Thetownend.com

Ridehalgh loan set for extension
           


  LIAM Ridehalgh is set to extend his stay at Swindon Town until the end of the season.

           

http://www.thisisswindontownfc.co.uk/news/headlines/9430289.Ridehalgh_loan_set_for_extension/?ref=rss
           

Great news!

Agreed. If that's the case then happy with that. Very steady!

Excellent.  Keeping the back 5 together who have been solid will give us a great foundation to kick on in the second half of the season.

Bid please.

Really like Ridehalgh, didn't particularly think there was much wrong with Kennedy but Ridehalgh's delivery from open play is exceptional and his defending considerably more solid.

This is great news, thought we looked really weak down the left vs Rovers - we missed him dearly.

Think he's been really good for us. That back 5 (including Wes) that we have at the moment is great. Wonder if we'll put a sneaky bid in this summer if we go up?

don't think he's that much better than Kennedy but can't argue with the facts.

The fact is that as a unit, the back 5 are doing superbly well. It does not really matter about the merits of individual players, it is vital that that unit is kept together. Signing Wes permanently and getting Ridehalgh for the rest of the season will be a huge step towards automatic promotion.

Sign him up on a perm - he's fighting for his place with 2 other left backs at attacking fc

Pretty much what I was driving at.

Hopefully we do sign Wes in January and that we can keep the back five together for the vast majority of remaining games

I agree a settled back 5 contributes a lot to defensive consistency, as we have shown recently and Newcastle showed at the start of this season in the Prem.

As far as Ridehalgh is concerned though, I don't think he's been an enormous step up over Kennedy. Without Wes behind him we conceded 2 goals in the 20 minutes he was on the pitch against Hereford, and while I'd be more than happy if we keep him until the end of the season - in the interest of the aforementioned consistency of selection - I don't think he's sufficiently better than what we have to be worth pushing the boat out to sign permanently.

Down to Paolo that one. I would have picked Kennedy ahead of Cibocchi

True enough.

I think his defensive positioning is far better than Kennedy's. Kennedy does like to bomb forward, sometimes getting caught out in the process. He's no bad player but I think Ridehalgh is better.

You can see Ridehalgh is more experienced and uses the time he has to pick out Town players. Kennedy does put a good ball or two into the box but often wastes possession by pumping hopeless balls long down the line. I'd also prefer him to start though over Cibocchi who just worries me.

Completely agree.  Cibocchi also struggled to take throw ins at Rovers.