There is no doubt that Gaston Ramirez is extremely talented, but is the way that Saints play suited to that talent.

Gaston Ramirez has played in most of the games since joining the club back in August, out of a possible 20 games he has started 15 and come on as sub in 3, the first of those off the bench being his debut at the Emirates, but although in some games he has been magnificent, in others such as our last two games at Manchester United and Wigan, he has been taken off at half time, indeed he rarely finishes a game that he starts.

So the big question has to be is Ramirez a player that in many respects is a luxury that Saints cannot afford in many games, on Saturday he was inneffective and lets be blunt if there is a selection of away games that he should be able to shine in then Wigan would be one of them.

There almost seems to be no middle ground with Gaston, he is either brilliant or a passenger which suggests that the problem isnt the player himself but the way Saints set themselves up to play against various teams, in the position that he seems to be preferred in ie in the hole behind the lone striker it will always be a case of who the opposition is and indeed where the game is home or away, in some games its not about guile its graft and when you are a play maker, sometimes you dont get many opportunities to make the play, so you have to take them while you can, the Premier league is a squad game and the danger is that sometimes you play players when you really shouldnt.

At home Gaston usually has more time so is able to not only conserve his energy a little but he has more time on the ball to pick his passes, but its not only about picking passes its about hitting a pass that creates a chance, Ramirez is the man we have in the side to do that, but if we are on the back foot you might as well play Steven Davis as he is as good as anyone in getting the ball and moving it out wide quickly, we dont play Gaston to do that though we play him to create.

So Gaston Ramirez is an enigma at Saints and needs to make that jump from being a player that turns it on sporadically to one who contributes week in week out no matter who the opposition, if he doesnt then perhaps the new manager might not consider him to be the automatic choice that he has been so far, playing him at Old Trafford was always going to be a gamble, it didnt pay off and we looked a better side second half with him not in it, that was perhaps understandable, but what wan't was his display at Wigan, where again we looked better balanced after his departure.

I have often stated that for a side in Saints position, ie one that needs to graft to drag themselves clear of relegation that players like Ramirez and Lallana are luxuries and to play them in the same team in most away games and indeed probably home games against teams above 8th in the table is a risk, the last two games have shown that if we are to have one luxury then the man that should be is Adam Lallana on current form.

So for now Gaston Ramirez remains an enigma, a player that we should really have bought at the start of our second season in the premier if we were still there rather than one who not used to English football is put into a team that even now clearly doesnt have quite the right balance, hopefully in the next few weeks we will pull ourselves clear of relegation and then we can start building for next season, one that Ramirez could well come of age in if he is still at the club, but for now we still remain too close to the bottom three for comfort, undoubtably we would be in a better position now if we had spent the money splashed out on our marque player on a defender or two and a genuine winger, having done that and got a balanced side we could have pushed the boat out for the likes of Gaston, but you have to walk before you can run and our transfer policy clearly hasnt reflected that this season.

We will find out in the coming weeks what Mariccio Pochettino's preferences are, will they include starting Gaston Ramirez ?            

Photo: Action Images

StSaint added 11:41 - Feb 4 Bloody hell - give the kid a chance. He's 22, doesn't speak the language and never played in England before. It might be a couple of years before we see the best of him - don't expect miracles straight away. Sometimes you come out with some real tosh. Let him find his feet and make a call at the end of next season as to whether he is right for us.
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SaintNick added 11:51 - Feb 4 So we can afford to shell out £12 million and a reported £50k a week on wages and wait a season or two then ? take a look at the league table we are three points out of the relegation zone, I didnt slag him off I merely pointed out why it wasnt working for him, will you still have the same opinions if we are relegated
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SaintJez added 12:12 - Feb 4 Ramirez has the technical ability and physical attributes to be exceptional but for now, it's just not quite working. On the ball, I'd actually like him to do less - which seems like a strange thing to say - but far too often he seems to want to do the impossible. A 1 in 20 pass, an unlikely dribble past a crowd of players, a first time strike when composure is called for. He could learn a lot from the way Lallana has changed his game in recent years to make better decisions on the ball and therefore contribute more to the team. Yes - his skills and ability are what sets him apart from most other players but at the moment, he is more wasteful than match winner. I do agree that he's just a young guy, in unfamilar surroundings and it's his desire to show he's a top class player that is actually hampering him. MP needs to sit him down and focus him on doing the basics right time and time again. As a footballer, any time you give the ball away you should be annoyed with yourself and strive not to let it happen again. No doubt the best is yet to come for Gaston and I hope we see it at SMS.

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simmo400 added 12:20 - Feb 4 Fitness seems to be his downfall. If he is fit he is effective. After an hour hes crashed an burned and needs to go off. For 22 years old his fitness is a joke i think.
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SaintNick added 12:26 - Feb 4 Fitness does seem to be an issue, but someone his age should be able to cope and we have had him here training for five months or so now
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StSaint added 12:35 - Feb 4 I believe that he will be worth the money. I would rather we invested in promising youth than bang average older players with "premier league experience". What I'm saying is give him a reasonable chance. 18 appearances is way too early to judge. RVP took about 3 seasons to really fire!
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saintpedro added 12:38 - Feb 4 Good article. It's an issue all Saints fans have been debating. He's inconsistent at the moment, but let's give him more time and judge him at the end of the season. After all, it's taken Jay Rod time to play at his best consistently.
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thingummy added 12:53 - Feb 4 It's a tricky one .... If AL had got injured this year, we are way short of the talent required to unlock a defence. If AL on form, another mercurial player is a luxury, especially away from home. He is 22, and clearly struggling, but he has got real potential. I am not sure we can ever rely on developing that kind of talent ... and we couldn't afford him if his potential was fulfilled The same could be said for Jay Rodriguez ..... if SRL got injured how would we score enough goals to stay up. I am not sure he would score if SRL was injured but he has got great work rate and his touch is improving. The question remains whether he has the finishing skills to be a top striker ... but I remember it took a certain Alan Shearer a bit of time to find his feet at the top level Your article is certainly fair enough given how poor we look at the back while we spent all the money on the 2 positions covering our best players

