Cardiff Sign Pilkington

[Canaryboy]

Well a Cardiff fan just tweeted me saying the price they are quoting over in Wales is £1 million, which is extremely low in my opinion.

It was rumoured that he'd almost left the club twice before (to Swansea and Liverpool), but failed a medical on both occassions. With his reputation it would be difficult to get much more for him. I'm still dissapointed to see him leave though, ambidextrous and clearly a big talent when fit and motivated.

 

[Monty13]

Can't say I'm overly surprised or upset if this turns out to be true. Seemed destined for the door over recent weeks and with a year left on his contract 1 mil for a injury hit and inconsistent player isn't bad business at all.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, he may play 30-40 games this season while making and scoring a number of goals, if that happens i'm sure many will be upset, but would you bet your own money on that happening right now? I know I wouldn't.

 

[Paul Handscombe]

Not that bothered too many games on bench and in the stands. Also I reckon he could throw his toys out the pram too when he doesn't get his own way

 

[Canaryboy]

 if that happens i'm sure many will be upset, but would you bet your own money on that happening right now? I know I wouldn't.

Depends whether you believe Pilkington's version of events or Adams', one claims to have been fit for all 6 of our competitive games under Adams, whilst Adams claims the opposite - that he has been unavailable for those six games. In between those games he managed to pick up 2 Ireland caps, against Italy and Portugal, and has just passed a medical?

 

[Monty13]

Depends whether you believe Pilkington's version of events or Adams', one claims to have been fit for all 6 of our competitive games under Adams, whilst Adams claims the opposite - that he has been unavailable for those six games. In between those games he managed to pick up 2 Ireland caps, against Italy and Portugal, and has just passed a medical?

Whether he was fit for those 6 games or not is irrelevant to my point, how many games was he unavailable last year even if he could have been selected in those 6? How many was he unfit for the previous season?

Would you bet your own money he'd be available for 30-40 games this season based on his record? I wouldn't.

 

[Canaryboy]

Whether he was fit for those 6 games or not is irrelevant to my point, how many games was he unavailable last year even if he could have been selected in those 6? How many was he unfit for the previous season?

Would you bet your own money he'd be available for 30-40 games this season based on his record? I wouldn't.

Not irrelevant and exactly my point, we have no idea how frequently Pilkington has actually been out injured - because the club doesn't seem able to tell the truth.

According to Transfermarkt he was actually ruled out of 11 league and cup games with two separate injuries last season. That leaves more than 30 that he was available for, I think they and Physio room get that info from the FA? At least, I know that the FA keep an official injury list. 

I don't think we know the full story behind Pilkington. It is possible that we didn't see him much after January because we refused him a move. He was linked to Stoke, Swansea and Villa in that window, and rumours were he failed a medical, but it is more than possible that he has thrown his toys out of the pram and sulked like Hoolahan. Speculation - but still, if he was unavailable for selection in 11 Norwich games last season and with 8 more games played in this league, could he play 30 for Cardiff? I'd say yes. 

I'm not too bothered about him leaving though, because he hasn't looked too bothered about staying, and the transfer fee is £1m more than we would have got if we let his contract expire. We need to replace him though. 

 

[CanaryOnTheWire]

Haven't read the rest of the thread, but here is my take on the whole situation:

1 ) Adams saw Pilkington as a peripheral player as he doesn't fit in the current shape and strategy of the diamond (There are tactical explanations for this and is no slight on Pilks' technical ability)

2) Adams told media that we had 'one or two niggles AND Anthony didn't train' the key bit being that Anthony didn't train on Friday (probably because he was in Cardiff for talks)

3) Davitt inadvertently misinterpreted this as 'Pilks has a niggle'

4) The player rightly defended himself as it doesn't help his injury prone reputation.

5) It is very difficult to get a profitable return on an investment in a player if they have failed to perform (Opta suggest an average match rating of 6.6/10 over the three seasons he has had with us, (data based cumulatively on hard stats analysis of player output by position) so it is no surprise that we can only command a fee of £1m or so for him, with the added benefit of releasing his wages.

In summary: I don't think there's been a fall out between Pilks and Adams, I think Adams has elected to choose a system that doesn't suit Pilkington, and the confusion over statements in the media has created a monster that probably doesn't exist. I also think that though Pilks can be good on his day, his day never came often enough. Thanks Pilks, and see you later son.

 

[Canaryboy]

Monty13, its a shame that the FA are exempt from the freedom of information act, because we could have asked them to provide a list of Pilkington's official injuries. But I'm not a huge fan of his character either way, so if this frees up some money to make a signing then all good with me! 

Looks as if Adams needs people to leave before he can bring more players in - people moaning about him ostracizing some players, but we need more than 3 new faces in a relegated squad, hopefully Pilks out means one in. 

 

[Fenway Frank]

This has turned into the Dean Ashton hamstring affair, not bothered he's gone personally, we won't miss a player that hardly appeared last season.

 

[KeiranShikari]

Selling one of your best players to a promotion rival for what is most probably not a big fee.

Until I see the replacement I can't see the silver lining here.

 

[BarclayBoy88]

I really can't wait for the transfer window to close. There seems to be a lot of division and a lot of unrest at the club, that's just the feeling I'm getting. I just want September to get here so we know who we've got until January at least. I'm worried about Saturday, because at times Carrow Road was poisonous last year, and if we fall behind and it is revealed Pilks has left, I can imagine the atmosphere turning sour very very quickly. 

