And I said Hey Rob Atkinson ...what's going on

[The Humble Realist]

Apologies if this is covered in another thread but what is going in with Atkinson and his place in the team?

In my opinion he has made a pretty good start to his career here, and has played pretty well. 

Towler stated ahead of him on Sunday, he wasnt fancied for the QPR game with vyner and pring preferred and he was hauled off for the mistake against huddersfield which to be honest I thought was bennarous fault. Even if it was his fault it seems ridiculous to haul him off for one mistake like that. 

I know he has had a couple of injuries but I havent read or heard he is being 'managed'.

Either way, I dont see any reason for him being left out so many times,  especially when he is stil young himself and let's face it, there have been far worse culprits than him for some of our bad performances this year.

 

It's a mystery to me 

[redapple]

I’ve no idea what the situation is but he does appear to be very heavy legged. It takes him a while to get up to full pace. I’d suspect a back injury . 

[Port Said Red]

My own reading of it is that he has actually had more football in the first 6 months than was expected. A reasonably fit Baker would have seen him get a lot less games and a less intense start to Champ football.

It seems common knowledge now that he had Covid and I don't think he has hit the same form since that.

[Harry]

I don’t want to open another covid/vaccine argument, but the fact that Atkinson is reported to have had covid, I wonder if he hasn’t taken the vaccine, and I further wonder if Pearson doesn’t like that (much like with Wells). 
Just speculation.

[Phileas Fogg]

14 minutes ago, Harry said:

I don’t want to open another covid/vaccine argument, but the fact that Atkinson is reported to have had covid, I wonder if he hasn’t taken the vaccine, and I further wonder if Pearson doesn’t like that (much like with Wells). 
Just speculation.

Also speculation from me.. but Pearson doesn't strike me as being someone who'd be overly heavy handed about that. May seem a bit counter intuitive given his persona but my reasoning is his response to Danny Simpson when signing him.

His response to the criticism was basically that Simpson made a mistake, but he's learned from it. Simpson made a choice to grow as a person and learn from the experience. If this point of view extends to all ethical stand points then it stands to reason that he'd be pretty 'pro choice' about players getting the vaccine. I'm sure, given his personal experience, he'd be pro-vaccination but for some reason I can't see him enforcing those views on anyone.

I think he's almost certainly pretty hard line about standards he expects of players from a professionalism/training point of view - but his recent more relaxed attitude towards life generally makes me wonder whether that attitude would extend to more ethical issues too. 

[Alessandro]

As soon as Towler was picked over him it was inevitable the eyebrows would be raised and the questions asked.

It’s equally plausible there is a fitness/form issue (which could be covid related) with Atkinson rather than an anti-vaccination conspiracy.

Sensible squad management and recurring injury prevention?

 

- N.B: Personally, I feel like if NP is taking a hardline on anti-Vax, surely he’d freeze the said players out of the first team completely, keeping them out the dressing or squad? What’s the logical point in taking a stance against anti-vax and then having said player(s) in the dressing room and sat 1 yard from you on the bench?

[1960maaan]

55 minutes ago, Harry said:

I don’t want to open another covid/vaccine argument, but the fact that Atkinson is reported to have had covid, I wonder if he hasn’t taken the vaccine, and I further wonder if Pearson doesn’t like that (much like with Wells). 
Just speculation.

I just think if there was a problem with vaccine uptake, and it was against Pearsons request, and Pearson was really holding a grudge, then they wouldn't play at all.
 As it is they have been involved, Atkinson has started games. I'm guessing it's his seeming lack of pace. Fevs mentioned COVID, so there could be a bit of a hangover from that.  Towler had played a decent amount of games, and seems fairly quick. Allows us to play a higher line.

4 minutes ago, Alessandro said:

N.B: Personally, I feel like if NP is taking a hardline on anti-Vax, surely he’d freeze the said players out of the first team completely,

Beat me to it.

[GrahamC]

2 hours ago, Port Said Red said:

My own reading of it is that he has actually had more football in the first 6 months than was expected. A reasonably fit Baker would have seen him get a lot less games and a less intense start to Champ football.

It seems common knowledge now that he had Covid and I don't think he has hit the same form since that.

Think there is a lot in this.

I thought even against Derby when he was being praised on here, he was labouring on occasions & not the player who was outstanding in the Fulham game.

I’m certainly not getting involved in any vaccine speculation but whether he has had the jab or not, it could still be affecting him.

Certainly Pearson’s criticism of him after the Huddersfield game suggests everything isn’t hunky dory though.

Edited January 4, 2022 by GrahamC

[Davefevs]

28 minutes ago, Alessandro said:

As soon as Towler was picked over him it was inevitable the eyebrows would be raised and the questions asked.

It’s equally plausible there is a fitness/form issue (which could be covid related) with Atkinson rather than an anti-vaccination conspiracy.

Sensible squad management and recurring injury prevention?

