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Post by franklin on Feb 26, 2021 10:12:39 GMT
I’m not the one suggesting he “guaranteed goals”? Personally I thought he was bloody awful. And yes, I know he once scored 11 goals in a season off his arse, face and shin. Four out or his five managers at Stoke didn’t rate him. That’s very clear because they wouldn’t pick him. Mark Hughes thought he was better at right back. The one manager that did was the often criticised Lambert, who was rewarded with his faith in Mame with 2 goals in 16 games and some of the worst exhibitions of finishing and decision making in the final third I’ve ever seen. Arse, face and shin you say... EDIT: if you leave auto play on, his entire season of goals comes up We can only dream of a striker that good nowadays 😔
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2021 10:20:14 GMT
I wasn't Mame's biggest fan, but christ, watching that reel, he's like prime Robert Lewandoswki compared to what has gone since...
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 10:34:16 GMT
via mobile
Post by mickstupp on Feb 26, 2021 10:34:16 GMT
Yeah I was there mate. Absolutely brilliant when he scored, and probably our best result in the Premier League era. Come on though....Hart should have saved it. I don’t think he was world beater but your comments were harsh and the full compilation of his goals that season proves that. No reason to think he wasn’t capable of scoring the same amount for the rest of his Stoke career. Which begs the question of why didn’t he then? And if he couldn’t do it at Stoke, why didn’t anyone else sign him?
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 10:35:35 GMT
via mobile
Post by tommycarlsberg on Feb 26, 2021 10:35:35 GMT
I don’t think he was world beater but your comments were harsh and the full compilation of his goals that season proves that. No reason to think he wasn’t capable of scoring the same amount for the rest of his Stoke career. Which begs the question of why didn’t he then? And if he couldn’t do it at Stoke, why didn’t anyone else sign him? He barely played as a striker again after that season.
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 10:36:16 GMT
via mobile
Post by mickstupp on Feb 26, 2021 10:36:16 GMT
Arse, face and shin you say... EDIT: if you leave auto play on, his entire season of goals comes up We can only dream of a striker that good nowadays 😔 He was still a Stoke player last season. If he was so good why wasn’t he playing every week and scoring goals for us?
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 10:36:50 GMT
via mobile
Post by mickstupp on Feb 26, 2021 10:36:50 GMT
Which begs the question of why didn’t he then? And if he couldn’t do it at Stoke, why didn’t anyone else sign him? He barely played as a striker again after that season. Yes I know, why was that though?
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 10:39:22 GMT
via mobile
Post by franklin on Feb 26, 2021 10:39:22 GMT
We can only dream of a striker that good nowadays 😔 He was still a Stoke player last season. If he was so good why wasn’t he playing every week and scoring goals for us? Dunno ask MON he picks the side maybe he prefers Vokes and Brown in his system whatever the hell his system is.
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 10:41:52 GMT
via mobile
Post by mickstupp on Feb 26, 2021 10:41:52 GMT
He was still a Stoke player last season. If he was so good why wasn’t he playing every week and scoring goals for us? Dunno ask MON he picks the side maybe he prefers Vokes and Brown in his system whatever the hell his system is. Brown wasn’t here last season? Could it possibly be that Diouf was just a really, really poor footballer? 1 goal in 24 games is worse than Vokes and Brown isn’t it?
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 10:45:13 GMT
via mobile
Post by franklin on Feb 26, 2021 10:45:13 GMT
Dunno ask MON he picks the side maybe he prefers Vokes and Brown in his system whatever the hell his system is. Brown wasn’t here last season? Could it possibly be that Diouf was just a really, really poor footballer? 1 goal in 24 games is worse than Vokes and Brown isn’t it? Yep you're right again.
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Post by davejohnno1 on Feb 26, 2021 11:00:04 GMT
Going back to Bojan, I think personally, I'll always wonder what we could have done and where we would now been if we'd actually have given him a fair run of games and a degree of patience to get back to what he was pre-injury.
It's widely claimed that players bounce back from serious injury and look unchanged for a run of 5 or 6 games which they get through on adrenaline and then somehow they hit the wall and it takes months to get back to their best.
