So, Ruddy for England??

[NWC 247]

PL thinks so, so who are we to argue !!!Not as good as Joe Hart in my opinion, but definately better than the likes of stockdale and carson. Must be worth a place on the bench, or a start in a friendly.

[Trent Canary 0]

Definitely. I think its not too biased to suggest he is worth a spot in the squad ahead of the likes of Carson and Stockdale.

["""""""""Ben """"""""""" 0]

Jamie Redknapp said he should at least be in the squad!

[Mervmeister 18]

Hart is far and away the best English GK. But for me Ruddy should defo be the backup GK.

[jed exodous 0]

Ruddy is defo one of the top 3 English ''keepers at present.  If we can keep a few more clean sheets, perhaps he might get a bit more recognition.  He''s come on so much in the last year/15 months, he''s a big presence at the back, and seems a lot more reliable...

[Thirsty Lizard 3,184]

Why not? He looked very inch an England keeper today.

[Bill 1,788]

Proved an awful lot of us wrongJust seems to get better by the weekSpeaks volumes for the way Lambert/scouts etc can find talent and inprove players (which is one reason for my confidence in our future)

[Somerset Canary 0]

The only other english goalkeepers to have performed consistently this season and arguably deserve a call up is Paul Robinson and Ben Foster (both of whom have now retired from international football). So agreed, must be time for Ruddy to have a shot.

[Aggy 766]

I think he has certainly got an argument for being in the squad - as has been said, Hart is going to be first choice, I imagine, for quite a while, but no reason he can''t get in the squad and pick up a cap or two here and there.

But in terms of today - I was surprised how much people are raving. There was the save from Torres'' cheeky toe prod/curler in the first half, which whilst it needed saving, was going at such a pace that you''d have expected him to save it. Then there was save from Mata at the front post which, whilst again it was decent reflexes, you''d be annoyed if he had been beaten at his front post. Other than that, the only save worthy of note was the tip wide which we got a goal kick from. Otherwise, I didn''t think he had much to do!

Don''t get me wrong there - no criticism whatsoever. Everything he had to do, he did it perfectly. I don''t think I could fault his game today whatsoever - I just didn''t think he was required to make as many "world class" saves as some people (mostly in the media) were making out!

[SWP = Poor Mans Ruel Fox!! 0]

[quote user="Aggy"]There was the save from Torres'' cheeky toe prod/curler in the first half, which whilst it needed saving, was going at such a pace that you''d have expected him to save it. [/quote]

 

Totally disagree with you there, that was a top quality save from a very clever little shot from Torres.  He would have seen it late and showed very good reactions to tip it round the post.

[Bill 1,788]

I don''t think you can judge his game onone or two good saves or notTime and time again he was off his line to block shots and collect the ballHe looks comfortable and commanding in the box - one memorable bit was where he came out and tipped the ball of a Chelsea players head

personally I would prefer that he doesn''t get involved in mickey mouse football and if there;s and fear of it he ''feigns'' injury as so many others do

[PurpleCanary 5,587]

[quote user="Aggy"]I think he has certainly got an argument for being in the squad - as has been said, Hart is going to be first choice, I imagine, for quite a while, but no reason he can''t get in the squad and pick up a cap or two here and there.

 

 But in terms of today - I was surprised how much people are raving. There was the save from Torres'' cheeky toe prod/curler in the first half, which whilst it needed saving, was going at such a pace that you''d have expected him to save it.

 

Then there was save from Mata at the front post which, whilst again it was decent reflexes, you''d be annoyed if he had been beaten at his front post. Other than that, the only save worthy of note was the tip wide which we got a goal kick from. Otherwise, I didn''t think he had much to do! Don''t get me wrong there - no criticism whatsoever. Everything he had to do, he did it perfectly. I don''t think I could fault his game today whatsoever - I just didn''t think he was required to make as many "world class" saves as some people (mostly in the media) were making out![/quote]

 

Quite true, Aggy. There was only one difficult save, and even that one would have expected him to make. Having said that, as someone who has found serious fault with Ruddy''s keeping (hi there, Ruddy Wizard...[;)]) there was one point about that save from Torres that might be significant. Just to backtrack, Ruddy''s flaws have been his lack of command of his area (which some posters say is improving) and his woeful positional sense. Both in terms of side to side and forwards and backwards. In particular, he has always tended to stay too close to his goal-line, thus opening the goal up for the attacker.

 

For that Torres shot, by contrast, he was much better positioned than usual, about four yards out, and was able to dive slightly forwards as well, so he was close to five yards out as the ball passed him. Because he had narrowed the angle like that was he was just able to get a hand to it. If he had been further back, as usual, the ball would probably have been out of reach.

 

One swallow-dive doesn''t make a winter, but if he is working on his positioning as some says he has been working on his command of the area so much the better.

 

 

[Ruddygore 0]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16559646.stm

"Ruddy pulled off several classy stops as an increasingly desperate home side battled manfully to keep out the visitors after the break.

