Mehmeti

[ExiledAjax]

16 minutes ago, grifty said:

So it’s either the recruitment of the wrong mentality player or Pearson isn’t coaching him well enough?

Or it's either an underestimation of the amount of coaching and time it would take to turn an individually talented player into a player suited to our team and squad, or an overestimation of Mehmeti's ability to respond to that.

You can reduce that to "wrong mentality" or "wrong coaching", but I think it can be more subtle than just being "wrong". It's more that we got something we didn't quite expect. Mehmeti is human, and humans are subtle, hard to read, and can surprise us all.

I think there's a talented individual there who needs to be given the support and time to find his place. It's a shame we've got a thin squad and thin first XI right now as that's forcing him to be played and so is exposing him in roles that he's probably still studying and working on. 

I suppose my view would be that we're almost certainly going to be in the Championship next season (ie it's pretty unlikely that we get either promoted or relegated), so we've got a few months and 30 or so games to prepare for the 24/25 season. We can work with players like Mehmeti in that time and try and find their role.

Edit: I'd look at a player like Sammie Szmodics who looked like a talented individual struggling to find his place in the squad. He's now flourishing in this division.

Edited October 26, 2023 by ExiledAjax

[Bris Red]

20 minutes ago, grifty said:

So we buy a player for roughly £1m was it? played him in a couple of games, but hit or miss, has a whole pre-season for Pearson to get him integrated in the team and the way he wants him to play and can’t?

So it’s either the recruitment of the wrong mentality player or Pearson isn’t coaching him well enough?

If that’s the case I’m not surprised SL is reticent in giving NP £20m to spend.

You must be on a wind up? How many of Pearsons signings have worked out? More have then haven’t lets be honest, add to that the academy players he has blooded and i would say his recruitment and eye for a player has been on the whole very good.

Lansdown was more than happy to give LJ and MA almost unlimited funds to take huge financial gambles on players and plenty of them didn’t make the grade here. If he is holding funds back because 1 or 2 signings are looking a bit suspect then again that just confirms the suspicion that Lansdown has some sort of personal vendetta against Pearson and is looking for any excuse to get rid.

As @petehinton alluded to on another post, if our fans believe every single player we sign is going to be a star and or great value for money then they are very much delusional. No club in the world gets EVERY single signing right, let alone Bristol City..!

Edited October 26, 2023 by Bris Red

[Charlie BCFC]

Mehmeti has been awful when he’s played this season, I’d have given him a go and think the Yeboah sub was good so would’ve still done that. Conway didn’t deserve to play the full 90 for me, personally would’ve brought him on and moved Cornick central

[Baldyman]

I think his only hope is for either a change of Manager or a move away in January .  When teenagers with zero league experience at ANY level get picked ahead of you , either your days , or the Managers days , are numbered and right now it looks more like the latter . 

[brad blit]

I think the main attribute Mehmeti misses (and the others possess in the same position) is real pace and the ability to get past a player. That seems quite obvious, whether it’s enough to give a seemingly very talented player very limited minutes when we have a small injury ravaged squad and very little attacking options is another question only NP knows the answer to

[grifty]

1 minute ago, Bris Red said:

You must be on a wind up? How many of Pearsons signings have worked out? More have then haven’t lets be honest, add to that the academy players he has blooded and i would say his recruitment and eye for a player has been on the whole very good.

Lansdown was more than happy to give LJ and MA almost unlimited funds to take huge financial gambles on players and plenty of them didn’t make the grade here.

So SL 'went for it' with LJ and MA because he believed in the fairytale of ex manager son/ex player taking the club to the Premier League. Nothing wrong with that. It didn't work out, we spent far too much money on players and also on players we didn't need + COVID kicking in meant we caught caught out and had to cut our cloth accordingly with a number of years of free signings and Pearson doing a great job with developing young players.

We sell the best of them for £25m 2 weeks (?) before the end of the transfer window. The consensus on here is that SL should have allowed the majority of that money to be spent in those 2 weeks, seemingly disregarding buying the right players for the club who may not have been available in those 2 weeks.

