Mehmeti's contribution Vs Swansea , video.

[1960maaan]

I thought I'd do this as he caused a fair bit of debate. Mods can you not merge at least until it has had chance to be seen , cheers 

Fair to say he was involved a bit , great through ball and what I thought was a great early cross, that someone should have bust a gut to get on the end of. But also the frustration of playing with his head down , wanting to beat the man without seeing team mates. It's means he shoots or crosses to an area, when if he could get his head up more maybe he could pick out a player and be much more effective. Anyway , you can decide. I think I got all his touches in this one.

 

 

[Lavington Robin]

Thanks for sharing. Great to confirm my thoughts over the game. I thought he was relentless & I know he frustrates people including me & divides opinion. However, I thought he was terrific & I can really see him stepping on from this & (hopefully) improving even more. 
Some say he takes his man on too much but I think he scared the life out of their defence & at many times had 3 men on him. Yet even at the end he was tackling back & created a good chance out of nothing for Sykes to mention just a few of the many more than useful contributions. Don’t prove me wrong Anis  

[PortInTheMorning]

The pass to Armstrong, the cross to Sykes and when he gets passed his man on the 85th minute...absolute class.

 

 

[AppyDAZE]

Needs cutting more slack from the fans. 
He’s still young and has bags of potential.

Personally, I’m always happier when he’s on the pitch rather than off it.

Well played, young man for what you did on Sunday.

Upwards onwards.

 

Edited Tuesday at 20:24 by AppyDAZE

[PortInTheMorning]

2 minutes ago, AppyDAZE said:

Needs cutting more slack from the fans. 
He’s still young and has bags of potential.

Personally, I’m always happier when he’s on the pitch rather than off it.

Well played, young man on Sunday.

Upwards onwards.

 

Spot on

[Davefevs]

32 minutes ago, AppyDAZE said:

Needs cutting more slack from the fans. 
He’s still young and has bags of potential.

Personally, I’m always happier when he’s on the pitch rather than off it.

Well played, young man for what you did on Sunday.

Upwards onwards.

 

Think he benefits when getting games on the trot too.

[wheretheheartis]

I thought it was said, that he had a poor 1st half 

[Tecknical Director]

That “finish” from Armstrong was pretty awful. 

[Severn Beach Pigeon]

He had their defence scared, that alone made him worth having on the pitch. He just seriously needs to start getting his head up and making most of the space he creates for others when teams double up on him.

[Graham76]

I’ve been critical of Mehmeti but he was my mom against Swansea

[1960maaan]

8 hours ago, Tecknical Director said:

That “finish” from Armstrong was pretty awful. 

As a right footed player it feels easier and more comfortable cutting onto your left , the big difference between Semenyo and Armstrong in their early days is Semenyo had a canon of a left foot from the start. Armstrong makes those right to left runs but looks uncomfortable shooting with his left. He could have lifted it , but he never got around the ball enough to get a good shot away. 
I hope they are working on his finishing, specially with his left , as his pace and power will bring him plenty of chances like that.

[spudski]

9 hours ago, AppyDAZE said:

Needs cutting more slack from the fans. 
He’s still young and has bags of potential.

Personally, I’m always happier when he’s on the pitch rather than off it.

Well played, young man for what you did on Sunday.

Upwards onwards.

 

That's the ' problem' though. 

Our team is run with players pretty much every season, that have ' potential'. 

Right now we have Mehmeti, Yu, Armstrong, Maluyu, that are all learning in the Championship. Serving Apprenticeships so to speak. 

Combine that with a Coach who is also learning in the Championship. 

I still scratch my head as to how BT and JL think we can progress in this league with so much ' potential' in the squad, but little genuine experience on how to manage and win games in this league. 

[City oz]

2 minutes ago, spudski said:

That's the ' problem' though. 

Our team is run with players pretty much every season, that have ' potential'. 

Right now we have Mehmeti, Yu, Armstrong, Maluyu, that are all learning in the Championship. Serving Apprenticeships so to speak. 

Combine that with a Coach who is also learning in the Championship. 

I still scratch my head as to how BT and JL think we can progress in this league with so much ' potential' in the squad, but little genuine experience on how to manage and win games in this league. 

"Serving Apprenticeships" may take two to three seasons. Are you saying there is no hope this season of a top six potential finish and that LM will still take a couple more seasons to establish himself in this league.

[spudski]

12 minutes ago, City oz said:

"Serving Apprenticeships" may take two to three seasons. Are you saying there is no hope this season of a top six potential finish and that LM will still take a couple more seasons to establish himself in this league.

