Mehmeti

[riddlesdown red]

I don't see many games these days, travelled down with 5 millwall fans. Obviously the journey back was a good one.

One observation I made was Mehmeti,s ball retention was not his strong point and a few of his passes led to loss of possession.  Is this the norm for him.

If you do not possess the technical ability at his age no amount of coaching will change this.

Maybe he had an off day?

 

 

 

[Back of the Dolman]

4 minutes ago, riddlesdown red said:

I don't see many games these days, travelled down with 5 millwall fans. Obviously the journey back was a good one.

One observation I made was Mehmeti,s ball retention was not his strong point and a few of his passes led to loss of possession.  Is this the norm for him.

If you do not possess the technical ability at his age no amount of coaching will change this.

Maybe he had an off day?

 

 

 

To me it often seems when he does give possession away that it’s a case of the pass execution being too casual.

i don’t know if it’s lack of concentration or he thinks it’s an easy pass that he doesn’t take as much care over but when he does give it away in these circumstances I think it’s more noticeable.

[Dullmoan Tone]

I can’t make my mind up about him - he can score fantastic goals (see Leicester last season) and yet yesterday he seemed unable to find another team mate!

I wonder if he’s trying too hard, especially with the new signings pushing for a starting place.

It was a shame when he cut in from the left and flashed a shot wide in the first half that it didn’t go in - I still hope (with little evidence) that with a good spell, he can turn the corner and be a regular game changer for us. But I worry whether his pace and decision making will always prevent this!

[marcofisher]

Interested to see how he will be now he has Fally and Sincs to play off. Hoping having someone to play 1-2s with will help his game.

[pongo88]

Unfortunately this is how he is. He’s a good League 1 player and good in the Championship sometimes but, unfortunately, his good Championship days are infrequent.  At the price City paid for him he’s a good signing but not good enough if the club really wants to make the playoffs 

[NDW4CITY]

1 minute ago, pongo88 said:

Unfortunately this is how he is. He’s a good League 1 player and good in the Championship sometimes but, unfortunately, his good Championship days are infrequent.  At the price City paid for him he’s a good signing but not good enough if the club really wants to make the playoffs 

That’s my assessment too. To be positive, maybe the better attacking players we have recruited this season will give him the environment in which to succeed. But equally those players might replace him as a starter. Big season ahead for him.

[Silvio Dante]

8 minutes ago, riddlesdown red said:

I don't see many games these days, travelled down with 5 millwall fans. Obviously the journey back was a good one.

One observation I made was Mehmeti,s ball retention was not his strong point and a few of his passes led to loss of possession.  Is this the norm for him.

If you do not possess the technical ability at his age no amount of coaching will change this.

Maybe he had an off day?

 

 

 

Technically he’s actually a very good footballer, it’s the usage and awareness that’s the issue. And to be fair, he did win a couple of aerial balls yesterday which I’ve not seen him do much of.

The problem with Anis is that he slows the game up a lot. If he receives the ball, his first thought is to not “read” the game and look for a pass/team mate but to control the ball and beat his man. Nothing wrong with that but it happens every time and as such teams are wise to it and can funnel back by the time he’s moved the play on again.

The awareness piece can be illustrated by the chance referenced above where he cut inside and shot. As he received the ball, Max Bird was coming in on his right in an excellent position to pass into his path and create a far better chance. He didn’t do it, looked to beat his man and score a difficult chance - and sometimes it’ll come off but more often than not it won’t. I also saw a clip from the Cov game where Stokes cut the ball back and he was static.

Ive been clear I’m not a fan, but that’s not for skill reasons - he’s probably one of the most skilful players we have which is why I think Liam likes him. The problem is that we’re a slower team with him in it, and he’s not good enough as a “maverick” to outweigh his negatives.

The most difficult thing to coach is between the ears. Thats really where he is as opposed to not being a very good technical footballer.

[Malago]

Don’t disagree with any of the above, but to his credit he took his goal well yesterday.

Maybe not next week, but sooner rather than later, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Twine start on the left of the three, with licence to tuck in and drift across the front line.

