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Cardiff Sign Pilkington

H

Highland Canary

New Member
It's quite simply bad business to sell a top player to a rival, especially if there is the potential for a new manager to maximise the potential of that player.
 
Canaryboy

Canaryboy

Well-Known Member
No parting shot...

https://twitter.com/Pilkington_11/status/500299554294865920

https://twitter.com/Pilkington_11/status/500299106938806272

Good luck to the lad (when not playing against us). 
 
Jimmy smith

Jimmy smith

Active Member
You have to aks yourself whether the player considers it a year of his career wasted in playing 2nd flight football in England compared to top flight in France and a bit of Europa League, especially when it didn't look like he was going to be first choice under Adams for whatever reason.

Plenty of strikers have come to England, failed and still managed to have perfectly good careers elsewhere. Ricky might have just ruled off playing in England altogether, it certainly isn't the only place to play football.
He'll have taken one look at Helder Postiga then. Perhaps it's only on these shores he's still seen as a figure of satire, he's had a decent career either side of his Spurs days. He had a short spell at St. Ettiene as well!

Guess who Ricky replaced at Sporting too...
 
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Yellow Fever

Yellow Fever

New Member
Classy tweets from Pilks. IMO we'll end up regretting this sale.
 
yellowarmy

yellowarmy

New Member
So Bethnal, what's going on with Bassong in your opinion? He made one error versus Stoke and he's since then been considered of no use to us even though we're playing a full back at centre half.
Plus the terrible mistake against Swansea at home, where he let little dyer out jump him and run round him and score. Alot of the games imo he just didn't seem focused enough and would make to many silly mistakes.
 
Yellowfuture

Yellowfuture

New Member
Classy tweets from Pilks. IMO we'll end up regretting this sale.


Great player for us on his day YF, but just not enough days?

Why do you think we will regret this, because he will get a few for Cardiff against us?
 
skijumptoes

skijumptoes

Active Member
Bethnal, you've made some great points there that I've not considered.

I.e. Playing the diamond with wingers is a no go.

However, we were told that things would be done 'the norwich way', and that we wouldn't be one dimensional, and how the new manager (Adams confirmed himself also) would be reactive to changes.

I can't see how selling players that won't fit into a diamond system complies to any of those statements?!

What will be our plan b? Hoof ball to Lafferty?

In my opinion Wesley had the hand offered cause he's 'one of us', Adams has been around long enough to understand the love we have for him, keeping him here was an important part of Adams saving face and Adams has seen him in a well performing side under Lambert.

Maybe I'm completely wayward, and the players were to blame for our failure under Hughton and they shouldn't be given another chance, but I think we had a strong enough team for survival and we cocked it up playing one dimensional, negative football week after week with no major shake ups.

Example being - Whether Becchio was capable of scoring or not in the prem, being frozen out when no-one else was doing the business was just down right stubborn and blinkered. It does not make him a bad player if he was never picked.

Bassong has beef with the board for hughtons dismissal, and subsequently Adams coming in and making a deliberate point to drop him publicly - now please explain to me how that's justified?! I think it's childish, both player and manager.

However, he's had all Pre-season to build a bridge and I can't see any signs of anything being done. Adams is now having to lay in the bed he made rather rashly at the end of last season. You can't win games with the main criteria being 'players who want to play here', as a manager your job is to get players believing in you, the system, and eventually the club as a whole. But most importantly believing in them as players too, and treating everyone as an equal gains you a huge amount of respect, and that applies to any manager in any position of authority.

You can't walk into a demoralised dressing room and point the fingers at those who've been most affected by it, or have been excluded that they feel outcast.

I really like Adams, but his inexperience is very clear in this instance, in his defence it's something that a lot of experienced managers have not had to undertake too which is why I'm not finger pointing him.

I'm sure, given a chance to go back he would do things differently, and they would have a more positive effect now. This must be a very tough period for him.
 
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The Great Mass Debater

The Great Mass Debater

New Member
Do we honestly think the diamond is going to be the main formation this year though? I was of the opinion that the diamond would be one of many formations Adams would call upon for the right game. Its not a formation to trudge out in a blinkered manner for every game regardless of opposition, its a particular key for a particular lock. I thought Adams was going to be savvy, and use it when he wants to use Hoolahan and get the best out of him, but would bench him and it for the wrong games. Unfortunately Im very worried that Adams is going to approach every game in the same blinkered way that most English managers do, and run blind into every tactical disaster this season.

Wolves was the wrong game to use the diamond. Every armchair fan said that, and they were right. I would be very worried if we were planning to use the diamond as a default this season. The only reason to use it is to get the best out of Wes. But Wes is not the right man for every game
 
skijumptoes

skijumptoes

Active Member
Fact that he started with it signals the intent I think, trouble with the diamond of course is that to play it well you need the right players which can limit your squad if the investment goes purely into that system.

