If i'm honest, i slated Richie all if last season; saw him trying hard, but his final ball was infuriating and some defensive lapses (such as conceding that penalty against Leeds) drove me nuts! And when Thorny made him first choice CB i groaned; he ain't a big lad after all!!
However, aside from the academy kids and Sammy, i would hand on heart say that Keogh has been our player of the year so far!! His timing has improved tenfold in my eyes, and he has been a rare bright spot in a horrible start to the season. Keep it up Rich, lord knows we're gonna need a steady defence this year....
I must admit, i wasnt keen on him playing CB. However, i think Thorn has made a wise move here. I didnt go Palace but he was apparently outstanding, as has he been in the games I have seen him.
I still rate him as a RB. Shame we cant clone him and have him in both positions!
Keogh was superb again yesterday, and by all accounts he was motm against Palace. He is winning everything in the air, and looks very comfortable bringing the ball out from the back. Excellent move by AT to put him at centre back, and lets hope Keogh continues to improve as he has done
Keogh was superb again yesterday, and by all accounts he was motm against Palace. He is winning everything in the air, and looks very comfortable bringing the ball out from the back. Excellent move by AT to put him at centre back, and lets hope Keogh continues to improve as he has done
I like him and Cranie but surely when fit BT is a cert for one of those berths and what happens then? Would be harsh for either to miss out, especially when RK is so comfortable at right back.
He was my player of the season last season. Perhaps needs to concentrate on his distribution a bit more, especially now we're playing the AT passing game. Didn't realise he's only 24, so plenty of time to improve. I think he started off as a centre back at Carlisle.
Will be difficult to decide when Turner is back. However when it comes to the current CB's id say Keough has played better there than Crainie and I was one of the doubters when Keough moved to CB.
I've always thought Keogh was an accident waiting to happen. This strecthes back to when he gave away that ridiculous penalty at home to Leeds last season, he just didn't need to dive in, in the box like that, utter stupidity. I also thought he was very average overrall last season.
However in the last 2 games he has had solid 7/10 or possibly 8/10 matches and looked a lot more solid. Its when he keeps things simple that he is a good player. When he tries turning a striker or dribbling past a couple of opposition players, thats when it looks like he could get caught out and put us in the brown stuff. If he cuts that out, he's a capable Championship defender. However I still think the best CB we could have, would be Cranie and Turner, both would compliment each other very well as a CB partnership.
I also think Cranie doesn't get enough credit from Cov fans. Comfortable on the ball and a fantastic reader of the game. Former U-21 international who if it weren't for injuries, I'd suspect would've been able to play at a higher level than us. I think alongside Clingan he is, footballing technical wise, our best player. Especially in his natural position of CB. Its a shame he is so versatile as it meant he spent a couple of seasons not playing in his actual position.
I was the same as the OP in regards to Richard Keogh when he first came. No-one could doubt his enthusiasm, but I kept seeing him get caught out of position and his distribution has poor. However, like a few, I am now a big fan of his. He does look comfortable at centre half and his distribution and concentration appears to have improved ten-fold. Though saying that, I would still like to see him shifted back to right-back when/if Ben Turner returns, as I see Cranie/Turner as our best centre-back partnership. I think they would work really well together. In the meantime, I have no issues with RK playing CB.
Crainie does look more comfortable beside Turner imo. Turner seems to bring the best out of our CB's as he brought the best out of Cameron last season (who ironically lost his place around the same time as Turner got injured??). Crainie doesnt look as confident as much of the time next to Keough imo, probably the reason im glad Keough plays here.
Saying this, i like Crainie at CB as he does save us a few points a season. Aslong as hes not in midfield (where he is awful) im happy