[Rob k]

I like him, he stands out for me in todays game of runners and Robots 

[cidered abroad]

4 hours ago, riddlesdown red said:

I don't see many games these days, travelled down with 5 millwall fans. Obviously the journey back was a good one.

One observation I made was Mehmeti,s ball retention was not his strong point and a few of his passes led to loss of possession.  Is this the norm for him.

If you do not possess the technical ability at his age no amount of coaching will change this.

Maybe he had an off day?

 

 

 

Yes! to your first question and no to second question. It was a normal day for him.

[Garland-sweden]

He is a winger and tries to do something with the ball. Sometimes not succesful but I think he Will be better an better. 

[1960maaan]

I find him incredibly frustrating. 
Yes he's technically good , can carry the ball and dribble , has the odd goal in him. His crossing can be hit n miss and he can be greedy, cutting and and shooting without thought for what else is on. 
That said, we have good options now, real pace and presence up front who will be demanding the ball. It will be interesting to see if his game matures over this season. 

[Barrs Court Red]

One of those who will frustrate, but what would the cost be of a player in his position that’s better? I’d fancy a fair bit.

Like most, he’s fine for us for where we are at the moment.  

[REDOXO]

I like him, he has ability, but his decision making is not great. If he can improve that he will do well!

[RobArnold10]

He’s a bit modern day Junior Bent for me. World beater one week then three weeks looking like he should be on Weston beach. Would love him to step up to the next level but I don’t honestly see it happening.

[alexukhc]

I like him a lot

[Jimbo76]

For me,  noticeable difference yesterday was his work rate and defensive work. 

Much more industrious than the player we first saw.

No doubt at times,  his decision making could be better but that CAN improve with time. 

I want him to get a good run of games in a team playing good football before giving up on him. 

Don't want him to be another Smodiczs (?) that we regret. 

[BS3 Ark at Ee]

He reminds me of Ryan Kent…..I believe he’s a great talent but he needs to relax a bit….like he’s trying too hard. I also think he may lack pace at this level and maybe that might hold him back 

[James54De]

Big season for him, and I’ll think we’ll get a big season from him. 

[JAWS]

Just now, BS3 Ark at Ee said:

He reminds me of Ryan Kent…..I believe he’s a great talent but he needs to relax a bit….like he’s trying too hard. I also think he may lack pace at this level and maybe that might hold him back 

I agree that he's trying too hard. Think it's a confidence thing. I was prepared to bin him at the end of last year but LM persisted with him & he vastly improved back end of last season

I do think he's talented and worth persisting with as he is still young. If no further progress by end of this season then bottom half championship is probably his limit.

[Rocking Red Cyril]

I was surprised he started Saturday. But took his goal well but he needs to score more and as stated earlier in thread he does give away possession too often. He does have good man beating skills. But I feel we don't see enough consistency from him. It will be interesting to see how LM picks the side with the new signings settling in and particularly when Yu is fit.

[Ian M]

I actually think with the players we have now he could have a better impact as a 'super sub' vs tired defences.

[Ska Junkie]

1 hour ago, 1960maaan said:

I find him incredibly frustrating. 
Yes he's technically good , can carry the ball and dribble , has the odd goal in him. His crossing can be hit n miss and he can be greedy, cutting and and shooting without thought for what else is on. 
That said, we have good options now, real pace and presence up front who will be demanding the ball. It will be interesting to see if his game matures over this season. 

Spot on. His technical ability is beyond question but his awareness of where his team mates are appears to be poor.

I call him 'Harry head down' because of the above. A simple pass, given awareness, can be a better option than beating a man.

'Frustrating' is a great adjective for Annis. Get your head up son!

[Red-Robbo]

Runs with the ball and far from being a weakness it's desperately required in this side where sterile passes back and sideways are nearly always preferred by some players, allowing our opposition time to regroup. 

[Davefevs]

4 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

Runs with the ball and far from being a weakness it's desperately required in this side where sterile passes back and sideways are nearly always preferred by some players, allowing our opposition time to regroup. 

And he got a bit of stick on Tuesday for not being there for a tap-in from Stokes.  He was this time.

