David Raven

[caleyboy]

On 25/04/2016 at 0:04 AM, Hearach said:

Well if this rainy day fund exists they should dip into it again and sign Raven up

Well done to the young kids with the banner "There's only one David Raven". He came over to them at half time and they took some selfies. Gentleman. Get him signed up NOW - we need him

 

[izzy]

33 minutes ago, caleyboy said:

Well done to the young kids with the banner "There's only one David Raven". He came over to them at half time and they took some selfies. Gentleman. Get him signed up NOW - we need him

 

According to the look JH gave when asked by fan in main stand to get David Raven on I have given up any hope of him getting a new contract ....I hope I'm proved wrong !!

[PerfICT]

Sadly, chances of Raven getting a contract were probably killed tonight. At best, Hughes might have considered Raven if he was scraping the barrel and we'd got some extra cash from finishing 7th. That chance hasn't totally gone yet, but we've not half made it difficult now. Get Raven back at fullback and Meekings and Warren central defence. With Tremarco playing really well at left back, would you swap that back four with any premiership team next season? Clearly Hughes would.

[WYNESS101]

[IBM]

4 hours ago, WYNESS101 said:

And a grumpy looking steward

[ictfcsince94]

Aye, wasn't a good day for the stewards! The same one that was having bother with the young team was swearing in front of my wee girl and I had to tell him off! That was before I was even through the turnstile! 

[Northern_jaggie]

I wonder how much it would cost, over and above the boards ability to contribute, to keep David Raven for another season? Whip round? 

[ictfcsince94]

10 minutes ago, Northern_jaggie said:

I wonder how much it would cost, over and above the boards ability to contribute, to keep David Raven for another season? Whip round? 

What's the point? He's here now and Yogi won't play him...why waste a wage on a bench warmer?

maybe head round to Danny's house and break one o his legs or something? That appears to be the only way the Rave will get a look in! Disgustingly stubborn behaviour from Hughes on the Rave. Quite happy to play Vincent and Williams though. 

As someone in the crowd said on Friday..." We are not happy" 

[bigman]

Warren and Meekings were  the  best central defenders setup all last season,k why are we not playing them when our defense seems to have more holes than a sieve ? Although a supporter  of Raven I am not saying he should be there I just think we are wasting Meekings as a central defender evidence the number of silly goals we have conceeded. Team before pride I would say to Hughs.

[Renegade]

Even if Raven wasn't playing, our defence would still be stronger with the Warren-Meekings partnership restored and Horner or even Polworth at right back. That pairing last season was the best in the country. It simply has to be restored. 

I can't help but think though that Hughes is simply doing this to spite the supporters. That's not good management, in fact it's the complete opposite. 

[ictfcsince94]

3 hours ago, Renegade said:

I can't help but think though that Hughes is simply doing this to spite the supporters. That's not good management, in fact it's the complete opposite. 

Just further evidence of his narcissism!

I would jump on the Yogi-out bandwagon, but we can't afford that either! Maybe we could set up a crowdfunding page to bolster the funds (enough to keep the Rave and Storey and pack Yogi's bags) the board can deal with the rest! 

[scm1976]

Josh and Gary are our best centre halves. Danny is an accident waiting to happen and has costs us about 10 goals this year from silly errors. Cant believe he has been another contract ahead of Raven. Raven can overlap and get us up the park unlike Josh at full back. Great support for Raven on friday. Solid performer for us been treated badly.

[Tichy_Blacks_Back]

21 hours ago, scm1976 said:

Josh and Gary are our best centre halves. Danny is an accident waiting to happen and has costs us about 10 goals this year from silly errors. Cant believe he has been another contract ahead of Raven. Raven can overlap and get us up the park unlike Josh at full back. Great support for Raven on friday. Solid performer for us been treated badly.

I agree the Warren-Meekings partnership does appear to be our best - I have not seen anything else this season to suggest otherwise. We have all been focused on the fact that we need to have more depth (and quality) in our forward positions but I think with our abundance of midfield options we really need to be looking at our defensive options in more detail. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong but do we not appear to currently have a great depth in our defensive positions and I can't say I have been impressed with what I have seen of Devine or Horner this season.

[+DoofersDad]

There seems to be a consensus here that:-

a)  Josh Meekings is a better central defender than right back

b)  David Raven is a better right back than Josh Meekings

c)  Josh Meekings is a better central defender than Danny Devine

d)  Garry Warren looks a better player when playing alongside Meekings rather than Devine

and that therefore -

e)  David Raven should be playing at right back and Josh Meekings should be playing in central defence.

