Article on Memheti

[Mr Popodopolous]

Bit on Anis, under ones to watch.

https://theathletic.com/4655444/2023/08/04/efl-ones-to-watch-bristol-city-anis-mehmeti/

[frenchred]

It's behind a paywall for me

[EmersonsKev]

To date I don't see the hype.  At the moment I don't see much more than a more expensive version of Junior Bent.

 

Gladly be proved wrong.

[Bristol Rob]

10 minutes ago, EmersonsKev said:

To date I don't see the hype.  At the moment I don't see much more than a more expensive version of Junior Bent.

 

Gladly be proved wrong.

I see him as more of a JCR than a Junior. 

[phantom]

EFL’s Anis Mehmeti – the forward whose rise has been rapid

Nancy Froston and Mark Carey

Aug 4, 2023

This article is part of The Athletic’s EFL ‘Ones to Watch’ series for the 2023-24 season, profiling ten of the most exciting players in the Championship, League One and League Two.

 

Mazy runs, goals and assists are the forward’s bread and butter, so it is little surprise that he is considered one of the EFL’s most exciting attacking talents. It is why, amid plenty of interest, Bristol City moved so quickly to bring the 22-year-old to the Championship by reportedly matching his £1million release clause from Wycombe Wanderers in January after a stellar start to the 2022-23 season saw him net nine goals.

His ability to turn a defender inside out is remarkable, but so too is his rise from spending two months playing with Essex Senior League side Woodford Town in 2020 to regular Championship football and his international debut for Albania in March 2023.

After spending time in the academies of Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and Norwich City, the start of the Covid-19 pandemic left the Londoner without a club until a trial at Wycombe in the summer of 2020 provided a chance for Mehmeti to prove his credentials to the club’s development group manager Sam Grace and then-manager Gareth Ainsworth.

“We spoke to contacts at Norwich at that time and they changed to a different system, a 4-4-2 and maybe that didn’t suit him because I wouldn’t say he’s a box-to-box midfielder and he didn’t really feel he was a winger,” says Grace.

“So it was one of those where they felt Anis was a good player but they couldn’t really see a pathway for him there. He had a few trials at Bournemouth and Queens Park Rangers, but he came to us and he liked the fact you train with the first team with us if you sign (to the development squad).

“He said within a few days, ‘I can see myself getting in the first team here’, which shows Anis’ belief but also the quality he was bringing in. He was always very football-orientated. That’s the most important thing, he felt that he’d been a player that was valued at clubs and then suddenly didn’t feel that same warmth – and we could offer that. He was bringing in a skill set that was maybe a little bit more unique to what we’d had previously at the club.”

Wycombe’s senior and development team are deliberately structured so that both sets of players train together, with coaching staff between the two looking for which of the development team players might be ready to contribute to the first XI.

In Mehmeti’s case, after arriving as a trialist in September 2020, he progressed to being handed his first start the following month and scored his first goal soon after against Queens Park Rangers in December that year.

A right-footed forward who is usually deployed in a front three, Mehmeti was Wycombe’s joint-highest scorer in 2022-23 and also provided three assists during 27 appearances in League One despite leaving the club halfway through the season.

His 12 ball carries per 90 also remained the highest rate of any Wanderers player over the course of the season, according to data from Opta, ending in 32 shots. That placed him inside the top 11 players in the division all season. From those shots, his five goals put him joint-third and reflects his exciting style of play. There has been something of an adjustment period at Bristol City, with a return of only one goal in 15 games.

That will have stood him in good stead as Nigel Pearson’s men look to push on this season.

Key to his progress are his commitment and ability to take instruction and implement it quickly — where he was lacking in defensive duties in Wycombe’s man-marking system, he soon learned the importance of applying pressure from the front to become a more balanced player, says Grace.

“He was the fittest player that came in that whole summer,” he says of Mehmeti’s trial in 2020. “He’s always played with energy. And so, you know, now in his game, there’s counter-pressing, those runs in behind but his energy initially was about bravery to come and get the ball, receive under pressure and back himself to deal with it. He wanted to dribble, take people on and get those shots off.

“He understood his strengths and the area he had to learn was the defensive side of the game. And so that’s probably why it took until the Forest game (in November 2020) to get his first start because that other side of his game needed to get up to speed. As the season went on, we realised what a quick learner he was and he could pick things up and implement them almost immediately.