[TonyTonyTony]

6 hours ago, Rob k said:

I like him, he stands out for me in todays game of runners and Robots 

I agree. He is a bit streaky but with players like him their is always a chance of a spark. He is also very direct which is refreshing and im hoping age knocks off a few of the rough edges

[Lorenzos Only Goal]

10 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

And he got a bit of stick on Tuesday for not being there for a tap-in from Stokes.  He was this time.

 

6 minutes ago, TonyTonyTony said:

I agree. He is a bit streaky but with players like him their is always a chance of a spark. He is also very direct which is refreshing and im hoping age knocks off a few of the rough edges

 

16 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

Runs with the ball and far from being a weakness it's desperately required in this side where sterile passes back and sideways are nearly always preferred by some players, allowing our opposition time to regroup. 

I like him, maybe not 90 mins but I like the kid.

[MythikRobins]

I don't know about him. It's frustrating because he can do so much well, against Hull he beat two players effortlessly and then the easiest part to just play a pass across to Sykes he takes too long and fluffs it. He's easily our most consistent player when 1-on-1 with defenders but there's so much else to his game lacking. 

But I can't help but like him he clearly works insanely hard, supposedly he's the first in and last out of training every day, he came back the fittest in the entire squad and Bristol Bears team. He's almost always been available for us. It's just one I'm fine with continuously playing him.

 As a wide-player, I don't think we have anyone better at the club but that may say more about the others than him, Yu could take this title in the future. 

To edit on: I think for a team that aims to play how we want to with controlled possession a player like him is necessary. We certainly do not have a player in his profile at the club.

 

Edited August 18 by MythikRobins

[ExiledAjax]

Max Bird has 2 assists for us in the league.

Anis Mehmeti has 2 assists for us in the league.

His end product such as it is just isn't right for us. It's like...it's like having an incredible sculptor in a team of painters. They're talented, and you might be able to make use of them some how...but they don't naturally compliment the rest of the group.

For me he's too frustrating, 

[Kibs]

Started off very much in and out of the team, but 4 goals in his last 13 league Championship appearances for City is a very good return for any winger. 

It’s easy to forget that just 4 years ago he was playing in the Essex Senior league. 

Does he make the wrong decision at times? Of course, but all wingers do. I’d love to see him mix it up more and get the early pass away occasionally. 

It’s a big season for him with the players we’ve signed but it’s his shirt to lose at the moment.

[Port Said Red]

The time to worry about Anis is when he stops trying to beat his man, or have a go at goal. 

He's been told to keep trying these things as many times as he can, because he really only needs to get it right once or twice in a game. He won't be castigated for the times it doesn't come off, which gives the confidence to keep going.

[cidered abroad]

8 hours ago, Ska Junkie said:

Spot on. His technical ability is beyond question but his awareness of where his team mates are appears to be poor.

I call him 'Harry head down' because of the above. A simple pass, given awareness, can be a better option than beating a man.

'Frustrating' is a great adjective for Annis. Get your head up son!

He reminds me of the street/local park kids games. 
It’s my ball so I play the way I want to!

When he stops trying to leave every opponent standing, and passing accurately and moving to receive the return, he will become too good for us.

[ExiledAjax]

40 minutes ago, Port Said Red said:

The time to worry about Anis is when he stops trying to beat his man, or have a go at goal. 

He's been told to keep trying these things as many times as he can, because he really only needs to get it right once or twice in a game. He won't be castigated for the times it doesn't come off, which gives the confidence to keep going.

If he's genuinely been told that then it's madness.

The problem is that it doesn't come off once or twice a game. It comes off once or twice a season.

If that's his natural game then congratulations to him. I'm jealous, I wish I could play football like that. But it's not conducive to team performance. 

Find his stats and see what the outcome is. Bottom quartile for passes attempted and pass completion, and guess what that leads to...bottom quartile for shot creation. The carries, take-ons, and 2.5 shots per game are all great until you put them next to those dreadful pass/creation stats and a mere 0.18xG per game. All those runs and all those shots amounting to nothing more than a vague fart at goal.

