LJ doesn’t want sparkle .

[Major Isewater]

Kasey Palmer was brought in to provide a ‘ sparkle ‘ a bit of magic to give us some invention in our attacking play so why has he not been given a run in the side ?

He has mostly done what was asked of him when played but when labouring to score his talent has been largely overlooked .

 I recognise that certain people have criticised  his lack of defensive play but he’s not in the Lee Tomlin class of standing around shouting at his teammates as the opposition player ghosts past him .

 I feel it’s been an opportunity wasted as the lad has class and potential.

 I doubt he’ll want to play here next season after being marginalised in a team that struggles to score .

[Negan]

After his very bright start it hasn't been the most successful of loan spells. Whilst I think he's looked ok when called upon I hope we don't sign him permanently, especially not at the rumoured 4 million. We don't see what goes on, on the training ground, if he's not impressing Lee there then rightly so he shouldn't start. 

[city1983]

5 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

Kasey Palmer was brought in to provide a ‘ sparkle ‘ a bit of magic to give us some invention in our attacking play so why has he not been given a run in the side ?

He has mostly done what was asked of him when played but when labouring to score his talent has been largely overlooked .

 I recognise that certain people have criticised  his lack of defensive play but he’s not in the Lee Tomlin class of standing around shouting at his teammates as the opposition player ghosts past him .

 I feel it’s been an opportunity wasted as the lad has class and potential.

 I doubt he’ll want to play here next season after being marginalised in a team that struggles to score .

Similar to Matty Taylor for me. As looked decent coming off the bench at times against tiring defences, as soon as they earn them selves a start they have both failed to impress. 

He is certainly a flair player, but I’d be disappointed if we spent a large chunk of our budget on him over the summer

[Meh]

2 minutes ago, city1983 said:

Similar to Matty Taylor for me. As looked decent coming off the bench at times against tiring defences, as soon as they earn them selves a start they have both failed to impress. 

He is certainly a flair player, but I’d be disappointed if we spent a large chunk of our budget on him over the summer

To be fair, when was the last time he started and when was the last time he was brought in with the scores at least tied?

The pressure on him to :-

A. impress enough to start the next game AND

B. turn around a deficit

is a burden only mainly shared with Matty Taylor - shit situation for him to try and work himself into a game.

[Silvio Dante]

I think the nail on the head part of the statement is the lack of defensive play. I remember his debut and one absolutely crunching tackle being made and thinking we might have a complete package here.

Compare/Contrast with yesterday. Realise the game had gone by the time he came on, but with fresh legs seemed to amble back, even though teammates who had put 110% in were dead on their feet.

Fantastic talent - can pick a pass really well, but lacks in desire. I don’t need to see him flying around the pitch, I do need to see him at least put a shift in which he doesn’t do often enough at the mooted fee.

As I think I’ve raised before, he’s a bit of a JET. Supremely talented, but just not enough on the work rate and desire side to make it at a top end championship/prem side. And that’s a real shame, as it’s the one thing he can easily fix.

Of the three Chelsea boys, definitely last on my list to keep.

[Dr Balls]

The problem has been that when Palmer has started the odd game here and there, he hasn't really shone in the way that he has as a substitute later in games. The reasons for that may be that there is less space earlier in a match, and it's easier to show your skills against tiring players, when you are fresh on the pitch. And even though I am not a fan of Paterson, without the ball, he does more defensively than Palmer, which is still a requirement for any player. 

The bottom line is that finding the balance between being solid defensively and being creative going forward rests with the midfield. And as most of us on this forum would agree, that's where the team most needs strengthening, especially when it comes to playing with any pace. Whether or not LJ can find the personnel and formation to do that is the big question for next season, especially as there are a number of players likely to be leaving over the summer (COD, Palmer, perhaps even Brownhill and Webster) who could fit into such a system.

[bexhill reds]

He’s a show pony with a step over, no substance and goes missing in big games. Not for me. 

[189thoughts]

Some of the comments on here, jesus.

He completely opened up Sheffield United when he came on against them.

Changed the game versus Bolton and scored against Wigan.

The most consistent player? Probably not. But a show pony? Ridiculous given he has shown us he can change games.

Remember he is only 22.

[Johnny Musicworks]

I would say that LJ most definitely wants sparkle but it has to fit the team and the way it plays. Whether it’s Palmer, Eliasson, Semenyo, Walsh, O’Dowda or whoever it’s up to the individual to make the team better.

Where we have made massive improvements this year is in the teams ability to adapt to different formations and tactics and some players ie Webster, DaSilva and Brownhill in particular have responded brilliantly. I fully expect some of the others to step up next season and give us the extra flair we often lack to turn the tight games especially at home. It will need one or two quality additions but then I would hope that we would challenge for top 4 rather than top 6. 

Of course we all want it now but I think most of us now believe that we are heading in the right direction with LJ and that in itself is a massive change. Having said that I’m not quite ready to give up on this season yet. Maybe after Tuesday/Wednesday but not yet.

[bexhill reds]

13 minutes ago, Neutral said:

Some of the comments on here, jesus.

He completely opened up Sheffield United when he came on against them.

Changed the game versus Bolton and scored against Wigan.

The most consistent player? Probably not. But a show pony? Ridiculous given he has shown us he can change games.

Remember he is only 22.

I would argue that there a more games where he has been ineffective. He’s had his moments but not enough for me. A lot of his output consists of a couple of step overs, a cute turn and then getting tackled in midfield.

maybe I’m wrong and in a team playing a different system to ours he’d flourish, but Blackburn fans weren’t disappointed to see him move on.

