How Do You Solve a Problem Like Redmond?

[Guest]

I like Redmond, but Odidja delivered more end product in 15 minutes than Redmond did in 65. Never seems to live up to the hype.

[nutty nigel 7,536]

4 goals and 2 assists. And looks better than he did last time we were in this league. How do those 4 goals and 2 assists hold up against similar players at other clubs? I would suggest it''s not too shabby. It''s a tough league. Especially for clubs around the bottom where we have been.

 

 

[lowlyfendweller 0]

I say stick with him because he''ll come good in the long term. I also think his willingness to sign a new contract will be the biggest factor in whether he stays or goes.

Many"flair"players frustrate and lose form but I think he''ll provide some moments of magic for us later in the year if we keep him this window. So no problems here just a good young player stuggling for form. The biggest problem would be losing him before he takes it up a notch or two, as I''m sure he will.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

Massive over reaction on Redmond really. He may have dropped form a bit and he wasn''t great today, but just 5 days ago he was instrumental in dismantling villa. The space be found to cross for that first goal was top quality. I hope he continues to try things even if they don''t always come off as he''s a terrific player. Probably our most effective when on form.

[lowlyfendweller 0]

Apparently Spurs have offered 13.5 million. (Norwich City rumours). Hope this isn''t true!!

[Thecanaryfan 0]

Do you honestly believe Redmond is a problem? Jesus H.

A kick up the back side is def required. But perhaps the likes of Grabban, Olsson and Ruddy need it more?

[Crispy 4]

We have more problems than to worry about Redmond.

He wasn''t helped by the weather or Martin struggling behind him but no need to panic. He''s one of our best players but due to his age is inconsistent, allot of similarities to the way sterling used to play before it clicked for him.

Am sure he''ll come off the bench next game and prove a handful

[YankeeCanary 0]

I am a little disappointed to see a few experienced voices on here suggesting Nathan should be on his way if we can get a good price. In my opinion, from now until the end of the season, I can see  Redmond directly contributing  ( either by scoring or setting up goals for others ) to us gathering at least in the range of 10 points. If that should happen it will go a long way to ensuring we survive this season. There are a few that would have to depart before I would be prepared to sacrifice that level of contribution. 

I agree today was a bad day for him but that''s all it was. 

[Well b back 3,208]

If he would have come through our academy people would be saying he was the best thing since sliced bread.

[93vintage 16]

I think Redmond would benefit if we played better possession football. He''d thrive in that kind of environment, ie solve a bigger problem to fix a smaller one.

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

He''s definitely in a rut at the moment. Neil has improved him greatly in the year he''s been here - he developed the directness, end product, final ball and definitely his shooting ability. The past couple of months he has only shown flashes of what he''s capable of, and unfortunately when it comes to defensive responsibilities he is a passenger.I wonder whether Neil is trying to shackle him and get him to develop his ''all-round'' game - positioning, awareness, supporting his full-back - as his dip in form seems to have coincided with Neil''s public acceptance that the team in general needed to be a bit more savvy and a bit less gung-ho in its style of football. We''ve become more resilient and tougher to break down, but as a result Redmond seems to be playing ''by numbers'' and not taking on defenders in the way he can. He also spends more time back in his own half helping out defensively, but he just isn''t good enough at defending for this to be worthwhile - he''s constantly getting skinned, allowing his man goal side of him and not reading the game. If he''s going to play, he needs to be given the freedom to express himself. Once Jarvis is back fit, I''d bench Redmond for a couple of games and see if he can have more attacking impact against tiring legs. We definitely shouldn''t sell him unless we''re offered stupid money, although his contract''s up in 18 months and if he was going to sign a new one you''d expect it to be done and dusted by now...

[Ray 111]

FTW,

I’m not sure I agree that AN has improved him greatly, in any of the aspects you mention and even if he has and as you say in the last couple of months he has only shown flashes of what he is capable of and is a passenger defensively because “ he just isn''t good enough at defending for this to be worthwhile - he''s constantly getting skinned, allowing his man goal side of him and not reading the game” then I wholeheartedly agree with your view that he should be benched (as a minimum) for a couple of games and see if he can have more attacking impact against tiring legs. But, if your defensive assessment is correct, and I tend to agree it is, then what is he doing anywhere near our first team?

Crispy thought the weather didn’t help him today, again if he is that fragile, what is he doing in the first team? Crispy also mentioned Russ Martin and how NR’s game is affected by his performance. I don’t agree, I think it the other way round, RM is left a great deal to do because of the point you make re NR’s defending abilities. As I said earlier, there have been a number of occasions AN has ‘spoken’ with NR from the touchline and from what I see, NR never seems to accept the advice, appearing to say it was not his fault or he disagrees with AN, this in turn appears to cause some frustration within AN.