 

- N.B: Personally, I feel like if NP is taking a hardline on anti-Vax, surely he’d freeze the said players out of the first team completely, keeping them out the dressing or squad? What’s the logical point in taking a stance against anti-vax and then having said player(s) in the dressing room and sat 1 yard from you on the bench?

Wells is the obvious anti-vaxxer, and he still gets picked.  Nige said it’s a personal decision. As long as Wells follows the guidelines re not going out and putting himself in covid transmission scenarios, I’m sure Nige will be fine.  

[Yellow&Blue&Red]

I wondered earlier in the season whether Pearson had made pointed comments about players not giving it their all - I can't remember when or precisely what he said - in a game when Jay had seemed to me to be running much more slowly than he used to. It made me think that Jay might be protecting his injury (Jay's perspective) or nervous about trusting his body (Pearson's perspective) and whether this was frustrating to Pearson. I wonder whether the same might be happening with Atkinson.

[LondonBristolian]

1 hour ago, 1960maaan said:

I just think if there was a problem with vaccine uptake, and it was against Pearsons request, and Pearson was really holding a grudge, then they wouldn't play at all.
 As it is they have been involved, Atkinson has started games. I'm guessing it's his seeming lack of pace. Fevs mentioned COVID, so there could be a bit of a hangover from that.  Towler had played a decent amount of games, and seems fairly quick. Allows us to play a higher line.

Beat me to it.

According to his article, 98% of our players and staff have been vaccinated. That would be 1 in 50 players and first team staff.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/dec/20/bristol-city-not-banging-the-table-during-high-uptake-of-covid-vaccine

Based off that, I can't see that we can have more than one unvaccinated player. We're obviously speculating on Wells who might actually be vaccinated  for all we know but  I don't see any reason to surmise that Atkinson is unvaccinated. If COVID is a factor, I think it more likely that the virus is still affecting his energy and fitness levels. 

[Big C]

I wouldn't be surprised if he is still feeling the effects of having COVID and is not fully fit

[wayne allisons tongues]

If he isn’t fit why is he on the bench and played nearly 60mins against QPR. Seems a bit silly to have him on the bench if he isn’t fit.

[DaveF]

6 minutes ago, Big C said:

I wouldn't be surprised if he is still feeling the effects of having COVID and is not fully fit

I think it could be this.

I had symptomless covid in the summer and it took me 4 months to be able to do various cardio to the same level I was before I had it, not impossible that Atkinson could be the same.

[Davefevs]

Just now, wayne allisons tongues said:

If he isn’t fit why is he on the bench and played nearly 60mins against QPR. Seems a bit silly to have him on the bench if he isn’t fit.

Because there is little else to pick from.  Even the u23s struggle for CBs, although Joe Low now back.  They’ve been playing a 16 year old (Knight-Lebel - who looks bloody excellent) themselves!  He might be fit enough to come on if required.

Im only guessing though.

[Sleepy1968]

12 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

According to his article, 98% of our players and staff have been vaccinated. That would be 1 in 50 players and first team staff.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/dec/20/bristol-city-not-banging-the-table-during-high-uptake-of-covid-vaccine

Based off that, I can't see that we can have more than one unvaccinated player. We're obviously speculating on Wells who might actually be vaccinated  for all we know but  I don't see any reason to surmise that Atkinson is unvaccinated. If COVID is a factor, I think it more likely that the virus is still affecting his energy and fitness levels. 

If Wells had been vaccinated at the pre Christmas club mass vaccination event, I'd think the Media Team would have made a point of featuring him in the event photos. On the balance of probability I'd say he was the unvaccinated player, but as you said, we won't know for sure. As for Atkinson, he could easily have picked up the virus post vaccination, and it could be a contributing factor to his performances having dropped off recently.

[samo II]

20 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

According to his article, 98% of our players and staff have been vaccinated. That would be 1 in 50 players and first team staff.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/dec/20/bristol-city-not-banging-the-table-during-high-uptake-of-covid-vaccine

Based off that, I can't see that we can have more than one unvaccinated player. We're obviously speculating on Wells who might actually be vaccinated  for all we know but  I don't see any reason to surmise that Atkinson is unvaccinated. If COVID is a factor, I think it more likely that the virus is still affecting his energy and fitness levels. 

It’s probably just Wells then: I don’t think it’ll be a factor with Atkinson.

Big jump for the lad, and as mentioned; not had the chance to slowly get time in a settled and/or successful side, so can imagine he might be in and out of the line up a bit.

If he’s injured or has been, tough time of year to manage that, what with the unsettled schedule and lack of time between games.

I’m personally happy with what I’ve seen with him so far; got some work to do still, but I don’t think we should have been under any illusions he’d be another Webster immediately. Had potential though.

[wayne allisons tongues]

3 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Because there is little else to pick from.  Even the u23s struggle for CBs, although Joe Low now back.  They’ve been playing a 16 year old (Knight-Lebel - who looks bloody excellent) themselves!  He might be fit enough to come on if required.

Im only guessing though.

