Loan Report

[Loramski]

Re: Loan Report

Still only 35, still time for one last dance

Go on Erol bring him home!

Funny you should say this. After the Sheffield Wednesday cup game I wrote to the club suggesting we bring Velikonja back as a full-time penalty taking coach. They must've lost my contact details because I still haven't heard back but I'll chase it up.

[Dorcus]

Re: Loan Report

I hear Haaland had posers of our Etien on his wall growing up

None of those posers were anywhere near as good as the real thing.

[Citizen's Nephew]

Re: Loan Report

'Still only 35'.

Another great opportunity to discuss those two same-age titans of European strikerdom: Etien Velikonja and Robert Lewandowski.

For me, Velikonja just shades it!

As someone who is an obsessive football video game collector (not just FIFA) the last time he was ever mentioned was FIFA 18 and this is his ratings breakdown and stats when he was 28 yrs old. I think he was retired in FIFA 19. But it's worth noting that when he was with us, he was really sh*t in FIFA 14. In fact, I think I still have a collection of spectacular misses by him in my (sad) gaming archives!

https://sofifa.com/player/193930/etien-velikonja/180084?hl=en-US

[Citizen's Nephew]

Re: Loan Report

Funny you should say this. After the Sheffield Wednesday cup game I wrote to the club suggesting we bring Velikonja back as a full-time penalty taking coach. They must've lost my contact details because I still haven't heard back but I'll chase it up.

[Rjk]

Re: Loan Report

Tsunoda has a hamstring tear. Might well be the end of his season.
https://twitter.com/kvkofficieel/sta...62406691013011

oh dear, I wonder if that affects his chances of getting a work permit for here?

[Undercoverinwurzelland]

Re: Loan Report

oh dear, I wonder if that affects his chances of getting a work permit for here?

That's a point. Hadn't thought of that.

[Jimmy the Jock]

Re: Loan Report

oh dear, I wonder if that affects his chances of getting a work permit for here?

Who cares?

Velinkonja is back on our radar . Loramski is back on top form.
I am smiling reading the board instead of thinking FFS LIGHTEN UP .

[Nobody's Rep]

Re: Loan Report

Thank you, appreciate that. You're not the only one who lets their heart rule their head when it comes to the youngsters here, we all get a bit carried away at times.

With Isaak, the issue seems to be whether we should be sticking him on the wing at all now he's playing so well as a striker. As I said last week, the 3-5-2 that Kortrijk play would seem to suit him best, Tsunoda too. I've seen Peter Crouch say there can be lot of luck involved as a footballer, just finding yourself in the right place at the right time with the right manager, set-up and players around you. Seems to have fallen like that for Isaak with Kortrijk, fingers crossed it'll be the same for him next season with us but time will tell.

I've watched a few of the lower EFL league games this week and the highlights show as well and it makes me wonder what quality we do have in the youth coming through as the standard looks pretty poor generally and yet none of ours on loan there? Are we not a fan as a club or did no offers come? I don't know the answer to that

Not convinced in our use of the Scottish leagues as how many have gone there and come back better players ?? I can't think of any??

Are we using the loan system just as a means of off loading wages rather than a clear strategy for player development?

[Rjk]

Re: Loan Report

That's a point. Hadn't thought of that.

looking at the GBE calculator, that seems to say that he would currently qualify for a visa, with 19 or 20 points (you need 15 minimum) but I'm not sure they've got his details correct

[Loramski]

Re: Loan Report

I've watched a few of the lower EFL league games this week and the highlights show as well and it makes me wonder what quality we do have in the youth coming through as the standard looks pretty poor generally and yet none of ours on loan there? Are we not a fan as a club or did no offers come? I don't know the answer to that

Not convinced in our use of the Scottish leagues as how many have gone there and come back better players ?? I can't think of any??

Are we using the loan system just as a means of off loading wages rather than a clear strategy for player development?

Good questions here. I can answer the second one - Earnie. Burrows sent him up to Greenock Morton to 'toughen him up' and we know the rest. Even then we can't be sure though. Burrows never fancied Earnie so maybe he was just offloading him, Billy Ayre brought him straight back when Burrows was sacked. Was that loan the turning point for Earnie or was it Burrows going? Earnie says it benefitted him so we'll have to count it as a successful loan but I doubt it made a huge difference, he only played four games there.

And that's the issue here really. I don't know any more than you about the thinking behind the loans so we're just putting our interpretation on things. A number of contracts are being run down presently while King, Bagan and Davies are being 'developed' but there are plenty of grey areas to keep us guessing.

