Harry Cornick

[The Swan and Cemetery]

Thought he did better than most last night, got lots wrong, but showed up a lot more than most. Fair nuff, others have reputations in the bank, so can afford to have a poorer game here or there, but given the time he’s been with us seems odd not to give him the benefit of the doubt, until he’s actually had a chance to settle. Enough promise shown last couple of games to make me think he’ll be fine and dandy. 

[Leveller]

I didn’t know much about him when he arrived, so I don’t  know what people were expecting.

Seems to me like a cheap squad utility player who’s doing ok. If you were expecting a star striker then I suppose you’d be disappointed.

[exAtyeoMax]

51 minutes ago, Tom said:

He reminds me of Martin Woolford, might that be who you're thinking of?

I can't think who… Tom Ritchie who was mentioned before was a bit before my time. I can't remember what Martin Woolford was like either.

Fammy was a bit gangly I suppose 

[Davefevs]

3 hours ago, RedRock said:

Too early to judge, but not sure whether the ‘only buy players if they’re better than what we have’ mantra applies in this instance. At best, is he not a 1/5 or 1/6 striker?

 

We sold one for £10m+ 6 weeks ago!!!!

We replaced with a £300k one!!!

[Tom]

46 minutes ago, exAtyeoMax said:

I can't think who… Tom Ritchie who was mentioned before was a bit before my time. I can't remember what Martin Woolford was like either.

Fammy was a bit gangly I suppose 

Woolford was 6ft tall, hairband, winger, gangly and liked to go on a dribble and (usually) lose the ball. As I remember it, he could occasionally pull something brilliant out of the bag. Millen and McInnes years - I know a lot of people have blanked that out so don't blame you.

[Engvall’s Splinter]

13 hours ago, GrahamC said:

So, couple of things;

It was actually his second start.

At the start of the season many highlighted that our squad only contained 2 players aged in the sweet spot of 26-30, one of them was Kalas, who was injured then & is again now, the other was Bentley, who doesn’t play for us anymore. So Cornick is 28 next month, he’s hardly on the way down at that age, is he?

Last season Cornick scored 13 in a side that finished in the playoff positions, earning 20 more points than we did.

We paid £300k for him, he’s an experienced Championship squad player with an excellent availability record, who doesn’t look as though he’s as fit as we’d like, but with 9 games left that is far more likely to be addressed pre season.

If he still looks unfit in October & we haven’t seen much from him by then I’d understand this but there does seem a rush by a fair few to write him off.

Just confirming the forum rules - we allowed to pass comment on him game by game though right? 
 

I’ll give you a couple may be going a tad over the top. He has though so far, in the time he has been on the pitch, been largely disappointing. 
 

Hopefully he manages to improve his levels with a pre-season under his belt. 

[GrahamC]

15 minutes ago, Engvall’s Splinter said:

Just confirming the forum rules - we allowed to pass comment on him game by game though right? 
 

I’ll give you a couple may be going a tad over the top. He has though so far, in the time he has been on the pitch, been largely disappointing. 
 

Hopefully he manages to improve his levels with a pre-season under his belt. 

I don’t make the “forum rules”..

The thing here is perspective, isn’t it?

At the start of the season when Vyner had a decent game there were still some on here coming on & saying that he was shit today, they couldn’t contemplate that he was turning the perception of him around.

Cornick certainly hasn’t been great so far in the total of 320 minutes he’s been on the pitch for us over 9 games (equivalent of 3.5 full games) but some are obviously desperate to slag him off, threads like “can anyone think of a reason we shouldn’t substitute him”, or saying that he hasn’t looked like scoring or creating anything when the second goal against Blackpool came a direct result of him & he certainly did at home to Norwich.

He’s not being judged the same as say, Wells (who I like) but has been struggling for a while completely unremarked upon, but I’ve been on here long enough to know that.

Completely agree with your second & third paragraphs, by the way.

Edited March 16, 2023 by GrahamC

[petehinton]

A player who’s been a big part of a club having successive higher finishes season on season for the past 7 seasons & one who had a record of almost a goal or assist every 2 games last season is being called the worst player some have ever seen play football. Brilliant. Mid table mediocrity is more fun for content than we thought it’d be!