That was true of Bojan. He came back well and right up to the Liverpool semi-final game, he was playing really well post injury in the main, save for an awful showing away at WBA around New Year. Thereafter, he never really got given games to build up a rhythm and match sharpness and was always battling against suspicious managers probably terrified of his popularity.
The games he played under Rowett, he was the best player on the pitch by some distance and it was obvious that he was a level above the opposition we were playing against. He was superb for 50 minutes v Bolton before drifting out of the game for 10 minutes where he was instantly subbed. He came on v Rotherham and they couldn't get near him to kick him. There was 1 other game, I forget who against, but they literally spent the whole game kicking him. In 3 games, he attracted more fouls against him than any of the rest of our team managed in the first half of the season.
When you look at what the likes of Fernandes did at Leeds last season, what Benrahma did at Brentford and what Ayew is doing at Swansea I (and I'm sure many others) can't help but wonder why the hell Rowett didn't just build the championship team around him. Clucas and Woods cost us the best part of 14m and the two combined couldn't offer Rowett what Bojan could.
When you think about what Rowett did to our club, compounded only by Jones, it really does break your heart.
He may not have been the pre-injury Bojan but the Bojan we saw post-injury was easily good enough to be a mainstay of our team in the Championship and was probably good enough to fire us towards promotion. Instead we spend two seasons looking at dropping into League 1.
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Post by The Toxic Avenger on Feb 26, 2021 11:01:17 GMT
Going back to Bojan, I think personally, I'll always wonder what we could have done and where we would now been if we'd actually have given him a fair run of games and a degree of patience to get back to what he was pre-injury. It's widely claimed that players bounce back from serious injury and look unchanged for a run of 5 or 6 games which they get through on adrenaline and then somehow they hit the wall and it takes months to get back to their best. That was true of Bojan. He came back well and right up to the Liverpool semi-final game, he was playing really well post injury in the main, save for an awful showing away at WBA around New Year. Thereafter, he never really got given games to build up a rhythm and match sharpness and was always battling against suspicious managers probably terrified of his popularity. The games he played under Rowett, he was the best player on the pitch by some distance and it was obvious that he was a level above the opposition we were playing against. He was superb for 50 minutes v Bolton before drifting out of the game for 10 minutes where he was instantly subbed. He came on v Rotherham and they couldn't get near him to kick him. There was 1 other game, I forget who against, but they literally spent the whole game kicking him. In 3 games, he attracted more fouls against him than any of the rest of our team managed in the first half of the season. When you look at what the likes of Fernandes did at Leeds last season, what Benrahma did at Brentford and what Ayew is doing at Swansea I (and I'm sure many others) can't help but wonder why the hell Rowett didn't just build the championship team around him. Clucas and Woods cost us the best part of 14m and the two combined couldn't offer Rowett what Bojan could. When you think about what Rowett did to our club, compounded only by Jones, it really does break your heart. He may not have been the pre-injury Bojan but the Bojan we saw post-injury was easily good enough to be a mainstay of our team in the Championship and was probably good enough to fire us towards promotion. Instead we spend two seasons looking at dropping into League 1. Yep. Will Hughes was too much of a flair player for Rowett, Bojan never stood a chance.
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 11:06:46 GMT
Post by boskampsflaps on Feb 26, 2021 11:06:46 GMT
No thanks he's utter dog shit and he was signed by the incumbent still at the club (basically Scholes while the manager was afk/there was no manager...great foresight). I would be more happy to see Bauer play a few games than Smith starting every week. I would be happy to judge him after a spell in the side too at RWB, as it looks like we are fucked with 4 at the back. He was a Hughes signing, I'm guessing the club decided due to lack of time that we should still go through with it. We were fucked with wing backs too, the four at the back isn't the problem, its those infront and the decisions being made on the sideline. He hasn't shown he's worth any sort of time in the side from his loans, couldn't even get regular mins in the Celtic side. He's no good we need rid.
