Mark Sykes Signed (Confirmed)

[And Its Smith]

Just now, James54De said:

I wouldn’t. Prior to this season he has played most of his games as an attacking midfielder. 

He has and I think this season has proved he is much better as a wide player 

[SBB]

 

12 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I think this kind of thing feeds into Nige’s “front sweeper” thinking.  Just for example, Joe Williams sat in, able to take the ball from GK and CBs and then spreading it side to a high FB (WB).  It’s a bit like Grimes did for Swansea second half when he kept pinging it out to a wide and high Ethan Laird (who’d been pinned back by Pring first half). Digressing slightly, might Williams’s hamstrings be better not having to make lung-busting runs?

The thing Sykes has is energy by the looks of it.

I don’t think I’ve been as interested in signings and pre-season games as I am for this summer.

[Davefevs]

1 minute ago, SBB said:

 

I don’t think I’ve been as interested in signings and pre-season games as I am for this summer.

I really looked forward to last pre-season, first one with Nige, to see how we improved over each game in terms of getting used to the system.  I do wonder whether Antoine’s injury / op made planning difficult.

[Bristolcityyatton]

1 hour ago, AshtonRobin21 said:

I don't believe that is the purpose of signing Sykes. 

His style of play is solely attacking. He can play centrally or out wide right. 

Nige said before that we don't have any wide players, and we don't have any defensive midfielders. This signing addresses one of those issues. 

I would certainly expect an 'out and out' right back to arrive this summer. 

Is he attacking enough to be weimann's understudy ? Sounds like he has similar energy.

[RedRaw]

57 minutes ago, SinéadB said:

I asked an Oxford fan who I trust about Sykes and he came back with this:

"Still not sure what his best position is. Came as an attacking midfielder who could play wide.
We've played him as a winger, a number 10, a central midfielder and at wing back. His best 6 months with us was the start of this season. Has some pace and covers a lot of ground. Can hit a good cross and find a pass. Incredibly skilful but frustrating. Kind of player who'd do a cruyff turn past a player then stick the pass into touch. 
Finishing prior to this season was terrible, there will be numerous podcasts where i said if he could finish then he wouldn't be in League One. 
Think his main issue has been attitude/training work rate. Got bombed out publicly a few times by KR, which seemed to work. 

If he was consistent, he'd be a very good player but still got age on his side. A lot to work with and going up a level and getting around the national squad could/should see him develop further. 
Can see him growing into a role like Joe Rothwell did after leaving us in a similar way.

On a free transfer, it's a no brainer."

Sounds like the O’Dowda report 6 years ago!

[Sheltons Army]

1 minute ago, RedRaw said:

Sounds like the O’Dowda report 6 years ago!

Exactly who Oxford fans compare him too

[Harry]

I’ve said elsewhere that my comparison is a poor man’s Jamie Paterson. 
Someone who can play central or play wide, has good technique when on the ball and can sometimes look very good, but more often than not kind of drifts in and out of games too much and is too often on the periphery. I can see the logic in the signing, but from the games I’ve seen him, I’d expect the type of 1 good game in every 4 or 5, like Pato used to do. 

[NcnsBcfc]

1 hour ago, SBB said:

 

I don’t think I’ve been as interested in signings and pre-season games as I am for this summer.

I know what you mean. So many unknowns and potential twists and turns

Will we sell one or more of our four realistic sellable assets (Weimann, HNM, Semenyeo, Scott).

Will Cundy and Klose sign with us again?

Who from the OOC group of Summer 2023 will we work out a new contract with? Bentley and JD probably being key here. We can't let any player with value leave for free next summer.

What players will we be able to get off the wage bill? Who will we be able to get rid of permanently, and not on loan.

And finally of course, new players coming in to take what is the nucleus of a potentially promising squad to the next level.

So many aspects to the summer isn't there? A massive one for the club to get right, if we are to progress.

[RedNachos]

This signing reminds me a tad of Sammie Szmodics. One the club has done their work on early and are hoping to seal the deal before competition come in. Not loving what I'm hearing on the consistency front, as Nige seems to favour consistent hard-working players, over the 'flashes of brilliance' in Massengo and Bakinson.

