Monday 12 August 2019

Ramsdale adds confidence to Bournemouth's defence

I was pleased to see that Aaron Ramsdale won the goalkeeping competition to start the new season. He wasn't the man who I expected to be picked, and yet I welcomed Eddie Howe's confidence in him and the message that the decision that it will have given the whole squad that places can be taken from the established players if you are good enough.
Ramsdale pushes out Boruc, Begovic and Travers to take top spot.
It was a very closely kept secret who would be in goal against Sheffield United and while few fans suspected Asmir Begovic was in the running, there was not much to choose between Mark Travers, Asmir Begovic and Aaron Ramsdale. It was quite a jump for Ramsdale to make from League One to a Premier League debut, but he seemed to welcome the responsibility and did all he could to try and get a clean sheet in his first top flight game.

Ramsdale made some excellent saves from McGoldrick and Robinson in the first half and by having the early saves it helped him grow in confidence. I like the stature Ramsdale portrays in goal. He doesn't take his eyes off play and is always alert to breaks from the opposition, while his anticipation is superb. The big kicks and passing from the back are also something that I expect gave him the edge over the other keepers, but his big test now is to hold on to the shirt.

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I don't believe Bournemouth have gone through a season without making a chance in the goalkeeping position, so it is unlikely that this will suddenly change. But Ramsdale can build on his performances and look to gain a few clean sheets to put himself more firmly in the position he wants to be in, and we may find that it is Mark Travers that goes out on loan and comes back as his main competition for the place next season.


Cherry Chimes gave a post-match review of the Sheffield United game for the Demblades website. In other news, Jermain Defoe scored a hat-trick for Rangers against Hibernian in a 6-1 win.

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