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Bat Fastard

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Posts posted by Bat Fastard

  1. 5 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

    Highlights reels are just that though. Highlights reels. The number of people who look world beaters on them then panel beaters in the real world are countless - so I prefer an eyes on approach at the all round piece.

    (To give a parallel here Mehmeti looked great on highlight reels but that doesn’t show his positioning when not in possession and his movement which is poor)

    And he’ll get a lot worse in his career if he does make it than seen here, so I’m not sure the argument “don’t criticise in case he reads this” really holds water. Liam has said he doesn’t read social media in any case (he does) so I expect he gives that instructions to all his players…

    But irrespective of if he reads or not. Man City were happy to get rid. Westerlo were happy to get rid. City don’t want to play him. It’s not screaming a top class player waiting to get out is it?

    He has to have highlights to have a highlights reel. The way he played and the technical ability he displayed were certainly impressive.  Mehmeti has flashes but, in my humble opinion is let down by lack of pace. He may improve as many young players have in the past. Mebude is much younger and could do with a run of games in a team that is playing well, which ours is not.  It is unrealistic to hope a 19 year old can come into a failing team and turn us into world beaters.  Time and support will achieve more than criticism and undermining the lad. I really want to see him succeed and bring some of the qualities he displayed in youth football into our first team.  I watched Albert Adomah whilst I lived in Barnet and he developed over the time he was these and I sent an email to City suggesting we look at him. Albert was older then than Mebude is now. Time will tell - if he is allowed that time.

  2. 14 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

    To be clear the initial nature of my OP was to highlight a semi amusing story, and frame it against what has clearly been a terrible signing for us at this stage irrespective of ability DM may or may not have. Nobody can argue that six weeks into a loan spell and the manager totally reticent to put him on the pitch when also not filling the bench most weeks represents anything other than a bad signing.

    But on this post specifically. As I’ve said before football is littered with kids who look good at academy level and don’t make it at men’s level. And you’re going to look better at Man City as you have better players around you. Being a good academy player means the square root of nothing even at Man City

    To expand on that, I’ve just looked at Man City’s team in the 2019 youth cup final (so they’ve had time to work out if they make a career or not). 11 of the 16 man squad are playing below the top level (some loans). A couple of the alumni are playing for Ramsbottom and Waterford respectively!

    The fact is that he went to Belgium and Westerlo didn’t play him (and not for work permit reasons as stated by the club). Hes now here and a coach who needs inspiration and goals won’t play him.

    He’s 20 in two months with less than 300 minutes senior football to his name.

    How much exactly do you want to bet that he’ll be worth a “huge transfer fee”. (Define huge) - all the signs at the moment are that he was a good “age group” player but no more - which is insanely common at academy football.

    What you write seems entirely reasonable - but if he is a "confidence" player, what point is served by posting negative comments about him?  I really hope he fulfils his potential and becomes a great player, ideally for us.  If he is unwise enough to read this forum, it could certainly have a negative impact on his career.  Have you seen a youth player in our set up with more promise than he showed on his highlights reel?  For me, 5p would be a massive bet because I simply do not bet and don't even know how to place a bet.  As I said before - just support the lad!

  3. 2 hours ago, Bat Fastard said:

    On the Man City highlight reel that showcased his progress with them.

    Having watched many hours of our U21s over the last two or three years, it is clear that Mebude is well ahead of any similar player in out youth programme. I believe he was the player of the year at Man City in one of their youth year groups.  To laugh at him at this level of his development is really unfair and NOT what a supporter should be doing.  Maybe the lad would be helped more at this stage of his career by enthusiastic support rather than wall to wall criticism. It almost seems that some on this forum would be delighted if he failed.  If he does not succeed with us, I would bet heavily that he will turn up somewhere else and eventually be worth a huge transfer fee. I would rather we received the benefit rather than a competitor. Just support the lad for heavens sake!