I see it more that we are going to be wiser with the money, get the right players in when they are available. It's an injury crisis that is screwing us at the moment, not a lack of investment since Scott left. Your last sentence is my point. He's made the mistake of backing the wrong horse before, he doesn't want to do it again without the safety net of selling a Scott to bail us out of financial trouble.

[Puckle_red]

I think Nige has just taken him out of the firing line like he has before with Atkinson and Pring. Everyone thought Atkinson was off at one stage, don't forget, only to return a better player.

I'm sure Anis will gradually be re-exposed to first team action in time and return a better player. Nige is clever like that.

Yeboah clearly has talent and currently has the wind in his sails due to unexpected first team action, so I really dont think there is a big issue here.

[ExiledAjax]

Just now, Puckle_red said:

I think Nige has just taken him out of the firing line like he has before with Atkinson and Pring. Everyone thought Atkinson was off at one stage, don't forget, only to return a better player.

I'm sure Anis will gradually be re-exposed to first team action in time and return a better player. Nige is clever like that.

Which is the point I made above about him being forcibly exposed due to the current injuries. It's a shame as it shows him up, or means he's being asked to do things that might even be different to what he's really trying to focus on in training.

I hate being asked to do stuff at work that I'm not expert in, familiar with, or have no interest in doing in the future. I'm also generally not as good at it.

[Mattredrobin]

I heard 2 fans talking on the way out of the ground last night that Pearson had tried to get rid of Mehmeti in the summer QPR wanted him (Ainsworth obviously had him at Wycombe) but the deal fell through at the last minute

I didn't hear why and obviously this is just 2 people chatting so could be utter rubbish.

[Engvall’s Splinter]

57 minutes ago, grifty said:

So we buy a player for roughly £1m was it? played him in a couple of games, but hit or miss, has a whole pre-season for Pearson to get him integrated in the team and the way he wants him to play and can’t?

So it’s either the recruitment of the wrong mentality player or Pearson isn’t coaching him well enough?

If that’s the case I’m not surprised SL is reticent in giving NP £20m to spend.

20m ?

[Barrs Court Red]

6 minutes ago, Mattredrobin said:

I heard 2 fans talking on the way out of the ground last night that Pearson had tried to get rid of Mehmeti in the summer QPR wanted him (Ainsworth obviously had him at Wycombe) but the deal fell through at the last minute

I didn't hear why and obviously this is just 2 people chatting so could be utter rubbish.

I think that was indeed doing the rounds at one point. And had a grain of truth to it. 
 

 

[Northern Red]

Given that he had half an hour only 3 games ago, I'm not sure how anyone can say that he's got no chance of playing.

If he was that far out of favour then he wouldn't even be making the bench, regardless of how many injuries we've got.

[Bris Red]

32 minutes ago, grifty said:

 

I see it more that we are going to be wiser with the money, get the right players in when they are available. It's an injury crisis that is screwing us at the moment, not a lack of investment since Scott left. Your last sentence is my point. He's made the mistake of backing the wrong horse before, he doesn't want to do it again without the safety net of selling a Scott to bail us out of financial trouble.

Yeah i hear what you are saying. For me though it didn’t take a rocket scientist to realise that backing LJ and MA to the extent he did was indeed backing the wrong horse, no experience between them at getting promotion out of this division and it was clear by mid way through 2019 IMO that the recruitment was scattergun at best and things weren’t working.

We have now IMO a much ‘better’ horse to take a gamble on yet Lansdown isn’t interested. It’s frustrating to say the least but there you go.

[TheReds]

1 hour ago, grifty said:

So we buy a player for roughly £1m was it? played him in a couple of games, but hit or miss, has a whole pre-season for Pearson to get him integrated in the team and the way he wants him to play and can’t?

So it’s either the recruitment of the wrong mentality player or Pearson isn’t coaching him well enough?

If that’s the case I’m not surprised SL is reticent in giving NP £20m to spend.

Mehmeti hasn't worked out for us yet (and may never do), so that's a great reason to not give Pearson another penny to spend. He's shopping in the lower leagues because he hasn't been given the money to spend on proven players.

I am really lost on what some think Pearson should be achieving with what he has been given.