It's how we operate. 

Those players with ' potential ' are coached and play for us in the league. Learning on the job. 

If they come good...we sell them on. 

Semenyo, Scott recently. 

We never keep the players who's potential comes good, and in doing so, never have a team that has all the qualities of going up. 

 

[City oz]

4 minutes ago, spudski said:

It's how we operate. 

Those players with ' potential ' are coached and play for us in the league. Learning on the job. 

If they come good...we sell them on. 

Semenyo, Scott recently. 

We never keep the players who's potential comes good, and in doing so, never have a team that has all the qualities of going up. 

 

It is sad but true

[spudski]

1 minute ago, City oz said:

It is sad but true

It's rinse and repeat. 

[mozo]

34 minutes ago, spudski said:

It's how we operate. 

Those players with ' potential ' are coached and play for us in the league. Learning on the job. 

If they come good...we sell them on. 

Semenyo, Scott recently. 

We never keep the players who's potential comes good, and in doing so, never have a team that has all the qualities of going up. 

 

Completely agree. Take Mehmeti... He's still not there yet. Still lacks the consistency in season three. 

[42nite]

48 minutes ago, spudski said:

It's how we operate. 

Those players with ' potential ' are coached and play for us in the league. Learning on the job. 

If they come good...we sell them on. 

Semenyo, Scott recently. 

We never keep the players who's potential comes good, and in doing so, never have a team that has all the qualities of going up. 

 

Why would they stay here when bigger clubs like 'Boro and Bournemouth can tempt them away?     

 

[spudski]

8 minutes ago, mozo said:

Completely agree. Take Mehmeti... He's still not there yet. Still lacks the consistency in season three. 

And that's the problem. 

We always rely on players to find their potential. 

In doing so they will continually make mistakes. 

Combine more of those type of players in the team, and it's amplified. 

Mixed with players that have probably found their level of being a mid to lower Championship level. 

It's not imo, a recipe for the success the Club want. 

You've only got to look at the league standings right now, so early in the season. 

The top 6 will imo come from those teams already in the top 10. 

Everything below will be bobbing about the rest of the league table for the rest of the season. 

It's already pretty much over imo. 

[spudski]

1 minute ago, 42nite said:

Why would they stay here when bigger clubs like 'Boro and Bournemouth can tempt them away?     

 

Because they become better than us as a whole. 

And they will know how we work. 

They know they won't have a chance of higher football under our system. 

[mozo]

21 minutes ago, spudski said:

And that's the problem. 

We always rely on players to find their potential. 

In doing so they will continually make mistakes. 

Combine more of those type of players in the team, and it's amplified. 

Mixed with players that have probably found their level of being a mid to lower Championship level. 

It's not imo, a recipe for the success the Club want. 

You've only got to look at the league standings right now, so early in the season. 

The top 6 will imo come from those teams already in the top 10. 

Everything below will be bobbing about the rest of the league table for the rest of the season. 

It's already pretty much over imo. 

I wouldn't personally describe it as 'pretty much over'. The last playoff place tends to be up for grabs for a team that can go on a run at the right time, so there's a small kernel of hope.

But my hope for this season is that we can improve on last season. And if we can get another year of experience out of this crop, it gives us a little more chance of being a surprise package next season (if we don't sell half of them!)

But we definitely agree on the pitfalls of this 'project' 

 

[Basshead64]

2 hours ago, 1960maaan said:

As a right footed player it feels easier and more comfortable cutting onto your left , the big difference between Semenyo and Armstrong in their early days is Semenyo had a canon of a left foot from the start. Armstrong makes those right to left runs but looks uncomfortable shooting with his left. He could have lifted it , but he never got around the ball enough to get a good shot away. 
I hope they are working on his finishing, specially with his left , as his pace and power will bring him plenty of chances like that.

Was thinking the other day with sinclaire and  mayula  both still learning who down there is coaching  them?.

[redsquirrel]

57 minutes ago, mozo said:

I wouldn't personally describe it as 'pretty much over'. The last playoff place tends to be up for grabs for a team that can go on a run at the right time, so there's a small kernel of hope.

But my hope for this season is that we can improve on last season. And if we can get another year of experience out of this crop, it gives us a little more chance of being a surprise package next season (if we don't sell half of them!)

But we definitely agree on the pitfalls of this 'project' 

 

you nailed it there with (if we don't sell them).  has anybody got any hope of hanging on to our talented prospects if they develop how we want them to?