[firstdivision]

6 hours ago, Percy Pig said:

It's clear that a large swathe of our fanbase like a scapegoat and seem to get off on slagging our players off at the earliest opportunity. A very weird mindset that I cannot resonate with in the slightest. 

It's also clear that Harry is not up to full fitness be that physical or match (Two very different and very important aspects of a footballers ability to perform)

but what's most clear, and last night confirmed this to me because of the opposition, is that our team has not adapted to Harry and Harry has not yet adapted to us.

Luton are a very different side to us, they make the pitch narrow, their midfielders, wing backs and often their wide centre backs get tight to the player in possession and they move the ball fast with little touches to manoeuvre the ball out of congested areas. Cornick is clearly adept at holding the ball up and often looks to flick the ball with the outside of his boot to a player in his vicinity. We leave larger spaces between players (One of the things I don't like about 4-3-3 but often cited as a strength of the system). little rotations only really happen in our defensive and middle thirds involving Scott and James, since losing Semenyo we don't really have anyone who plays it quickly and moves off the ball like Morris, Adebayo & Campbell did last night.

To slag off a player and create an atmosphere around an individual that will translate to the stadium (It always does) is about the most counterproductive bollocks you could think of. Even if he is terrible, even if the seemingly endless list of extenuating circumstances doesn't "cut it" I can't see what is gained from the absolute shit tonne of inane, unintelligent posts screaming "he's shit" and offering absolutely no opinion, analysis or reasoning. 

Social media is chocker with it already too, it's a disgusting way to welcome a player to our club. Truly shameful stuff.  We should be vocally supporting the bloke and telling him we believe in him. Instead a hoard of unimpressive dweebs would rather be proven right and shout about how terrible the bloke is and how the Manager is an idiot. 

 

 

I don't think our fans like a scapegoat at all. I believe what happens is that plenty of individuals see the same thing and have the outlets to point it out. Thus, it looks like a pile-on but lots have come to the same conclusion by using their skills of observation.

And I suppose supporters are a bit concerned because they think things like 'have I got to pay money to watch this bloke run around like my dog for the next three years?' Or 'why did we need a player who's similar to what we have?' Or 'could we have done with a forward player who offers something different, like a physical threat?' Or 'Why did we sign a forward when we needed a midfield player or a defender?' Or 'did we pay money for a bloke who can't seem to control the ball and pass it someone in a shirt of the same colour?'

Of course, posters can restrain themselves and think, 'let's give him a chance. He might not be as bad as he's looks for a variety of reasons.' And they probably should. But most people think, 'I'm not not living in North Korea, I'll give my opinion.' He looks like a scapegoat but it's just lots of supporters seeing the same thing and having the medium to express their opinion.

As you say, it doesn't help HC. What's the solution, Percy? There isn't an obvious one. Life is brutal. So is the Championship: the Luton fans serenaded our players with a sustained and loud chorus of 'you're ****ing s***, you're ****ing s***' last night as they trooped off the pitch. 

Let's hope, as NP claimed when he signed him, 'we can improve him.'

Edited March 16, 2023 by firstdivision

[Ron W]

15 hours ago, GrahamC said:

So, couple of things;

It was actually his second start.

At the start of the season many highlighted that our squad only contained 2 players aged in the sweet spot of 26-30, one of them was Kalas, who was injured then & is again now, the other was Bentley, who doesn’t play for us anymore. So Cornick is 28 next month, he’s hardly on the way down at that age, is he?

Last season Cornick scored 13 in a side that finished in the playoff positions, earning 20 more points than we did.

We paid £300k for him, he’s an experienced Championship squad player with an excellent availability record, who doesn’t look as though he’s as fit as we’d like, but with 9 games left that is far more likely to be addressed pre season.

If he still looks unfit in October & we haven’t seen much from him by then I’d understand this but there does seem a rush by a fair few to write him off.

Great post. You don't score 11 in a season that finished 10 months ago and suddenly lose all talent.

