When to accept your 5m striker is misfiring?

[Davefevs]

Very, very different players.

[tinman85]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

Perhaps he's a good foil for Reid, but Reid isn't a good foil for him.  Perhaps he'll do more with Woodrow or Taylor or Leko?

He has contributed in the goals, assists, hockey assists / significant goal columns, but I think the general impression is that he's been (a bit) underwhelming.

We don't have to make our final judgement of him now, but we can of course measure his performance (game by game if we want) .  He's 24, strange country, 5th toughest league in the world (allegedly).

Also, for the Taylor fans, you are happy to accept 2 goals (assuming you're giving him the one v Leeds) 5 assists in 15 games.  Not dissimilar stats...but you're happy because he buzzes around, works hard.  He doesn't do much on the ball either, if that's the comparison...and of course he didn't cost £5m either.

I think we'll know much more by Xmas, and whether he's been good, bad or indifferent.  However if Reid has 15 goals at that point, that might factor into the equation.

Good debate though.

 

He hasn't been an awful signing. But for £5.3M I think we are entitled to expect more. Seems a shadow of Kodjia and Tammy. 

[JamesBCFC]

18 minutes ago, tinman85 said:

He hasn't been an awful signing. But for £5.3M I think we are entitled to expect more. Seems a shadow of Kodjia and Tammy. 

Because he isnt the same type of striker as either of them,  nor is he playing the same role that they were.

[Phileas Fogg]

22 minutes ago, tinman85 said:

He hasn't been an awful signing. But for £5.3M I think we are entitled to expect more. Seems a shadow of Kodjia and Tammy. 

Use of the word 'entitled' is interesting. Not sure that word is applicable to football really, so many nuances and variables. 

 

[Kid in the Riot]

32 minutes ago, tinman85 said:

He hasn't been an awful signing. But for £5.3M I think we are entitled to expect more. Seems a shadow of Kodjia and Tammy. 

According to some on here £5.3m is just a 'punt' these days though. Load of nonsense IMO, it's a lot of money and if he does turn out to be a dud then no doubt a head will roll somewhere along the line.

I mean Ipswich signed Garner and Waghorn for a total of just over £2m and they've already got 7 goals between them. If £5.3m on one player is a punt, then what are they?

[Davefevs]

I've always liked Garner - he'd be the player I'd dislike marking if I were a pro.

Lets see how many they've got between them at Xmas.  I always thought Garner would do better at this level.

[FNQ]

1 hour ago, Kid in the Riot said:

According to some on here £5.3m is just a 'punt' these days though. Load of nonsense IMO, it's a lot of money and if he does turn out to be a dud then no doubt a head will roll somewhere along the line.

I mean Ipswich signed Garner and Waghorn for a total of just over £2m and they've already got 7 goals between them. If £5.3m on one player is a punt, then what are they?

They are not one player... They are what I would phrase as a cair of punts who wouldn't get in our team... : 

Looking at it another way so far this season between the cair of them they have scored no more than Bobby and Fam and are playing for a team that has scored less than us... I concede that they currently have a game in hand, but there again they've not played the likes of Reading or Wolves as yet let alone playing them away from home.. Three of their seven goals came in a seven goal shoot out with Millwall on the rare occasion that Millwall didn't park the bus. Stick with it and give Fam time...

[pillred]

14 hours ago, cheshire_red said:

I still can't get my head around the fact Smith was available for circa £500k. Is Fammy a better player or better value for money or more Championship ready or likely to score more goals or able to hold the ball up better or significantly quicker or any number of other equations. 

The only difference I can spot is Smith may not have been a Marque signing. But he certainly wouldn't have been a gamble and £5.2n is a lot for a club of this size to gamble. Additionally signing Smith would have left a nice pot of money to sign a top quality midfielder

that's a very crafty way to say you think that famara is overpriced, but you're right, for all the excuses people on here are making for him and I admit he has his strengths, I firmly believe he was bought to be our main goal scorer, if he played for the gas with his record so far this season we would be pissing ourselves.

[REDOXO]

5 hours ago, pongo88 said:

I have spoken for myself - see numerous previous posts

Nice job. But I'm none the wiser what you are really getting at. You think the guy is crap and adds nothing ? 