 

[Red Skin]

3 hours ago, Graham76 said:

I’ve been critical of Mehmeti but he was my mom against Swansea

Who's ya daddy?

I'm a patient kind of guy, so I've always been willing to cut Anis more slack than most fans despite the obvious frustrations.

He is a really fit lad, and his willingness to work hard for the team when out of possession says alot about his character.

For me, he's a victim of his own shortcomings right now.   His inability to make the right decision on the final pass probably means players are less likely to bust a gut to get on the end of a pass that's unlikely to come.  (Sinclair doesn't instinctively take up good positions either). Consequently, when he looks up to make a pass there aren't the options there for him to make a one.  I think his decision making will improve and things will click. 

It was interesting watching one of the Arsenal goals at the weekend.  It seemed to me the cutback from the byline was made blind to the penalty spot, and it seemed Martinelli knew to move to that area.   Maybe it isn't just down to the individual decision making and these patterns can be coached more? 

[spudski]

1 hour ago, Basshead64 said:

Was thinking the other day with sinclaire and  mayula  both still learning who down there is coaching  them?.

It does strike me as such a silly gamble.

You've got Armstrong who struggles to convert chances, but is like Forest Gump in his other attributes.

Mayulu..young French speaking learning the ropes of the Championship.

Yu...can barely speak English and needs an interpreter. LM struggling to get coaching phrases across.

Mehmeti who is a slow burner.

And then we buy Twine who's supposed to be the provider. 

Who buys a provider then expects two inexperienced lads to finish them regularly and consistently...

[Red Skin]

5 minutes ago, spudski said:

Who buys a provider then expects two inexperienced lads to finish them regularly and consistently...

I get sentiment, buy you got to work on the assumption that with coaching  Armstrong and Mayulu will improve.

What's the alternative?  Let's just buy a shite No 10 because our strikers are shite?

What is needed more than anything is patience.  But that's a rare commodity these days.   You tell most fans that we need patience and the more likely response is  'Who does Patience play for?' 'and 'How much will he cost?'! 

[spudski]

4 minutes ago, Red Skin said:

I get sentiment, buy you got to work on the assumption that with coaching  Armstrong and Mayulu will improve.

What's the alternative?  Let's just buy a shite No 10 because our strikers are shite?

What is needed more than anything is patience.  But that's a rare commodity these days.   You tell most fans that we need patience and the more likely response is  'Who does Patience play for?' 'and 'How much will he cost?'! 

We've had the same format for years. It's never going to change. It's just presented differently each season.

Our format...is ' hope'. 

[Rob k]

17 minutes ago, Red Skin said:

I get sentiment, buy you got to work on the assumption that with coaching  Armstrong and Mayulu will improve.

What's the alternative?  Let's just buy a shite No 10 because our strikers are shite?

What is needed more than anything is patience.  But that's a rare commodity these days.   You tell most fans that we need patience and the more likely response is  'Who does Patience play for?' 'and 'How much will he cost?'! 

Spud is correct though, as if we are patient and these players turn out to be good, they will be sold!! And around in circles we go. 

[Red Skin]

59 minutes ago, Rob k said:

Spud is correct though, as if we are patient and these players turn out to be good, they will be sold!! And around in circles we go. 

Yeah, I get that.  That's the conundrum isn't it?

I may have misread @spudski's post, but I thought he was questioning the point of buying Twine with ineffective strikers up front?

The hope for me in all this is that we have a team that is better than the sum of its parts.   That relies on the systems and patterns of play being so honed that succession planning is easier.   A new player or two can slot in if a couple are sold.  (Large numbers of players leaving would still be a problem, though). 

It still needs everything to almost click in one season so you can secure promotion before anyone has a real chance to buy your best performers.

The alternative is to rely on individual brilliance and build a team around it.  Which really leaves you stuffed when that talent inevitably moves on.  That does a mean starting again from a scratch as that player is almost impossible to replace.  How could we buy the next Alex Scott?  Could we afford him?  Would he even come to us? 

The obvious question - which I don't intend exploring here - is whether Manning can deliver the former. 

 

[mozo]

2 hours ago, redsquirrel said:

you nailed it there with (if we don't sell them).  has anybody got any hope of hanging on to our talented prospects if they develop how we want them to?

 

No! If Mayulu for example develops into a high quality centre forward next season, he'll be gone in January 2026 latest!

1 hour ago, spudski said:

We've had the same format for years. It's never going to change. It's just presented differently each season.

Our format...is ' hope'. 