[Son of Fred]

18 minutes ago, Percy Pig said:

They're not seeing anything, though. Because he's not as bad as people are making out and hasn't been as bad as people are making out. The trouble is, the vast majority of our fanbase know the square root of **** all about football. Pretty generalised and rude comment, I appreciate, but it's an opinion I hold that is based on the myriad of evidence I have experienced on many platforms and at the Gate. 

Even here, you are attempting a reasoned/reasonable post and compare a player who's played less than 400 minutes of football for us to a dog. A dog FFS. The other hypothetical quotes that you've conjured up are all a combination of conjecture and hyperbole. He clearly can control a ball, he's done alright in his two starts in increasingly difficult circumstances for the team

You ask what the solution is and cite the opposition do to our players as evidence that they will receive similar abuse? So what? You think as SUPPORTERS (Just read that word a back a couple of times, maybe have a quick gander through a dictionary, I dunno) we should not act differently to opposition fans re: our own? That's absolutely farcical logic.  There is a very obvious solution, we support the ******* players, no questions asked. Because that's our job for crying out loud. 

If I came to your place of work a matter of weeks after you joined a new organisation and started commenting below every report you submitted, every meeting you chaired, every shelf that you stacked that you were no better than a dog I promise you that you'd crumble. You can pretend you're some super hard man with thicker skin than a silverback Gorilla but the truth is negative feedback and a toxic work environment will never, ever produce better results. To persist with abusing, belittling and dismissing a player of obvious and proven pedigree at this level is to openly declare that you do not give a flying shit about the fortunes of either Harry Cornick or Bristol City. 

He isn't Lionel Messi, no. But what he is is our player, moving to a new city with his children likely remaining half the country away whilst in school, with a run of injuries and a totally new system and teammates to gel with. Just get off the ******* blokes back and give him a bit of leeway. What do we lose by leaving the negativity at the door? Genuine question? What do you lose? Arguably the better question is what do you gain and the answer to that is nothing, nothing at all other than negatively contributing to the club you profess to love.

 

(A lot of the you's in this are "the royal you", by the way, before this get's needlessly personal)

Percy, your being hard on US here ...

 

21 minutes ago, Percy Pig said:

'could we have done with a forward player who offers something different, like a physical threat?'

I know Percy,, I'm attributing someone else's words to yourself,although I believe not a million miles away to your own train of thought -  pain in the arse this darn internet!

[firstdivision]

1 hour ago, Percy Pig said:

They're not seeing anything, though. Because he's not as bad as people are making out and hasn't been as bad as people are making out. The trouble is, the vast majority of our fanbase know the square root of **** all about football. Pretty generalised and rude comment, I appreciate, but it's an opinion I hold that is based on the myriad of evidence I have experienced on many platforms and at the Gate. 

Even here, you are attempting a reasoned/reasonable post and compare a player who's played less than 400 minutes of football for us to a dog. A dog FFS. The other hypothetical quotes that you've conjured up are all a combination of conjecture and hyperbole. He clearly can control a ball, he's done alright in his two starts in increasingly difficult circumstances for the team

You ask what the solution is and cite the opposition do to our players as evidence that they will receive similar abuse? So what? You think as SUPPORTERS (Just read that word a back a couple of times, maybe have a quick gander through a dictionary, I dunno) we should not act differently to opposition fans re: our own? That's absolutely farcical logic.  There is a very obvious solution, we support the ******* players, no questions asked. Because that's our job for crying out loud. 

If I came to your place of work a matter of weeks after you joined a new organisation and started commenting below every report you submitted, every meeting you chaired, every shelf that you stacked that you were no better than a dog I promise you that you'd crumble. You can pretend you're some super hard man with thicker skin than a silverback Gorilla but the truth is negative feedback and a toxic work environment will never, ever produce better results. To persist with abusing, belittling and dismissing a player of obvious and proven pedigree at this level is to openly declare that you do not give a flying shit about the fortunes of either Harry Cornick or Bristol City. 