    • Like 3
  4. 10 minutes ago, redkev said:

    If he can’t get on the pitch in our current form ffs when will he get on the pitch 

    He may get on the pitch when the senior players are playing well enough to support him better.  He clearly has great skill, pace and touch, he is only a very young man and needs help to capitalise on his skills and assets. Hopefully Brian Tinnion will be helping him to adjust to Championship mentality and through the current crisis with an indifferent head coach, who may lack the necessary qualities to help the lad to progress.

  5. OK - here is the solution that JL needs to consider: 1. Sack Manning and "Hoggy".  2. Appoint Andy King as manager.  3. Persuade Nige to come back as a "consultant manager" to help King to establish himself. 4. Apologise to the fans for bogging up the season - he could call it an "honest" mistake (and he might even believe it). 

    • Haha 1
    • Facepalm 2
  6. 21 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

    That’s quite a reversal of posting “form”???

    Not really. I posted about my distress at Nige's sacking at the time and also that is wasn't broke and did not need fixing. You may be confused with the fact that I do not blame Brian Tinnion for the decision. I also said at the time that LM seemed to lack confidence and was not the strong character that Nige was. I still believe that all those remarks were correct. I may be proved wrong in time but I feel that we have made a wrong turn with this appointment and it will be damned expensive to reverse. The brand of football served up by LM is certainly not to my liking and I'm sure that the players would perform better under a different manager...... or get Nige back!

    • Thanks 1
    • Facepalm 1
  7. 3 minutes ago, IAmNick said:

    Right, but that's because I don't give two shits if Steve pockets £30m. I care about what's happening on the pitch, which direction the club are headed in, and if/when we do sell players - how much of that is then used to benefit the club... which appears to have been £0m.

    At the moment, as a fan, the only effect those sales have had on me are a) I no longer get to watch 2 of the most exciting players I've seen at AG in a long time, and b) er... that's kind of it. As far as I know we didn't need it for FFP, and even if we did the amount doesn't matter there as we weren't far off.

    You've talked about him being in credit with SL. Maybe he is. But what about whether he's in credit with YOU, as a fan?

    Unfortunately for us fans, players also have ambitions and it is hard to blame someone for accepting an opportunity to accept a life changing pay rise.  

  8. 1 hour ago, The Bard said:

    Whether he's a legend depends on your age. If you saw John Atyeo play, it's laughable to call him.a legend. If you saw the likes of Ritchie, Gow etc it's silly. If you go back to the likes of Walsh/ Taylor/Newman it's possibly beginning to make sense.

    The word legend is hugely overused.

    I just missed Atyeo but my best pick for a legend is John Galley but there have been many players who will forever have a place in my pantheon - and they all played for Bristol City! We all take different things from our passion for the club. BTs passing ability and his goal against Liverpool rank him very highly in my opinion. His service and dedication to the cause has further burnished his star. 

  9. 8 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

    All this means less pressure on the club to buy the ‘ big number 9’ . 
    They will probably bring him into the squad next season and break him. 
     

    Of course we could also argue that he will probably be brought into the first team next season and it will MAKE him.

    • Like 1
  10. 7 minutes ago, Alessandro said:

    Can you reference any of those interviews, any links? Just I've never seen them...

    "pivotal" - debatable. 

    I've not mentioned his ability to express himself, so that's irrelevant to this discussion.

    He was one of a group that scouted players for the academy - in that role i'm happy for him to continue.

    Ironically, one could argue we're yet to see the product of his time as academy manager on the pitch - as the number of first team debuts have dried up - time will tell on that one too. 

     

    Sorry about the lack of dredging through hundreds of interviews, that is beyond my meagre technical skill.  Of course it is debateable, which is why we are debating it!

  11. 7 minutes ago, BrizzleRed said:

    …… well, if our bean counters have that much power over critical appointments  within the operation and aren’t over-ruled by their boss SL, then that tells you all you need to know about his ability to run a successful football club!

    Ideally a business should be run is a way that eliminates wasteful spending. Of course this relies on judgements by decision makers who sometimes seem to know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Otherwise Nige would still be the manager - in my humble judgement.