 

[Canaryboy]

When Snodgrass left a few weeks back almost every member of the squad was tweeting 'good luck', or 'well done', or saying how he is a great guy and great player and would be missed, as did a few staff members including Darren Huckerby. Can't seem to find similar for Pilks, is the deal yet to be confirmed or he is much less popular? 

 

[BarclayBoy88]

When Snodgrass left a few weeks back almost every member of the squad was tweeting 'good luck', or 'well done', or saying how he is a great guy and great player and would be missed, as did a few staff members including Darren Huckerby. Can't seem to find similar for Pilks, is the deal yet to be confirmed or he is much less popular? 

I think as the deal is yet to be officially announced by Cardiff or Norwich, nobody can really say anything. I imagine Ole will say something in his post match conference tonight about it. 

 

[hogesar]

I like him as a player as a genuine 2 footed winger who offers something a bit different but we've been paying his wages for the last two seasons and how many games have we had out of him? Not enough.

Also, it wouldn't surprise me if he was causing some disruption in the squad - in which case I don't blame Adams for wanting to get rid ASAP

 

[Beauseant]

I like him as a player as a genuine 2 footed winger who offers something a bit different but we've been paying his wages for the last two seasons and how many games have we had out of him? Not enough.

Also, it wouldn't surprise me if he was causing some disruption in the squad - in which case I don't blame Adams for wanting to get rid ASAP

 I don't think he had much choice after Sunday. Archant are unhappy about the way he tried to blame Paddy Davitt to get himself out of a hole. Two facts that seem to have got a bit lost are that Adams specifically said that Pilkington had a niggle and that Pilkington didn't train on Friday. I notice that someone suggested earlier that that may be because he was in talks with Cardiff. Far from that being an excuse for his tweet it actually makes it more reprehensible and confirms that it was intended to cause trouble.

 

[Canaryboy]

Archant are unhappy about the way he tried to blame Paddy Davitt to get himself out of a hole.

Should Archant's opinion carry any weight whatsoever when it comes to decisions made by the club? I'm sure Archant (not Paddy Davitt specifically) have done a pretty good job of upsetting some players in the past, and will do in the future. 

and confirms that it was intended to cause trouble.

I noticed that Pilkington had given a shout out to his brother on twitter earlier today, and when you click on his brothers twitter handle the first tweet you see is:

https://twitter.com/dan_pilks/status/498539315094638592

Am I giving Pilkington too much credit here, or was he trying to get a point across without getting himself in further trouble? 

Pilkington has opened a can of worms, whether intentional or unintentional, and the club shouldn't escape criticism here. It isn't (according to Pilkington) the first time that Adams had told a fib about Pilkington's injury status, and we'd all be unhappy if somebody lied about us without our approval, wouldn't we? If it were the club were the dishonest party here, then we could argue that Archant should be upset with the club rather than Pilkington?

 

[Beauseant]

Should Archant's opinion carry any weight whatsoever when it comes to decisions made by the club? I'm sure Archant (not Paddy Davitt specifically) have done a pretty good job of upsetting some players in the past, and will do in the future. 

I noticed that Pilkington had given a shout out to his brother on twitter earlier today, and when you click on his brothers twitter handle the first tweet you see is:

https://twitter.com/dan_pilks/status/498539315094638592

Am I giving Pilkington too much credit here, or was he trying to get a point across without getting himself in further trouble? 

Pilkington has opened a can of worms, whether intentional or unintentional, and the club shouldn't escape criticism here. It isn't the first time that Adams had told a fib about Pilkington's injury status, and we'd all be unhappy if somebody lied about us without our approval (or knowledge), wouldn't we? And if it were the club were the dishonest party here, then could argue that Archant should in fact be upset with the club rather than Pilkington?

Very strange response. Not sure where you've read that I've suggested that Archant's opinion has any bearing on the club. I was merely passing on some information that I thought might be of interest.

 

[yellowarmy]

Great player on his day and one my favourite players because of that, but unfortunally those days over the last 2 seasons have been very few and far between. Given his injury problems, the fact he has just the 1 yr on his contract and his seemingly childish and unproffesional behaviour, £1 mill could be a good bit of buisness by the club

 

[BarclayBoy88]

It's my personal opinion, that no matter how you feel you have been treated you keep it behind closed doors. If you're not happy about being left out of the squad, you knock on the managers door first thing Monday morning and ask him why and what you have to do to get in there. If you feel the manager has lied about your status, you again, knock on his door and speak to him face to face about it. You don't put it on a social network for the world to see and cause controversy around the club. That's not only cowardly, but it's also unprofessional. Just my opinion, but I think Pilkington is 100% in the wrong here and if he's not rowing in the same direction as anyone else, I'm happy to see him tossed overboard. 

 

[Canaryboy]

Very strange response. Not sure where you've read that I've suggested that Archant's opinion has any bearing on the club. I was merely passing on some information that I thought might be of interest.

I think I may have had a comprehension failure by reading a full stop as a comma. I read:

"I don't think he had much choice after Sunday, Archant are unhappy about the way he tried to blame Paddy Davitt to get himself out of a hole"

Instead of...

"I don't think he had much choice after Sunday. Archant are unhappy about the way he tried to blame Paddy Davitt to get himself out of a hole"  

Subsequently thinking that you had implied that he didn't have much choice because Archant were unhappy, rather than that he probably didn't have much choice and Archant were unhappy.

Apologies, but sure you can see how it was an easy mistake to make  B)