He isn't Lionel Messi, no. But what he is is our player, moving to a new city with his children likely remaining half the country away whilst in school, with a run of injuries and a totally new system and teammates to gel with. Just get off the ******* blokes back and give him a bit of leeway. What do we lose by leaving the negativity at the door? Genuine question? What do you lose? Arguably the better question is what do you gain and the answer to that is nothing, nothing at all other than negatively contributing to the club you profess to love.

 

(A lot of the you's in this are "the royal you", by the way, before this get's needlessly personal)

I really like my dog. 

[cidered abroad]

5 hours ago, exAtyeoMax said:

I can't think who… Tom Ritchie who was mentioned before was a bit before my time. I can't remember what Martin Woolford was like either.

Fammy was a bit gangly I suppose 

Woolford arrived with a decent reputation but was, and I hate to say it, was a complete failure at City. A forward who, IMO, ranked with the Brian Mitchell and others as disasters.

Edited March 16, 2023 by cidered abroad

[redsocks]

We seem to sign 1 player every season who turns out to be awful,this season it's harry.lets hope he improves.because up to now he's been shite.can see why Luton were happy to sell him.again wells gets pulled off after 60 mins and leaves harry on.

[REDOXO]

Not sure about Cornick yet, however Paul Cheesley was written off (abused) by supporters until he scored a screaming header weeks after his transfer from Norwich. 
 

We will see whether Mr Pearson was right in due course. 

Edited March 16, 2023 by REDOXO

[Major Isewater]

6 hours ago, exAtyeoMax said:

I can't remember what Martin Woolford was like either.

I’ve tried to forget.

[Cityboy1954]

7 hours ago, spudski said:

He doesn't look fit to me. The opportunity he had yesterday to equalise towards the end of the game...summed up what he has done most weeks with us. 

Unbalanced, flat footed, tired, no confidence. Such a weak strike. 

Fingers crossed he improves. 

 

 

Cant get any worse weak as a kitten 

[big dosser]

9 hours ago, Sir Geoff said:

Tom Ritchie ?

reminds me of steve claridge without the goals but hopefully they will come

[The Swan and Cemetery]

7 hours ago, Percy Pig said:

Just get off the ******* blokes back and give him a bit of leeway.

It’s the snide little attempts at humour (would suggest OTIB correspondents don’t book a full season at the Edinburgh Fringe hoping to scoop a Perrier award) about our own player that really grate. No probs  commenting on what he needs to improve, but he wasn’t close to being the worst yesterday and was decent at the weekend. Whenever we play poorly, the only thing worse is the nonsense spouted on here (that said, in fairness, Twitter aficionados and Radio Bristol callers are even worse, but OTIB sets a pretty difficult standard, meaning they have to be overcome by a weird mania to be even more appalling). 

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, The Swan and Cemetery said:

It’s the snide little attempts at humour (would suggest OTIB correspondents don’t book a full season at the Edinburgh Fringe hoping to scoop a Perrier award) about our own player that really grate. No probs  commenting on what he needs to improve, but he wasn’t close to being the worst yesterday and was decent at the weekend. Whenever we play poorly, the only thing worse is the nonsense spouted on here (that said, in fairness, Twitter aficionados and Radio Bristol callers are even worse, but OTIB sets a pretty difficult standard, meaning they have to be overcome by a weird mania to be even more appalling). 

The 3rd caller (“Alan”) on radio bristol last night was awful.  He was right to say we were poor as his opening gambit, but everything that came afterwards was lacking in both fact and understanding of the club’s position from multiple angles, e.g. finances, recruitment, playing style, etc.  I bet Gary Owers was glad he’d already left and didn’t have to respond / interject.

[aa_bcfc]

7 hours ago, Davefevs said:

The 3rd caller (“Alan”) on radio bristol last night was awful.  He was right to say we were poor as his opening gambit, but everything that came afterwards was lacking in both fact and understanding of the club’s position from multiple angles, e.g. finances, recruitment, playing style, etc.  I bet Gary Owers was glad he’d already left and didn’t have to respond / interject.

Although I was at the Luton game and am called Allan I’d like to confirm that I wasn’t the Alan who made the call.

