Ben Davies

Very avergage for me. He doesn't lead and he doesn't inspire confidence that when the ball is put in the mixer he is going to be putting his body on the line to stop it going in the net.

I think it's fair to say if Goldson was out the team that defence would be coughing up loads of goals.
 
TheEgg said:
I like Dabies and think he’ll have a good career with us

But I also think folk are unrealistic of what you get for £4m these days due to us signing guys like de boer, numan etc for similar fees.

In todays market £4m gets you a Davies, as simple as that
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We’re better off sticking with Bosmans in that case.

£3-4m for a 27 year old is crazy for a club with our finances, especially if it’s seen as a gamble.
 
We've not seen enough yet for people to fully form opinions but can already see how it's going to go. We need a ball playing centre half for our style of play, but any time we drop points he's going to get slaughtered for not being aggressive/shouting enough/ having whatever "dig" is, and people will be complaining about letting Balogun go.
 
Le Capitan said:
Davies' defending at the goal was pretty poor but I've not seen widespread criticism of him.

On the contrary, I think he has looked good and I think the Goldson-Davies partnership has the potential to be our best pairing for many years.
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Other than Goldson/Helander, there isn’t much in the way of competition in the last 12 years.
 
russelgw said:
Davies steps up to catch them offside which doesn't get flagged in todays weird rules, so hes already having to turn and catch a player in full stride.

What i don't like is that the original player who was offside now gets back in behind Davies and what can he do
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I think that a mistake on his part, to be honest.
He has to know that the only player who can be offside is the one receiving the pass.
After the Rashford decision, that’s the only interpretation you should make.
 
Tagsbear said:
Erm, he did his part, he played the striker offside, Barisic was sleeping for the goal, not Davies.
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Barisic played him offside as well though - but you play until the whistle (basic law of the game for any level) and both of them stopped.

Davies then jogs back and never once looks like actually busting a gut to mark the man in the box.

Both badly at fault.
 
I don't think our limited funds should be spent on the central defence as Goldson and Davies are decent. The goalkeeper and full backs are a different story.
 
No thrills defender. Nothing amazing about him but seems fairly dependable. Certainly our best option with Goldson & definitely needs a Goldson type next to him i.e. a leader. His distribution is decent.

He got completely lost at the goal, but that was because Barisic stopped & he got caught in no mans land. He was never going to have the pace to recover because he doesn't have any pace.
 
I think he has made a solid contribution since returning with injury, gives a nice balance to Goldson. He isn't the strongest in the air and have seen a few teams try to target this (Fletcher of DUtd) but on the whole we look much better with him and CG together. Davies has good distribution and likes a fwd pass also.

On a slightly separate note, Barisic was clearly at fault at the goal and Davies and McGregor also share some blame. I noticed McGregor torching Barisic for it (rightly so) but there is a hint of hypocrisy about it given that Mijovski scored earlier (disallowed) and it looked like McGregor didn't even try to save it (hands down, turned his body away to avoid taking it in the face) and that was before any flag was raised or whistle blown for offside. Just as bad as Barisic's f-up 25mins later but lucky it didn't cost us
 
Most of the blame goes to Barisic for the goal, although I thought Davies' positioning was poor for it.

Overall though, I think he's looked really good. Comfortable on the ball and a good all-round defender.
 
I think he’s looked pretty solid so far but with room for improvement. I think he’d benefit from having a better defender to the left side of him but with Barisic being asked to bomb on it can make it difficult for the CB’s when the ball gets turned over quickly.
 
ScotiaPapac said:
We’re better off sticking with Bosmans in that case.

£3-4m for a 27 year old is crazy for a club with our finances, especially if it’s seen as a gamble.
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I wouldn't imagine he was seen as a gamble.

He is as close to an absolute banker starting player we can get who will be our CB for the next 4 years.

27 is nothing like old either
 
Isje 931 said:
W


I don't whatsoever agree with this

Davies actually enters the box with two players. He can't mark both so does what he should and position himself where he has the best chance of stopping the ball. If he goes central the forward had the rub front and back.

It's basic defending for a centre back
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We’ll agree to disagree bud.
 
tazzabear said:
I think that a mistake on his part, to be honest.
He has to know that the only player who can be offside is the one receiving the pass.
After the Rashford decision, that’s the only interpretation you should make.
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The ball was clearly intended for Miovski though.
 