[havanatopia]

16 hours ago, cheshire_red said:

I still can't get my head around the fact Smith was available for circa £500k. Is Fammy a better player or better value for money or more Championship ready or likely to score more goals or able to hold the ball up better or significantly quicker or any number of other equations. 

The only difference I can spot is Smith may not have been a Marque signing. But he certainly wouldn't have been a gamble and £5.2n is a lot for a club of this size to gamble. Additionally signing Smith would have left a nice pot of money to sign a top quality midfielder

Interesting thoughts but perhaps Smith was more interested in going elsewhere? 

8 hours ago, WayOutWest said:

I like him.  We have seen glimpses of what he can do.  Bobby Reid's goal at Birmingham city is an example.  He mugged Nsue not once, not twice but three times turning him inside out before lashing the ball against the post.

And that is the only game we have lost so far this season; I will take poorer performances from Fammy in return for a win or a draw in that case then.

[pongo88]

8 hours ago, REDOXO said:

Nice job. But I'm none the wiser what you are really getting at. You think the guy is crap and adds nothing ? 

If you are none the wiser, you obviously haven't read my previous posts.  I could say that if you can't be bothered to read them, I can't be bothered to repeat them, but as it's a nice day, I will:

"It does matter if Diedhiou was signed as a like for like, in terms of goals, replacement for Tammy. We need somebody who can score regularly from open play. This may be the new Bobby Reid (!!!). If Reid doesn't keep scoring it's got to be somebody else and, at present, that person doesn't seem to be the £5m man"

"Because you don't pay £5m for a player to just score penalties. It's not like American football where they bring on a player just to take the kicks. For £5m, which is admittedly cheapish by Championship standards, a forward should demonstrate some ability to score from open play and have a modicum of ball control."

"Providing he keeps scoring from penalties. If you just consider goals scored from open play he will score 7 ish goals. That said, I don't beleive we should just extrapolate his current scoring rate. There have been plenty of players who have started poorly and got better and vice versa."

"I've got to agree with @Robbored on this. He hasn't got any real speed, ball control, or natural finishing. For his size he doesn't win enough balls in the air. To me he seems like a Championship version of a Sunday morning pub team player - i e someone a bit past his prime, unfit, and suffering from too many pints the night before."

"Unfortunately @pillred I think you're right. Admittedly he hasn't had any decent service, but lack of pace, and ball control is obvious. He might turn out to be like Matt Smith who was "awful" but then became good, but I'm not hopeful. He looks like a player who has come from a non league team and City just decided to take a £50K punt. He may improve, and I hope he does, but £5m is a lot of money for City to pay. I don't believe he would be in the team."

"I don't know what to make of Diedhiou. He looks nowhere near being a £5m player, or even a £500k player, but he rarely gets decent service. I'd like to see him playing in a decent team. On the other hand, Millwall's number 19, Tom Elliot, who came on as sub looked a far better player and he was signed from Wimbledon on a free in the summer."

A summary of the above could be put into 3 categories - factual, opinion, and harsh.

Factual. He has no pace or ball control, and for his size he doesn't win much in the air. On current form, of one goal from open play, he doesn't look like a a natural finisher .  

Opinion. For what he can do, £5m is too much. He looks like a player signed from a lower league / non league team on a cheap punt.

Harsh. He looks like a Sunday morning pub team player.

Basically, it's unlikely that he's going to get much faster, if at all, and if he can't control the ball at age 24 it's unlikely he will improve much. He may improve his scoring rate if he gets better service, but on present form that's a hope rather than an expectation. Some people have commented that he does a lot of unseen things, but nobody can actually say what they are. Perhaps, at times, he wears  Harry Potter's cloak of invisibility. People also say, City have started well and Bobby Reid is scoring, so Diedhiou must be contributing. My take on this is City and Bobby Reid are doing well in spite of Diedhiou being on the pitch.  Imaging how good things would be if we were playing with a good forward and not ten men.

On the positive side he does well when he drops back to defend corners. Unfortunately, this is counter balanced by his inability to control and hold onto the ball when City attack. Often a City attack breaks down when he get the ball, so the opposition can launch a counter attack. I've also said he might turn out like "awful" Matt Smith and we shouldn't just extrapolate his current scoring rate. There have been plenty of players who have started poorly and got better and vice versa.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

11 hours ago, Davefevs said:

I've always liked Garner - he'd be the player I'd dislike marking if I were a pro.

