Sno

[Economou]

Lets hope his back gets better !

[CiderEagle]

Here's my two pennyworth. I'm currently working in the Netherlands for a while, so while I haven't seen much of Sno except on telly, I have been following the Dutch Eredivisie a bit, and also the Jupiler League, which is one down, and I do have a few observations about the Dutch game in general.

Its a slower game than in England. The players generally hold onto the ball better, not just in the Eredivisie but also in the Jupiler League. Whether this is because the players are more skilled than in England or whether they just don't get defenders in their faces so much, I can't say - but you definitely don't get that thing you get in the Championship where if a team strings a few passes together without making a direct attack on goal, tyhe fans start getting restless. This just doesn't happen out here - and don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that makes their football better or purer than ours, its just a very different attitude from the fans, reflecting a very different culture.

Now, Evander Sno comes to Bristol City. The guy's the product of a completely different footballing culture. If you get frustrated with a particular aspect of his game, try and remember that. Try also to remember that he is not just the product of the Netherlands, he is a product of the Ajax system. Ajax are still "Holland's club" in that they have the respect of pretty much everybody (except Feyenoord) - they can pick who they want from the talent available country-side, and they are not known for selecting dummies at youth level.

To those of you who think that he's not up to it, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. However, if you want to examine the other side of the argument, then I'd urge you to at least watch a bit of Dutch footy (I think ESPN carries highlights, if not then you can pick up live coverage on the internet if you know where to look) - this may give you a clue as to how his style and BCFC's need to learn how to play together.

As far as I'm concerned, he gives us something almost unique in this division and we should be building the team round him.