Tino_Col said:
So he neither marked the striker or went to the ball to close it down. He was also shocking at the disallowed goal where he backed off the guy and didn't even put himself between the goal and striker.

If you don't think Davies has any responsibility from the goal from this position then...ok.

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The strikers position at this moment in the picture is irrelevant as Davies had stepped up and played him a couple yards offside. The danger man in this image is Kennedy who barisic let run past him as he was sleeping
 
I just don't see what others do yes fairly good on the ball and can step out from the back when required but he isn't physical or strong against attackers especially when going for the ball in the air and he's a player who can definitely be got at.

I'm still 50/50 on him he just looks bang average imo.
 
Isje 931 said:
Am I missing something but why do people not rate him?

The goal yesterday was all on barisic.

Personally think him and CG are building a very positive relationship and gives us a fantastic foundation moving forward. No doubt in my mind they need a better GK Infront of them and a better defensive midfielder but so far so good.

Is it more people want him to be a failure so they can stick the boot in on his signing?
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I don’t think many people don’t rate him but he was certainly partially culpable for the goal.
If Barisic is to blame for not reacting to the Aberdeen player running past him to run onto the ball then Davies does the exact same with the goalscorer.
There is a case for saying McGregor also responsible doing what is now the usual and staying on his line.
However I do have a comment on Davies which is perhaps one to reserve judgement.
I’ve rarely seen a centre back who fails to get his head on the ball so often at set pieces.
Never seems to win a header from a defensive corner or even an attacking corner.
In mentioning that critique he is very comfortable on the ball and is a good foil for Goldson.
 
Tino_Col said:
So he neither marked the striker or went to the ball to close it down. He was also shocking at the disallowed goal where he backed off the guy and didn't even put himself between the goal and striker.

If you don't think Davies has any responsibility from the goal from this position then...ok.

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McLaughlin would have came to clear it, McGregor started, thought about it, then stopped which didn't help the situation either.
 
Davies is doing pretty well overall, in my opinion.

But I think a wider discussion is needed, as mentioned by others - what level of player do you expect for £4m? It seems many are judging him against their idea of what a £4m defender should look like.

And in the world of football these days, many players seemingly worth that sort of money won't be close to good enough for us. I'd argue more often than not that'll be the case, in truth.
 
I think Davies is very similar to Helander in that he reads the game very well and uses this to get in the right positions. He does not slide in and go through players, but he mops things up or intercepts crosses.

Helander was better in the air, but Davies is slightly quicker and is better with the ball at his feet. I have been impressed with some of his long range passing
 
I thought he looked a bit nervy at times yesterday although in the main I've been generally impressed with him.

I think the more game time him and Goldson get together can only benefit us.

I would however be looking to bring in another centre back who's a bit more aggressive in both boxes.
 
Scooby said:
I think Davies is very similar to Helander in that he reads the game very well and uses this to get in the right positions. He does not slide in and go through players, but he mops things up or intercepts crosses.

Helander was better in the air, but Davies is slightly quicker and is better with the ball at his feet. I have been impressed with some of his long range passing
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Goldson and Helander are far superior and better defenders than Davies that's how I see it.

To have only one real dominant CB is asking for trouble imo especially in our league with the long ball merchants.

Even yesterday we were so vulnerable at set pieces I can't see anything changing especially with our goalkeeper a weak link and our two full backs getting regularly caught out aswell.

Having Goldson back has been massive for us.
 
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He's alright.
£4m is f88k all in the grand scheme of things these days. Gets you an entry level player adequate enough for our league.
 
DarthVader said:
He reminds me of Danny Wilson.
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I can see this comparison.
He’s not very aggressive and sometimes his attempts at clearing the ball only put us in more danger.
That said, I do think he reads the game well which means he usually intercepts well and his passing is good especially finding runners through midfield rather than the long over the tops where Goldson excels.

I think they can build a decent partnership if he stays fit but I’d like to see him work on being more aggressive.
 
I think he’s got a bit of Tillman about him, in as much as a lot of people wrote him off early doors and are doubling down now that he’s looking a bit better and settling in.

That goal yesterday was on Barisic for me, he’s a laughable defender right now and I can’t wait for Yilmaz to get back. One of our several slightly older players who peaked two years ago and are now only going one way.

Davies is an excellent defender and the longer he plays alongside Goldson, the better they’ll become.
 