I think the big argument back to that is that our league position has seen year on year improvement for three consecutive seasons. 

If we again finish higher than the previous season, as frustrated as we might be with the model and the staff, the argument of continuous improvement still stands strong.

If we finish lower this season than last, then you have pretty strong evidence that the model of buying potential and selling stars is failing.

We'll have ups and downs this season, but the above is why I'm willing to see out the whole season now before passing conclusive judgement (unless something mad happens before then).

[Sir Geoff]

6 hours ago, spudski said:

That's the ' problem' though. 

Our team is run with players pretty much every season, that have ' potential'. 

Right now we have Mehmeti, Yu, Armstrong, Maluyu, that are all learning in the Championship. Serving Apprenticeships so to speak. 

Combine that with a Coach who is also learning in the Championship. 

I still scratch my head as to how BT and JL think we can progress in this league with so much ' potential' in the squad, but little genuine experience on how to manage and win games in this league. 

Mehmeti has circa 100 championship appearances. If he’s still learning then......

[spudski]

10 minutes ago, Sir Geoff said:

Mehmeti has circa 100 championship appearances. If he’s still learning then......

Exactly 

[spudski]

48 minutes ago, mozo said:

No! If Mayulu for example develops into a high quality centre forward next season, he'll be gone in January 2026 latest!

I think the big argument back to that is that our league position has seen year on year improvement for three consecutive seasons. 

If we again finish higher than the previous season, as frustrated as we might be with the model and the staff, the argument of continuous improvement still stands strong.

If we finish lower this season than last, then you have pretty strong evidence that the model of buying potential and selling stars is failing.

We'll have ups and downs this season, but the above is why I'm willing to see out the whole season now before passing conclusive judgement (unless something mad happens before then).

Have we really improved over 3 seasons?

Position wise yes...but it's relative to other teams in the league.

The last three seasons...We've won exactly 15 games each season.

 

[Harry]

6 hours ago, Graham76 said:

I’ve been critical of Mehmeti but he was my mom against Swansea

He was my Man of the Match against Swansea by a long distance. 
I said this on Sunday and many didn’t agree. 
He was by far our biggest threat. 
 

I like Anis. 
Yes, he needs to do better, but he’s a typical winger - he’ll try to take his man on, will likely fail 8 times out of 10, but when he does succeed it creates excitement. And that’s what we all want isn’t it - a bit of excitement. 
I’d rather that than have a winger who checks back every time and passes back to the full back. 
 

Anis entertains me. He doesn’t always get it right, but he’s entertaining. 

Edited Wednesday at 12:32 by Harry

[The Journalist]

23 minutes ago, spudski said:

Have we really improved over 3 seasons?

Position wise yes...but it's relative to other teams in the league.

The last three seasons...We've won exactly 15 games each season.

 

100% this! Whether we finished 9th, 11th or 13th is largely irrelevant - it has to be about our competitiveness.

For example, we could be in the play-off mix all season, play some good stuff, develop a bit of an identity and feel positive but then get one or two bad injuries in the final two months, fade away and finish ninth. That would still feel like progress to me.

We could also be inconsistent all season, throw in several horrible performances (eg Blackburn away), be frustrated as a fanbase but string together five wins on the bounce near the end when there's basically nothing to play for by then and finish ninth. That isn't progress.

3 hours ago, Red Skin said:

I get sentiment, buy you got to work on the assumption that with coaching  Armstrong and Mayulu will improve.

What's the alternative?  Let's just buy a shite No 10 because our strikers are shite?

What is needed more than anything is patience.  But that's a rare commodity these days.   You tell most fans that we need patience and the more likely response is  'Who does Patience play for?' 'and 'How much will he cost?'! 

Wasn't it mentioned the other day that we're currently on our longest run in a single division since the 1950s?

Crowds are consistently good, the atmosphere inside the ground remains broadly positive and at no point has Liam Manning been put under any significant supporter pressure. Not really, not when you compare to some clubs. And that's despite being told when he was appointed his job was to have us fighting at the top end of the table.

As it was, we finished 11 points off the play-offs and his win ratio after a year in the job is worse than the last guy... who we were also incredibly patient with and supportive of, recognising and understanding the challenges he faced. We never threatened to finish near the play-offs under him, either.

So my question is how patient do you want the fans to be? At what point are supporters entitled to want - and ask for - more?

I think as a fanbase we are incredibly patient and supportive. Passive, even.

So I for one would never criticise anyone wanting a bit more than that and wanting it pretty sharpish. Not at this point.