Nutty mentioned his 4 goals and two assists, considering the ball skills he is supposed to possess I’m not sure two assists is all that to write home about, four goals is just about acceptable, but it is as many as anyone else to be fair, although he hasn’t scored for 11 games, which adds to your argument re change of approach/tactics, but again if he can’t adapt, and all said and done he is a Premier League footballer, he should not be in the first team

Not for one moment do I believe he is a Sterling but Sterling is about 9 months younger and played about 80 games less, so what am I saying? Not too sure myself to be frank, but I ask myself the following questions;

1) Is he capable of upping his game and quickly and consistently?

2) Would one of the Murphs have done as much, indeed could they?

3) Can we afford to carry his lack of defensive abilities?

As thing stand, and I wish I didn’t, but I think my answers are, not sure, probably and no, and it is this that leads me to agreeing with you FTW, he should be benched and used solely as an impact player when the oppo are tiring or if we are offered silly money then and only then, sell. My final question, what is deemed silly money?

[yoda 0]

Redmond is one of players who although frustrating,would be missed if he was sold and besides i''m old enough to remember Louis Donowa now there was a frustrating winger !

[hogesar 9,674]

Whoever thinks Traore from Villa is better than Redmond has to be a recovering addict who''s a long way from recovery.

Traore struggles to start for villa. He is regarded as ridiculously selfish without the ability to back it up. He can beat a man but cannot cross pass nor shoot.

The problem is with the previous Liverpool interest etc people are expecting so much more from him. 4 goals and two assists. How much better is Ibe for Liverpool? A team challenging for the top 6 and expected to dominate games by the way. What about Navas for man city? Young for United? Even sterling for man city? I doubt any bar maybe sterling are far from Redmonds impact this season.

Every time he gets the ball people are shouting and screaming for him to sprint at his man. He slows it down so he can use his acceleration to get past whilst also giving time for our midfielders to get in and around the box. It doesn''t require much intelligence to work it out.

The last thing we need is one of the brightest talents we have being forced out on a ridiculously low fee like 10 million because our fans push him out completely unnecessarily.

[morty 0]

I really am not sure what peoples expectations are of Redmond. He is a player I would rather have in the team than not.There were two guys sat near me yesterday and the thing I heard them say most was "feck sake Redmond", it was like they were totally blinded to anything decent he did, and could only see the bad ( I don''t actually think he was anywhere near bad yesterday)For instance I think Redmond had a better game than Hoolahan did yesterday, but its all about opinions, eh?

[BroadstairsR 2,168]

It''s Redmond''s turn now then.

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

All about opinions indeed, Morty, but I thought Redmond was really poor yesterday. There was one outstanding reverse pass in the area to set up a chance, but so many times he either got robbed, misplaced a pass, or turned around and passed backwards (not a problem, we keep possession, but surely he should be encouraged to take people on?). Brady, on the other hand, bombed into any available space, ran at his man and tried to beat him. When Vadis came on, he skinned his man three times within ten minutes or so. Redmond has played for England many times at every level and has been playing senior football since he was 16, so I have limited sympathy for the whole ''he''s still learning'' thing. He''s an experienced first-team player, who is on a run of poor form. Far from scapegoating him, just my honest assessment of his performances in recent weeks - and the fact Neil pulled him so early yesterday implies that his patience is running out.In response to Ray''s post, I think he''s easily better than the Murphy twins (although it''ll be interesting to see how they''ve developed in their loan spells), but he''s got 18 months left on his contract and may not want to sign another one (you''d think that one had been offered by now?). Anything north of £10m should be considered if he won''t sign a contract - but if we can get him to sign, we absolutely should.

[JayNCFC 14]

As other posters have stated - there is no problem to solve with Redmond, the point is when he delivers, it is a game changing contribution, a key pass, an assist, opening up space by wreaking havoc down the wings and committing defenders. When he doesn''t have a game like that - it shows.

He is so frustrating because we see what he is capable of and when it doesn''t happen I am sure he knows as well as us, but that''s football. He is also a genuinely grounded individual when you meet him in person, I am sure his attitude is exactly what AN wants in this squad.

We should be doing everything we can to keep a hold of him - for me, a new contract for Redmond in January would be as good as any signing we are looking to make.

[vlad666 203]

Obviously as a young player, he''s going to be a bit hit or miss as he develops. The main problem for me is him daydreaming and not tracking his man back. Lost count how many times Bertrand was free yesterday. That''s something he has to improve immediately or I don''t think he''ll be in the team.