The question of why we don't have our young players going to EFL clubs on loan is one that throws me too. I'd have thought it was easier to establish what level a player is at if they go to League 1 or 2 but only King has done that this season of the youngsters (Isaak Davies was wanted by League 1 clubs but went to Belgium). We can't have a problem loaning to EFL clubs because Adams and Rinomhota are there, younger players like Healey, Mark Harris, Sang, Watters and Ciaron Brown before them. James Connolly too.

So you have to conclude that our youngsters aren't seen to be at that level yet but that would mean the current crop are not only worse than the players mentioned above but also worse than those who were getting EFL loan deals in recent years such as Ben Nugent, Oshilaja, Tutonda, O'Sullivan, Barnum-Bobb, Ibrahim Meite, Danny Johnson etc. Even Paul McKay. That would be a sobering thought.

That's far too simplistic though, I think. It would be interesting to know what loan offers (if any) came in for Ashford and Joel Colwill in January and what offers were made for Rubin Colwill over the years and why these were turned down but, without all the relevant information, I'm playing as much of a guessing game as you are.

[Undercoverinwurzelland]

Re: Loan Report

looking at the GBE calculator, that seems to say that he would currently qualify for a visa, with 19 or 20 points (you need 15 minimum) but I'm not sure they've got his details correct

👍

[Loramski]

Re: Loan Report

Another goal for Keiron Evans last night as Gateshead beat Hartlepool 7-1 to go fourth in the National League. Hartlepool had a player named Luke Waterfall in their side, superb. Where's the nearest deed poll office?

Truro got involved in another Sisyphean task last night as they had a 400-mile round trip for their game with Dartford. Over a hundred miles less than their last two but still a lot for a home game, they played it at Gloucester City's Meadow Park. Ryan Kavanagh came on in the 93rd minute in a 0-0 draw. It rained all game too. As Fergie said, football - bloody hell.

[Bluebirdman Of Alcathays]

Re: Loan Report

Hartlepool had a player named Luke Waterfall in their side, superb. Where's the nearest deed poll office?

Don't go chasing that.

[Loramski]

Re: Loan Report

Don't go chasing that.

You may not have noticed but this is a highbrow football thread, don't lower the tone.

I'm glad you came back on, I've been meaning to reply to your post about Dunfermline's league. It's interesting how different formats can freshen things up but I guess there are pros and cons with all of them.

My lad plays in the England Hockey Premier Division, it makes the Belgian play-offs seem like noughts and crosses. I'll quickly run through it but my advice would be not to bother reading it. Do something useful instead and just put 'thanks, that was really interesting' after. I'm pretty gullible, I'll probably fall for it.

Twelve teams in the league, all play each once before Xmas. Then there's a break for the indoor season and they come back in February in two groups, top six and bottom six with the earlier points carried forward. They play each other once in each group. 16 games gone now in the regular season, three left.

The bottom four in the bottom six group now carry their points forward again into a relegation group. All play each other again and the bottom two get relegated. Fair enough. Cardiff look to have avoided the drop with a game to go and deservedly so.

However, it gets a bit funky at the top. The top two in the bottom six group join up with the top six to make two groups of four. No points carried forward so all teams are back on nought again (the bottom team in the top six group were 29 pts behind the leaders this season so happy days for them).

The teams in these groups of four now play each other once and the top two in each go through to the play off weekend in April. Two semi-finals on the Saturday. The winners each qualify for Europe next season and then play each other on the Sunday to decide the league winners.

They've broken the mould there, fair play.

[Bluebirdman Of Alcathays]

Re: Loan Report

Thanks, that was really baffling. So you could finish 8th at the second break and still qualify for Europe at the expense of the team in 1st? Eesh. Well, good luck to your lad, both in the hockey and any future therapy.

During the furore of the European Super League, there was much concern about the undermining of the domestic league and losing 6 big, rich teams who win all the trophies. But I thought it would be an opportunity to reformat the whole thing and do away with the interminable 46 game season.

Add 10 teams from the National League to make 96 and split them into 8 groups of 12, play each other twice and that's it. A winter break then a new season. Basically two seasons in one year, thus double the promotions, relegations and no meaningless games at Easter. Perfect for our easily bored, attention span resistant times.

But as we know, the ESL collapsed and the sacred, fair-minded traditions of English domestic football remain firmly in place.