He's a footballing vampire. He sucks the life out of attacks and keeps it for himself.

Edited August 19 by ExiledAjax

[bcfc01]

He can be a bit frustrating but I like him.

He's an integral part of the team and, at 23, he's getting better.

[DaveF]

6 minutes ago, bcfc01 said:

He can be a bit frustrating but I like him.

He's an integral part of the team and, at 23, he's getting better.

I also think his room for growth may be greater than other 23 year old due to him coming into pro football a bit later. 

He's a very frustrating player but is showing signs of improving, and sounds like he has the attitude and drive to develop. Too early to write him off for me.

[Port Said Red]

20 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

If he's genuinely been told that then it's madness.

The problem is that it doesn't come off once or twice a game. It comes off once or twice a season.

If that's his natural game then congratulations to him. I'm jealous, I wish I could play football like that. But it's not conducive to team performance. 

Find his stats and see what the outcome is. Bottom quartile for passes attempted and pass completion, and guess what that leads to...bottom quartile for shot creation. The carries, take-ons, and 2.5 shots per game are all great until you put them next to those dreadful pass/creation stats and a mere 0.18xG per game. All those runs and all those shots amounting to nothing more than a vague fart at goal.

He's a footballing vampire. He sucks the life out of attacks and keeps it for himself.

The more he tries, the better he should become surely? 

[Johnny Musicworks]

Reminds me in some ways of Semenyo who also came into professional football relatively late. Compared to someone like Earthy who has had a proper football education through an Academy he can be wasteful. He is clearly trying to impress,  his work rate is excellent but he is still playing catch up with doing some of the simple basics. He must have been devastated missing out on the euros after making a few appearances for Albania and this is a big year for him to make his mark with us and his national team. As others have said he is almost trying too hard and needs to relax a little which confidence from playing regularly could bring.

[Super]

Thought he lost possession far too much.

[Son of Fred]

1 hour ago, Kibs said:

4 goals in his last 13 league Championship appearances for City is a very good return for any winger. 

And should he continue in this vein???

What value would be placed on his head,,and whom would be knocking on our door???

I see him as a rather intense & determined individual - maybe his intensity can be of detriment at times & needs to relax?

The thing that is clear reading through this thread, is that Anis is a conundrum - for me, I'm looking forwards to seeing where we are with him (and he with us) in 12 months time..

Edited August 19 by Son of Fred

[Robbored]

52 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

If he's genuinely been told that then it's madness.

The problem is that it doesn't come off once or twice a game. It comes off once or twice a season.

If that's his natural game then congratulations to him. I'm jealous, I wish I could play football like that. But it's not conducive to team performance. 

Find his stats and see what the outcome is. Bottom quartile for passes attempted and pass completion, and guess what that leads to...bottom quartile for shot creation. The carries, take-ons, and 2.5 shots per game are all great until you put them next to those dreadful pass/creation stats and a mere 0.18xG per game. All those runs and all those shots amounting to nothing more than a vague fart at goal.

He's a footballing vampire. He sucks the life out of attacks and keeps it for himself.

I never seen a sentence like that describing a player before………essentially you’re saying that he’s greedy. I don’t agree with that at all but I do think that he goes awol too often. Apart from his goal I can’t recall much else from him on Saturday. He was replaced after an hour for Twine.

Like you I’d like to his stats on what he contributes.

Edited August 19 by Robbored

[ExiledAjax]

35 minutes ago, Port Said Red said:

The more he tries, the better he should become surely? 

I understand the theory. But he's had 60+ games and about 3,200 minutes with us across all comps, plus 18 months worth of training sessions...and he's...improved a little bit, maybe, in a few respects?

We all practice things, and we probably all get a bit better, but even all the practice in the world will fail sometimes.

9 minutes ago, Robbored said:

I never seen a sentence like that describing a player before………essentially you’re saying that he’s greedy. I don’t agree with that at all but I do think that he goes awol too often. Apart from his goal I can’t recall much else from him on Saturday. He was replaced after an hour for Twine.

Like you I’d like to his stats on what he contributes.

Yeh the lexicon of the English language is really useful sometimes.

