I have just seen on the BBC website that he has joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan. He was once hailed as the next big thing not only for Sunderland but for the National team. I always thought that it was too much too soon and as it happens he just couldn't cut it in the premier league. You guys must have seen more of him than me, what went wrong? Was here ever worth the £8m that Sunderland paid for him?
He made the fatal error of moving on too quickly, should have had at least 1 perhaps 2 full seasons in the championship, he was good but nowhere near Jordan Rhodes in my opinion. THANK YOU ROY KEANE YOU ****ING CLUELESS ****!
But you did make a pile of cash from the sale though maybe it was good business? I have seen him play once as a sub against us at home to Sunderland when we won 2-1. He looked OK but no great shakes. Just wondered what all the fuss was about.
I never really saw what all the fuss was about At schoolboy level I would imagine he was a massive threat due to his size and power. He developed like you would expect a guy 3 or 4 years older than him to be like. When put against his own age group that must have been a daunting prospect but when placed in a team where he was expected to compete against men then he couldnt use his power any more and for me, he didnt really have much else. I dont mean he was a poor player just that he didnt have any outstanding attributes. £9m was, for me at least, probably £5m too much but at least we were on the receiving end for once.
He was the one bright spark in a dreadful Keane/Jewell era. I agree with other posters though that he was probably overrated, but who knows how he would have developed with another year at Ipswich. He was always big for his age and therefore stood out among his contemporaries. Saying that he also held his own against Championship defences in that last season here. Whether he wanted to stay or not, Ipswich needed the money and could not have risked holding on for another season in case he was injured/lost form. Lets hope a spell in the Championship gets his potential back on track. Don't we have another £4m in add-ons waiting to be claimed?
£8m was a great price for him, but actually, when you look at it, if he'd stayed and developed as he should have then now a Wickham and McGoldrick partnership would be frightening. He was only just starting to play regularly and Sunderland are really no big a club than Town so yes he's got to play a bit in the Prem but it was a weird move to make all round.
The lure of money,playing in the prem and probable bullshit utterings of a manager saying he can help him progress.
It's difficult to tell if he's overrated, I've rated youngsters far more who've gone on to far less, Bowditch, Garvan, Carson etc but I think his size is a factor which made it difficult to judge one way or the other. Certainly if he stayed with us and got at least another season of first team football, I think he would've progressed far more but like with a lot of youngsters of his age they just don't play enough football at that age, they may have talent but this is squandered if they're not playing. The boy had talent but I think he didn't fit into a particular type of striker to be a real real success, he's not a 'natural goalscorer' like Rhodes, despite his size he's not a target man and neither is he a creative striker who plays in the hole, he's just got a decent all round game and I think that may have/may held/hold him back. I've certainly got no qualms about us selling him for £8 million it was a good deal for us.