    • Like 2
  12. 11 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

    Why make allowances for failure because of some discrete successes achieved in a different role in the past? If Scott Murray fails to bring the kit to a match does he get a pass because he once cupped his ear at Ninian Park?

    While we're at it - why judge someone based on their accent?

    I do not think he is a failure. I like his accent, it is the same as Mickey Bell - another of my heroes.

  13. 3 minutes ago, Alessandro said:

    Yep all good to have opinions - but facts also help.

    The fact is our current crop of first team academy players (including recently departed Scott and Semenyo) were under the stewardship of Gary Probert as academy manager.

    Talking of Alex Scott (as you mentioned premier league players earlier), he wasn't discovered or coached by BT - Scott was already in the first team when BT became academy manager in October 21. Same goes for Conway (1st team debut mid 21) and Bell (early 22) in reality.

    Yes BT has played a big role in scouting and bringing in youth players, Semenyo for example, and we give him credit for that and he can continue in that role no problem. 

    But that's only the very start of the process - back to Scott again - my opinion this time - i'd give far more credit to the lad himself, his family, the city youth coaches, the England youth coaches, NP and his coaches, and Phil Alexander or even SL for the sale - than I would BT in any of the process. 

    That's not me saying he doesn't get any credit, but keep it in perspective. 

     

    Listening to player and other interviews interviews over the years, many people have mentioned Brian Tinnion and his influence in a very positive way.  Of course there are lots of influences in building a player but I believe that Brian Tinnion is pivotal in terms of Bristol City.  The fact that he is not always great at expressing himself is not particularly relevant in my opinion. He can clearly make himself understood in football circles.  The fact that is is exposed in terms of his public speaking skills is a reflection of the directors, who clearly value his input but do not look after him as they perhaps should.

  14. 2 minutes ago, IAmNick said:

    Right, so he knows and is skilful at playing football and developing/running an academy. He is poor at communication, first team management (see: his failed attempt here), and basic literacy and numeracy.

    So given all that which presumably you agree with, do you think he'd be better placed as some kind of academy director, or a technical director/CEO hybrid role of the entire club/footballing operation?

    I believe that his main job is to assist with recognising which players are diamonds in the rough and spotting how we can recruit and improve them. He has to talk to the public because we appear to be understaffed in certain areas. Surely we should be prepared to cut him a bit of slack and recognise that he is a great football man.

    • Like 1
  15. 3 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

    I just don’t think he’s particularly academic and, judging from his spelling, potentially dyslexic. Can’t tell if you’re joking about the foreign language thing. 

    The issue here is that his current role requires a public speaking element. This isn’t his skill set. He’s expected to explain the club’s thinking on macro issues - and it’s clear he is weak in this area. You can’t just give him a pass because he was a good player and was successful in an academy role. Both are totally different.

    We all deal with people who are not always good at expressing themselves but we can still see that they have great quality. I believe that Brian is a bit like that. And I was joking about the foreign language!

  16. Just now, Phileas Fogg said:

    It doesn’t have to be a “PR Person” hired for a specific role - it can be as simple as having someone in the boardroom who has a basic understanding of comms and messaging - which we clearly don’t. 

    Tinnion’s strengths seem to be in roles which aren’t public facing - his new role has taken him outside of his comfort zone and forced him into something he’s clearly not very good at.

    I agree with your post but I am prepared to make allowances for any shortcomings in Brian's communication skills because I have a high regard for his overall contribution to our club. Judging by his accent he was clearly brought up speaking a foreign language, so it must be hard for the chap.

  17. 9 minutes ago, MarcusX said:

    Easy, you hire a PR person.

    Most companies have a comms team who prep people for public or even internal communications. It's not rocket science. Employ someone with a bit of savvy to spin these statements into something more encouraging as per @Silvio Dantepost

    I think the bean counters will be of the opinion that a PR person would be an expensive luxury.  I reckon that they could get a more enthusiastic following with better communications, but what do I know?

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