UnRavelling the Ravel Mystery

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guancheblade

guancheblade

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As Ravel is consistently not even making the bench for games, clearly he's not able to slot into the midfield system we've deployed so successfully this year. Perhaps when we signed him there was a big question mark over how things might pan out over the course of the first few games and if we ever needed to change the midfield approach then Ravel might have been more in the reckoning. His attitude right now could well be A* but as things stand he won't get a sniff, especially when we've shelved out big money for those ahead of him on the bench.

So I have a suggestion...

Before we completely write the lad off, perhaps there's an other area of the pitch where we might be able to deploy him without disrupting the current setup. Considering how unsettled we've been up top, with numerous combinations to varying degrees of success, one thing I think we can all agree on is that McGoldrick would appear to be CW's first choice striker in his linking/floating role, a decision I believe most fans would agree with. However we saw recently what happened when he was unavailable for a few games - we kept rotating strikers and struggled to find the onion bag.

This is where Ravel could step in.

He was developed by Manchester United as a centre forward. We saw first hand how devastating a forward he can be and his talent for finding the net when he destroyed our defence at Old Trafford in the FA Youth Cup Final. Although since he's been playing more of a midfield role, perhaps his skills are better suited to the role Didsy currently plays? Both players have buckets of flair, like to float into spaces in the opposition half, run with the ball and have a pop at goal as and when required. In fact Ravel might edge Didsy in that last department! So why not develop him as an understudy? There's no way he could fit into our midfield but it could be short sighted to let his talents go completely to waste by not considering him at all in any other area.

I'm curious to see what others think about this.
 

I've literally never seen him play more than about 12 minutes live. Doubt anyone else has seen much more.

Nobody knows, but it's not promising so far
 
Ravel won’t play again for us I reckon he’ll go to the championship on loan in January.

We’ll never know how good he is/could have been
Don’t think it’s down to his attitude or lack of there’s just too many players in front of him to play in midfield he’s well down the pecking order
 
super_pig said:
when Wilder thinks he is ready and he's earned it he will play. simple as .. it's the ready and earned it that seems to be the sticking point
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CWAK will be looking at ways they could get more out of him, no chance of getting in present set up.
Still time for him to come good ,his ability is not in doubt but he's not a physical player and maybe his work rate falls short.
 
Given CWAK's (incredible) track record in getting the most out of players who've fallen by the wayside/have unfulfilled potential, he was well worth a punt (it's a given that he won't be on silly money: probably appearance bonuses and the like).

Looks, at the moment, like it hasn't worked out.

It could be that he's not up to the work ethic required, but it could also be that he's tearing it up in training, champing at the bit to get out and show what he can do, but the way we are playing at the moment might not be suited to his strengths. For now the system suits Lundstram but not Ravel. Maybe that will change. Time will tell.
 
No one truly knows what his attitude is like around the squad other than the players, the coaching staff and wilder.

I saw him in a few pictures the club uploaded of the first team training so it can't be bad or he wouldn't be there.

As it stands he's only one injury away from being on the bench.
 
In the two cup matches I saw him in he looked pretty average although for some reason I cant figure got MOTM in the Blackburn game.
 
Taking Ravel on was always going to be a gamble given his record. If anyone can turn him round it is CWAK. He showed no real signs of being anything like in the Blackburn Carabao Cup game I saw (did not see Sunderland). My guess is it hasn't worked out otherwise he would at least be on the bench. Apart from his much publicised personality problems, he hasn't really played top class regular football for 6 or 7 years and that must have a bearing. Hope i'm wrong and he makes a dramatic entry in the second half of the season.
 
super_pig said:
when Wilder thinks he is ready and he's earned it he will play. simple as .. it's the ready and earned it that seems to be the sticking point
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Yep, Wilder mentioned this pre match last week.

Thread closed
 
Jeez, start a thread and watch as everyone ignores the content and sees nothing but the headline...

There are many midfield players ahead of Ravel in the pecking order for a variety of reasons. But we don't have a like for like alternate option for McGoldrick. But we seem to play better when Didsy is in the team. So what happens when he's injured/suspended? Do we change the style of play? (as we did earlier in the season to little effect) Or do we put someone in that might already suit that particular role? Because I look at the squad and there's nobody else that fits the bill.
 

guancheblade said:
Jeez, start a thread and watch as everyone ignores the content and sees nothing but the headline...

There are many midfield players ahead of Ravel in the pecking order for a variety of reasons. But we don't have a like for like alternate option for McGoldrick. But we seem to play better when Didsy is in the team. So what happens when he's injured/suspended? Do we change the style of play? (as we did earlier in the season to little effect) Or do we put someone in that might already suit that particular role? Because I look at the squad and there's nobody else that fits the bill.
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Think didzy would be swapper for a sriker not a midfielder.