I've seen his stats. They are freely available on the internet. I've written some of them down in the post that you've replied to.

He's all fart and no shit (there's some more creative writing for you).

[DT The Optimist]

Cast our minds back to when we signed him, Ainsworth said after the deal went through that we had a real talent who will progress and could play in the premier.  NP clearly saw something in him... was it a £1.00M fee ?

Then LM while at Oxford was thinking about trying to get him on loan... so he to rates him.. and of course the rest is history. 

We have all seen it before , a wide man who can wow you one moment, then infuriate you for the other 89 minutes or moments... Anis is somewhere in there....if he was consistent he would be one hell of a player.  

It will be interesting to see how YU compares as a wide player....

[CliftonCliff]

48 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

If he's genuinely been told that then it's madness.

The problem is that it doesn't come off once or twice a game. It comes off once or twice a season.

If that's his natural game then congratulations to him. I'm jealous, I wish I could play football like that. But it's not conducive to team performance. 

Find his stats and see what the outcome is. Bottom quartile for passes attempted and pass completion, and guess what that leads to...bottom quartile for shot creation. The carries, take-ons, and 2.5 shots per game are all great until you put them next to those dreadful pass/creation stats and a mere 0.18xG per game. All those runs and all those shots amounting to nothing more than a vague fart at goal.

He's a footballing vampire. He sucks the life out of attacks and keeps it for himself.

It’s rare for me to be so negative about anything or to single out a player for criticism, but I’m afraid I have to agree with much of this. I re-watched the entire game (something else I don’t remember ever doing before), partly because I wanted to check whether my judgment of his performance was simply my own frustrations getting the better of me, or an accurate reflection of what he did and didn’t do. Frankly, he was woeful. Credit to him for scoring the opening goal and for keeping going when nothing was working for him, but he did very little else until he was subbed. Almost every attempted pass resulted in the loss of possession and promising moves repeatedly break down when the ball reaches him. For all his running and trickery, he only rarely succeeds in beating his man and even if he doesn’t lose the ball, by the time he emerges with it, he has effectively slowed the game down and allowed opponents to recover their positions.
 

We have been talking about him needing to improve his decision making ever since he arrived. I see no discernible difference.  He is skilful with the ball at his feet, but simply does not possess a football brain and is a very slow learner who shows little sign, for me anyway, of being able to play with his head up. Sorry to seem so harsh in my judgment about a guy who is clearly trying his heart out, but he’s had quite a bit of time to progress and I just don’t think he’s got it at this level. I will genuinely be absolutely delighted if I’m proved wrong and he turns the corner, but I don’t think it’s going to happen and I strongly suspect he will end up being moved on. 

 

[spudski]

Here's his stats, not including last two games. 

Grim reading.

https://footystats.org/players/albania/anis-mehmeti

[ExiledAjax]

6 minutes ago, CliftonCliff said:

It’s rare for me to be so negative about anything or to single out a player for criticism, but I’m afraid I have to agree with much of this. I re-watched the entire game (something else I don’t remember ever doing before), partly because I wanted to check whether my judgment of his performance was simply my own frustrations getting the better of me, or an accurate reflection of what he did and didn’t do. Frankly, he was woeful. Credit to him for scoring the opening goal and for keeping going when nothing was working for him, but he did very little else until he was subbed. Almost every attempted pass resulted in the loss of possession and promising moves repeatedly break down when the ball reaches him. For all his running and trickery, he only rarely succeeds in beating his man and even if he doesn’t lose the ball, by the time he emerges with it, he has effectively slowed the game down and allowed opponents to recover their positions.
 

We have been talking about him needing to improve his decision making ever since he arrived. I see no discernible difference.  He is skilful with the ball at his feet, but simply does not possess a football brain and is a very slow learner who shows little sign, for me anyway, of being able to play with his head up. Sorry to seem so harsh in my judgment about a guy who is clearly trying his heart out, but he’s had quite a bit of time to progress and I just don’t think he’s got it at this level. I will genuinely be absolutely delighted if I’m proved wrong and he turns the corner, but I don’t think it’s going to happen and I strongly suspect he will end up being moved on. 