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 11:47:21 GMT
Post by lordb on Feb 26, 2021 11:47:21 GMT
I don’t think he was world beater but your comments were harsh and the full compilation of his goals that season proves that. No reason to think he wasn’t capable of scoring the same amount for the rest of his Stoke career. Which begs the question of why didn’t he then? And if he couldn’t do it at Stoke, why didn’t anyone else sign him? He was on £60k a week wasn't he?
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 11:48:39 GMT
via mobile
Post by tommycarlsberg on Feb 26, 2021 11:48:39 GMT
He barely played as a striker again after that season. Yes I know, why was that though? Well, my guess is players like Mame probably look awful in training, compared to the likes of Crouch. Unpopular opinion but I thought Crouch was rubbish and one of our worse signings in the Premier League years. We also had other options brought in like Bony and Berahino who should have been better but weren’t.
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 11:49:08 GMT
Post by lordb on Feb 26, 2021 11:49:08 GMT
Going back to Bojan, I think personally, I'll always wonder what we could have done and where we would now been if we'd actually have given him a fair run of games and a degree of patience to get back to what he was pre-injury. It's widely claimed that players bounce back from serious injury and look unchanged for a run of 5 or 6 games which they get through on adrenaline and then somehow they hit the wall and it takes months to get back to their best. That was true of Bojan. He came back well and right up to the Liverpool semi-final game, he was playing really well post injury in the main, save for an awful showing away at WBA around New Year. Thereafter, he never really got given games to build up a rhythm and match sharpness and was always battling against suspicious managers probably terrified of his popularity. The games he played under Rowett, he was the best player on the pitch by some distance and it was obvious that he was a level above the opposition we were playing against. He was superb for 50 minutes v Bolton before drifting out of the game for 10 minutes where he was instantly subbed. He came on v Rotherham and they couldn't get near him to kick him. There was 1 other game, I forget who against, but they literally spent the whole game kicking him. In 3 games, he attracted more fouls against him than any of the rest of our team managed in the first half of the season. When you look at what the likes of Fernandes did at Leeds last season, what Benrahma did at Brentford and what Ayew is doing at Swansea I (and I'm sure many others) can't help but wonder why the hell Rowett didn't just build the championship team around him. Clucas and Woods cost us the best part of 14m and the two combined couldn't offer Rowett what Bojan could. When you think about what Rowett did to our club, compounded only by Jones, it really does break your heart. He may not have been the pre-injury Bojan but the Bojan we saw post-injury was easily good enough to be a mainstay of our team in the Championship and was probably good enough to fire us towards promotion. Instead we spend two seasons looking at dropping into League 1. Further to that Jones diamond & Bojan should have been a perfect match,he barely played him either
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 12:24:11 GMT
Post by nott1 on Feb 26, 2021 12:24:11 GMT
Yes I know, why was that though? Well, my guess is players like Mame probably look awful in training, compared to the likes of Crouch. Unpopular opinion but I thought Crouch was rubbish and one of our worse signings in the Premier League years. We also had other options brought in like Bony and Berahino who should have been better but weren’t. If you thought the fairly prolific Crouch was rubbish what do you think of Vokes and Fletcher?
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 12:37:09 GMT
via mobile
Post by mickstupp on Feb 26, 2021 12:37:09 GMT
Yes I know, why was that though? Well, my guess is players like Mame probably look awful in training, compared to the likes of Crouch. Unpopular opinion but I thought Crouch was rubbish and one of our worse signings in the Premier League years. We also had other options brought in like Bony and Berahino who should have been better but weren’t. I don’t disagree in regards to Crouch. He was a good player, but not really the type of player we needed at the time.
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 12:39:01 GMT
via mobile
Post by mickstupp on Feb 26, 2021 12:39:01 GMT
Which begs the question of why didn’t he then? And if he couldn’t do it at Stoke, why didn’t anyone else sign him? He was on £60k a week wasn't he? His salary would have been high due to a big signing on fee with him being a free agent when he joined. Obviously we don’t know if that was a lump sum or paid throughout the duration of his deal.