Lets see how many they've got between them at Xmas.  I always thought Garner would do better at this level.

I've always rated him; he's the sort of player who'll be a real nuisance well into his 30s like Wilbraham.

I know he didn't exactly tear it up in this league to begin with, but I always felt the potential was there. 

[Phileas Fogg]

3 minutes ago, pongo88 said:

A summary of the above could be put into 3 categories - factual, opinion, and harsh.

Factual. He has no pace or ball control, and for his size he doesn't win much in the air. On current form, of one goal from open play, he doesn't look like a a natural finisher . 

Opinion. For what he can do, £5m is too much. He looks like a player signed from a lower league / non league team on a cheap punt.

Harsh. He looks like a Sunday morning pub team player.

Basically, it's unlikely that he's going to get much faster, if at all, and if he can't control the ball at age 24 it's unlikely he will improve much. He may improve his scoring rate if he gets better service, but on present form that's a hope rather than an expectation.

Obviously we disagree about Diedhiou. I haven't been to any away games so just commenting on home games and the principle of giving a player like him some time.

Interesting you mention controlling the ball and the capability to improve this - I actually think it's the type of thing you improve as you become more confident. Most players at this level have a good first touch, but whether you'd attempt a first touch that's more risky or has the potential to hurt the opposition comes down to your self-belief to attempt it. I'm certain - if he hits a scoring run over a few games, things like his touch and range of passing will improve exponentially. Confidence does funny things to players.

3 minutes ago, pongo88 said:

Some people have commented that he does a lot of unseen things, but nobody can actually say what they are.

 

Those unseen things are occupying defenders to create space for others including making runs, contesting for high balls whether he wins them or not and generally being something for the defence to think about. His size, whether he uses it or not, will always create issues for defenders.

[DT The Optimist]

It is harsh as Pong88 says.  If his first touch is poor at 24 is it ever going to get any better ?  I think I missed one game at Brentford so having seen him, and wanting him to succeed, the jury is still out for the long term. Lets all hope for a storming game this Saturday  to take the pressure off him and give us 'doubters' one in the eye.  Its not that the threads in this post are 'knocking' him, it is more a case  of cause for concern, being polite.  Expecting more from a record signing ?

 

I also note in the pre match press conference release from LJ he sings his praises about the 'unseen' work he does for the cause.  I guess perhaps he has to.  Either way the club cannot spend 5M plus and then drop him, unless rested.

So it is with interest we will see how it all pans out with Fammy.

Another point I would ask, how does he compare to Arnold GARITA.  Again, from the lower French leagues.  I have seen him once, when he ran up and down the touch line at West Brom a few years back on signing.  I have never seen him play, apart from a few clips when on loan at Plymuff. I ask a simple question as he was a £50K punt in January 2016, Fammy  5M !.  Wondering how they compare !

[REDOXO]

1 hour ago, pongo88 said:

If you are none the wiser, you obviously haven't read my previous posts.  I could say that if you can't be bothered to read them, I can't be bothered to repeat them, but as it's a nice day, I will:

"It does matter if Diedhiou was signed as a like for like, in terms of goals, replacement for Tammy. We need somebody who can score regularly from open play. This may be the new Bobby Reid (!!!). If Reid doesn't keep scoring it's got to be somebody else and, at present, that person doesn't seem to be the £5m man"

"Because you don't pay £5m for a player to just score penalties. It's not like American football where they bring on a player just to take the kicks. For £5m, which is admittedly cheapish by Championship standards, a forward should demonstrate some ability to score from open play and have a modicum of ball control."

"Providing he keeps scoring from penalties. If you just consider goals scored from open play he will score 7 ish goals. That said, I don't beleive we should just extrapolate his current scoring rate. There have been plenty of players who have started poorly and got better and vice versa."

"I've got to agree with @Robbored on this. He hasn't got any real speed, ball control, or natural finishing. For his size he doesn't win enough balls in the air. To me he seems like a Championship version of a Sunday morning pub team player - i e someone a bit past his prime, unfit, and suffering from too many pints the night before."

"Unfortunately @pillred I think you're right. Admittedly he hasn't had any decent service, but lack of pace, and ball control is obvious. He might turn out to be like Matt Smith who was "awful" but then became good, but I'm not hopeful. He looks like a player who has come from a non league team and City just decided to take a £50K punt. He may improve, and I hope he does, but £5m is a lot of money for City to pay. I don't believe he would be in the team."

