Mark Sykes Signed (Confirmed)

[BritAbroad]

Welcome to the club, Mark. Hope you do well for us.

[glynriley]

9 hours ago, real_bristol said:

Happy to trust Nige’s judgement on this one. Wonder if he would have ever signed O’Dowda :laugh:. United fans might not rate Sykes but how many times have we not rated a player and he’s gone on to exceed our expectations. Would be nice if the table was turned for once. Worth the gamble on a free. 

I’ll never criticise a signing until I’ve seen him play a dozen times for us. 
 

Well, not since Sir Aaron of Wilbrahimovic. 

[maxjak]

12 hours ago, David Brent said:

What’s this got to do with COD?

COD'S Leaving.............Sykes is arriving.  Although they do not exactly play in the same position.   Sykes appears to be strongly motivated, ambitious and has an excellent fitness record, whereas COD n' Chips?...............Well, is IMHO a waste of a shirt.   Sykes is the sort of hungry talented footballer, with the right mentality who will hopefully take this club forward.  COD, has talent, but is injury prone, inconsistent and would appear to be the type of player that Pearson does not want around his squad.   Sykes appears to be the future..........COD, The past.    That is why i compared them.         

Edited May 17, 2022 by maxjak

[Monkeh]

Cod was alright, he was far from a waste of a shirt, the fact he played regularly for Ireland says he had something about him,

He wasn't however the same player when he returned from injury and to be fair, he never really played that often in his strongest position,

It's right to let him go, but let's not pretend he was a gus caesar

[Davefevs]

10 minutes ago, Monkeh said:

Cod was alright, he was far from a waste of a shirt, the fact he played regularly for Ireland says he had something about him,

He wasn't however the same player when he returned from injury and to be fair, he never really played that often in his strongest position,

It's right to let him go, but let's not pretend he was a gus caesar

Nor hail Caesar either

[maxjak]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

Nor hail Caesar either

Beware the IDES of COD? ................

[Bazooka Joe]

On 12/05/2022 at 11:13, 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.

If his performances reveal that he's not two-footed, he will not have a leg to stand on.

[maxjak]

8 hours ago, maxjak said:

COD'S Leaving.............Sykes is arriving.  Although they do not exactly play in the same position.   Sykes appears to be strongly motivated, ambitious and has an excellent fitness record, whereas COD n' Chips?...............Well, is IMHO a waste of a shirt.   Sykes is the sort of hungry talented footballer, with the right mentality who will hopefully take this club forward.  COD, has talent, but is injury prone, inconsistent and would appear to be the type of player that Pearson does not want around his squad.   Sykes appears to be the future..........COD, The past.    That is why i compared them.         

      ............          ........                         I am never quite sure what the confused emoji signifies?  A lack of coherent thinking, or the inability to conjure up a relevant reply?  It is such a cop out IMHO. 

[RedRock]

Sorry!
 

Actually agree with you.

[Mr Popodopolous]

Welcome Mark.

[SDBS36]

Welcome to the Bristol City family Mark, do well for us prove any doubters wrong

[Bedred31]

NP is big on attitude and personality. Very big. I don’t think he’d sign a player if he wasn’t sure about his motivation.

[Manor Born]

Things are quiet and as an Oxford fan I've been looking at this thread with interest - for the record, I like Sykes and you may have got yourself a player on the cheap here.

If you visited our forum you will have witnessed one of the maddest and longest running threads we've had regarding a player in a while. When Sykes arrived from Ireland he publicly said that we he saw us as a 'stepping stone' - not the most sensible thing to say but he's certainly not the first and won't be the last. We saw some glimpses of what he could do in his first season but he was generally off of the pace and needed to be more physical. His second season followed a similar pattern - increasingly frequent cameos but still not holding a place down. At this stage the club seemingly made a few attempts to offload him but for whatever reason, he stayed.

21/22 saw a distinct step-up, at least until January. His decision making, physicality and final ball all improved and he was getting into scoring positions and actually putting the ball away. At his best he was playing wide of a midfield four or front three and while best on the right, can also play on the left. I've not looked at the stats but he's fit, it's not unlikely he covered the most ground of any player and and has rarely been injured. He has enough pace and a good level of skill. However, from January his form dropped off, partly down to having a long stint at right and occasionally left wing-back, neither of which he is. This was primarily down to our manager not having recruited enough defensive back-up. I thought he generally gave it a go (although others would disagree) but he was nowhere near as comfortable or effective.

As it became increasingly likely he wasn't going to sign an extension, people became more antagonistic toward him - it's fair to say he became the scapegoat toward the end of the season and some idiots referred to him as 'coward' (he pulled out of a couple of heavy tackles that went for throws at Rotherham - didn't bother me) and 'cheating' the club of a wage. 

It's fair to say that most fans never warmed to him - he was slow to acknowledge us and avoided ostentatious kissing the badge gestures. I liked him as a footballer and was disappointed we didn't get more out of him but I don't have a problem with someone wanting to better themselves - after all, it's a short career for most. I'm not sure I'll miss him much but he won't be as easy to replace as some would have it.