[Davefevs]

3 hours ago, aa_bcfc said:

Although I was at the Luton game and am called Allan I’d like to confirm that I wasn’t the Alan who made the call.

Hahaha….guilty by name association!

[The Dolman Pragmatist]

19 hours ago, Percy Pig said:

They're not seeing anything, though. Because he's not as bad as people are making out and hasn't been as bad as people are making out. The trouble is, the vast majority of our fanbase know the square root of **** all about football. Pretty generalised and rude comment, I appreciate, but it's an opinion I hold that is based on the myriad of evidence I have experienced on many platforms and at the Gate. 

Even here, you are attempting a reasoned/reasonable post and compare a player who's played less than 400 minutes of football for us to a dog. A dog FFS. The other hypothetical quotes that you've conjured up are all a combination of conjecture and hyperbole. He clearly can control a ball, he's done alright in his two starts in increasingly difficult circumstances for the team

You ask what the solution is and cite the opposition do to our players as evidence that they will receive similar abuse? So what? You think as SUPPORTERS (Just read that word a back a couple of times, maybe have a quick gander through a dictionary, I dunno) we should not act differently to opposition fans re: our own? That's absolutely farcical logic.  There is a very obvious solution, we support the ******* players, no questions asked. Because that's our job for crying out loud. 

If I came to your place of work a matter of weeks after you joined a new organisation and started commenting below every report you submitted, every meeting you chaired, every shelf that you stacked that you were no better than a dog I promise you that you'd crumble. You can pretend you're some super hard man with thicker skin than a silverback Gorilla but the truth is negative feedback and a toxic work environment will never, ever produce better results. To persist with abusing, belittling and dismissing a player of obvious and proven pedigree at this level is to openly declare that you do not give a flying shit about the fortunes of either Harry Cornick or Bristol City. 

He isn't Lionel Messi, no. But what he is is our player, moving to a new city with his children likely remaining half the country away whilst in school, with a run of injuries and a totally new system and teammates to gel with. Just get off the ******* blokes back and give him a bit of leeway. What do we lose by leaving the negativity at the door? Genuine question? What do you lose? Arguably the better question is what do you gain and the answer to that is nothing, nothing at all other than negatively contributing to the club you profess to love.

 

(A lot of the you's in this are "the royal you", by the way, before this get's needlessly personal)

Sorry, but this is absurd.  If football fans can’t come on to a fans forum and post opinions about a player then what’s the point of having a forum?  I don’t remember any posts like this when fans noticed that Lois Diony was total dog mess after less than 90 minutes.

I’m sure we all hope that Cornick is a success, but I’m not surprised that people are not overwhelmed by his performances so far.

[firstdivision]

1 hour ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

Sorry, but this is absurd.  If football fans can’t come on to a fans forum and post opinions about a player then what’s the point of having a forum?  I don’t remember any posts like this when fans noticed that Lois Diony was total dog mess after less than 90 minutes.

I’m sure we all hope that Cornick is a success, but I’m not surprised that people are not overwhelmed by his performances so far.

You’re living up to your forum name with that post, DP. It’s absolutely not right for people to abuse HC. But it’s perfectly understandable that people are watching on and thinking, ‘Mmm, hold on a minute. What have we here?’

My main observation about HC is more about why we bought him. I'm not sure we needed him. Also, his signing would seem to preclude the signing of the type of striker we do need - someone with some height and physical presence for those different sort of afternoons in the Championship where we have to bomb the box a bit. We have so many forward players that it's not obvious we'll go for another in the summer.

I’m very much looking forward, though, to HC banging in a couple at the Vetch (old money, I know) on Sunday. 

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by firstdivision

[Ivorguy]

I still trust Tinnion’s and NP’s judgment.  Be patient and give the chap time to adjust to our systems

Edited March 17, 2023 by Ivorguy

[exAtyeoMax]

If he’s carrying an injury or not fully fit would it not be better to say?

poor chap getting lots of grief… it took a while for the club to admit that Kane Wilson was injured at the beginning of the season, he was getting pelters from some

[Son of Fred]

52 minutes ago, firstdivision said:

My main observation about HC is more about why we bought him. I'm not sure we needed him. Also, his signing would seem to preclude the signing of the type of striker we do need - someone with some height and physical presence for those different sort of afternoons in the Championship where we have to bomb the box a bit. We have so many forward players that it's not obvious we'll go for another in the summer.