Edited Wednesday at 12:47 by The Journalist

[mozo]

15 minutes ago, spudski said:

Have we really improved over 3 seasons?

Position wise yes...but it's relative to other teams in the league.

The last three seasons...We've won exactly 15 games each season.

 

Points and position are the most tangible metrics, and they both improved three years running. 

I appreciate this could prompt a bigger discussion about the various good and bad developments in that time!

 

[mozo]

5 minutes ago, The Journalist said:

100% this! Whether we finished 9th, 11th or 13th is largely irrelevant - it has to be about our competitiveness.

For example, we could be in the play-off mix all season, play some good stuff, develop a bit of an identity and feel positive but then get one or two bad injuries in the final two months, fade away and finish ninth. That would still feel like progress to me. 

I'm not totally in disagreement here, but a couple of things...

The experience of a season is very subjective. Our season so far is a classic example. OTIB is very split on the assessment of our performances so far.

Secondly, there is always the plain truth that if we improve our league position every season, we will eventually find ourselves in the Premier League. So it's a pretty good metric and objective from that perspective.

[1960maaan]

19 minutes ago, mozo said:

Points and position are the most tangible metrics, and they both improved three years running. 

I appreciate this could prompt a bigger discussion about the various good and bad developments in that time!

 

In those terms, probably as straight forward as you can get definite progress.

Closer to 6th each year , more points and higher in the table. 

Looking at our positions each year , end of next year should do it 

[spudski]

25 minutes ago, mozo said:

Points and position are the most tangible metrics, and they both improved three years running. 

I appreciate this could prompt a bigger discussion about the various good and bad developments in that time!

 

I can't agree sorry. 

It depends on the teams in the division each season. 

 

[mozo]

12 minutes ago, spudski said:

I can't agree sorry. 

It depends on the teams in the division each season. 

 

That sounds like something that is incredibly difficult to quantify.

[spudski]

15 minutes ago, mozo said:

That sounds like something that is incredibly difficult to quantify.

Well not really 

You look at other teams and the quality they have and buy accordingly. 

[Bazooka Joe]

16 hours ago, Tecknical Director said:

That “finish” from Armstrong was pretty awful. 

Do you think he's finished?

[Bazooka Joe]

1 hour ago, Sir Geoff said:

Mehmeti has circa 100 championship appearances. If he’s still learning then......

Players are always learning, but you're right, he should be a much better player by now.

Hopefully, his learning curve rises quickly from now on.

[DaveInSA]

This vid shows me a new side to him.

He is absolutely committed. Ran a lot. Got stuck in.

That pass for Armstrong was a gem.

But.

He is just so laboriously, predictable. Tries to beat the same player 865,453 times in one dribble. And then no final product. Never looks up. Way too greedy. 

Like @Harry, I like exciting players. Players who make me jump out my seat so to speak. But Anis isn’t one of them. It’s always disappointing. Always.

The three times a game he puts a good ball in, nobody is there? The penalty box is devoid of Bristol City presence. 

I’m afraid that we’re going nowhere as a club, as @spudski said - we’re the apprentices club. Destined for low-mid table mediocrity at best. Relegation fight at worst. 

Give me Mark Gavin any day….

 

[Cowshed]

4 hours ago, Sir Geoff said:

Mehmeti has circa 100 championship appearances. If he’s still learning then......

This would be normal. A player at Mehmetis age will have not reached their psychological, and physical peak. The player can improve and should be expected to.    

[Davefevs]

3 hours ago, mozo said:

I'm not totally in disagreement here, but a couple of things...

The experience of a season is very subjective. Our season so far is a classic example. OTIB is very split on the assessment of our performances so far.

Secondly, there is always the plain truth that if we improve our league position every season, we will eventually find ourselves in the Premier League. So it's a pretty good metric and objective from that perspective.

3 hours ago, mozo said:

Points and position are the most tangible metrics, and they both improved three years running. 

I appreciate this could prompt a bigger discussion about the various good and bad developments in that time!

 

Why is it split?

I guess because it’s a new season, and the league table / points per game is still at a relatively “volatile” stage. Wins move you up, losses move you down.  Wins feel like the states upward momentum, losses feel like the start of a downward spiral.

All we can do is give our opinion at a point in time.  Over the coming games we will start to see a picture emerging.  It won’t be definitive.  A win, draw or loss tonight won’t be either.

This is our one game league table:

Teams we can catch, teams that can catch us.  A big win tonight sees us go above Hull (although Swansea could win too), defeat and a win for Stoke sees us go 16th.