Unfortunately the fascist Di Canio will get to manage in the Premier League next season. Got a point about Wickham though... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2324464/Paolo-Di-Canio-ready-slap-Sunderland-striker-Connor-Wickham-face.html
Sums up these pretentious prima donnas - he was only going for the money, and i agree with DiCanio, if he wants to swan around the place like he's Ronaldo, he needs to produce it on the pitch first.
A classic case of a young talent moving too soon for too much money... The hype around him was ridiculous and needed another full season with us before anyone began to get over excited about him Also, I seem to remember Marcus Stewart (legend) saying that it was a bad move as he'll get caught up in the lifestyle up there and he needed to stay where he was to fully prove and deserve his chance... And it seems as if his point has been well and truly proven
Trouble is that it is so easy (and understandable) for a young lad's head to be turned by the opportunity to get a massive pay day which should make him financially safe for the rest of his life. In hindsight in purely footballing terms it probably would have suited both Ipswich and Wickham for him to have another season in Suffolk but balanced against this he could have lost form or sustained a serious injury and his chance to move on would have gone. Sadly this is always going to be a problem for clubs of our size. If we get a real talent coming through the ranks odds are that a bigger club will snap them up. Even though we are in the PL our wage structure will always mean that our better players will be targets, the same as yours.
I think Sunderland should loan him back to you for a season, and really should have done as soon as he signed. He needs to remember what honest hard work on the pitch is like, and rediscover his scoring form that led to him being signed. Best place to do that is with a club he's comfortable at, and liked at, playing against slightly easier defences.
Completely agree DH and I was going to suggest that we could do a lot worse than sign him on a year long loan but he was never that prolific with us. It used to rile me more than a little that we were referred to as "Roy Keane's Ipswich" and then "Young Connor Wickham at Ipswich" and naturally the media were clambering over themselves to talk him up, but ultimately he was only beginning to start to play well on anything like a consistent basis and then we sold him.. I always said that next season could have been huge for him (and us) and him leaving (although the right thing for our finances) has put him back a few years in terms of development But I'd take him back to let Mick chew his ear off on the training ground and compete for a place with us
Certainly left at least a season too soon, although I cannot blame the club for selling him for the amount we got for someone relatively unproven. He definitely needed 1 consistent season in the Championship but ultimitily I don't think he had much choice but to leave, I'd imagine the club put pressure on him to leave given the transfer fee involved. I was never 100% convinced he would make it, he has talent and his physical attributes are certainly assets but there's alot of raw potential but sometimes I think he was hyped up because of his size. He's also one of those type of strikers that doesn't fit into a certain bracket of striker, he's got a decent alround game but he's not a goalscoring predator playing on the shoulder of the last defender, neither is he a target man holding the line upfront and neither is he playmaker striker. I think this is a problem with him and one which Jon Stead suffered when he went for big bucks to the PL yet never really did anything.
It looks like everyone is in agreement that Wickham needs to pull his socks up. Even though i agree with DiCanio, i personally don't feel he needs (or should) be publicising this or any other issue. He (PDC) needs to be careful and not start shoutijg his mouth off and alienating his players ala Mancini. They need to take a leaf out of Fergies books, and deal with things behind closed doors. I don't think i've ever heard Fergie rant or have a dig about any of his players in public, but i'd stake my life that he's given them the hairdryer treatment on many occasions in private.
No thanks we don't want that overpriced no-mark back! We laughed all the way to the bank when we mugged Steve Bruce off for £8 Million! Just proves how much that twat Keane knows about football when he allowed Rhodes to go for peanuts! Wickham is one of the most over rated players I have ever seen!
I don't think he is over rated, it's just that he left us wayyyyyyyyy to early and he hadn't finished his education as a footballer. he needs at least 2 full seasons in the championship before going to the premier league.
Sorry Guru but I have to disagree! I saw nothing that justified all the hype and I was amazed that some one was willing to play that kind of money for him in the first place. I am really happy with Nouble as he has all the attributes to be a bloody good striker for us and I don't want Wickham back to upset the apple cart!
fair call JWM, I'm more than happy with noubs and diddy as our first choice strike force next season.
I think we need another (1 or 2) striker(s) in there too.. I don't think we can rely on those two to be on song for a whole season Whether that be Murph and/or someone else I think we need a couple more to give us some more options (provided Chops F#cks off)
I'd have him back in a flash, however wages etc would be the issue. He really does need to sort himself out this summer though.
We don't need Grant Holt.. We need a Grant Holt type of player as we could do with a few more penalties in a season. Not to mention the benefits of playing against 10 men But in all seriousness, I wouldn't be overly disappointed if we signed Simeon Jackson as I think he'd be a decent free signing for quite a few clubs at the level
Anyone see Wickham's pitiful game against Spurs? It sounds from Di Canio as though Sunderland players have been ripping the piss out of the club for a while - one of them called in sick for training and then the club doctor couldn't get hold of him, another two spent overnight in a casino. So Connor's not exactly getting the best example set.