"I don't know what to make of Diedhiou. He looks nowhere near being a £5m player, or even a £500k player, but he rarely gets decent service. I'd like to see him playing in a decent team. On the other hand, Millwall's number 19, Tom Elliot, who came on as sub looked a far better player and he was signed from Wimbledon on a free in the summer."

A summary of the above could be put into 3 categories - factual, opinion, and harsh.

Factual. He has no pace or ball control, and for his size he doesn't win much in the air. On current form, of one goal from open play, he doesn't look like a a natural finisher .  

Opinion. For what he can do, £5m is too much. He looks like a player signed from a lower league / non league team on a cheap punt.

Harsh. He looks like a Sunday morning pub team player.

Basically, it's unlikely that he's going to get much faster, if at all, and if he can't control the ball at age 24 it's unlikely he will improve much. He may improve his scoring rate if he gets better service, but on present form that's a hope rather than an expectation. Some people have commented that he does a lot of unseen things, but nobody can actually say what they are. Perhaps, at times, he wears  Harry Potter's cloak of invisibility. People also say, City have started well and Bobby Reid is scoring, so Diedhiou must be contributing. My take on this is City and Bobby Reid are doing well in spite of Diedhiou being on the pitch.  Imaging how good things would be if we were playing with a good forward and not ten men.

On the positive side he does well when he drops back to defend corners. Unfortunately, this is counter balanced by his inability to control and hold onto the ball when City attack. Often a City attack breaks down when he get the ball, so the opposition can launch a counter attack. I've also said he might turn out like "awful" Matt Smith and we shouldn't just extrapolate his current scoring rate. There have been plenty of players who have started poorly and got better and vice versa.

 

Excellent all in one place for future reference!

[pongo88]

17 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

Excellent all in one place for future reference!

I know what you mean by this. In 6 months time when he's scored 20 goals and is valued at £20m, you post my comments and say "I told you so"! (Even though I think he's awful I hope he come good)

[REDOXO]

12 minutes ago, pongo88 said:

I know what you mean by this. In 6 months time when he's scored 20 goals and is valued at £20m, you post my comments and say "I told you so"! (Even though I think he's awful I hope he come good)

 I'm not the type to do that. But you now have ground zero much like @Marina's Rolls Royce And Matt Smith. Frankly I always like your posts but we both sincerely hope you're wrong! CTID

[WayOutWest]

23 hours ago, pongo88 said:

Because you don't pay £5m for a player to just score penalties.  It's not like American football where they bring on a player just to take the kicks.  For £5m, which is admittedly cheapish by Championship standards, a forward should demonstrate some ability to score from open play and have a modicum of ball control.

He has contributed fully to more than half of our goals.

In the 11 goals scored this season, Fam has

Scored 2

Assisted 2 (Brentford - Brownhill) (Wolves - Flint)

Significant Contribution to goals 2 (my opinion). (Barnsley - Reid 1st goal) (Birmingham - Reid)

Go back and watch them if you need to.  Thats a decent return for a guy 6 league games into his Bristol City career.  Not saying there is no room for improvement.

But your post is nonsense...sorry mate.

Steo

[Kid in the Riot]

1 hour ago, WayOutWest said:

He has contributed fully to more than half of our goals.

In the 11 goals scored this season, Fam has

Scored 2

Assisted 2 (Brentford - Brownhill) (Wolves - Flint)

Significant Contribution to goals 2 (my opinion). (Barnsley - Reid 1st goal) (Birmingham - Reid)

Go back and watch them if you need to.  Thats a decent return for a guy 6 league games into his Bristol City career.  Not saying there is no room for improvement.

But your post is nonsense...sorry mate.

Steo

I don't need to go back and watch the goals to tell you it wasn't his assist for Flint at Wolves!

[Lanterne Rouge]

7 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

I don't need to go back and watch the goals to tell you it wasn't his assist for Flint at Wolves!

I think he did square the ball for Bailey`s shot so not an assist as such but involved certainly.

[WayOutWest]

2 hours ago, Kid in the Riot said:

I don't need to go back and watch the goals to tell you it wasn't his assist for Flint at Wolves!

