headhunter Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 Whilst admiring the qualities of veteran striker Wilbraham his predictable introduction every game to the exclusion of Engvall is beginning to bother me. How much did we pay for Engvall? For undisclosed in official club speak did I read £2M somewhere? We cannot afford to have a £2M striker sitting on the bench. The bit about match fitness doesn't wash anymore as we approach the middle of November [Korey the Undroppable was out for 6 months and wasn't given a run of games in the u23 to get his fitness up to the required level]. Was Engvall actually chosen by Johnson or signed by our Dir of Football who has got it right most of the time; no DoF is perfect! On the subject of fitness, Matthews is another problem child it would seem. What is happening with this guy? Can we send him back to Sunderland or are we lumbered with him and his wages until May. If he needs a kick up the proverbial then LJ needs to do it and / or out him as lacking commitment like Jose appears to have done with Shaw and Smalling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View from the Dolman Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 3 minutes ago, headhunter said: Whilst admiring the qualities of veteran striker Wilbraham his predictable introduction every game to the exclusion of Engvall is beginning to bother me. How much did we pay for Engvall? For undisclosed in official club speak did I read £2M somewhere? We cannot afford to have a £2M striker sitting on the bench. The bit about match fitness doesn't wash anymore as we approach the middle of November [Korey the Undroppable was out for 6 months and wasn't given a run of games in the u23 to get his fitness up to the required level]. Was Engvall actually chosen by Johnson or signed by our Dir of Football who has got it right most of the time; no DoF is perfect! On the subject of fitness, Matthews is another problem child it would seem. What is happening with this guy? Can we send him back to Sunderland or are we lumbered with him and his wages until May. If he needs a kick up the proverbial then LJ needs to do it and / or out him as lacking commitment like Jose appears to have done with Shaw and Smalling. Sorry to use facts but we don't have a Director of Football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipdawg Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 I think Engvall was a long-term target we signed in august because of Kodjia buggering off. Not all signings work out, but I think it's way too early to call this one a bust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeAman08 Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 I've only seen him play once against Hull and he was lively and had good touch. There is a good footballer in there and I'm wondering why he isn't being given a chance. Part of me thinks LJ is hiding his time with the young players who he wants to play but is giving a few players games to keep them in the shop window. This is a long term project. Maybe he wants TA to get a bunch of miles to save Gustav for next season? Sounds silly and I'm probably stretching but it's weird the sporadic game time of some of our players. Hopefully he is trying to get everyone sharp and fit for after this international break because it's 4 months of football straight with no breaks and we will actually need everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRISTOL86 Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 I was very surprised to see Engvall not get on on Saturday. I heard lots of good things about his direct running and energy after the Hull game and at 2-0 down, I thought we were crying out for someone to run at their defenders. Wilbs did well when he came on but it does make me wonder just how bad we have to be to see Gus get some game time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big C Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 Engvall is only 20 and also had a few injury issues since joining us. When he joined us it was stated quite clearly that we were signing him for the future. Writing him off after only 3 months is along the same lines as posting 'Matt Smith is awful' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unan Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 18 minutes ago, Big C said: Engvall is only 20 and also had a few injury issues since joining us. When he joined us it was stated quite clearly that we were signing him for the future. Writing him off after only 3 months is along the same lines as posting 'Matt Smith is awful' OTIB isn't clever are you surprised Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1960maaan Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 Injury added to fitness concern when he came? Now he's nearing fitness he needs games. Unfortunately our current run of form we are playing catch up so often , we are chasing the game so often that you can understand LJ looking to the tried and trusted rather than someone new to the League. Ideally we would have had a couple of games where we were goals ahead and we could bring him on, he's playing for the U21s or whatever today (along with Pack,Elkstrome and Brownhill) so with luck he may feature more soon. Bloody hell, imagine we had internet/forums/lynch parties in the 80's , Steve Neville went around 21 games without scoring , would never have lasted that long these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashton_fan Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 Engvall and Ekstrand both meant to be playing at Twerton this afternoon for U23's for anyone who hasn't seen them yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phileas Fogg Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 It's stupid to write off a player who's had injury