It is frustrating. There's no better word for it.

When he was signed I heard him described as a magnet, a gravity well, essentially someone who could attract defenders in, pulling them out of position and thereby creating space for others. Brilliant, incredible, yes please sign him.

And he does that.

But it turns out that he doesn't release the ball so that those teammates can use that space. Instead he more often than not attempts a limp shot or just runs into a defender.

[Mihai]

16 hours ago, Silvio Dante said:

Technically he’s actually a very good footballer, it’s the usage and awareness that’s the issue. And to be fair, he did win a couple of aerial balls yesterday which I’ve not seen him do much of.

The problem with Anis is that he slows the game up a lot. If he receives the ball, his first thought is to not “read” the game and look for a pass/team mate but to control the ball and beat his man. Nothing wrong with that but it happens every time and as such teams are wise to it and can funnel back by the time he’s moved the play on again.

The awareness piece can be illustrated by the chance referenced above where he cut inside and shot. As he received the ball, Max Bird was coming in on his right in an excellent position to pass into his path and create a far better chance. He didn’t do it, looked to beat his man and score a difficult chance - and sometimes it’ll come off but more often than not it won’t. I also saw a clip from the Cov game where Stokes cut the ball back and he was static.

Ive been clear I’m not a fan, but that’s not for skill reasons - he’s probably one of the most skilful players we have which is why I think Liam likes him. The problem is that we’re a slower team with him in it, and he’s not good enough as a “maverick” to outweigh his negatives.

The most difficult thing to coach is between the ears. Thats really where he is as opposed to not being a very good technical footballer.

Congrats ! I couldn't say it better myself. I always said he needs to become a smarter player and he could become one of the best player we have, but he seems "limited" at some times. He looks dangerous when he cuts inside if he would focus better and become a better team-player I see him as a first team player for sure.

[Bris Red]

He clearly needs to work on his final ball/end product as we are all aware of but he took his goal well on saturday. Would he have sloted that away with the same conviction when we first signed him, probably not IMO.. that is improvement.

Clearly he isn't the finished article but the raw ingredients are there for me, lets see how he develops this season under Manning. We have all seen what writing players off too early looks like, Szmodics being the perfect example..

[fanjita]

I think he’s one of the many league players that just can’t seem to step up to the Championship, very good league 1 player though.

[TDarwall]

I think he's done ok.

Came with a big reputation but after a few starts found himself out of the team. When he got back in it seemed like he was so focused on not doing anything wrong that he didn't do much at all. However I think for most of this calendar year he has been decent & definitely offers something different from an attacking perspective.

He will need to push on again though as it wouldn't amaze me if LM keeps Bird as the 10, which means 1 of Anis or Sykes loses out to Twine.  Once Yu is fit the competition is even more fierce - which can only be a good thing.

[Johnny Musicworks]

22 minutes ago, spudski said:

Here's his stats, not including last two games. 

Grim reading.

https://footystats.org/players/albania/anis-mehmeti

Interesting stats so I presume the Sky match stats are largely inaccurate as they give him 8 shots in 2 games not 3. Quite a difference !

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

I think like me many find him frustrating but he's a winger and it goes with the territory as like over 90% of wingers he's inconsistent. His crossing, when he decides to, tends to be into an area rather than picking someone out. He is most definitely not a No. 10 type as his passing is simply not good enough for the Championship. His defensive work has improved and he doesn't shy away from the ball. He can have flashes of brilliance but that is what they are flashes. I find myself questioning whether they are frequent enough to keep him in the team every week. I'd like to see him sit out a, week so we could play Armstrong and Fally together but I doubt that will happen any time soon. 

[Johnny Musicworks]

1 minute ago, Johnny Musicworks said:

Interesting stats so I presume the Sky match stats are largely inaccurate as they give him 8 shots in 2 games not 3. Quite a difference !

Sorry my bad  I missed that it didn’t include the last 2 games whereas I was reading them as being for the last 2 games

[spudski]

If we are playing with four at the back, 2 DMs, and three AMs, then it's going to leave a conundrum. 

For me Bird and Twine need to start. That leaves one place. 

