Good club man for me.....just showed the other night what the club meant for to him. On attitude alone.....keep him......going to need a big squad next year for the Championship
gooch was trying too hard before AN came in, whether that was down to LJ telling him to always try to beat his man or not we will never know but since AN has arrived, gooch is trying less of going past players and more 'keep ball' and passing...when he can/does get past his man he normally has a decent cross on him and i think he is looking a better player now than earlier in the season.
He is definitely playing better under AN. His attitude is excellent and you never see him half arsed or being down about something not coming off. My biggest complaint of him was always trying to do too much/beat too many players and in the end doing nothing! Seems to have been told to beat his man and get the cross in. What match was it the other week where he put cross after cross in and was unplayable?
I remember meeting Gooch at the SOL the day we beat the scum 3-0 at home. He was an unknown at the time, and i was stood near the bar in the West stand at half time. A few young lads in tracksuits walked through the crowd and i remember seeing Gooch and recognising him from pics id seen from him being a prospect playing in the U23s. I tapped him on the shoulder as he walked past and he seemed suprised i knew who he was. We stood and talked for about 5 mins. He was a top lad, and his passion for the club was there to he seen. When I say it maybe time for him to move, its from the head and not the heart.
I’m either way in this one. Capable of a lot, but also often capable of little. When he’s in the game he’s really ****ing decent.
I don’t think we will keep him on, and I actually think it’s a shame cos there’s a lot of raw potential there for me. He’s proper bought into the club, but he probs hasn’t played and done enough to justify keeping as it stands.
In my opinion any manager will keep him, league one or championship. He can cover 3 or 4 positions and is thus a brilliant sub, if not starter. The potential sale on deadline day had no manager sanction in my opinion, and is a believable cause of a fall out with Johnson above and beyond results. No surprise Neil has relied on him at all. A perfect case of a coaches preferred squad man, every good squad has one or two. Only money men would try to do the deal we tried on boxing day in my opinion.
At League 1 level, I would agree with you, but not sure he's good enough to step up a level mate. Just my opinion of course.
Do you not think he's a difficult job though? Often gets the ball when defenders out of options and a man fairly tight and tasked with getting us up the pitch. You have a good eye for tactics as far as I can tell but for me he never gets the ball in a great position and often digs us out of a hole with his persistence and bit of skill. Have seen him hands in air ready to mount an attack not being marked many times, but he only gets passed to when he's folk to immediately beat. You know more than me and watch more I'm sure but definite keep for me, does hard yards well and has enough ability
I think there’s a player in there mate. I like his heart, I like his directness. There’s a lot of sharp edges with the lad if Neil thinks he can smooth those I wouldn’t be offended, but even before illness/injury seemed Neil didn’t fancy him. I think he could easily develop i to a far better player than Gooch. It’s a tough one cos I like the lad but I just don’t see us developing him in the Championship.
I like his directness, yes he's very raw but he's only young and I do think there is a decent player in there. I don't think having a lop sided squad has helped Djaku or Gooch as Neil has been having to play people in different positions than they are used to
He’s worth a squad place at this level or championship under Alex Neil. The change in the team as a team is class and they’re playing as a unit now. Give him a transfer window and I reckon we’ll see better football but with the same work ethic and still positive results.