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 12:52:47 GMT
Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2021 12:52:47 GMT
Going back to Bojan, I think personally, I'll always wonder what we could have done and where we would now been if we'd actually have given him a fair run of games and a degree of patience to get back to what he was pre-injury. (...) When you look at what the likes of Fernandes did at Leeds last season, what Benrahma did at Brentford and what Ayew is doing at Swansea I (and I'm sure many others) can't help but wonder why the hell Rowett didn't just build the championship team around him. Clucas and Woods cost us the best part of 14m and the two combined couldn't offer Rowett what Bojan could. When you think about what Rowett did to our club, compounded only by Jones, it really does break your heart. He may not have been the pre-injury Bojan but the Bojan we saw post-injury was easily good enough to be a mainstay of our team in the Championship and was probably good enough to fire us towards promotion. Instead we spend two seasons looking at dropping into League 1. Because Bojan was somebody else's signing. He didn't want anybody to outshine his own signings, because they were supposed to make Rowett look like a genius. If you look back at some of Rowett's early press statements, he really resented that Bojan was so popular with the supporters.
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 12:59:02 GMT
via mobile
Post by followyoudown on Feb 26, 2021 12:59:02 GMT
Going back to Bojan, I think personally, I'll always wonder what we could have done and where we would now been if we'd actually have given him a fair run of games and a degree of patience to get back to what he was pre-injury. It's widely claimed that players bounce back from serious injury and look unchanged for a run of 5 or 6 games which they get through on adrenaline and then somehow they hit the wall and it takes months to get back to their best. That was true of Bojan. He came back well and right up to the Liverpool semi-final game, he was playing really well post injury in the main, save for an awful showing away at WBA around New Year. Thereafter, he never really got given games to build up a rhythm and match sharpness and was always battling against suspicious managers probably terrified of his popularity. The games he played under Rowett, he was the best player on the pitch by some distance and it was obvious that he was a level above the opposition we were playing against. He was superb for 50 minutes v Bolton before drifting out of the game for 10 minutes where he was instantly subbed. He came on v Rotherham and they couldn't get near him to kick him. There was 1 other game, I forget who against, but they literally spent the whole game kicking him. In 3 games, he attracted more fouls against him than any of the rest of our team managed in the first half of the season. When you look at what the likes of Fernandes did at Leeds last season, what Benrahma did at Brentford and what Ayew is doing at Swansea I (and I'm sure many others) can't help but wonder why the hell Rowett didn't just build the championship team around him. Clucas and Woods cost us the best part of 14m and the two combined couldn't offer Rowett what Bojan could. When you think about what Rowett did to our club, compounded only by Jones, it really does break your heart. He may not have been the pre-injury Bojan but the Bojan we saw post-injury was easily good enough to be a mainstay of our team in the Championship and was probably good enough to fire us towards promotion. Instead we spend two seasons looking at dropping into League 1. Absolutely this I would have said Taarabt at qpr was perhaps a better comparison as the guys you mentioned all put in a shift whereas qpr played shaun derry to cover / accomodate for Taarabt.
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 12:59:04 GMT
Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2021 12:59:04 GMT
Dunno ask MON he picks the side maybe he prefers Vokes and Brown in his system whatever the hell his system is. Brown wasn’t here last season? Could it possibly be that Diouf was just a really, really poor footballer? 1 goal in 24 games is worse than Vokes and Brown isn’t it? Like a lot of people you're reading the stats like the devil reads the bible. It's not like he played 24 games of 90 mins each. Most of his games were cameos, sometimes lasting as little as two minutes. Now maybe David Fairclough could do instant on goals, but others need more than 2 minutes to get in tune.
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 13:18:45 GMT
via mobile
Post by mickstupp on Feb 26, 2021 13:18:45 GMT
Brown wasn’t here last season? Could it possibly be that Diouf was just a really, really poor footballer? 1 goal in 24 games is worse than Vokes and Brown isn’t it? Like a lot of people you're reading the stats like the devil reads the bible. It's not like he played 24 games of 90 mins each. Most of his games were cameos, sometimes lasting as little as two minutes. Now maybe David Fairclough could do instant on goals, but others need more than 2 minutes to get in tune. Yes there were sub appearances in there of course, but I disagree with the earlier suggestion that Diouf = Goals Guaranteed.