[Robbored]

13 minutes ago, Johnny Musicworks said:

I would say that LJ most definitely wants sparkle but it has to fit the team and the way it plays. Whether it’s Palmer, 

LJ said pretty much that not long after he signed Palmer. 

[Major Isewater]

7 minutes ago, Robbored said:

LJ said pretty much that not long after he signed Palmer. 

Actions speak louder than words .

[Meh]

51 minutes ago, bexhill reds said:

He’s a show pony with a step over, no substance and goes missing in big games. Not for me. 

And this is why we fail at the final hurdle - risk and reward is not a concept at Bristol City from the top  down

[Davefevs]

46 minutes ago, Dr Balls said:

The problem has been that when Palmer has started the odd game here and there, he hasn't really shone in the way that he has as a substitute later in games. The reasons for that may be that there is less space earlier in a match, and it's easier to show your skills against tiring players, when you are fresh on the pitch. And even though I am not a fan of Paterson, without the ball, he does more defensively than Palmer, which is still a requirement for any player. 

The bottom line is that finding the balance between being solid defensively and being creative going forward rests with the midfield. And as most of us on this forum would agree, that's where the team most needs strengthening, especially when it comes to playing with any pace. Whether or not LJ can find the personnel and formation to do that is the big question for next season, especially as there are a number of players likely to be leaving over the summer (COD, Palmer, perhaps even Brownhill and Webster) who could fit into such a system.

Not aimed at you per se, but the view that Paterson is hardworking baffles me.  

You watch him.  He presses at 80%, giving the impression of really closing but he’s not, he’s always just too far away to have to make a challenge, never engaging his opponent.  The only time he does is when he takes a bad touch, and then he dangles a leg (see Huddlestone yesterday).

He is also a player who doesn’t want to track his runner, always wants to pass him on.  Especially when he goes central his application to get back wide left to track his RB is poor...it’s always point at someone else to do the hard yards.

I’m not saying Palmer is N’Golo Kante, but nor is Pato.

Thought Pato had his best game in ages yesterday though.

[Robbored]

22 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Thought Pato had his best game in ages yesterday though.

He did indeed have a decent game with one particular run that led to more City pressure. However he gets criticised essentially because he’s too lightweight. He gets dispossessed too easily and the fans get on his back when that happens. Tbf I struggle to see what he brings to the team but obviously LJ sees in Pato what many fans can’t see..

[swanker]

8 minutes ago, Robbored said:

He did indeed have a decent game with one particular run that led to more City pressure. However he gets criticised essentially because he’s too lightweight. He gets dispossessed too easily and the fans get on his back when that happens. Tbf I struggle to see what he brings to the team but obviously LJ sees in Pato what many fans can’t see..

Paterson has been below average this season without a doubt. His performance v Ipswich was one of the worst I can remember of anyone in a city shirt. He needs to get back to his best for next season for sure. 

[And Its Smith]

I cannot understand why someone as talented as Palmer doesn’t try harder to press. If he even got to Paterson levels of pressing then he would soon become a Premier League player. 

He was shocking in the Wolves game. That was his chance to stake a claim and he constantly let his man run off of him. 

The game has moved on. Not too much to ask to run around a bit

[CityCiderEd]

50 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Not aimed at you per se, but the view that Paterson is hardworking baffles me.  

You watch him.  He presses at 80%, giving the impression of really closing but he’s not, he’s always just too far away to have to make a challenge, never engaging his opponent.  The only time he does is when he takes a bad touch, and then he dangles a leg (see Huddlestone yesterday).

Agree totally @Davefevs, I call him the great pretender.............

[1960maaan]

It's a funny one, not sure what LJ expects when giving someone a start, or where they go when they don't deliver.
Palmer has all the attributes we have lacked, he is strong, can hold the ball, can pass and dribble and he has vision. Thing is (correct me if I'm wrong) he has had one start , against Bolton where no one played that well, and has been used like Taylor as an impact sub. I would like to see him sign if we could afford it, but not to the expense of the positions we need to fill, so unlikely.  I think he is the only player to be able to spot and play passes like for Weimann's volley at SheffU, the Brownhill pass at SheffW, he is undoubtedly talented. I wonder what he would be like in the old  4-4-1-1system as he is stronger and doesn't go missing like Pato tends to. 
I agree that Paterson had his best game for some time yesterday, but the bar hasn't been set too high of late.His tenancy when being closed, to spin round is pointless, even if he keeps possession, he gives the ball away so often, but sometimes like yesterday it come off and he can cause panic, just not often enough. To be honest I wouldn't be sad to add him to the list of players to leave in the summer. 
 What annoys me is when LJ says XYZ has been great in training, has a stinker in a match, yet still plays the next game because he seemingly has done well in training once more. 
Back to sparkle , I think it became a problem later in the season when we seemed to find a formula. Keep solid and try to win 1-0, not a lot of room for sparkle when you're intent on just not conceding .

[Kibs]

58 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Not aimed at you per se, but the view that Paterson is hardworking baffles me.  

You watch him.  He presses at 80%, giving the impression of really closing but he’s not, he’s always just too far away to have to make a challenge, never engaging his opponent

Absolutely spot on Dave, especially agree with this part. It’s so obvious.

IMO he is as about as luxury you can get. Now I don’t mind “luxury” players, they are what you pay to see in some respect but they have to deliver enough to make worthwhile compromising on what they lack in other areas.

For me, Paterson doesn’t deliver anywhere near enough.