Having said that. it has rather slipped under people's radar that we have the 5th best defence in the league.   We may not be able to understand the reason for current selection policy but the fact remains that our defensive record is pretty decent this year.  I think some people are being a bit harsh on Danny Devine.  Sure he has made some errors, but who hasn't?  He has also done a lot of good work.  He has started in more games than any other outfield player this year and the fact is that we would not have the defensive record we have if he was as much of a bomb scare as some would have us believe.  He's an important and valuable member of our squad and it is unfortunate, to say the least, that he is being given the stick that he is in order to support the campaign to keep Dave the Rave.

The fact of the matter is that we have very little defensive cover.  Williams can play at left back but he is off to Dundee.  A back four of Raven, Meekings, Warren and Tremarco would leave only Devine and Horner as cover.  Draper and Polworth can play in defence (albeit out of position) and after that we are down to un-tested youngsters.

The bottom line is that regardless of where Meekings is better or whether Raven or Devine should start, we really need both of them in the squad.  The Board's recent statement indicated that the budget for next season is similar to last season's initial budget which, in turn, was significantly more than any previous manager has had to work with. Unless Hughes has something a bit special up he sleeve, then I cannot for the life of me see any reason why he isn't doing all he can to keep both these players at the club.  

And remember, Garry Warren is 31 and Devine only 23.  Looking to the future, a central pairing of Meekings and Devine could be a very useful central partnership for years to come.  The manager clearly wants to keep Devine at the club and I would certainly support that.  But we need Raven too.  Come on Yogi - it's a no brainer!

[bdu98196]

The above sums it up excellently, however the more time has passed and I've thought about it and seen how Raven has been out of the picture rightly or wrongly for the last few months, I do want to see more of Horner. I've been critical of him at times defensively especially when he made the 2 mistakes when we drew 2-2 with DUtd earlier in the season, but he does contribute well going forwards and gets into the box and dangerous areas. Devine while making mistakes has been overall steady, he is prone to the odd error but I do wonder if this is partly due to the changes around him, we have played Horner, Warren, Meekings, Termarco & Williams in various combinations this season and I'm not convinced that Fon Williams commands and organises the defence like Brill used to - last year Devine came in with a settled Raven, Warren, Meekings, Shinnie combo around him and I think its fair to say looked very comfortable at this level. I'm not sure of the solution going forwards as Meekings isn't the best at crossing and definitely performs much better at CB alongside Warren, but then where does Devine fit in - as above he is young and a player I think has shown enough that we should keep to try develop - perhaps having a settled configuration around him will help?

Not having enough cover around the park is a concern though and if Raven is a high earner and his salary can be better used to bring in a couple of youngsters as cover or shore up the top end of the park then its a means to an end hopefully. We do have a lot of under performing players or those brought in who haven't stepped up but these were gambles and cover for injuries - with the budget next year reverting back to 'normal' levels then trimming is inevitable - its a shame as I think Raven can do a job for the next 2 years and play at this level but Horner/Meekings/Devine are at an age where they will only get better whereas sadly Raven will inevitably fade.

I'll be disappointed to see him go but I do hope that Yogi appreciates what he has done at the club and gives him a game on Sat so the fans can show their thanks - its the least he deserves.

[Hearach]

Yogi never seems to bother about what the fans think - he hardly even acknowledges us these days. So I won't be holding my breath Wednesday or Saturday for David Raven getting on. Disgraceful.

[Kingsmills]

4 minutes ago, Hearach said:

Yogi never seems to bother about what the fans think - he hardly even acknowledges us these days. So I won't be holding my breath Wednesday or Saturday for David Raven getting on. Disgraceful.

I could easily live with him ignoring the fans or even disliking us it's the increasingly poor way he is managing the players that bothers me.

[CaleyD]

I just lol'd.

[Kingsmills]

6 hours ago, Jaggy666 said:

Heard tonight raven took a swing at hughes earlier in the season (not saying its true just that I heard) hence why he's not playing, also has anybody else heard about danny macdonald being brought in to take 1st team training?

If you are not saying it's true then please don't post it. Apart from anything else it's defamatory.

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-36248594 The need for accuracy.

[Kingsmills]

5 minutes ago, CELTIC1CALEY3 said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-36248594 The need for accuracy.

but it is accurate and not in the least defamatory to say that one of the Oystons is a convicted rapist and both are appalling custodians of the club and are rapidly running it into the ground.

[caleyboy]

11 hours ago, Jaggy666 said:

Heard tonight raven took a swing at hughes earlier in the season (not saying its true just that I heard) hence why he's not playing, also has anybody else heard about danny macdonald being brought in to take 1st team training?

I believe Danny MacDonald is back in the fold but in a "Football Development" role. For what it's worth, MO I don't think the first team would benefit from him taking training.

[Jaggy666]

Apologies for earlier post, didnt think how it sounded, i've taken it down.

[CaleyD]

Great...now it looks like I lol'd at Kingsmills, which is not true.  Well, not on this occasion. 

[Gavroche]

 

Edited May 11, 2016 by Gavroche