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Post by tommycarlsberg on Feb 26, 2021 13:32:29 GMT
Well, my guess is players like Mame probably look awful in training, compared to the likes of Crouch. Unpopular opinion but I thought Crouch was rubbish and one of our worse signings in the Premier League years. We also had other options brought in like Bony and Berahino who should have been better but weren’t. If you thought the fairly prolific Crouch was rubbish what do you think of Vokes and Fletcher? Fletcher is a decent journeyman and Vokes is completely useless.
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Post by tommycarlsberg on Feb 26, 2021 13:50:33 GMT
R.e Bojan
This league seems relatively straightforward to get out of if you have the resources. You look at Fulham, West Brom, Norwich, Villa, all teams who have gone up recently.
All play 4-2-3-1, solid base in midfield, creative options behind a mobile target man. Wolves and Sheffield United have been exceptions to this rule and you could say have had an easier time of it when they got up.
Mistakes were made not building a team around Bojan, I’m pretty certain of that. Instead we’ve been treated to Rowettball, Shirley Bassey and O’Neill who to his credit, I think knows this now and will adapt eventually.
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 14:02:41 GMT
Post by davejohnno1 on Feb 26, 2021 14:02:41 GMT
Going back to Bojan, I think personally, I'll always wonder what we could have done and where we would now been if we'd actually have given him a fair run of games and a degree of patience to get back to what he was pre-injury. It's widely claimed that players bounce back from serious injury and look unchanged for a run of 5 or 6 games which they get through on adrenaline and then somehow they hit the wall and it takes months to get back to their best. That was true of Bojan. He came back well and right up to the Liverpool semi-final game, he was playing really well post injury in the main, save for an awful showing away at WBA around New Year. Thereafter, he never really got given games to build up a rhythm and match sharpness and was always battling against suspicious managers probably terrified of his popularity. The games he played under Rowett, he was the best player on the pitch by some distance and it was obvious that he was a level above the opposition we were playing against. He was superb for 50 minutes v Bolton before drifting out of the game for 10 minutes where he was instantly subbed. He came on v Rotherham and they couldn't get near him to kick him. There was 1 other game, I forget who against, but they literally spent the whole game kicking him. In 3 games, he attracted more fouls against him than any of the rest of our team managed in the first half of the season. When you look at what the likes of Fernandes did at Leeds last season, what Benrahma did at Brentford and what Ayew is doing at Swansea I (and I'm sure many others) can't help but wonder why the hell Rowett didn't just build the championship team around him. Clucas and Woods cost us the best part of 14m and the two combined couldn't offer Rowett what Bojan could. When you think about what Rowett did to our club, compounded only by Jones, it really does break your heart. He may not have been the pre-injury Bojan but the Bojan we saw post-injury was easily good enough to be a mainstay of our team in the Championship and was probably good enough to fire us towards promotion. Instead we spend two seasons looking at dropping into League 1. Absolutely this I would have said Taarabt at qpr was perhaps a better comparison as the guys you mentioned all put in a shift whereas qpr played shaun derry to cover / accomodate for Taarabt. I'd forgotten about him. Had an unbelievable season in the Championship for QPR didn't he?