Freeman deserves a start more than ravel don’t see ravel getting a chance unless we get loads of injuries
 
FallowfieldBlade said:
Think didzy would be swapper for a sriker not a midfielder.

Freeman deserves a start more than ravel don’t see ravel getting a chance unless we get loads of injuries
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Morrison has a history as a striker though, Freeman does not. You play a flat 3 and start Freeman, we'd effectively be playing with a lone forward.
 
guancheblade said:
Morrison has a history as a striker though, Freeman does not. You play a flat 3 and start Freeman, we'd effectively be playing with a lone forward.
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True but I think morrisons played more in a fiat 3 recently think he was brought in to compete with fleck and Norwood .

In a flat three freeman is 4th choice and ravel can’t even get in the squad
 
Ferguson did him no Favours bulling him up as a kid , Ravel has done nowt for years , neither have Diego or George Hirst etc. iFthe staff get him playing well great but so far he has been poor .
 
The simple question is who would drop out of the matchday squad to fit Ravel in? And right now, I don't think there's a clear answer. There's no pressure to play him and there's no need to shoehorn him into a side that's doing well enough without him.

I can't say I'm at all worried about it. Things are looking good for us and he was a great gamble when we signed him. There's plenty of time to find out whether it pays off or not.
 
guancheblade said:
He was developed by Manchester United as a centre forward. We saw first hand how devastating a forward he can be and his talent for finding the net when he destroyed our defence at Old Trafford in the FA Youth Cup Final. Although since he's been playing more of a midfield role, perhaps his skills are better suited to the role Didsy currently plays? Both players have buckets of flair, like to float into spaces in the opposition half, run with the ball and have a pop at goal as and when required. In fact Ravel might edge Didsy in that last department! So why not develop him as an understudy? There's no way he could fit into our midfield but it could be short sighted to let his talents go completely to waste by not considering him at all in any other area.
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Just strikes me as another attempt to shoehorn the guy into a team that simply doesn't need him. Where's the actual evidence he could play that deep-lying forward role? A youth game eight years ago?

We all want the guy to succeed but the answer to that is for him to show the proper application and attitude in training and take his chances when they come along. Not a magic bullet like this.
 
dc_blade said:
Just strikes me as another attempt to shoehorn the guy into a team that simply doesn't need him. Where's the actual evidence he could play that deep-lying forward role? A youth game eight years ago?

We all want the guy to succeed but the answer to that is for him to show the proper application and attitude in training and take his chances when they come along. Not a magic bullet like this.
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Ben Osborn didn't make the 18 at the weekend. Is he also not showing the proper application and attitude in training?

Whilst ever CW is playing it safe in midfield, Luke Freeman will never start, and Ravel won't make the bench. But if we ever run into a problem with McGoldrick we might just have a solution by way of a change in personnel that won't alter the system.
 
guancheblade said:
Ben Osborn didn't make the 18 at the weekend. Is he also not showing the proper application and attitude in training?
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I have no idea--but no one is posting threads calling for Osborn to be given a game in goal!
 
I don’t mind watching this kid but at his age he should know what he needs to achieve for him to get in the team. My issue is all the Instagram and twitter followers who wilt under his every sad emoji when he’s not been picked (not saying op is that person).

We batter Robinson and McBurnie most games but seem to crave some one who hasn’t cut it at the top level in years. Bit random
 
dc_blade said:
I have no idea--but no one is posting threads calling for Osborn to be given a game in goal!
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Cos the difference between playing attacking mid and deep lying forward is the same as goalkeeper and left side midfield... grow up

Eza Blade said:
We batter Robinson and McBurnie most games but seem to crave some one who hasn’t cut it at the top level in years. Bit random
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But they're given chances and don't produce so why shouldn't we wonder if somebody else in the squad could do a job? We won't know until he's played in the first team for longer than it takes to boil an egg and take a dump.

I'm not suggesting he starts and someone drops out. I'm just wondering whether there could be a place for him but in a slightly different position. And maybe keep him on the bench instead of someone like Callum Robinson.
 
I would guess that the issues probably revolve around the his workrate and ability at the defensive side of the game. The only reason to sign him would be to have him on the bench to bring on with 5-10 left when we're behind. He was never going to play regularly. The fact he's not even doing that speaks volumes to me.
 
YouFUMS said:
Ravel is not playing because he's not good enough to break into the squad...simple as!
Calum Robinson is.
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Robinson hasn't shown enough for me been poor actually just cause Cris picks him doesn't mean he's the best player for that position we are allowed an opinion are we not
 

Morrison will never start a league match for us.

He's just another Ricky Holmes/Ben Woodburn.
 
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