problems and hasn't had a run of games, it's even stupider when they're a young player. Give the guy a chance, our recruitment team deserve the benefit of the doubt. He's clearly a long term project. As I've said before, after the very successful and profitable summer, maybe we actually can afford a £2m striker to be on the bench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Vega Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 2 hours ago, headhunter said: Whilst admiring the qualities of veteran striker Wilbraham his predictable introduction every game to the exclusion of Engvall is beginning to bother me. How much did we pay for Engvall? For undisclosed in official club speak did I read £2M somewhere? We cannot afford to have a £2M striker sitting on the bench. The bit about match fitness doesn't wash anymore as we approach the middle of November [Korey the Undroppable was out for 6 months and wasn't given a run of games in the u23 to get his fitness up to the required level]. Was Engvall actually chosen by Johnson or signed by our Dir of Football who has got it right most of the time; no DoF is perfect! On the subject of fitness, Matthews is another problem child it would seem. What is happening with this guy? Can we send him back to Sunderland or are we lumbered with him and his wages until May. If he needs a kick up the proverbial then LJ needs to do it and / or out him as lacking commitment like Jose appears to have done with Shaw and Smalling. On Mathews , I see he has just has been called up by Wales as a late replacement , so he must be fit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivorguy Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 Mathews call up is an odd one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheatus59 Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 2 hours ago, headhunter said: Whilst admiring the qualities of veteran striker Wilbraham his predictable introduction every game to the exclusion of Engvall is beginning to bother me. How much did we pay for Engvall? For undisclosed in official club speak did I read £2M somewhere? We cannot afford to have a £2M striker sitting on the bench. The bit about match fitness doesn't wash anymore as we approach the middle of November [Korey the Undroppable was out for 6 months and wasn't given a run of games in the u23 to get his fitness up to the required level]. Was Engvall actually chosen by Johnson or signed by our Dir of Football who has got it right most of the time; no DoF is perfect! On the subject of fitness, Matthews is another problem child it would seem. What is happening with this guy? Can we send him back to Sunderland or are we lumbered with him and his wages until May. If he needs a kick up the proverbial then LJ needs to do it and / or out him as lacking commitment like Jose appears to have done with Shaw and Smalling. How will we know unless he's given a run in the team ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomad Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 Engvall - based on his performance against Hull he's rather unlucky not to have had a start since. Great prospect. Matthews - I think everyone is losing patience with him. If he's not interested in being fit and playing I'm not sure why he came as he could have sat in the Sunderland reserves and picked up his wedge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCFC_Dan Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 3 hours ago, headhunter said: We cannot afford to have a £2M striker sitting on the bench. We can if he ends up being worth £20m when he is ready. The lad is only 20 and has been in the country for less than 3 months. It's not time to write him off yet. We're playing the long game now. We used to pay £1-2m for a striker at the top of his game, such as Trundle, then watch his value decline. Now we're buying players who are on the way up. This means they might not be ready right away but will (hopefully) be worth more in the long term. Clearly it would be good if we could buy a striker who is ready to score goals right away in the Championship but the going price for one of those is now around £15m. We can't compete in that market and it wouldn't make sense to. We were extremely lucky last year that Kodjia adapted quickly, and we're lucky this year that Abraham has done so well, taking the pressure off Engvall. That's not going to happen with every single signing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headhunter Posted November 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 29 minutes ago, BCFC_Dan said: and we're lucky this year that Abraham has done so well, taking the pressure off Engvall. That's not going to happen with every single signing. I was not seeking to be critical of Engvall in my original post. I, like many,was impressed by the touches he showed against Hull but to quote BCFC Dan above re. taking the pressure off Engvall, how about taking some off Tammy who is a year younger? On Saturday he could have taken off Tammy and Anderson for Wilbraham and Engvall - had nothing to lose for last 15 minutes against a side who were unlikely to throw away a 2 goal lead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old_eastender Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 I watched the Hull game and thought Engval looked sharp, nice touch and intelligently ran the channels (something we badly miss when Reid does not play). So am surprised he has not had at least some sub time in the league, would have thought against Brighton when we had little to lose being 2 down would have been a good time to give him a go. Does seem a little odd to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCFC_Dan Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 19 minutes ago, headhunter said: I was not