High praise for Bjorn-Helge Riise over at CCN. I thought Rich was a little harsh on our little Norwegian after the CSKA Sofia game, but he’s far from the worst offender on that score. Riise’s a cracking prospect – even he would concede that he’s a long way from the finish article (maybe a little grudingly after the reported comments he made earlier in the year) and would be getting more game time if it wasn’t for the excellent recent form of Clint Dempsey.
Aside from the two goals he made, Riise brings an energy to the team. He’s got that willingness to take on a full back and beat him for pace and creativity that makes us a different proposition offensively. His delivery from set pieces is generally excellent and, if he’s patient, there could be a really bright future at Craven Cottage for the young man. It all bodes well.
well if I wanted to be harsh I’d say it was another 45 minute gem from him!
It’s the team’s malaise, of course, but in each of our Euro games he’s had very good first halves and dwindling returns after that.
That right foot was magic in the first few minutes against Roma at home too, and when we scored from his cross I wasn’t in the least bit surprised. Thing is, like Nevland, it’s hard to argue when his output is *that* good, but you would like to see more from him. You’d almost want him to work with Simon Davies, a similar player who has learnt to adapt his game a bit beyond what might come naturally to him.
Time will tell. Worst case scenario we have a plaeyr who can really, really cross the ball to come on late in games; if he ‘gets it’ next season he could be really, really good.
That’s exactly what I was driving at – this idea that he can only play for 45 minutes. That’s not his fault rather the team’s and, to a certain extent, when protecting a lead it’s down to Hodgson’s tactics.
Not sure that Riise’s the player to come on and ping in crosses late on like Beckham for England. He seems to need time to get into the game when introduced, which is understandable. I’m pretty sure he’ll develop into a very good player at this level, perhaps sooner that some think.
Oh, and a little birdy tells me, he’s been working with Digger after training, which can only be good.
yes, it is a bit much for me to expect him to rise above the team’s (lack of) momentum. And he has only really played in Europe. So we’ll see.
Oooh, really? I feel quite clever now!
Yeah, just the odd substitute appearance when the team’s been under the cosh (see West Ham away). With all your tactical insights, I’m surprised Roy hasn’t been on the phone already.