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Post by Vadiation_Ribe on Feb 26, 2021 16:42:13 GMT
Going back to Bojan, I think personally, I'll always wonder what we could have done and where we would now been if we'd actually have given him a fair run of games and a degree of patience to get back to what he was pre-injury. It's widely claimed that players bounce back from serious injury and look unchanged for a run of 5 or 6 games which they get through on adrenaline and then somehow they hit the wall and it takes months to get back to their best. That was true of Bojan. He came back well and right up to the Liverpool semi-final game, he was playing really well post injury in the main, save for an awful showing away at WBA around New Year. Thereafter, he never really got given games to build up a rhythm and match sharpness and was always battling against suspicious managers probably terrified of his popularity. The games he played under Rowett, he was the best player on the pitch by some distance and it was obvious that he was a level above the opposition we were playing against. He was superb for 50 minutes v Bolton before drifting out of the game for 10 minutes where he was instantly subbed. He came on v Rotherham and they couldn't get near him to kick him. There was 1 other game, I forget who against, but they literally spent the whole game kicking him. In 3 games, he attracted more fouls against him than any of the rest of our team managed in the first half of the season. When you look at what the likes of Fernandes did at Leeds last season, what Benrahma did at Brentford and what Ayew is doing at Swansea I (and I'm sure many others) can't help but wonder why the hell Rowett didn't just build the championship team around him. Clucas and Woods cost us the best part of 14m and the two combined couldn't offer Rowett what Bojan could. When you think about what Rowett did to our club, compounded only by Jones, it really does break your heart. He may not have been the pre-injury Bojan but the Bojan we saw post-injury was easily good enough to be a mainstay of our team in the Championship and was probably good enough to fire us towards promotion. Instead we spend two seasons looking at dropping into League 1. Further to that Jones diamond & Bojan should have been a perfect match,he barely played him either The most heartbreaking photo in history: Attachment Deletedwww.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/stoke-bojan-west-brom-transfer-2493335Stoke turned down an offer from West Brom because Jones apparently wanted to work 'Bo' (as The Sentinel/Phil Greig named that image file - even they loved him!) back into the team.
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 18:43:22 GMT
via mobile
Post by followyoudown on Feb 26, 2021 18:43:22 GMT
Absolutely this I would have said Taarabt at qpr was perhaps a better comparison as the guys you mentioned all put in a shift whereas qpr played shaun derry to cover / accomodate for Taarabt. I'd forgotten about him. Had an unbelievable season in the Championship for QPR didn't he? Yes nearly 20 goals the year they got promoted and that despite a couple of walkouts, legend has it including 1 time he got the bus home from fulham after being subbed early.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2021 18:59:02 GMT
Going back to Bojan, I think personally, I'll always wonder what we could have done and where we would now been if we'd actually have given him a fair run of games and a degree of patience to get back to what he was pre-injury. It's widely claimed that players bounce back from serious injury and look unchanged for a run of 5 or 6 games which they get through on adrenaline and then somehow they hit the wall and it takes months to get back to their best. That was true of Bojan. He came back well and right up to the Liverpool semi-final game, he was playing really well post injury in the main, save for an awful showing away at WBA around New Year. Thereafter, he never really got given games to build up a rhythm and match sharpness and was always battling against suspicious managers probably terrified of his popularity. The games he played under Rowett, he was the best player on the pitch by some distance and it was obvious that he was a level above the opposition we were playing against. He was superb for 50 minutes v Bolton before drifting out of the game for 10 minutes where he was instantly subbed. He came on v Rotherham and they couldn't get near him to kick him. There was 1 other game, I forget who against, but they literally spent the whole game kicking him. In 3 games, he attracted more fouls against him than any of the rest of our team managed in the first half of the season. When you look at what the likes of Fernandes did at Leeds last season, what Benrahma did at Brentford and what Ayew is doing at Swansea I (and I'm sure many others) can't help but wonder why the hell Rowett didn't just build the championship team around him. Clucas and Woods cost us the best part of 14m and the two combined couldn't offer Rowett what Bojan could. When you think about what Rowett did to our club, compounded only by Jones, it really does break your heart. He may not have been the pre-injury Bojan but the Bojan we saw post-injury was easily good enough to be a mainstay of our team in the Championship and was probably good enough to fire us towards promotion. Instead we spend two seasons looking at dropping into League 1. Completely agree. I think Bojan didn't help himself though. He was/is so keen to impress he tried too hard for me. A player with his ability can allow things to happen naturally. We saw him at his glorious best when he did that. He, for me, seemed to be trying too hard in the Championship. For me I'd be happy with 2 natural pieces of brilliance from him over 90 minutes rather than 90 minutes of huffing and puffing trying to make things happen. I accept he was instructed in some respects to do that but I just wish he could have been left to do be Bojan on the pitch. Nobody could doubt he had all the talent and credentials to boss this league.