seeking to be critical of Engvall in my original post. I, like many,was impressed by the touches he showed against Hull but to quote BCFC Dan above re. taking the pressure off Engvall, how about taking some off Tammy who is a year younger? On Saturday he could have taken off Tammy and Anderson for Wilbraham and Engvall - had nothing to lose for last 15 minutes against a side who were unlikely to throw away a 2 goal lead I guess LJ decided that the substitutions he did make were more necessary than bringing on Engvall for Abraham. That's his call. In an ideal world then I think we would have a main striker who is aged 24-30 and has Championship experience but one of those wasn't available in our price range so we have to make two with two young ones and an old one. As for Tammy being younger than Engvall, yes that's true but he's only moved a couple of hours down the M4, not to another country, and his success has been exceptional and somewhat unexpected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin phantom Posted November 7, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 Engvall played the grand total of 54 minutes in this afternoon's U23 match against Newcastle ! Hardly getting game time out of him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claudehopper Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 1 hour ago, phantom said: Engvall played the grand total of 54 minutes in this afternoon's U23 match against Newcastle ! Hardly getting game time out of him Being rested . A busy 90 minutes on the bench at Birmingham awaits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pillred Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 2 hours ago, BCFC_Dan said: We can if he ends up being worth £20m when he is ready. The lad is only 20 and has been in the country for less than 3 months. It's not time to write him off yet. We're playing the long game now. We used to pay £1-2m for a striker at the top of his game, such as Trundle, then watch his value decline. Now we're buying players who are on the way up. This means they might not be ready right away but will (hopefully) be worth more in the long term. Clearly it would be good if we could buy a striker who is ready to score goals right away in the Championship but the going price for one of those is now around £15m. We can't compete in that market and it wouldn't make sense to. We were extremely lucky last year that Kodjia adapted quickly, and we're lucky this year that Abraham has done so well, taking the pressure off Engvall. That's not going to happen with every single signing. the he's only 20 excuse is wearing a bit thin, tammy is only 19 I know some players develop later but 20 is not that young!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leveller Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 7 hours ago, headhunter said: I was not seeking to be critical of Engvall in my original post. I, like many,was impressed by the touches he showed against Hull but to quote BCFC Dan above re. taking the pressure off Engvall, how about taking some off Tammy who is a year younger? On Saturday he could have taken off Tammy and Anderson for Wilbraham and Engvall - had nothing to lose for last 15 minutes against a side who were unlikely to throw away a 2 goal lead "Did we get lumbered with a turkey?" sounds pretty critical to me ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phileas Fogg Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 6 hours ago, pillred said: the he's only 20 excuse is wearing a bit thin, tammy is only 19 I know some players develop later but 20 is not that young!! That's part of the problem with the mentality of fans in this country that ultimately has a knock-on effect at national team level. 20 is young and ample time to improve. At 20 lots of players aren't even fully grown yet (as in they haven't bulked out - look at Tammy for example, he hasn't) this can make a fundamental difference to how they play. We need to give more players time to develop both technically and physically in this country. I think we get dazzled by boy-wonders like Rooney and Owen and expect young players to be at their full potential instantly. The majority of players require time to improve, look at Bobby Reid, he's 23 and it's taken him a long time to consistently get to first team standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesBCFC Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 6 hours ago, pillred said: the he's only 20 excuse is wearing a bit thin, tammy is only 19 I know some players develop later but 20 is not that young!! 20 is bloody ******* young, strikers don't tend to reach their prime until 27. Tammy is an exception, how many other teenagers are top scorers at their respective clubs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son of Fred Posted November 8, 2016 Report Share Posted November 8, 2016 21 hours ago, headhunter said: Whilst admiring the qualities of veteran striker Wilbraham his predictable introduction every game to the exclusion of Engvall is beginning to bother me. How much did we pay for Engvall? For undisclosed in official club speak did I read £2M somewhere? We cannot afford to have a £2M striker sitting on the bench. The bit about match fitness doesn't wash anymore as we approach the middle of November [Korey the Undroppable was out for 6 months and wasn't given a run of games in the u23 to get his fitness up to the required level]. Was Engvall actually chosen by Johnson or signed by our Dir of Football who has got it right most of the time; no DoF is perfect! On the subject of fitness, Matthews is another problem child it would seem. What is happening with this guy? Can we send him back to Sunderland or are we lumbered with him and his wages until May. If he needs a kick up the proverbial then LJ needs to do it and / or out him as lacking commitment like Jose appears to have done with Shaw and Smalling. Gus is to be our "Packard Goose"................