With four of the top five meeting on Sunday, the Londoners knew they had a wonderful chance to reduce the 11-point gap on leaders Manchester City.

But Chelsea lacked urgency before half-time, and when they did step up the pace, Ruddy twice saved brilliantly from Juan Mata and also denied Ramires.

Raul Meireles also shot over while Torres squandered the game''s best opportunity when he shot wide from 10 yards following great work on the right by Jose Bosingwa.

The outstanding moment and best chance of a first half also fell to the Spaniard when he forced a superb fingertip save from Ruddy."

PC must be right, after all the BBC disagree! lol.

People must surely start to suspect that John Ruddy has personally offended PC in some way... ;)

[Canary_on_the Trent 0]

Purely because there are few quality English keepers other than Hart he has to be in the squad.

He''s still improving in my eyes & looking more assured with every game. He has all the attributes to move to the next level.

[Beauseant 0]

[quote user="PurpleCanary"]

[quote user="Aggy"]I think he has certainly got an argument for being in the squad - as has been said, Hart is going to be first choice, I imagine, for quite a while, but no reason he can''t get in the squad and pick up a cap or two here and there.

 

 But in terms of today - I was surprised how much people are raving. There was the save from Torres'' cheeky toe prod/curler in the first half, which whilst it needed saving, was going at such a pace that you''d have expected him to save it.

 

Then there was save from Mata at the front post which, whilst again it was decent reflexes, you''d be annoyed if he had been beaten at his front post. Other than that, the only save worthy of note was the tip wide which we got a goal kick from. Otherwise, I didn''t think he had much to do! Don''t get me wrong there - no criticism whatsoever. Everything he had to do, he did it perfectly. I don''t think I could fault his game today whatsoever - I just didn''t think he was required to make as many "world class" saves as some people (mostly in the media) were making out![/quote]

 

Quite true, Aggy. There was only one difficult save, and even that one would have expected him to make. Having said that, as someone who has found serious fault with Ruddy''s keeping (hi there, Ruddy Wizard...[;)]) there was one point about that save from Torres that might be significant. Just to backtrack, Ruddy''s flaws have been his lack of command of his area (which some posters say is improving) and his woeful positional sense. Both in terms of side to side and forwards and backwards. In particular, he has always tended to stay too close to his goal-line, thus opening the goal up for the attacker.

 

For that Torres shot, by contrast, he was much better positioned than usual, about four yards out, and was able to dive slightly forwards as well, so he was close to five yards out as the ball passed him. Because he had narrowed the angle like that was he was just able to get a hand to it. If he had been further back, as usual, the ball would probably have been out of reach.

 

One swallow-dive doesn''t make a winter, but if he is working on his positioning as some says he has been working on his command of the area so much the better.

 

 

[/quote]

 

Wow, could this be the beginning of PC''s conversion to the Ruddy cause?[;)][:P][:D]

I think that there have been a number of defensive improvements stemming from the thrashing at the Etihad, after which Lambert apparently went mental. We are now much more compact in defence and are getting lots of bodies round the ball, whereas earlier in the season we were tending to get strung out, resulting in defenders getting isolated.

Ruddy''s game has definitely developed and, as PC righly says, his starting position is key to this. Rather than being flat footed on his line he is now on his toes and can therefore move quickly to snuff out danger as he did on a number of occasions on Saturday. A pat on the back is due to the goalkeeping coach, I suspect.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,617]

Ruddy was excellent, and as people have said it was more his work commanding the box than the individual saves (although the first from Torres was excellent as Ruddy would have seen the ball late due to Whitbread).

 

Ruddy was out to collect countless crosses into the box and quick off his line when he needed to be - he also didn''t hit lots of pointless long balls up field but rolled the ball out allowing Norwich to keep a bit of possession.

 

It''s a shame for him that Stockdale has been given a run at Fulham recently and has been performing very well - Scott Carson is also continuing his good season in Turkey. Until one of these two has a bad run of form or picks up and injury I would imagine Ruddy will have to wait for his England call-up.

[PurpleCanary 5,587]

[quote user= "Ruddy Wizard"]

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16559646.stm "Ruddy pulled off several classy stops as an increasingly desperate home side battled manfully to keep out the visitors after the break. With four of the top five meeting on Sunday, the Londoners knew they had a wonderful chance to reduce the 11-point gap on leaders Manchester City. But Chelsea lacked urgency before half-time, and when they did step up the pace, Ruddy twice saved brilliantly from Juan Mata and also denied Ramires. Raul Meireles also shot over while Torres squandered the game''s best opportunity when he shot wide from 10 yards following great work on the right by Jose Bosingwa. The outstanding moment and best chance of a first half also fell to the Spaniard when he forced a superb fingertip save from Ruddy."

