The curious case of Raul Jimenez

[Lambert09]

I find his case a bizarre one. A truly elite striker who looked like he could play for any club in the world and not look out of place. 
 

A freak accident and his ability has all but disappeared.  I understand when this happens to someone with an ACL or relied on pace and had consistent muscle injuries. But Jimenez was never about pace, he just had elite technical ability. 

 

I can’t fathom how you lose that after a head injury. Is it purely mental?  Imagine if vardy cracked his head open at 29, I can’t imagine for a second that he would forget how to score. 

 

To be in a place where he can’t nail down a spot in a fulham side with no strikers is just bizarre to me. I can’t remember the last time he scored anything other than a tap-in. 

 

Interested in @TheBear’s thoughts on this. 

 

I remember suggesting he’d go to spurs for 20m when nuno went there and him laughing at me… you’d have snapped my hand off now. 

 

Such a sad story.

[westernpark]

He’ll probably score against Wolves tonight. In all honesty it’s very sad, he was one of the best strikers outside the top 6.

[spacemunky]

Didn't realize he was at Fulham, til now.

[Tommy G]

Don't think it's thats curious, didnt the doctors say it was a miracle he survived let alone play football again. Same goes for Ryan Mason who had similar. In simple terms the brain controls the rest of the body, if it's in any way damaged like his he won't play at the same level again, hence his struggles. 

[Lambert09]

25 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Don't think it's thats curious, didnt the doctors say it was a miracle he survived let alone play football again. Same goes for Ryan Mason who had similar. In simple terms the brain controls the rest of the body, if it's in any way damaged like his he won't play at the same level again, hence his struggles. 

Is his brain actually damaged by it? I didn’t realise that. Poor lad should just retire if that’s the case 

[Tommy G]

Just now, Lambert09 said:

Is his brain actually damaged by it? I didn’t realise that. Poor lad should just retire if that’s the case 

I don't know whether its classed as brain damage but the fact he nearly pegged it would suggest he's not up for top flight fotball anymore.

 

Presume he is picking up a healthy wage so just retireing is probably not an option for him and his circumstances.  

[Super_horns]

Probably has a total lack of confidence now since the injury as he was very strong/physical with good aerial ability .

[jammie82uk]

1 hour ago, Lambert09 said:

I find his case a bizarre one. A truly elite striker who looked like he could play for any club in the world and not look out of place. 
 

A freak accident and his ability has all but disappeared.  I understand when this happens to someone with an ACL or relied on pace and had consistent muscle injuries. But Jimenez was never about pace, he just had elite technical ability. 

 

I can’t fathom how you lose that after a head injury. Is it purely mental?  Imagine if vardy cracked his head open at 29, I can’t imagine for a second that he would forget how to score. 

 

To be in a place where he can’t nail down a spot in a fulham side with no strikers is just bizarre to me. I can’t remember the last time he scored anything other than a tap-in. 

 

Interested in @TheBear’s thoughts on this. 

 

I remember suggesting he’d go to spurs for 20m when nuno went there and him laughing at me… you’d have snapped my hand off now. 

 

Such a sad story.

A similar thing happened with Matt Jansen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Jansen

 

[Fox92]

I always liked him, he seemed like a complete striker, but his goal return always seemed poor after one good PL debut season.

[Facecloth]

20 minutes ago, Fox92 said:

I always liked him, he seemed like a complete striker, but his goal return always seemed poor after one good PL debut season.

Well that's the point of the thread. He scored 13 in his first season, 17 in the next and then the following season in around November he got the head injury after which the goals have dried up.

[tom27111]

Was his similar to Petr Cech's?

 

I know it's a totally different position, but Cech remained one of the best in the world for many years after his freak accident. 

[nathan.]

2 hours ago, Super_horns said:

Probably has a total lack of confidence now since the injury as he was very strong/physical with good aerial ability .

I think with Raul its more than just a confidence issue.

 

The guy is lucky to be alive let alone playing professional football again.

 

Permanent brain injury's are common after head trauma.

[Fox92]

1 hour ago, Facecloth said:

Well that's the point of the thread. He scored 13 in his first season, 17 in the next and then the following season in around November he got the head injury after which the goals have dried up.

Ah, I didn't realise his head injury was 20/21. I thought it was later, hence my post.

[Trav Le Bleu]

If the injury damaged the parts of the brain that deal with processing sensory communication, his eyes noticing the through ball, spotting the player in space, or hearing team mates call for a pass, or judging the weight of a pass or it's timing - that would seriously impede any athlete's ability.

 

It eventually happens to everyone via aging, but head injury is only going to accelerate that. Having said this, it doesn't follow that he's completely lost any ability, just that it's diminished. Maybe he could still have a career at lower levels, plus you can retrain the brain given time 

[Babylon]

Not sure there is a big enough sample is there to know for sure, if we are talking purely on goals. There have been plenty of players with a good season or two who don't do much afterwards. Especially if their teams start to struggle, or change managers. 

[adejo92]

Like others have said, a head injury like the one he received is bound to have an effect whether that be his though process and decision making being a second behind, or simply a dent in his confidence. A real shame given his ability but glad he's still managed to maintain a career in top flight football.

[Finnegan]

On 28/11/2023 at 13:02, Babylon said:

Not sure there is a big enough sample is there to know for sure, if we are talking purely on goals. There have been plenty of players with a good season or two who don't do much afterwards. Especially if their teams start to struggle, or change managers. 

 

I think calling him truly elite is hyperbole and he didn't have a long enough career in the Prem to say he was definitely a great. 

 

But it's pretty obvious his injury had had a severe impact on him and he's very much not the same player and probably won't ever be. 

 

[Babylon]

8 hours ago, Finnegan said:

 

I think calling him truly elite is hyperbole and he didn't have a long enough career in the Prem to say he was definitely a great. 

 

But it's pretty obvious his injury had had a severe impact on him and he's very much not the same player and probably won't ever be. 

 

I’ve watched fook all football, hence why I said just going on goals. I’ve not watched him to know if he looks different. Going off goals based on two seasons is rather dangerous to make judgement on that alone. 

[westernpark]

4 in 5 now, good for him. 5 million quid replacement for Mitrovic!

[Hitesh]

4 hours ago, westernpark said:

4 in 5 now, good for him. 5 million quid replacement for Mitrovic!

Obviously sparked from the start of this thread