After that run of goals I said sell him mate. Amir Zaki had a better spell for Wigan. Means nothing. He's a waste of space.
Not many players are the finished article come 22 years old. Very few. At Sunderlands level the number is probably zero! At united's a few more than that. Like I say... No worse than Defoe last four or five but Defoe is still championed. Wickham far from it. Strange thing this football lark
I think it's safe to say that Wickham's not going to turn into a world class forward but I've seen enough positive signs to make me think he could become decent premier league standard if he progresses properly. I think Advocaat quite likes him so I think he'll play under him. I want to see if Dick can help bring him on, maybe impart a bit of wisdom. If after a season under Advocaat's expert tutelage he's not improved then get rid.
The key word there is rapidly - Connor Wickham (CW) had ample opportunity last season to demonstrate his total footballing abilities but his contributions were poor based on his passing choices, link up play and decision making on how/when to pass or shoot. Best summed up against Liverpool last season when he hung onto the ball and lost a scoring opportunity by not passing in a 3 on 2 situation.
True enough but he was **** on the wing and ****ter in midfield. Has the least football intelligence of a premier league player I've ever seen. Like the kid at school who would beat a man but not know when to pass the ball. 22 isn't actually that young when you consider the fundamental flaws in his game. I don't think they can be fixed.
GP is a stubborn prick, I'll be watching eagerly his next managerial position.. Will he change? Heard he was the same with Brighton as with us, I Reckon the saints mauling affected his ability and therefore the knee jerk reaction of defend defend defend.. Atleast when he left he didn't carry on like pdc.
Yet Giaccherini managed to set him up a large number of times due to his intelligence and Wickham making the right runs. "He was **** on the wings and ****ter in midfield" says everything you need to know really. He's a striker FFS! Why do we always end up with a scapegoat! 5 pl goals in apoor team for a striker playing out of position isn't a bad return in my book. He was (albeit a little) better than Defoe towards the end of the season yet no one says a word about Defoe. I wanted Watmore playing at Defoes expense as Wickham offered more in that system than Defoe did.
He wasn't the only one though. Defoe did it (and also missed an absolute sitter against West Ham) and many others yet Wickham bears the brunt. Young, big, quick English centre forward who proved, when played in his position, that he is capable. But no one remembers the goals he scored. All that seems to matter is his greed... The same greed 90% of strikers would show in the same position. If you lose a game everyone says "he should've passed" if you win a game everyone says "I don't mind a striker being greedy"
That's why I can't wait for the little Italian to be fully fit for next season.. We missed that combo mate.
This is quite funny All he's been asked to do is play on the side of a front three, it's not a massive adjustment in position for a young player. All it means is a bit more defensive work rate. Any striker should be comfortable working the channels so I don't buy all this 'playing him as wide man when he's a striker' rubbish. Unless mobility is a problem any striker should be comfortable in a wide position. It's not like he's ever been asked to play as a winger. As far as I'm concerned Connor is a forward who failed in a forward position. He's not my scapegoat either, I've been saying for months all our strikers need replacing. That's making somebody a scapegoat.
The way I look at him mate, is he's the Duncan Ferguson type, albeit less talented than Duncan Ferguson. The problem with that is you need to play 4-4-2 or at least have two strikers up front in your side for that to work and that would mean being over run in midfield when you're up against 4-5-1. The solution is him being a sole striker but that's where his biggest flaw is exposed, he's not clever! Nobody plays a battering ram up front on his own in this league. He's completely redundant but just like every 1 in 500 shots that goes in off the bar in a game of headers and volley's down the park, he'll grab a few to keep people wondering.
I don't think he's anything like Duncan Ferguson. Conner is way more mobile but can't head a ball for ****, he's weak on and off the ball and his touch is too heavy to be a link up striker. I do agree the lad is a bit too old school and need to be in a front two, but he's very different to Duncan attribute wise imo. Wickham's just a poor forward. He makes Kenwine Jones look like Bentake
Well the worry part is if (when) he doesn't turn out any good next season, how do you offload a flop on such high wages?
You can't. We get another Danny Graham fella, another Nyron Nosworthy, another George McCartney. Players on wages above their standard, who won't leave the club because nobody will match their wages, who we end up sending out on loan while supplementing wages until their contract expires and they've milked us for every penny they could before walking away free at great cost to us. I've seen it more times than enough fella, It's just another repeated mistake.
There's always QPR swap deal for Fer, Austin or Phillips for example. Wickham gets goals at that level and QPR love paying silly wages.
How many forwards playing on the wing or as a defensive midfielder/left back (at SAFC's level) got 5 or more goals this season? (I'll answer that for you - 1! - no other forward had to play in the positions he did) He will score goals as a centre forward - I totally disagree with @Funky Dick on this one Terry - we are poles apart on the lad - I see someone who, IMO, will be a very good player in years to come. I think he's a decent player now playing out of position - a few bad games doesn;t change my opinion (as it hasn't for Defoe either). All about opinions this one though and no way I'll fall out with anyone over it!
I've heard he's heading out to Oz, apparently he has a thing for tree pruning and wants to teach the experts out there a thing or two..