If his wages are low and its a free I'm all for it though - and I'd love a contract where he is rewarded for appearances etc with extensions, so that we can offload easier should it become clear Sykes won't be part of our long term rebuild squad, but tie him down should he become a hit. 

[Rocky]

He’s not signing as a finished article. Perhaps Nige and staff can coach him to improve 

[chinapig]

1 minute ago, RedNachos said:

This signing reminds me a tad of Sammie Szmodics. One the club has done their work on early and are hoping to seal the deal before competition come in. Not loving what I'm hearing on the consistency front, as Nige seems to favour consistent hard-working players, over the 'flashes of brilliance' in Massengo and Bakinson.

If his wages are low and its a free I'm all for it though - and I'd love a contract where he is rewarded for appearances etc with extensions, so that we can offload easier should it become clear Sykes won't be part of our long term rebuild squad, but tie him down should he become a hit. 

The difference with Szmodics was the involvement of Ashton. Remember LJ said he had to be convinced, which I took as diplomatic talk for "I didn't want him." As was shown by the fact that he didn't play him.

Sykes in contrast seems to be a player Nigel has identified from the information provided and actually gone to watch. If he has any doubt as to his character he will be unlikely to sign him.

[P'head Red]

11 minutes ago, RedNachos said:

This signing reminds me a tad of Sammie Szmodics. One the club has done their work on early and are hoping to seal the deal before competition come in. Not loving what I'm hearing on the consistency front, as Nige seems to favour consistent hard-working players, over the 'flashes of brilliance' in Massengo and Bakinson.

 

Think it's very harsh to bungle Massengo in with Bakinson. Whilst his end product had been lacking, he's always one of the hardest working on the pitch, and has put MANY classy performances in for us of the last few years, it's not very often he has a truly bad game. 

[SBB]

34 minutes ago, NcnsBcfc said:

I know what you mean. So many unknowns and potential twists and turns

Will we sell one or more of our four realistic sellable assets (Weimann, HNM, Semenyeo, Scott).

Will Cundy and Klose sign with us again?

Who from the OOC group of Summer 2023 will we work out a new contract with? Bentley and JD probably being key here. We can't let any player with value leave for free next summer.

What players will we be able to get off the wage bill? Who will we be able to get rid of permanently, and not on loan.

And finally of course, new players coming in to take what is the nucleus of a potentially promising squad to the next level.

So many aspects to the summer isn't there? A massive one for the club to get right, if we are to progress.

Yes, exactly this!

[Edge1981]

4 hours ago, Carey 6 said:

Can’t go wrong with a free transfer can you?

Remember Nicky Hunt??

[Taz]

54 minutes ago, Edge1981 said:

Remember Nicky Hunt??

Didn't until then. Thanks a lot!!

[Lew-T]

If he has a rep of a bad attitude, I don’t think Nige would go there. 
 

 

[Fuber]

6 hours ago, Malago said:

You see I disagree.  I think full back is specialist position which your average player needs time and games playing there to fully get the hang of it.

Bradley Orr?

[Son of Fred]

Reading between the lines he is contrary and of questionable attitude.....hates a tackle with little end product...

O'Dowda'esque??

[KegCity]

13 hours ago, Malago said:

We need an out and out right back, so we can play a flat back 4, not another right side midfielder who can double up as a wing back.

“Another” right sided midfielder, do we have any at the club at the moment? COD is our only winger and he’s off? 

[GrahamC]

12 hours ago, NcnsBcfc said:

I know what you mean. So many unknowns and potential twists and turns

Will we sell one or more of our four realistic sellable assets (Weimann, HNM, Semenyeo, Scott).

Will Cundy and Klose sign with us again?

Who from the OOC group of Summer 2023 will we work out a new contract with? Bentley and JD probably being key here. We can't let any player with value leave for free next summer.

What players will we be able to get off the wage bill? Who will we be able to get rid of permanently, and not on loan.

And finally of course, new players coming in to take what is the nucleus of a potentially promising squad to the next level.

So many aspects to the summer isn't there? A massive one for the club to get right, if we are to progress.

Excellent post, though of course I always agree with you .

This might seem an odd thing to say with the retained list not even out yet & the season not finished for 4 teams, but I did wonder whether we could move too soon in the market this summer?

Say we sell Bakinson, Kalas, & then both HNM & Semenyo go, we could suddenly have more room for manoeuvre & picking up Sykes & another free like Pack would have limited our room to make change.