 

 PC must be right, after all the BBC disagree! lol. People must surely start to suspect that John Ruddy has personally offended PC in some way... ;)[/quote]

 

 

But, but, but...I''ve just praised him![*-)]

[PurpleCanary 5,587]

[quote user="Beauseant"][quote user="PurpleCanary"]

[quote user="Aggy"]I think he has certainly got an argument for being in the squad - as has been said, Hart is going to be first choice, I imagine, for quite a while, but no reason he can''t get in the squad and pick up a cap or two here and there.

 

 But in terms of today - I was surprised how much people are raving. There was the save from Torres'' cheeky toe prod/curler in the first half, which whilst it needed saving, was going at such a pace that you''d have expected him to save it.

 

Then there was save from Mata at the front post which, whilst again it was decent reflexes, you''d be annoyed if he had been beaten at his front post. Other than that, the only save worthy of note was the tip wide which we got a goal kick from. Otherwise, I didn''t think he had much to do! Don''t get me wrong there - no criticism whatsoever. Everything he had to do, he did it perfectly. I don''t think I could fault his game today whatsoever - I just didn''t think he was required to make as many "world class" saves as some people (mostly in the media) were making out![/quote]

 

Quite true, Aggy. There was only one difficult save, and even that one would have expected him to make. Having said that, as someone who has found serious fault with Ruddy''s keeping (hi there, Ruddy Wizard...[;)]) there was one point about that save from Torres that might be significant. Just to backtrack, Ruddy''s flaws have been his lack of command of his area (which some posters say is improving) and his woeful positional sense. Both in terms of side to side and forwards and backwards. In particular, he has always tended to stay too close to his goal-line, thus opening the goal up for the attacker.

 

For that Torres shot, by contrast, he was much better positioned than usual, about four yards out, and was able to dive slightly forwards as well, so he was close to five yards out as the ball passed him. Because he had narrowed the angle like that was he was just able to get a hand to it. If he had been further back, as usual, the ball would probably have been out of reach.

 

One swallow-dive doesn''t make a winter, but if he is working on his positioning as some says he has been working on his command of the area so much the better.

 

 

[/quote]

 

Wow, could this be the beginning of PC''s conversion to the Ruddy cause?[;)][:P][:D]

I think that there have been a number of defensive improvements stemming from the thrashing at the Etihad, after which Lambert apparently went mental. We are now much more compact in defence and are getting lots of bodies round the ball, whereas earlier in the season we were tending to get strung out, resulting in defenders getting isolated.

Ruddy''s game has definitely developed and, as PC righly says, his starting position is key to this. Rather than being flat footed on his line he is now on his toes and can therefore move quickly to snuff out danger as he did on a number of occasions on Saturday. A pat on the back is due to the goalkeeping coach, I suspect.

[/quote]

 

Just baby steps at the moment, Beau! My wine cellar will run out of decent white Burgundy before I become a total convert...[;)]

 

But seriously, if he is positioning himself better and also (you are quite right about this) being less flat-footed (as he was, for example, for Sunderland''s goal a while ago) then all to the good.

 

 

[Ruddygore 0]

Must have been my mistake PC. I was sure that you''d only begrudgingly credited JR with "There was only one difficult save, and even that one would have expected him to make."

It left me with the impression that your Granny (I hope she is still with us) could have done just as well after eating her 3 shredded wheat.

Good to know you are on the straight and narrow following some intensive re-education. lol

In all seriousness JR must have a way to go in proving his case, he is still young but a chance in the squad will be good experience and there is plenty of time for him to fully mature but I think he has ability to improve and the attitude looks there!

[Old Shuck 188]

How long has Jeff Wood been at the club-about a year?

I think he deserves a lot of credit-he and Cully working on the defenders can''t be a bad thing, we were a bit up and down with regards to the GK coach position with people coming and going which can''t help those that need that specialised coaching every day. Wood is very respected throughout the game and not just in the UK for his abilities, so a sound choice for Ruddy, Rudd, Steer and Matthews.

Rudd has needed the time-at one club and playing time-and the coaching and support that he has got here, after a stop/start and sporadic time in his career. We and he are now reaping the dividends and it is very pleasing. I would hope the ghost of Fraser Forster has, finally, been exorcised.

[Aggy 766]

Fair points about starting position pc. I am a believer that the best keepers shouldn''t have to make too many world class saves, as they are usually in a good position to make it easier for themselves from the start.

As I said in my post, I don''t think Ruddy did anything wrong, it wasn''t a criticism, more that I just didn''t think Chelsea made him work as much as some people were making out. Four or five classy saves? I saw one, possibly two, which you would expect for most half decent keepers in most games I reckon!

[Guest]

I think Ruddy has been excellent in 2012 - I can''t really think of any errors that he has made. Surprised no one has mentioned how good his his handling has been too - there as one instance against Chelsea where Ramires volleyed it early from the edge of the area. He absolutely smashed it, and it seemed to bounce just in-front of Ruddy, but he was down very quickly and caught it without spilling the ball at all. I think many other Prem keepers would have struggled to gather it, or elected to parry it.He''s been very impressive recently, and has improved hugely in my opinion.