This ...

Nail on the head...

Absolutely my thoughts too.

Edited March 17, 2023 by Son of Fred

[firstdivision]

1 hour ago, Percy Pig said:

99% of the posts regarding Cornick are not opinions worth posting. They are just snide attacks that offer nothing of value to any debate. He's been compared to a dog, weak as a kitten just on this page of this thread for gods sake.

The focus is always on outcome, never any nuance or understanding of "why". No leeway, no room to grow. Just click on any teamsheet post on Instagram or Twitter and read the comments re: Cornick. It's sick in the head stuff. Abuse after 400 minutes in a team absolutely littered with injuries coming off a season where he himself has been injured. 

Got no issue with reasonable criticism. He hasn't set the world on fire. But he also hasn't been "shit". He's been average or slightly below average. So far. Because of a whole bunch of reasons.

And you don't think people have form for coming up with a nonsensical position and sticking to it no matter what happens? Really? 

 

Did you know, Percy, that some pros refer to players as ‘dogs’, as in ‘he’s a dog in midfield’? Meaning, he runs around a lot, gives you no peace, always at your heels. It’s not a term of abuse. Thought you’d like to know. But please rant on. It’s your absolute right to call most of our support either ‘dweebs’ or know nothings. 

Edited March 17, 2023 by firstdivision

[maxjak]

23 hours ago, Percy Pig said:

99% of the posts regarding Cornick are not opinions worth posting. They are just snide attacks that offer nothing of value to any debate. He's been compared to a dog, weak as a kitten just on this page of this thread for gods sake.

The focus is always on outcome, never any nuance or understanding of "why". No leeway, no room to grow. Just click on any teamsheet post on Instagram or Twitter and read the comments re: Cornick. It's sick in the head stuff. Abuse after 400 minutes in a team absolutely littered with injuries coming off a season where he himself has been injured. 

Got no issue with reasonable criticism. He hasn't set the world on fire. But he also hasn't been "shit". He's been average or slightly below average. So far. Because of a whole bunch of reasons.

And you don't think people have form for coming up with a nonsensical position and sticking to it no matter what happens? Really? 

 

He was purchased for a knock down price, but is unlikely to be a long term solution to our forward line issues.....but once fully fit and intergrated into the squad, he will probably prove to be a handy addition to our numbers?  Tinnion must have seen something in him to have recommended his signing?   i can also see why he has been getting negative reviews, as he looks off the pace, unfit and lacking flair.  City fans all understand that we need to recruit a physically strong unit to hold up the ball and provide runners with service, and Connick does appear to be NOT that player, but we just all need to be patient and wait for the summer recruitment.  I see Connick as a bit of a low price gamble, who if he does not cut it will be moved on for a small loss......I for one really hope he makes a breakthrough, and surprises all the doubters?

Edited March 18, 2023 by maxjak

[Red-Robbo]

3 minutes ago, maxjak said:

He was purchased for a knock down price, but is unlikely to be a long term solution to our forward line issues.....but once fully fit and intergrated into the squad, he will probably prove to be a handy addition to our numbers?  Tinnion must have seen something in him to have recommended his signing?   i can also see why he has been getting negative reviews, as he looks off the pace, unfit and lacking flair.  City fans all understand that we need to recruit a physically strong unit to hold up the ball and provide runners with service, and Connick does appear to be NOT that player, but we just all need to be patient and wait for the summer recruitment.  I see Connick as a bit of a low price gamble, who if he does not cut it will be moved on for a small loss......I for one really hope he makes a breakthrough, and surprises all the doubters?

 

I have no problem with waiting a bit longer to assess, but when there are other options available, I wouldn't be starting him or even bringing him on as a sub at present.