Counter argument of course is that if our options are limited these 2 could be our best bets.

As you say, really interesting summer from a transfer perspective.

[NcnsBcfc]

11 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Excellent post, though of course I always agree with you .

This might seem an odd thing to say with the retained list not even out yet & the season not finished for 4 teams, but I did wonder whether we could move too soon in the market this summer?

Say we sell Bakinson, Kalas, & then both HNM & Semenyo go, we could suddenly have more room for manoeuvre & picking up Sykes & another free like Pack would have limited our room to make change.

Counter argument of course is that if our options are limited these 2 could be our best bets.

As you say, really interesting summer from a transfer perspective.

Forgot to add the trio of Webster, Brownhill; and Kelly.

Can't budget on one or more of them leaving their clubs for a decent fee. But any sell on has a massive effect on our financial position, and options for the summer.

[AshtonRobin21]

14 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Excellent post, though of course I always agree with you .

This might seem an odd thing to say with the retained list not even out yet & the season not finished for 4 teams, but I did wonder whether we could move too soon in the market this summer?

Say we sell Bakinson, Kalas, & then both HNM & Semenyo go, we could suddenly have more room for manoeuvre & picking up Sykes & another free like Pack would have limited our room to make change.

Counter argument of course is that if our options are limited these 2 could be our best bets.

As you say, really interesting summer from a transfer perspective.

Every signing made this summer will be scrutinized more than ever before. 

- How will they fit in the team?

- Do they improve us?

- was better available? 

- Why did we sign them and then sell "...."

- "this is going to be a long season" / "Now I'm excited for the season ahead"

- Is this all we could get? 

There's no doubting we need signings in early this summer. We look to have established a playing style, and Nige will be keen to settle the new signings in early and have his squad ready for pre-season. 

I firmly believe that free agents will arrive to 'shape' the squad. Then any departures will free up some funds for a replacement to be signed. E.g. Massengo departs (£4m), new signing (£1.5m). This will help to support our financial situation. 

[Jerseybean]

Local rag account provides nothing new: https://www.witneygazette.co.uk/sport/20132340.oxford-uniteds-mark-sykes-in-talks-bristol-city---reports/

[Davefevs]

If you want to see more stuff:

I’m a bit more encouraged by these 3 videos, but usual caveat that it’s a highlights reel, it’s gonna be good.

@GrahamC

@NcnsBcfc

@AshtonRobin21

I guess there will always be ifs, buts and maybes.  I guess there is also the case that if we do generate extra budget, looking at more “expensive” players means competing with “better” (define better?) clubs for their signature.

I guess there is also no harm in keeping a bit up your sleeve for January or even next summer.

Lots of fun to be had this summer trying to work out how it’s going to go.

[KegCity]

I've not watched the guy but his underlying stats aren't amazing and haven't read too many glowing reviews. James's compilation is encouraging but it is only a highlight reel. One thing I did notice is that Oxford won the vast majority of games in which he played right midfield/wing according to TranferMarket. Whether thats anything to do with him I don't know.

Bit worried we're signing another O'Dowda just after it looks like we've finally shifted the current one, but we can only judge him once he's playing in a City shirt.

[Bat Fastard]

Two footed, very quick, direct, skilled and free. What is there not to like?  If Big Nige sees something extra in him and can even add further improvement, then he could be a great signing.

[tin]

I’m not sold on this deal, but there’s no doubt we need more pace and width and Skyes gives us that option. 

[And Its Smith]

2 hours ago, Bat Fastard said:

Two footed, very quick, direct, skilled and free. What is there not to like?  If Big Nige sees something extra in him and can even add further improvement, then he could be a great signing.

Inconsistent is what’s not to like. And attitude.  Maybe Pearson improves both of those things though. Time will tell 

[Jerseybean]

3 hours ago, billywedlock said:

Not the player from Oxford I would  be signing . Beggars  cannot be choosers I guess . Only seen him once and was most unimpressed . But others will know more about him and comments above suggest some talent but not consistent 

Inconsistency reinforced here: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/bristol-city-transfer-sykes-lowdown-7071230

[Northern Red]

I'm just impressed that we've got so many posters who've seen so many Oxford matches to be able to form a definitive opinion.