[Syteanric 1]

if Redders is following Alex Neils instructions then there is no problem.

[king canary 7,607]

Yeah Redmond wasn''t at the races yesterday but he was good against both United and Villa so think we can forgive him.

[jaemae2 0]

[quote user="hogesar"]In order to solve a problem, there has to be one.

As it is, he''s exactly what you''d expect from him. A young, up and coming winger with good control skill and pace but with that also comes up and down form and a lack of consistency.

The reality is some people expect too much from him. Ibe is starting for Liverpool but doesn''t seem to offer anything more than redmond does.[/quote]

HOLY S--- THE STUPID...

[jaemae2 0]

My favorite part of this is everyone acting like playing even barely better than average against a team that would get relegated from the Championship and even possibly League 1 (Villa) is some astounding point in Redmonds favor....

I honestly don''t hate the player, kid has talent. It''s bottom end/Championship talent, but there''s LOADS better even at that level than Redmond will EVER be. Losing him would do NOTHING to hurt this team.

[Bradwell canary 109]

The only person who can do anything about Redmond is.........Redmond!

I dearly want him to be a great player for us, but i think the problem is now between his ears. He is the only one to get more consistency in his game.

[The Great Drinkell 50]

We we could try moaning at every mis-placed pass or every time he picks the ball up and doesn''t run directly at the oppositions goal, surely that will boost his confidence.

Alternatively we could support the lad especially on his off days and trust our manager to make substitutions if he feels things need changing.

After all we have Russel Martin, John Ruddy, Steven Whittaker etc we can moan about.

[nutty nigel 7,536]

I like your style Drinks. And yesterday we had Clattenburg to moan at so there was no excuse at all....

[hogesar 9,674]

[quote user="jaemae2"][quote user="hogesar"]In order to solve a problem, there has to be one.

As it is, he''s exactly what you''d expect from him. A young, up and coming winger with good control skill and pace but with that also comes up and down form and a lack of consistency.

The reality is some people expect too much from him. Ibe is starting for Liverpool but doesn''t seem to offer anything more than redmond does.[/quote]

HOLY S--- THE STUPID...[/quote]

Yes, you are. But don''t beat yourself up over it.

[Ray 111]

hogesar,

You maintain NR is "A young, up and coming winger with good control skill and pace ......... Ibe is starting for Liverpool but doesn''t seem to offer anything more than redmond does.

I don''t agree, (I wish NR was showing me enough so I could agree) he is almost 22, so not really a youngster anymore, and whilst I agree he has some skill I''m not too sure about control, pace does depend on your definition of the word, imo he has it off the mark but not over a distance.

As far as Ibe goes, he may not offer any more than NR, but he is about 9 months younger and has played about 135 games less, so he would fall into your category of "A young, up and coming winger", whether he goes on is yet to be seen but if he is currently operating at the level of NR, which I would suggest he is, then what does that say about the development of NR over the last 9 months and/or 135 games.

I would love NR to be setting the world alight but I''m afraid at the moment I''m not seeing it, in fact possibly even the opposite, which I am extremely disappointed about but that''s life I guess.

[hogesar 9,674]

He''s played a lot of competitive games which only goes to prove, in my opinion, that he is a good player.

Nathan hasn''t played or started in every game for us but has, I think, 4 goals and 2 assists in the Premier League. That''s not a terrible start, and shows already an improvement on his previous Premier League season with us.

But the fact is Nathan is 21. That is still up and coming. Only the true elite are going to be at the mark I think you''re looking for at that age. He''s 21, I wouldn''t expect him to be at his best till he''s 25 onwards. The fact he''s 21 and commanding a place in a Premier League side that''s 15th in the Prem should be praised, not the opposite.

Could he be a top, top winger? Not sure, but he certainly has time on his side and I wouldn''t be terribly surprised to see him at a top 6 side in 4 or 5 years.

[Ray 111]

hogesar,

Not sure I agree with your phrase "commanding a place" and whilst I agree he is 21 (22 early March) he has been playing ''top flight'' football for 5 1/2 years, I agree he has scored 4 goals, but none in the last 10 or 11 games and I think 2 assists given the role he plays is nothing special, in fact Odjidja-Ofoe has as many from 13 games less!!

I sincerely hope he does improve, which is essentially what you are saying, but do we have time to wait until he is 25, he would have 9 years experience by then?

Personally I''m not sure we do, if we had unlimited resources we could afford to loan him out, but we don''t, so maybe accept a substantial offer and reinvest.