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 19:04:06 GMT
via mobile
Post by davejohnno1 on Feb 26, 2021 19:04:06 GMT
Going back to Bojan, I think personally, I'll always wonder what we could have done and where we would now been if we'd actually have given him a fair run of games and a degree of patience to get back to what he was pre-injury. It's widely claimed that players bounce back from serious injury and look unchanged for a run of 5 or 6 games which they get through on adrenaline and then somehow they hit the wall and it takes months to get back to their best. That was true of Bojan. He came back well and right up to the Liverpool semi-final game, he was playing really well post injury in the main, save for an awful showing away at WBA around New Year. Thereafter, he never really got given games to build up a rhythm and match sharpness and was always battling against suspicious managers probably terrified of his popularity. The games he played under Rowett, he was the best player on the pitch by some distance and it was obvious that he was a level above the opposition we were playing against. He was superb for 50 minutes v Bolton before drifting out of the game for 10 minutes where he was instantly subbed. He came on v Rotherham and they couldn't get near him to kick him. There was 1 other game, I forget who against, but they literally spent the whole game kicking him. In 3 games, he attracted more fouls against him than any of the rest of our team managed in the first half of the season. When you look at what the likes of Fernandes did at Leeds last season, what Benrahma did at Brentford and what Ayew is doing at Swansea I (and I'm sure many others) can't help but wonder why the hell Rowett didn't just build the championship team around him. Clucas and Woods cost us the best part of 14m and the two combined couldn't offer Rowett what Bojan could. When you think about what Rowett did to our club, compounded only by Jones, it really does break your heart. He may not have been the pre-injury Bojan but the Bojan we saw post-injury was easily good enough to be a mainstay of our team in the Championship and was probably good enough to fire us towards promotion. Instead we spend two seasons looking at dropping into League 1. Completely agree. I think Bojan didn't help himself though. He was/is so keen to impress he tried too hard for me. A player with his ability can allow things to happen naturally. We saw him at his glorious best when he did that. He, for me, seemed to be trying too hard in the Championship. For me I'd be happy with 2 natural pieces of brilliance from him over 90 minutes rather than 90 minutes of huffing and puffing trying to make things happen. I accept he was instructed in some respects to do that but I just wish he could have been left to do be Bojan on the pitch. Nobody could doubt he had all the talent and credentials to boss this league. You would have been happy with 2 moments of match winning brilliance. So would I. So would many others. Sadly his managers weren't and that's probably why he tried so hard to please. The 3 games or 3 and a half games he played for Rowett he was best player on the pitch. It was completely unfathomable why that idiot wouldn't use him. I can't remember how many chances Jones gave him but the 1 game I can recall, Bojan had a poor game. It can happen. I'm not sure he played again after that under Jones which again, was just ridiculous.
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Bojan
Feb 26, 2021 19:12:14 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2021 19:12:14 GMT
Completely agree. I think Bojan didn't help himself though. He was/is so keen to impress he tried too hard for me. A player with his ability can allow things to happen naturally. We saw him at his glorious best when he did that. He, for me, seemed to be trying too hard in the Championship. For me I'd be happy with 2 natural pieces of brilliance from him over 90 minutes rather than 90 minutes of huffing and puffing trying to make things happen. I accept he was instructed in some respects to do that but I just wish he could have been left to do be Bojan on the pitch. Nobody could doubt he had all the talent and credentials to boss this league. You would have been happy with 2 moments of match winning brilliance. So would I. So would many others. Sadly his managers weren't and that's probably why he tried so hard to please. The 3 games or 3 and a half games he played for Rowett he was best player on the pitch. It was completely unfathomable why that idiot wouldn't use him. I can't remember how many chances Jones gave him but the 1 game I can recall, Bojan had a poor game. It can happen. I'm not sure he played again after that under Jones which again, was just ridiculous. I think Jones could have had Pirlo and Messi ay the tips of his ill-fated diamond and they'd have been made to look shit. The diamond is great if you have pace, as it a nightmare when you go forward for the opposition but its imperative so you can recover quickly when the ball is lost. It's the one thing we didn't and still don't have enough of.
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