, speculative I know but my tuppence worth all the same.

[dom9]

I am actually about to go to the shop to buy a cheeseburger.

Really craving one.

[carheex]

Hi Ryan.

Your ****.

You are the Ryan Babel of punctuation!

[little dave hedgehog]

You are the Ryan Babel of punctuation!

ah, but he is the leo messi of non-punctuation.

[Mattshark]

ah, but he is the leo messi of non-punctuation.

It is ok, Carheex is the Ali Dia of posters.

[fah-q]

New York. If he can make it there, he'll make it....pause...anywhere.

[little dave hedgehog]

New York. If he can make it there, he'll make it....pause...anywhere.

it's up to him.

[Catrin]

His touch is better than he is given credit for and he has a lot of ability as an athlete. His problems are in his head as his workrate can be quite poor and he doesn't seem to have much of a football-brain. When he has space he can beat his full-back by just using his pace. When he is marked more closely defenders tend to read what he is trying to do and more often than not are able to stop him. On balance, I don't think he will up his game at his next club.