Gonna tell ya Flint didnt know too much about that one.  Fam squared the ball to BW.  Good enough for me

[pillred]

11 hours ago, DT The Optimist said:

It is harsh as Pong88 says.  If his first touch is poor at 24 is it ever going to get any better ?  I think I missed one game at Brentford so having seen him, and wanting him to succeed, the jury is still out for the long term. Lets all hope for a storming game this Saturday  to take the pressure off him and give us 'doubters' one in the eye.  Its not that the threads in this post are 'knocking' him, it is more a case  of cause for concern, being polite.  Expecting more from a record signing ?

 

I also note in the pre match press conference release from LJ he sings his praises about the 'unseen' work he does for the cause.  I guess perhaps he has to.  Either way the club cannot spend 5M plus and then drop him, unless rested.

So it is with interest we will see how it all pans out with Fammy.

Another point I would ask, how does he compare to Arnold GARITA.  Again, from the lower French leagues.  I have seen him once, when he ran up and down the touch line at West Brom a few years back on signing.  I have never seen him play, apart from a few clips when on loan at Plymuff. I ask a simple question as he was a £50K punt in January 2016, Fammy  5M !.  Wondering how they compare !

not a lot of difference apart from the price from what I have seen, it's not like just a couple of games is it. it's like the emperors new clothes, some of us brave enough to say it can see he is stark b***%k naked.

[Son of Fred]

13 hours ago, Phileas Fogg said:

Obviously we disagree about Diedhiou. I haven't been to any away games so just commenting on home games and the principle of giving a player like him some time.

Interesting you mention controlling the ball and the capability to improve this - I actually think it's the type of thing you improve as you become more confident. Most players at this level have a good first touch, but whether you'd attempt a first touch that's more risky or has the potential to hurt the opposition comes down to your self-belief to attempt it. I'm certain - if he hits a scoring run over a few games, things like his touch and range of passing will improve exponentially. Confidence does funny things to players.

Those unseen things are occupying defenders to create space for others including making runs, contesting for high balls whether he wins them or not and generally being something for the defence to think about. His size, whether he uses it or not, will always create issues for defenders.

To be honest The potential signing "discussed" on here of Waghorn from Rangers(that possibility was ripped to shreads on this forum to put it politely).....Martin's current form at Ipswich is making him look like Harry Kane compared to Fammy.

Unseen things????....correct.

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, Robert the bruce said:

To be honest The potential signing "discussed" on here of Waghorn from Rangers(that possibility was ripped to shreads on this forum to put it politely).....Martin's current form at Ipswich is making him look like Harry Kane compared to Fammy.

Unseen things????....correct.

He's not scored in 2  

[Garland-sweden]

Not worried about Famara. His goals is gonna to come. At the moment Bobby find the net, mainthing we score. Famara works hard, soner or later he will score again. Think he soon will be used the tempo in championship. Good for his confidence to take the pen and score. Think the way he plays is in the plans for how we should be a establshed team in this leauge. We can not rely that we every season have an Kodjia or Tammy who scores more than 20 goals. Tomlin gone, Kodjia, Tammy. Think that know that we looks more like a team. Famara is a part in that team. Offcause I hope like everybody else that he will score. He looks sometimes not so fast and the control of the ball not perfect but Im sure he got the play in him and he will do fine. Coyr!!!

[Kibs]

It's quite a difficult one but I'm remaining positive about Diedhiou. He is being asked to do things he isn't used to doing - working so hard on our high press being one of them. When you work so hard without the ball (and it applies to everyone, not just Diedhiou, but he definitely won't have done it before), it will obviously make it more difficult to do what you want to do when you have got the ball - anyone who has played at any level will know how this feels!! On top of that, the pace and tempo of the game here, the number of games he's having to play. I'll judge him fully at the end of the season but I've seen enough glimpses of ability to think that he'll eventually be a success for us. 

I've mentioned it and so have others loads of times but 20 goal Championship strikers really are few and far between, if the team keeps scoring as they are (which is far far better than relying on 1 player like last season), and he gets 12+ in his first season, works hard and continues to play a part in our goals, then that'll do for me. 

Also, I don't think that LJ is the sort of manager to shirk a decision. He has all the data and if Diedhiou is not contributing enough, he'll be benched. His price tag won't come into it. We spent good money on Engvall, Magnússon, Tomlin etc and he's been happy to bench them. 