“At the start of last season, if anyone watched Anis he wanted to come in off that left side on his right foot. But then, over time, he started to go outside on the left. His first three or four goals last season were off his left side, that was because people were expecting him to come in on his right. That unpredictability really added to his game — the quality of both feet helps him massively.”

The challenge for Mehmeti this season is to cement himself as an important player at Bristol City as they chase an improved finish on 14th last season. Infrastructure and long-term ambition at Ashton Gate is for the club to reach the Premier League, which matches Mehmeti’s personal ambition.

“He can travel, he can cross, he can pass,” says Grace. “He’s just got to keep that going, keep the defenders guessing. And he’ll have more impact, more goals and assists. He will leave no stone unturned in his goal of reaching the Premier League I’m in no doubt about that. Because he’s a quick learner, the more he plays, he’ll work things out quicker and he has every chance of going all the way to the top.”

[KeithWelch'sTash]

He seems a bit bereft of confidence at the moment. His first few games pre the Man City game, he was keen to beat players using several million step overs. This confidence seems to have gone. Has it been coached out of him? Maybe, but at Cheltenham the other night I felt it was a really big opportunity to tear it up against lesser opposition and he played it very safe more often than not. When he did try a cross or a longer pass, it was wayward.
 

But he did form a good partnership with Roberts that night. I just thought when we signed him he was going to be the ‘bums off seats player’ but it’s kinda faded away a bit. 
 

hope he proves me very wrong!

[RedRoss]

Can't believe the negativity about Anis. Hes played a very small number of games with us adjusting to a new league and arriving in Jan which is much more difficult. Whilst in that time he's shown he has brilliant technical ability, good energy and is clearly motivated to do well. Yes he's faded out of games but that's to be expected.

I'm really looking forward to seeing him push on this season. He's got all the tools to be a success with us I'm certain.

[phantom]

57 minutes ago, RedRoss said:

Can't believe the negativity about Anis. Hes played a very small number of games with us adjusting to a new league and arriving in Jan which is much more difficult. Whilst in that time he's shown he has brilliant technical ability, good energy and is clearly motivated to do well. Yes he's faded out of games but that's to be expected.

I'm really looking forward to seeing him push on this season. He's got all the tools to be a success with us I'm certain.

To me it comes down to how people read a game and a players performance, some only see goals scored as a way to rate a player, others will appreciate all the off the ball work etc

[edada]

He gets us out of our seats. He’s needed time to adjust but I like the way he’s forward thinking. Prefer him to the let down that was O’dowda

[Silvio Dante]

The big deal about Anis last season was he did frequently overplay, he did run down blind alleys. This is why it was fantastic we got him in January not June - in effect, he’s had a free hit for a few months for him and the coaching staff to see what it is he needs to do differently- as the gap from L1 to our level is huge.

It’s been mentioned that he is now doing less stepovers etc - and that’s good. If as a defender you know someone is going to do a trick every time you play for that and it becomes easier to defend against. Far better to pull the tricks out every now and again but be part of a cohesive unit as opposed to being “bums off seats” but a playground footballer.

The attitude is clearly spot on (Nige mentioned yesterday the same point the article does re fitness). The attributes are clearly there. If he can learn how to play the game better as part of an eleven, he’ll be fantastic - even if he gets you out of your seat less.

[Fat Cigar]

5 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

The big deal about Anis last season was he did frequently overplay, he did run down blind alleys. This is why it was fantastic we got him in January not June - in effect, he’s had a free hit for a few months for him and the coaching staff to see what it is he needs to do differently- as the gap from L1 to our level is huge.

It’s been mentioned that he is now doing less stepovers etc - and that’s good. If as a defender you know someone is going to do a trick every time you play for that and it becomes easier to defend against. Far better to pull the tricks out every now and again but be part of a cohesive unit as opposed to being “bums off seats” but a playground footballer.

The attitude is clearly spot on (Nige mentioned yesterday the same point the article does re fitness). The attributes are clearly there. If he can learn how to play the game better as part of an eleven, he’ll be fantastic - even if he gets you out of your seat less.