I know there is little else to pick from, just seems silly to put an unfit cb on the bench, surely you would do more damage than good.

[underhanded]

Remember, prior to the season start Atkinson only had one year of professional football under his belt. He's 23, but in terms of the rigours of pro football experience, he's younger than that. 

I think he's been good for us this season, not exceptional. He's being managed and selected accordingly by NP in this context

[SBB]

19 minutes ago, DaveF said:

I think it could be this.

I had symptomless covid in the summer and it took me 4 months to be able to do various cardio to the same level I was before I had it, not impossible that Atkinson could be the same.

I’m still suffering the effects of covid 3-4 months after, very lethargic. I’ve gone from just about keeping up with my lads in the bleep test to barely being able to do the warm up. 

[DaveF]

4 minutes ago, SBB said:

I’m still suffering the effects of covid 3-4 months after, very lethargic. I’ve gone from just about keeping up with my lads in the bleep test to barely being able to do the warm up. 

Yeah it's pretty brutal isn't it! I've just recovered from having it a second time so hoping the time for me to feel myself again is less!

[Ska Junkie]

37 minutes ago, SBB said:

I’m still suffering the effects of covid 3-4 months after, very lethargic. I’ve gone from just about keeping up with my lads in the bleep test to barely being able to do the warm up. 

That's not good to hear, I only had it in November and was hoping to feel better soon.

As for Nahki, it seems pretty uniform in the Caribbean not to have the jab. I have a holiday booked in Jamaica and am reticent to go as there is a <5% take up on vaccines.

Of most concern for me is my dear old dad has just tested positive at 85. I just hope he can beat it as we younger ones have (haven't called myself 'younger' in a long, long time).

Edited January 4, 2022 by Ska Junkie

[RedRock]

Seemed to me a couple of months back he was a bit ‘heavy’ in his movement. Suspect some slow recoveries from losing the ball and poor positioning put his place at risk. 
 

Needs to get lighter on his feet for me, with quicker twists and turns.

Off to ‘Come Dancing’ school for a few weeks should cure it (which has been done at other Clubs incidentally). 

[Waconda]

Suffering with long term affects of COVID (long covid).

would be my guess.

Although the Government will shortly announce that there is no such thing as "long covid" and tell people to get back to their cubicles or face the sack.

[SBB]

42 minutes ago, Ska Junkie said:

That's not good to hear, I only had it in November and was hoping to feel better soon.

As for Nahki, it seems pretty uniform in the Caribbean not to have the jab. I have a holiday booked in Jamaica and am reticent to go as there is a <5% take up on vaccines.

Of most concern for me is my dear old dad has just tested positive at 85. I just hope he can beat it as we younger ones have (haven't called myself 'younger' in a long, long time).

I hope your Dad pulls through and shakes it off, fella.  

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, RedRock said:

Seemed to me a couple of months back he was a bit ‘heavy’ in his movement. Suspect some slow recoveries from losing the ball and poor positioning put his place at risk. 
 

Needs to get lighter on his feet for me, with quicker twists and turns.

Off to ‘Come Dancing’ school for a few weeks should cure it (which has been done at other Clubs incidentally). 

Nige is a big fan of ballroom!

[bcfc01]

3 hours ago, SBB said:

I’m still suffering the effects of covid 3-4 months after, very lethargic.

 

3 hours ago, DaveF said:

Yeah it's pretty brutal isn't it! I've just recovered from having it a second time so hoping the time for me to feel myself again is less!

I'm going through isolation again, this time its a lot lighter - just an irritating little cough, a head cold, and just feeling a bit shit. Last one was a bugger, involving ambulance and hospital and left me very weak for some time. I don't want that again. Strangely, I seem to have lost my sense of taste and smell this time, I didn't have that before (mind you, I am so bunged up its difficult to tell).

If Atkinson had Covid recently, its quite likely that he may seem to be fit, but also likely that its left him a bit weak. I'm not sure when/if he's had covid, but he's been off his game for a few weeks now. May just be loss of form/confidence of course.

[RedRock]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

Nige is a big fan of ballroom!

There we go then. They can be the all-male couple for the next series.

[Southport Red]

12 hours ago, Port Said Red said:

My own reading of it is that he has actually had more football in the first 6 months than was expected. A reasonably fit Baker would have seen him get a lot less games and a less intense start to Champ football.

It seems common knowledge now that he had Covid and I don't think he has hit the same form since that.

I’m sure I read somewhere that it was suggested he may have long Covid. 

[Red-Robbo]

23 hours ago, Ska Junkie said:

As for Nahki, it seems pretty uniform in the Caribbean not to have the jab. I have a holiday booked in Jamaica and am reticent to go as there is a <5% take up on vaccines.

 

Had to check that stat, and according to Our world In Data 24% of Jamaicans have had one jab and 19% are fully vaccinated. Pretty piss poor, but I don't know how many Jamaicans have been offered the jab. They're a poor country and they may not be able to afford to offer it to all adults.