Unless Man U let us borrow Ben Foster for a 3rd season I am thinking Aidy will stick Rich in goal (or Coco just incase Jobr is reading!). Now I think he is a good goalie who showed great improvement in the short spell replacing Ben between the sticks. HOWEVER we all know Lee does not kick too well so surely Aidy will not rely on a old up and under route one stuff from the goalie next season? If he did I do think we would get too fair as RL's kicking is too inconsistent and short. Prefer to see some passing or throwing out to the wings so our full backs or even Bouazza can use their pace to get down the line. Less chance of neckache as well! ;D
Richard lee is one who has convinced me this year. Heart & Soul into Watford plays for the badge. If Ben goes has to be number one. That performance at City was top notch. Mr Lee welcome to the first team.
in the long term, lee will be fine for us. just needs more, and more first team football. he has the right game to go far. the kicking, can be worked on. hes young, and has a lot to learn;D
The kicking has got better.... but still could be worked on i grant you. I am very impressed with how his game has come on.. was not a fan of his til this season.
I was thinking more of how his kicking is not like Foster's and if we might see a different game plan? Would not feel so confident of Lee having to boot the ball up in the air 20 times a game so rolling/passing the ball out be an option?
lee has a chip on his shoulder, and has a big point to prove. he has seen fellow youth team lads, come through, pass him bye, and win a trophy. i know he went away, but he is driven by what he has missed out on. good luck to him;D
Ben just edges it 15-12-2006, 07:26 AM #13 The Voice of Reason Thumbs up New No1 ? Well deserved, I have had a poor opinion of him in the past and I was praying that Blackburn took up thier option to buy him. Now though I have to admit I am beginning to think we may not need to bring in a new No1 when Ben goes, I think Lee could be capable of filling that slot. In fact the way he is playing right now, I would play him ahead of Ben, and I am a VERY BIG Ben fan! I POSTED THE ABOVE COMMENT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. I STILL THINK RICHARD CAN REPLACE BEN WHEN HE GOES, THOUGH I AM GLAD THAT BEN GOT HIS PLACE BACK, BECAUSE HE IS STILL SLIGHTLY BETTER THAN RICHARD
What the hell do West brom fans know about footie. Bozo has stopped Coco's development - Ben may have been a short term option for Aidy - but the long term consequences are far more damaging and Coco has lost two seasons experience. The only thing that grieves me about Ben is that IT SEEMS HE HAS TO BE PICKED IF FIT and thus has no competition. When Coco plays a blinder at old slagford and wins man of the match, Bozoz will be back next game because alex fungusface picks our keeper not Aidy.
A couple of points. I come from the same school of thought as you PYA and we should give OUR keeper more games but I think Aidy has a difficult choice here. 1. Fossie has been great these last few games and his performance on Saturday was superb. England minutes are irrelevant since Steve Macmalaka couldn't pick his arse yet alone an England goalkeeper. I think Fossie is now good enough to play for England - Robinson does not inspire confidence and the real competition is from Carson. 2. I think that there is about as much chance of Ben being here next season as there is of us staying up this season. I seriously think that he be Manure number one by the end of next season, maybe staring next season as number two. Kuszak (spelling?) here on loan / purchase? 3. Can Aidy afford to drop Fossie for Lee? What are the ramifications? - **** off Sir Alex and we get no more loan signings. I wouldn't want to cut off this supply. - Rich gets battered for the remainder of the Season and loses confidence? - Rich blossoms by playing regularly? Personally, I would continue with Ben for now - talk to Fergie explain our worry and see if we can some mileage out of the situation. With 7-8 games to go of the season, if we are definitely down, draft Rich back in.
There is another point to this - it is a huge part of a defense how well defenders and keeper communicate/interact/trust eachother. That comes with playing together for a while. If Lee is given some more matches we'll be better off next season for sure.
When Ben goes I don't think Rich will be number one for long. I am a Rich Lee fan but I just feel that Aidy isn't as keen as me. I fully expect a new keeper to be taken on in the Summer.