Exactly. It's one thing to have the skill and ability to beat your man or two. But, to be a really good player, it's the what next part. He didn't really cross much when we saw him and no evidence of finishing well. The biggest thing he needs to do is know when to stop, look up and pass. He was great in his first few games, but then went off the ball a bit. The jump up from League 1 to Championship is huge so at least he's had some experience. I'd love to see him go past a defender and then cut in and shoot. 

[Leveller]

42 minutes ago, Fat Cigar said:

Exactly. It's one thing to have the skill and ability to beat your man or two. But, to be a really good player, it's the what next part. He didn't really cross much when we saw him and no evidence of finishing well. The biggest thing he needs to do is know when to stop, look up and pass. He was great in his first few games, but then went off the ball a bit. The jump up from League 1 to Championship is huge so at least he's had some experience. I'd love to see him go past a defender and then cut in and shoot. 

This “getting used to the Championship” argument keeps coming up, and each time we are reminded that he has played a season in the Championship already for Wycombe. He’s not a newbie.

[Bobby girl]

I am looking forward to seeing him play this season, he now looks more relaxed in training and styled. He definitely has a lot of skills.

[BLRed]

The biggest aspect he needed to improve on was decision making. Many times he chose the wrong pass at the wrong time. I believe we will have been working on that so we may not see as many take ons because he will be thinking and looking where to pass rather than just taking on a man without thinking of the end product. He will be dangerous but also has even greater competition from bell this year who has come on leaps and bounds

[BCFC Rich]

Got the impression with what NP said that he's probably been asked to get the simple things right regularly first, then think about the fancier attacking/dribbling. We also know NP wants a maverick so I'd be surprised if we coached what makes him exciting out of his game. I tink NP is good at being patient and it might be take a step back, get consistency and then show us what yo ucna do. 

[Super]

I expect him to be used more from the bench but excited to see what he can do. We didn't see the best of him last season.

[Jeez]

3 hours ago, frenchred said:

It's behind a paywall for me

Recommend signing up to the Athletic thinks it’s a quid or so a month and good content

[Fat Cigar]

2 hours ago, Leveller said:

This “getting used to the Championship” argument keeps coming up, and each time we are reminded that he has played a season in the Championship already for Wycombe. He’s not a newbie.

Good point. Forgot about that. 

[pillred]

5 hours ago, RedRoss said:

Can't believe the negativity about Anis. Hes played a very small number of games with us adjusting to a new league and arriving in Jan which is much more difficult. Whilst in that time he's shown he has brilliant technical ability, good energy and is clearly motivated to do well. Yes he's faded out of games but that's to be expected.

I'm really looking forward to seeing him push on this season. He's got all the tools to be a success with us I'm certain.

If he doesn't he will join the long list of wasted talent, I hope you are right as indeed he has got the tools, it comes down to him now.

Edited August 4, 2023 by pillred

[Ian M]

7 hours ago, frenchred said:

It's behind a paywall for me

If you open it in the Edge browser on PC, you can click Immersive Reading in the address bar and the whole article becomes available

Works a treat on some sites that other methods fall foul of.

[The Nest Egg]

For anyone using a laptop or desktop computer, click on the article and then press Ctrl+P. Then you can read the entire thing in Print Preview!

[TV Tom]

7 hours ago, RedRoss said:

Can't believe the negativity about Anis. Hes played a very small number of games with us adjusting to a new league and arriving in Jan which is much more difficult. Whilst in that time he's shown he has brilliant technical ability, good energy and is clearly motivated to do well. Yes he's faded out of games but that's to be expected.

I'm really looking forward to seeing him push on this season. He's got all the tools to be a success with us I'm certain.

We have a tradition at BCFC of not rating these sort of players (personally i love them, Jet, Trundle, Tomlin etc) 

[David Brent]

5 hours ago, Leveller said:

This “getting used to the Championship” argument keeps coming up, and each time we are reminded that he has played a season in the Championship already for Wycombe. He’s not a newbie.

The argument should be that he’s ‘getting used to us.’ Same with Cornick. Both of them should be afforded that time. I think we can expect more from both this season but they’ve both showed enough to suggest they can do well here. 

[David Brent]

4 hours ago, Super said:

I expect him to be used more from the bench but excited to see what he can do. We didn't see the best of him last season.

I’m hoping that’s because Bell has a Conway-type season.