[1bristolcity]

20 hours ago, pongo88 said:

If you are none the wiser, you obviously haven't read my previous posts.  I could say that if you can't be bothered to read them, I can't be bothered to repeat them, but as it's a nice day, I will:

"It does matter if Diedhiou was signed as a like for like, in terms of goals, replacement for Tammy. We need somebody who can score regularly from open play. This may be the new Bobby Reid (!!!). If Reid doesn't keep scoring it's got to be somebody else and, at present, that person doesn't seem to be the £5m man"

"Because you don't pay £5m for a player to just score penalties. It's not like American football where they bring on a player just to take the kicks. For £5m, which is admittedly cheapish by Championship standards, a forward should demonstrate some ability to score from open play and have a modicum of ball control."

"Providing he keeps scoring from penalties. If you just consider goals scored from open play he will score 7 ish goals. That said, I don't beleive we should just extrapolate his current scoring rate. There have been plenty of players who have started poorly and got better and vice versa."

"I've got to agree with @Robbored on this. He hasn't got any real speed, ball control, or natural finishing. For his size he doesn't win enough balls in the air. To me he seems like a Championship version of a Sunday morning pub team player - i e someone a bit past his prime, unfit, and suffering from too many pints the night before."

"Unfortunately @pillred I think you're right. Admittedly he hasn't had any decent service, but lack of pace, and ball control is obvious. He might turn out to be like Matt Smith who was "awful" but then became good, but I'm not hopeful. He looks like a player who has come from a non league team and City just decided to take a £50K punt. He may improve, and I hope he does, but £5m is a lot of money for City to pay. I don't believe he would be in the team."

"I don't know what to make of Diedhiou. He looks nowhere near being a £5m player, or even a £500k player, but he rarely gets decent service. I'd like to see him playing in a decent team. On the other hand, Millwall's number 19, Tom Elliot, who came on as sub looked a far better player and he was signed from Wimbledon on a free in the summer."

A summary of the above could be put into 3 categories - factual, opinion, and harsh.

Factual. He has no pace or ball control, and for his size he doesn't win much in the air. On current form, of one goal from open play, he doesn't look like a a natural finisher .  

Opinion. For what he can do, £5m is too much. He looks like a player signed from a lower league / non league team on a cheap punt.

Harsh. He looks like a Sunday morning pub team player.

Basically, it's unlikely that he's going to get much faster, if at all, and if he can't control the ball at age 24 it's unlikely he will improve much. He may improve his scoring rate if he gets better service, but on present form that's a hope rather than an expectation. Some people have commented that he does a lot of unseen things, but nobody can actually say what they are. Perhaps, at times, he wears  Harry Potter's cloak of invisibility. People also say, City have started well and Bobby Reid is scoring, so Diedhiou must be contributing. My take on this is City and Bobby Reid are doing well in spite of Diedhiou being on the pitch.  Imaging how good things would be if we were playing with a good forward and not ten men.

On the positive side he does well when he drops back to defend corners. Unfortunately, this is counter balanced by his inability to control and hold onto the ball when City attack. Often a City attack breaks down when he get the ball, so the opposition can launch a counter attack. I've also said he might turn out like "awful" Matt Smith and we shouldn't just extrapolate his current scoring rate. There have been plenty of players who have started poorly and got better and vice versa.

 

You do like to pontificate over things.... I think you might have jumped the gun a bit, you might be right, I hope not, but time will tell, to judge him so early is typical OTIB, mind you Thatch liked your post, at least you have some support..

[BRISTOL86]

Only 2 teams in the league have scored more than we have so far.

I'd rather have a team that score 80 with the top scorer having 12 than a team that score 70 with someone prolific notching 25. 

We had one of the most natural finishers in England leading the line last year and barely avoided relegation. In 07/08 we had Darren Byfield and were 90 mins from the Premier League.

Funny old game. 

[reddogkev]

How long is his contract?  The 5million fee for Diedhou and his value has to be considered over the course of his City tenure.

Does it just sound too simple and obvious to say he will continue to develop as the season progresses?

[mozo]

There's a difference between a player playing badly and being a bad player and there are lots of influences that can make a player underperform.

Just because he hasn't won enough headers it doesnt mean he can't. 

It's way too early to decide that the scouts got this wrong and that there's no chance of him justifying his fee. 

Bad start for FD but we need to support him in the short-term and judge him in the long-term.