[Bristol Rob]

1 hour ago, TheReds said:

I mean when Semenyo came in and around the first team he looked Premiership class instantly..... 

Must remember a different player to me.

Debut would have been around 2017, soon followed up with a red card. And about 2 seasons later he scored his first goal.

Like Yeboah, he was raw with loads to learn. 

In no way would I describe him as instantly Premier League material.

My worry at the moment is that Yeboah isn't having a positive impact on games when he comes on, and whilst we are short of attacking players he is one of the few options, I don't want to see a young player get destroyed because they aren't currently up to the task, but in 18 months could possibly be outstanding.

[Northern Red]

37 minutes ago, grifty said:

So SL 'went for it' with LJ and MA because he believed in the fairytale of ex manager son/ex player taking the club to the Premier League. Nothing wrong with that. It didn't work out, we spent far too much money on players and also on players we didn't need + COVID kicking in meant we caught caught out and had to cut our cloth accordingly with a number of years of free signings and Pearson doing a great job with developing young players.

We sell the best of them for £25m 2 weeks (?) before the end of the transfer window. The consensus on here is that SL should have allowed the majority of that money to be spent in those 2 weeks, seemingly disregarding buying the right players for the club who may not have been available in those 2 weeks.

I see it more that we are going to be wiser with the money, get the right players in when they are available. It's an injury crisis that is screwing us at the moment, not a lack of investment since Scott left. Your last sentence is my point. He's made the mistake of backing the wrong horse before, he doesn't want to do it again without the safety net of selling a Scott to bail us out of financial trouble.

No it isn't, certainly not the majority of it anyway. Spending some of it would have been nice though.

[Bristol Rob]

2 minutes ago, Bris Red said:

Yeah i hear what you are saying. For me though it didn’t take a rocket scientist to realise that backing LJ and MA to the extent he did was indeed backing the wrong horse, no experience between them at getting promotion out of this division and it was clear by mid way through 2019 IMO that the recruitment was scattergun at best and things weren’t working.

We have now IMO a much ‘better’ horse to take a gamble on yet Lansdown isn’t interested. It’s frustrating to say the least but there you go.

Sammie Szmodics springs to mind as a player bought, looked great in pre season, then LJ decides he isn't the type of player he wants. Okay, got out of jail by selling him but is scoring Championship goals for fun now.

[Cityboy1954]

10 hours ago, BLRed said:

Is his career with us done before it’s even started?

seemingly can’t get a game, 17YO’s being selected over him. Is it that he’s not performing in training? Does he simply not suit the way we play nor fit in to the formation we play? 
genuinely would love to see him get a regular chance but is he simply another szmodics who was signed on a good deal but immediately not liked by the manager so ends up leaving quickly due to lack of opportunity?

would be a shame given he is so highly rated. Would definitely do well at other championship clubs given the chance.

Yes if he cant get a game now i fear for him Bells gone off the boil should be getting game time now.

[Bob Turnip]

7 hours ago, GrahamC said:

Certainly don’t see a way back for him under Pearson

 

Not sure I agree with this. Weren't some saying the same about Pring when he was having no involvement? Just think it's the way NP deals with certain situations, whether it be attitude, commitment or whatever. Hopefully he'll rise to whatever challenges he's been set and he'll come back a more effective player.

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by Bob Turnip

[Offside]

I have no idea what’s been going on behind the scenes with Mehmeti, but I always find it odd when a player gets signed and then months later can’t get game time. Mehmeti blew hot and cold last season, but I’m surprised he hasn’t had more game time this season from the beach, especially when we are chasing games. 

Presumably one reason is that Yeboah, alongside his attacking threat (raw though he is), offers more defensively. 

[Cityboy1954]

2 hours ago, johnheadbcfc said:

Don't know how he can be worse than bell at the minute, yet to see this frightening pace everyone bangs on about. Also thought Weimann had a stinker last night 

Spot on weinman is gone not the same player 

[grifty]

8 minutes ago, Northern Red said:

No it isn't, certainly not the majority of it anyway. Spending some of it would have been nice though.

On who?