Sykes, Mehmeti, Earthy, TGH, Yu, Stokes, Benarous, and maybe even Wells all fighting for that place. 

I know it's a squad game...but as others have stated, his end product is far worse than others in his position. 

We are playing a game of breaking lines,at speed, passing accuracy.

His stats and end product show he doesn't fit that game plan. 

[spudski]

10 minutes ago, Johnny Musicworks said:

Interesting stats so I presume the Sky match stats are largely inaccurate as they give him 8 shots in 2 games not 3. Quite a difference !

As I stated...those are last seasons stats, not including last two games. 

Edit...all good. Just seen your last post. 

Edited August 19 by spudski

[Leveller]

11 hours ago, Rocking Red Cyril said:

I was surprised he started Saturday. But took his goal well but he needs to score more and as stated earlier in thread he does give away possession too often. He does have good man beating skills. But I feel we don't see enough consistency from him. It will be interesting to see how LM picks the side with the new signings settling in and particularly when Yu is fit.

 

10 hours ago, Red-Robbo said:

Runs with the ball and far from being a weakness it's desperately required in this side where sterile passes back and sideways are nearly always preferred by some players, allowing our opposition time to regroup. 

Tend to agree with the latter. We’ve seen far too many attacking situations that break down because our wide players are cautious and pass backwards rather than losing possession. I prefer a player who’s prepared to risk losing the ball in an attempt to get into the box.

[spudski]

Mehmetis stats over the last season for Assists, Passing, & Chance Creation are the lowest of all our midfield players by miles. 

[KegCity]

He'll be losing his place to Twine.

[MythikRobins]

12 minutes ago, spudski said:

Mehmetis stats over the last season for Assists, Passing, & Chance Creation are the lowest of all our midfield players by miles. 

He’s getting on the end of chances consistently in the last few games though. He has the highest expected goals in our team and the most amount of shots taken. Quite a number of them he has created for himself as well. If he keeps it up might score a decent amount of goals this year.

[Robbored]

1 hour ago, ExiledAjax said:

I understand the theory. But he's had 60+ games and about 3,200 minutes with us across all comps, plus 18 months worth of training sessions...and he's...improved a little bit, maybe, in a few respects?

We all practice things, and we probably all get a bit better, but even all the practice in the world will fail sometimes.

Yeh the lexicon of the English language is really useful sometimes.

I've seen his stats. They are freely available on the internet. I've written some of them down in the post that you've replied to.

He's all fart and no shit (there's some more creative writing for you).

And yet he starts most games so clearly Manning must see something in him that you don’t…………

[spudski]

1 minute ago, MythikRobins said:

He’s getting on the end of chances consistently in the last few games though. He has the highest expected goals in our team and the most amount of shots taken. Quite a number of them he has created for himself as well. If he keeps it up might score a decent amount of goals this year.

As I said in a previous post...if he improves this season, then great. But his stats and end product have been the worse of our midfielders. 

If we want to progress as a team though...do we want to keep playing players hoping they will get better with games. Learning on the job? All that does is weaken the team.

Others are more competent and are proven, that can kick us forward now. 

It's a typical City way. Give players with potential, the chance to progress, learning on the job. They improve...in that improvement we wobble around mid table, then we sell them when they've upped their personal game. 

Then we start again. 

[spudski]

4 minutes ago, Robbored said:

And yet he starts most games so clearly Manning must see something in him that you don’t…………

Yes...it's a worry. Many managers get a boner over a flair player. It's only good if it works for the team. 

[Robbored]

1 hour ago, Johnny Musicworks said:

Interesting stats so I presume the Sky match stats are largely inaccurate as they give him 8 shots in 2 games not 3. Quite a difference !

As Mark Twain said “there are lies,damned lies and statistics”

I come back to a my previous comment - Manning must see something in him that fans don’t. He starts most games despite his unimpressive stats.

[The Original OTIB]

11 hours ago, Davefevs said:

And he got a bit of stick on Tuesday for not being there for a tap-in from Stokes.  He was this time.

We rarely get enough runners in the box. I can't understand why this has not improved under front foot Manning.