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiale Posted November 8, 2016 Report Share Posted November 8, 2016 0 COMMENTS SHARES JMP Diego De Girolamo Comments (0) Gustav Engvall failed to make an impact as Bristol City Under-23s slipped to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United in a Premier League Two Cup tie at Bath's Twerton Park. An unused substitute in Saturday's Sky-televised Championship clash against Brighton at Ashton Gate, the £2.5m summer signing from IFK Gothenburg was handed an opportunity to impress at development squad level. But the forward, twice capped by Sweden at senior level, struggled to make any impression and was replaced by Academy product Connor Lemmonheigh-Evans after just 54 minutes. Since arriving at Ashton Gate in August, the 20-year-old Swede has made just two appearances for the Robins, both in the EFL Cup, and has yet to make his Championship debut. Troubled by a knee ligament problem earlier in the season, he has recovered sufficiently to play, but still looks to be below par and, on the evidence of this latest run out, is still some way from winning a place in head coach Lee Johnson's first team starting line-up. Read more: Lee Johnson: Brighton defeat proves how busy we will be at Bristol City during the transfer window City named a strong side, including over-age player Marlon Pack, striker Engvall, midfielder Josh Brownhill and goalkeeper Ivan Lucic. But they seldom looked likely to follow up their recent 2-1 win at Southampton with another victory in a group that also includes Swansea. Having arrived in the West Country on Sunday, Newcastle started fast, seized the initiative and deservedly went ahead in the 18th minute. In-form forward Sean Longstaff engineered room for a shot 25 yards out and beat Austrian keeper Lucic with a firm drive to register his sixth goal in the last four games and his tenth of the season. Read more: Andy Stockhausen: Just imagine where Bristol City might get to if they master the first half? City tried to respond, but were unable to muster a single on-target effort and conceded again a minute before half-time. Shawn McCoulsky lost the ball just inside the Newcastle half and winger Yasin Ben Elmahanni, a former Chelsea player who was recommended to City in the summer, crossed low for Luke Charman to double the Magpies' lead. First team squad members Pack and Brownhill did their level best to alter the course of the game after the break, but those around them were unable to penetrate a well-organised and resilient Newcastle defence until Diego De Girolamo drilled a low shot past keeper Nathan Harker five minutes from the end. City: Lucic; Harris, Lyons-Foster, Kelly, Nurse (Challis 52); Pack, Brownhill; McCoulsky, De Girolamo, Dowling (Morrell 77); Engvall (Lemonheigh-Evans 54). Newcastle: Harker; Williams, Hunter, Bailey, Gibson; Holmes, Findlay, Barlaser, Elmahanni; Longstaff, Charman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pillred Posted November 8, 2016 Report Share Posted November 8, 2016 12 hours ago, JamesBCFC said: 20 is bloody ******* young, strikers don't tend to reach their prime until 27. Tammy is an exception, how many other teenagers are top scorers at their respective clubs? not many, but 20,is not an excuse for not making an impact, there have been dozens of players who have already established themselves bye that age Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phileas Fogg Posted November 8, 2016 Report Share Posted November 8, 2016 9 minutes ago, pillred said: not many, but 20,is not an excuse for not making an impact, there have been dozens of players who have already established themselves bye that age ..and dozens who haven't. Why are we so quick to expect so much so soon from young players? They need to be given a chance to develop. His age completely is an 'excuse' (if you must put it like that). It's not just that though. He's in a new country, improving at the language, new teammates, getting over injury, higher standard of football - he's got quite a lot on his plate and he's only 20. Not all young foreign players will settle in as quickly as Magnusson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex_BCFC Posted November 8, 2016 Report Share Posted November 8, 2016 Still very early days but not looking too promising. Not making an impact in the development games he is playing in, was poor at Fulham, I wasn't particularly impressed with him in the Hull game (although many raved)...he does deserve more time though. If he wasn't playing regularly over Wilbraham etc by the end of season then I think I would be concerned for him long term. However worth pointing out that a player like Magnusson, only 23, didn't need time. Came straight in and was decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pillred Posted November 8, 2016 Report Share Posted November 8, 2016 7 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said: ..and dozens who haven't. Why are we so quick to expect so much so soon from young players? They need to be given a chance to develop. His age completely is an 'excuse' (if you must put it like that). It's not just that though. He's in a new country, improving at the language, new teammates, getting over injury, higher standard of football - he's got quite a lot on his plate and he's only 20. Not all young foreign players will settle in as quickly as Magnusson. that's very true phileas I'm only saying that the fact he is only 20 in its self is not a valid reason but when you add everything else in its maybe understandable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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