What if Pearson, Tinnion and whoever else is involved in talent acquisition went to SL, etc and said we've identified these 5 players we'd like to buy with some of the money made by Scott. SL and Alexander went to those clubs and 3 of those 5 were completely unavailable from their clubs. the remaining 2 were but at a vastly increased price due to the knowledge of the money involved in the Scott deal and being right at the end of the window.

So what do we do? Over pay on these two players or go and find 5 more who aren't quite as good but are just signings to keep fans/NP happy? (or clubs in the bag?)

Or do we consolidate with the squad we have (not knowing 3/4 of them would be injured after 10-12 games) and look again in January at the player market situation? Players previously unavailable are now available, players not on our radar now on our radar, players previously thought too expensive scouted for a further 4 months and thought worth the money.

[Selred]

Personally think he could do with a league one loan in Jan, build his confidence up. 

[Supersonic Robin]

I think Mehmeti has been rather unfortunate.

Firstly, it's worth saying that Mehmeti is clearly a very talented player. Remember that he was included in the EFL 21 under 21 last season - that alone gives you an indication of his potential.

What I find strange is the lack of patience he's been shown. 6 months ago he was on par with (or arguably ahead of) Bell and Cornick. All 3 were struggling to have any positive impact on games, with Mehmeti probably looking the best of the 3 at the back end of last season.

However, Bell and Cornick's consistently poor performances were met with patience, and as a result they have now improved and assimilated into the team. For whatever reason, Mehmeti hasn't been awarded the same patience when he's struggled. Now Yeboah appears to be ahead of him in the pecking order - and Yeboah is also being shown patience for poor performances.

[italian dave]

10 hours ago, Lew-T said:

To be fair apart from the couple games at the start of his time here, he has looked miles off it.

Not too many complaints from me.

I’ve got complaints!

Not that I disagree with your first statement, but that if he’s so far off the standard required and/or so far removed from our style of play then why the **** did we spend more than £1m (plus wages) to bring him here. 

[Bristol Rob]

Just now, Supersonic Robin said:

I think Mehmeti has been rather unfortunate.

Firstly, it's worth saying that Mehmeti is clearly a very talented player. Remember that he was included in the EFL 21 under 21 last season - that alone gives you an indication of his potential.

Mehmeti has struck me to be similar to one of those 'cage footballers' that get found from scouts watching people play on inner city housing estates.

LOADS of ability, just needs the right environment to get it applied in the right area. 

Slightly baffled how he was so important to Wycombe. He can obviously play 11-a-side, but so far the best bits I've seen were more showman than Championship team man.

[Red-Robbo]

10 hours ago, mozo said:

Yeboah has looked miles off it too unfortunately. 

I thought Yeboah looked an improvement on (an admittedly tired) Sam Bell.  

[Chivs]

1 hour ago, Mattredrobin said:

I heard 2 fans talking on the way out of the ground last night that Pearson had tried to get rid of Mehmeti in the summer QPR wanted him (Ainsworth obviously had him at Wycombe) but the deal fell through at the last minute

I didn't hear why and obviously this is just 2 people chatting so could be utter rubbish.

Did one of them have a pack of crayons? This would completely change the dynamic of this.

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

Jan 2023

Mehmeti on his move to BCFC : “This is a club with Premier League stature and I want to impose my mentality and work ethic and have an influence straight away. I’m a creative player, I like to make things happen, score goals and most importantly I want to win.”

Sky Sports top 20 football league young players in 2022/3  included Conway, Scott and WW's Anis Mehmeti.

Bucks Live said 'The 22-year-old joined the Robins on Transfer Deadline Day [January 31], for a club-record fee for the Chairboys.

The figure is undisclosed, but it is expected to be between £1m and £5m, which will include performance-based add-ons.'

The Athletic wrote "Anis Mehmeti makes things happen.

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."

 “Anis is a very talented footballer,” said Pearson to the official club website’s channel Robins TV. “He has a hunger, which is very evident when you speak to him.

“He wants to be successful and wants to go to the top. So it’s important that we try and harness that type of ambition in players."

 

 

[Mattredrobin]

46 minutes ago, Chivs said:

Did one of them have a pack of crayons? This would completely change the dynamic of this.

No crayons were seen.