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PatfromPoole added 13:07 - Feb 4 Sell.
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schatfield added 14:24 - Feb 4 how do you solve a problem like Ramirez (sung in dick van dyke speak)....mmmm...its a tricky one. Can be great at home, awful away, and never lasts more than an hour. Personally I prefer Lallanna in his position every time, but they wont drop Ramirez for the kind of money we paid for him regardless.
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trotsky added 14:39 - Feb 4 Contrary to the perceived wisdom, I'd say Ramirez's best performances - the opening hour at QPR, the should-have-won Swansea game and most obviously the second-half demolition of Aston Villa - have all come when playing with Lallana, supporting Lambert up front. He's certainly gone downhill with Lallana's injury and Rodriguez being back in favour, so it is the system and playing with a like-minded creative spirit in Lallana that brings out the best in him. I'd suggest playing the two of them isn't a luxury when Cork and Schneiderlin are up to their usual standards, and we look a lot more attractive / less workmanlike with both of them included.

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simmo400 added 15:07 - Feb 4 Play him when he learns to control the ball and shoot on target. At !2,000,000 he should know where to goal is blindfolded. The miss saturday was a joke.
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TheWestStand added 15:19 - Feb 4 Good article - am an expat now so only watching the games on TV albeit with Terry Paine in support! I really hope that Ramirez continues to get games as he and Lallana are our "WOW-factor" players in much the same way that MLT and before him Stevie Williams / Ossie would do something out of the ordinary to bring you to your feet and lodge in the memory. On recent evidence taking him off and bringing Davis on appears to have absolutely turned us around 100% in the second half but it seems he is suffering most of all from the new high-tempo pressing game that MP has introduced where high fitness and stamina are paramount....his fitness needs to improve. (I wonder how MLT would have coped in this environment?!!) The "sell" comment above is ludicrous in my view - he may not be the man to keep us up this season but I sense that with his confidence managed (bond with the Latin America manager?) and specialist conditioning - he could be the nearest we get to the new MLT next season.

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sandy added 16:09 - Feb 4 Agree with StSaint. A lot of fans expect players from other leagues to enter the prem and continue on the same kind of form or talent they were spotted for. Unfortunately history shows us this not always the case. Sure, some players do arrive and are very quick to adapt, but some very good foreign players, such as RVP do take at a season at the very least to take to the British style of game. A bit of patience needed I reckon. However, St Nick, you're point is a good one as the question is not som much his ability but where and how to play him. Think I'm with trotsky in that I think he seemed to play well alongside Lallana before he was injured.

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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 17:07 - Feb 4 Give him time. Once he's fully fit and has adjusted to the pace of the Premiership then he'll start to shine. Poche needs to pick and choose when and how to play him. I'm sure he'll get it right and Ram will come good sooner rather than later.
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landsdownsaint added 17:56 - Feb 4 Great article again and one a lot of Saints have been discussing,but I think we've got to keep the faith with him because his a very special talent , earlier in the season Fonte compared his ability with Ronaldo but he did give a hint about his attitude towards his fitness! But I love him on the park because he gives me the impression at some point he's just going to explode on PL

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ElSanto added 18:22 - Feb 4 I think he has a lot of talent, but I'm worried about his ability to be patient and be mentally strong. His performances paint an ominous picture, in my opinion. I still think he believes he's better than Southampton.
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sidsaint added 19:03 - Feb 4 I'm sure MP recognises his talent. He's also pulled him off early maybe because of fitness or not fitting in with his tactics, or because of his terrible miss at Wigan If MP is the great coach we all believe him to be he has got to get the best out of him by using his talents for the benefit of the team and by making him a team player.
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ExiledSupporter added 14:01 - Feb 5 Agree with St. Nick...probably the wrong player at the wrong time and at too high a price (given other more urgent priorities at that time and still very apparent) I rate Steve Davis more highly than Gaston, not because he has more potential and exciting talent - because he hasn't, but because he does a better job for the team given its precarious position and has a good engine. Strongly feel, as I have consistently, argued in the past that Cork, Schneiderlein and Davis together represent our most resilient midfield. Gaston plays with his head up and has the ability to play a superb pass into the channels, but does not contribute sufficiently or consistently at present. Again we are having this sort of debate because our transfer policy has been flawed over the last couple of seasons with some good players brought in (Clyne, Davis, Cork and Rodriguez) but some who fall below the standard required. Some of the decisions show that there is a disconnect between players bought and formations used. I put this down to 'interference' from Cortese because I sense that Adkins was as uninvolved in the recruitment of Ramires and Mayuka as he clearly was in the selection of Forren. The real question is what sort of input will MP be allowed to make to this once his honeymoon is over (of course two draws and a defeat in three games might already be considered a sackable offence by the Chairman!) I think we should all monitor carefully statements made about MP's role ie. whether he is really the first team coach and not the person who decides on transfer priorities which I think was the case eventually with Nigel Adkins. For instance will he be allowed to drop GR to the bench or is the player too much the selection of Cortese?

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stmichael added 14:51 - Feb 6 Modern day football eh. Gone are the days when a player was given time to settle in. I am happy for GR to make a minimal contribution this year and then after settling in bang next season. However we all want it now dont we. Same with JROD. Ricardo Fuller did ok at Stoke did he not but we practically ridiculed the bloke when he was with us. Not me , I knew what he could have done for us if he had been given the time but in the end we gave him away. Patience people patience

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