It originally came about for teams that were weak out wide... We were strong out wide, or at least on paper we were. Snoddy gone, Pilks gone, suddenly we're much weaker so could suggest this plays into Adams transfer plans.

I think he has a strong belief in Murphy's coming good of course, and there's only months between them and Redmond I think?! So looking forward to that if we don't get cover in for Snods and pilks, be interesting to see where grabban settles in the squad, think he looks best wide personally.

Hoof ball will by default become our plan b. because it's so easy to implement, we have a big man, and it will nick goals in this league.
 
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The Great Mass Debater

The Great Mass Debater

New Member
Lambert stumbled on the diamond because it made Wes more influential, meant we didnt come a cropper when Wes lost the ball during one his more unpredictable moments as used to happen when he was on the wing, and worked because we didnt have any talented wingers at the club. The team got used to it, it worked at League One level as we were a dominant side. We then had momentum which carried us through the division. Think the diamond was less influential as a reason behind our success that season than in League One. The only reason to play the diamond is to compensate for a lack of quality out wide and to maximise Wes' influence.

Though still useful, Wes doesnt walk into our side as a key player any more, and we dont have momentum. We had (before sales of Snodgrass and Pilkington - I know Im not Snoddys biggest fan, but he certainly has his qualities, and games in the championship are fundamentally different to Premier League) and arguably still have quality on the wings. Whittaker doesnt seem to be the attacking fullback he used to be and Martin wont be played there. Diamond doesnt suit a number of our players.

Think its a useful option, but it shouldnt be our default for the season
 
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skijumptoes

skijumptoes

Active Member
I think Wes could be key still, but would love to see Howson tried in that position. I can't help but feel Adams is trying to replicate the success Lambert had.

Lambert was also very vocal on the only wanting players who want to be here front, he (eventually) also built the attacking threat around Wes and a strong target man (Lafferty his new holt?),and of course played the diamond.

I think you're spot on with your post in the reason it may not work though, but I am certainly starting to see a method from Adams. However, are we not lacking players like the Lansburys, and ever reliable Drury types to be supporting the team?
 
splutcho

splutcho

Moderator
From Tilly on the P*nkUn

"We got £2 million cash up front for a player who had six different injuries last season and who missed 119 days training.

Source....David McNally Nelson Hotel bar last night."

Sounds reasonable to me.
 
Wiz

Wiz

New Member
When fit he can be superb, but the trouble isn't it? staying fit.

I can't criticise City for cashing in.
 
C

CanaryNath

New Member
From Tilly on the P*nkUn

"We got £2 million cash up front for a player who had six different injuries last season and who missed 119 days training.

Source....David McNally Nelson Hotel bar last night."



Sounds reasonable to me.
How likely is this statement to be factually correct?
 
splutcho

splutcho

Moderator
McNally has been known to frequent pubs around the area and I see no reason why John Tilson would have made it up. If he said he spoke to him, then speak to him he did in my opinion.
 
C

CanaryNath

New Member
Very interesting.

If true, then £2m upfront is a great bit of business for Pilks.
 
Beauseant

Beauseant

Well-Known Member
McNally has been known to frequent pubs around the area and I see no reason why John Tilson would have made it up. If he said he spoke to him, then speak to him he did in my opinion.
He made a similar comment to a friend of mine yesterday. He also said that getting £2m for Pilkington was possibly the best piece of negotiation he'd ever done given his injury record.

Just to pick up on the Bassong thing, rather than being victimised, he's out in the cold because when Adams walked into his first team meeting after Hughton's sacking Bassong asked " Are we supposed to know who you are? " in front of the whole squad.
 
Beauseant

Beauseant

Well-Known Member
He's been in the Nelson before and he made a similar comment to a friend of mine before the game yesterday. He also said that getting £2m up front for Pilkington was possibly the best piece of negotiation he'd ever done given his injury record.

Just to pick up on the Bassong thing, rather than being victimised, he's out in the cold because when Adams walked into his first team meeting after Hughton's sacking Bassong asked " Are we supposed to know who you are? " in front of the whole squad.
 
splutcho

splutcho

Moderator
He made a similar comment to a friend of mine yesterday. He also said that getting £2m for Pilkington was possibly the best piece of negotiation he'd ever done given his injury record.

Just to pick up on the Bassong thing, rather than being victimised, he's out in the cold because when Adams walked into his first team meeting after Hughton's sacking Bassong asked " Are we supposed to know who you are? " in front of the whole squad.

Oh wow. If that's true I feel silly for defending him.
 
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