He'll probably need some TLC from the management but it's a worthwhile gamble on your part.

[Rocky]

5 minutes ago, Manor Born said:

Things are quiet and as an Oxford fan I've been looking at this thread with interest - for the record, I like Sykes and you may have got yourself a player on the cheap here.

If you visited our forum you will have witnessed one of the maddest and longest running threads we've had regarding a player in a while. When Sykes arrived from Ireland he publicly said that we he saw us as a 'stepping stone' - not the most sensible thing to say but he's certainly not the first and won't be the last. We saw some glimpses of what he could do in his first season but he was generally off of the pace and needed to be more physical. His second season followed a similar pattern - increasingly frequent cameos but still not holding a place down. At this stage the club seemingly made a few attempts to offload him but for whatever reason, he stayed.

21/22 saw a distinct step-up, at least until January. His decision making, physicality and final ball all improved and he was getting into scoring positions and actually putting the ball away. At his best he was playing wide of a midfield four or front three and while best on the right, can also play on the left. I've not looked at the stats but he's fit, it's not unlikely he covered the most ground of any player and and has rarely been injured. He has enough pace and a good level of skill. However, from January his form dropped off, partly down to having a long stint at right and occasionally left wing-back, neither of which he is. This was primarily down to our manager not having recruited enough defensive back-up. I thought he generally gave it a go (although others would disagree) but he was nowhere near as comfortable or effective.

As it became increasingly likely he wasn't going to sign an extension, people became more antagonistic toward him - it's fair to say he became the scapegoat toward the end of the season and some idiots referred to him as 'coward' (he pulled out of a couple of heavy tackles that went for throws at Rotherham - didn't bother me) and 'cheating' the club of a wage. 

It's fair to say that most fans never warmed to him - he was slow to acknowledge us and avoided ostentatious kissing the badge gestures. I liked him as a footballer and was disappointed we didn't get more out of him but I don't have a problem with someone wanting to better themselves - after all, it's a short career for most. I'm not sure I'll miss him much but he won't be as easy to replace as some would have it.

He'll probably need some TLC from the management but it's a worthwhile gamble on your part.

Cheers.  Maybe you could get COD back?!

[Monkeh]

5 minutes ago, Manor Born said:

Things are quiet and as an Oxford fan I've been looking at this thread with interest - for the record, I like Sykes and you may have got yourself a player on the cheap here.

If you visited our forum you will have witnessed one of the maddest and longest running threads we've had regarding a player in a while. When Sykes arrived from Ireland he publicly said that we he saw us as a 'stepping stone' - not the most sensible thing to say but he's certainly not the first and won't be the last. We saw some glimpses of what he could do in his first season but he was generally off of the pace and needed to be more physical. His second season followed a similar pattern - increasingly frequent cameos but still not holding a place down. At this stage the club seemingly made a few attempts to offload him but for whatever reason, he stayed.

21/22 saw a distinct step-up, at least until January. His decision making, physicality and final ball all improved and he was getting into scoring positions and actually putting the ball away. At his best he was playing wide of a midfield four or front three and while best on the right, can also play on the left. I've not looked at the stats but he's fit, it's not unlikely he covered the most ground of any player and and has rarely been injured. He has enough pace and a good level of skill. However, from January his form dropped off, partly down to having a long stint at right and occasionally left wing-back, neither of which he is. This was primarily down to our manager not having recruited enough defensive back-up. I thought he generally gave it a go (although others would disagree) but he was nowhere near as comfortable or effective.

As it became increasingly likely he wasn't going to sign an extension, people became more antagonistic toward him - it's fair to say he became the scapegoat toward the end of the season and some idiots referred to him as 'coward' (he pulled out of a couple of heavy tackles that went for throws at Rotherham - didn't bother me) and 'cheating' the club of a wage. 

It's fair to say that most fans never warmed to him - he was slow to acknowledge us and avoided ostentatious kissing the badge gestures. I liked him as a footballer and was disappointed we didn't get more out of him but I don't have a problem with someone wanting to better themselves - after all, it's a short career for most. I'm not sure I'll miss him much but he won't be as easy to replace as some would have it.

He'll probably need some TLC from the management but it's a worthwhile gamble on your part.

Nice to not have a bigger opinion,

Thanks for the honest post 

[Davefevs]

Cheers @Manor Born, good to get an impartial opinion.  I read your forum thread on Sykes, and it resembled several threads on here…many of which you need to cut through a lot of crap to get a feel for a player.

[Sheltons Army]

Yep - thanks @Manor Born , as others above have said - I am always interested in , and value the opinion, of a sensible fan who has watched a player week in week out 

Good Luck next season - Hope Matty ‘Is a red’ Taylor can get you up 

[Jerseybean]

2 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Cheers @Manor Born, good to get an impartial opinion.  I read your forum thread on Sykes, and it resembled several threads on here…many of which you need to cut through a lot of crap to get a feel for a player.

A feel for the player from another source here: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/bristol-city-glenavon-tough-kid-7107352

[Engvall’s Splinter]

Looked like he was holding his hammy in the video