[Mr_Pleasant]

DOUGLAS JARDINE, on 16 October 2022 - 08:21 AM, said:

I’ve eaten some serious humble pie over this bloke

I thought he was a lazy glove wearing wage stealing nothing of a player who was stealing a living at this game

Then I watched him play at Chelsea….

I thought blimey he looks quite comfortable in this company and then it got me thinking how many mangers keep giving him a contract and then this season he has put some right shifts in

Deserves his contract and the praise he is getting

Pie 🥧 well and truly eaten 😂😂👍

Yep, me too. I don't think we got anywhere near enough from him, but last year generally he's been excellent. His performance at home to Southend was fantastic and he's doing it regularly now. Deserves an extension.

[dim view]

JonB, on 15 October 2022 - 11:20 AM, said:

Agree and always thought the same. He’s always been one of our technically better players as stood out at Chelsea. Possibly like some others he was part of crap sides and as he stayed around he was picked out by some but last couple of years he’s been a big part of better sides.

I'm so glad the penny seems to have dropped for him, but as one of his detrators I don't agree that he has always been one of our technically better players. That's rose tinting it. He couldn't head the ball, kick with his left foot, score goals, tackle. He even got the old 'next touch is a tackle' criticism from a media expert. And it all went on for too long, with a few glimpses of 'blimey that was good' springing up occasionally.

But there's improvement in quality now, so fair play. What I'm seeing is far superior fitness, determination, confidence, awareness, defending. This hasn't been going on for a couple of years though. I'm putting it down to stern ultimatums being set by Cook and Roberts that have got him from overgrown schoolboy to maturity. Folk could see he was being worked when Cooky kept him on for almost the whole match in that friendly played in Saharan temperatures.

[dtp]

I'll hold my hand up and admit that I have been critical of Liam Mandeville. For me he has shown nothing but glimpses of what he might be capable of and his total lack of consistency and end product was a massive frustration.

However, he has now turned into a bit of a workhorse with energy levels not previously seen. He's now not just a player who shows the odd bit of skill with little application. Cook seems to have found a role for him in the team and his partnership with King works very well. For this to continue and be improved upon King must be on Cook's shortlist of players he's trying to tie down on an extended contract.

Now, as far as Tshimanga goes, I don't see that he will necessarily be on his way in January at a knock down price. I feel the lad is still recovering from his nasty injury and has a little way to go yet. He's still got that instinct in front of goal but his over all contribution is not what it was. This will come with fitness, games, and confidence. I still feel he is being nursed but, also, Cook needs to find a way of fitting him into his system from the start of games.

[Tha Knows...]

Agree with DTP and DV re Mandy. If we are to be more potent we need a fit Kabby up top, with Quigs possibly operating as a sub.