[MythikRobins]

15 minutes ago, spudski said:

As I said in a previous post...if he improves this season, then great. But his stats and end product have been the worse of our midfielders. 

If we want to progress as a team though...do we want to keep playing players hoping they will get better with games. Learning on the job? All that does is weaken the team.

Others are more competent and are proven, that can kick us forward now. 

It's a typical City way. Give players with potential, the chance to progress, learning on the job. They improve...in that improvement we wobble around mid table, then we sell them when they've upped their personal game. 

Then we start again. 

I don’t think we have a left-winger at this point who is more competent or more proven. Our left-wing options are Mehmeti, Bell, Morrison, Nelson end of list. I think you’d be hard pressed to call any of them better than Mehmeti.

Twine can also play there but he won’t not under manning. Maybe Yu can play there ans a result of his two footedness, and he looks exciting, but I think he was signed as a right-sided option. 

 

[mozo]

1 hour ago, TDarwall said:

I think he's done ok.

Came with a big reputation but after a few starts found himself out of the team. When he got back in it seemed like he was so focused on not doing anything wrong that he didn't do much at all. However I think for most of this calendar year he has been decent & definitely offers something different from an attacking perspective.

He will need to push on again though as it wouldn't amaze me if LM keeps Bird as the 10, which means 1 of Anis or Sykes loses out to Twine.  Once Yu is fit the competition is even more fierce - which can only be a good thing.

 

1 hour ago, spudski said:

If we are playing with four at the back, 2 DMs, and three AMs, then it's going to leave a conundrum. 

For me Bird and Twine need to start. That leaves one place. 

Sykes, Mehmeti, Earthy, TGH, Yu, Stokes, Benarous, and maybe even Wells all fighting for that place. 

I know it's a squad game...but as others have stated, his end product is far worse than others in his position. 

We are playing a game of breaking lines,at speed, passing accuracy.

His stats and end product show he doesn't fit that game plan. 

 

39 minutes ago, KegCity said:

He'll be losing his place to Twine.

I think Williams is at threat if Twine comes in.

Anis is more in competition with Hirakawa imo, so I think he'll start the next 2 games at least. Big opportunity for him.

[The Original OTIB]

19 minutes ago, spudski said:

Yes...it's a worry. Many managers get a boner over a flair player. It's only good if it works for the team. 

See Tomlin. Alternative is take the flair out/ change the player as GJ tried with Trundle. Got to look at why you buy a player in the first place 

[mozo]

26 minutes ago, Robbored said:

And yet he starts most games so clearly Manning must see something in him that you don’t…………

 

21 minutes ago, spudski said:

Yes...it's a worry. Many managers get a boner over a flair player. It's only good if it works for the team. 

What choice has Manning had?

Bell or Mehmeti? Or play Pring higher up?

[Red-Robbo]

2 minutes ago, The Original OTIB said:

We rarely get enough runners in the box. I can't understand why this has not improved under front foot Manning.

I thought it improved notably in that last game. The difference it would seem to me is the more robust Armstrong and Mayulu are not pushed off the ball as easily as Bell, Conway and Wells were, while retaining the close ball control that only Wells really has. This allowed team-mates to menace the goal and/or receive the ball to pass back to our front men. 

[ciderwithtommy]

I think last season was a problem for Anis. We were so light on numbers that he pretty much got picked on the basis that “who else” would, and that’s fine - but you have to take that chance and improve quickly, to make it “your” spot. Vyner, O’Leary, Pring, Tanner have all done that. Anis hasn’t (neither imo has Bell) and the major problem with that is now there is fierce competition the others - Earthy, Twine, Yu, will all get ahead of him once fit.

he hasn’t grasped the chance, my bet is one of the above will. If that’s the case, he won’t improve much not playing….

[KegCity]

6 minutes ago, mozo said:

 

 

I think Williams is at threat if Twine comes in.

Anis is more in competition with Hirakawa imo, so I think he'll start the next 2 games at least. Big opportunity for him.

Twine looked great coming inside from the left v Milwall, think he played from the left for MK Dons/Burnley too.