Pepe Silvia said:
Can’t get my head round people blaming him and McGregor for the first goal at all. Barasic is sleeping so much that it basically becomes a two on one, the best players in the world would struggle to defend those situations. Not sure what else he could do.

McGregor could maybe have been a yard or two further off his line but even then I’m not sure what difference it would have done, the damage was already done by Borna sleeping
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Barisic was at fault. Davies and McGregor did nothing to recover the situation or even try to pressure the scorer (McGregor Particularly).

Another goal lost with the keeper absolutely rooted to the spot and having done nothing to try to avoid a goal. No pressure on him whatsoever. Not saying he maybe wouldn't still have scored but I'm sick of guys getting 'free passes' from our back four and keeper.

Davies is a good player for our level but at fault partly yesterday.
 
Pepe Silvia said:
Can’t get my head round people blaming him and McGregor for the first goal at all. Barasic is sleeping so much that it basically becomes a two on one, the best players in the world would struggle to defend those situations. Not sure what else he could do.

McGregor could maybe have been a yard or two further off his line but even then I’m not sure what difference it would have done, the damage was already done by Borna sleeping
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All three of them were to blame, most of it is on Borna though.

Once Barasic had caught up a bit, Davies should have moved back centrally to cover the only player the ball was going to.

There was only one place the ball was going and McGregor should have been off his line and collecting the ball. He stood on his line and didn't even attempt a dive when the boy hit it.
 
I really like him. No defender is perfect but he has shown enough quality. Calm on the ball and reads the game very well. Forming a good partnership with Goldson.
 
Isje 931 said:
Am I missing something but why do people not rate him?

The goal yesterday was all on barisic.

Personally think him and CG are building a very positive relationship and gives us a fantastic foundation moving forward. No doubt in my mind they need a better GK Infront of them and a better defensive midfielder but so far so good.

Is it more people want him to be a failure so they can stick the boot in on his signing?
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Why would they need a better GK in FRONT of them?
 
So far so good for me.

Yesterday if you watch closely, he shouts at Borna to go with Kennedy (which Borna doesn't do initially). Davies goes towards the initial danger man and gets a bit caught between him and the scorer as Borna starts tracking. He's trying to do 2 jobs because Borna is being Borna. Not Davies's fault. He might have done better but the blame lies 99% with Borna.
 
Le Capitan said:
Davies' defending at the goal was pretty poor but I've not seen widespread criticism of him.

On the contrary, I think he has looked good and I think the Goldson-Davies partnership has the potential to be our best pairing for many years.
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Both on long deals so it is a good foundation to build the team on. Now to sort out goalkeeper and the midfield
 
FFGR1972 said:
He is a bit too weak, too small for a CB and damit some people have decided that and by f*ck that is what they will look for even if what happens on the green thing doesn't validate it.

Class act of a CB, him and Goldson are pissing it as a pair
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Yeah, needs to toughen up at times, seems a bit easy to battle against.
 
Gazzabear v2.0 said:
I think he is fine generally and balances well with Goldson. But he was looking at play develop, stopped himself at what he thought was offside, never shouted to Borna until it was too late that someone was making late run, then got caught between helping shut down cross or cover middle and done neither. So he has to take a share of blame yesterday.
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agree I think he is fine

Which is lucky given
Hellander
Souter
King
are next in line though appreciate King is only young and will get better.
 
I’ve not seen enough to think he’s anything more than decent, there’s been nothing in any games where I’ve thought he’s been a stand out. Maybe that’s because he’s doing his job very well and it should not look like that, but when goals keep getting shipped like yesterday then he and the rest need to do better!
 
Pepe Silvia said:
Can’t get my head round people blaming him and McGregor for the first goal at all. Barasic is sleeping so much that it basically becomes a two on one, the best players in the world would struggle to defend those situations. Not sure what else he could do.

McGregor could maybe have been a yard or two further off his line but even then I’m not sure what difference it would have done, the damage was already done by Borna sleeping
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Totally agree Barasic completely to blame
 
He’s slow.

That said, he deserves time to sharpen up due to his stop start season thus far.
However, I fear that he won’t improve by that much. He’s reasonable and that’s about it.

In truth, a reflection of where Rangers are and the club’s level of ambition.
 
Think he looks a solid player, good on the ball as well. For the majority of teams we play against in Scotland, I think he is exactly what we need at the back for keeping control of the ball and starting fresh attacks
 
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