Giannoulis

[mrdi 373]

5 hours ago, overthebordercanary said:

We haven't had a decent left back since Adam Drury.

Tierney was decent. Olsson was good. Lewis  one of the true successes of our youth system. 

I remember feeling disappointed we couldn’t/didn’t sign Dijks at the time, though I don’t actually remember how good he was/wasn’t. 

[chicken 2,624]

3 hours ago, king canary said:

His game time has improved dramatically since Gerrard left and he's largely playing well according to Villa fans.

That may well be, there is also suggestion he wants to leave. Not dismissing his ability as a player, Godfrey is sorta similar. Despite being highly rated by us, those two really hold the level for how good that team was. Though arguably players like Aarons and Pukki remain who may yet do well should they move on.

It was more reflective than anything else. 

I some times do the same with the Lambert side that gained promotion. How few of those went on to genuinely better things. 

[chicken 2,624]

58 minutes ago, mrdi said:

Tierney was decent. Olsson was good. Lewis  one of the true successes of our youth system. 

I remember feeling disappointed we couldn’t/didn’t sign Dijks at the time, though I don’t actually remember how good he was/wasn’t. 

Dijks was tidy, from the reports after, it sounded like he and his agent felt he was champions league ability. 

He spent a season in the Ajax reserves before moving to Bologna, he moved to Vitesse last summer. Not bad sides, but not quite the levels that were being talked up at the time.

Lewis had given up football altogether hadn't he? To focus on running which was felt, at the time, he would have better odds in. Wasn't he spotted as part of an athletics group or something? Strange to think both he and Aarons were rejected by Luton.

[repman 635]

56 minutes ago, chicken said:

That may well be, there is also suggestion he wants to leave. Not dismissing his ability as a player, Godfrey is sorta similar. Despite being highly rated by us, those two really hold the level for how good that team was. Though arguably players like Aarons and Pukki remain who may yet do well should they move on.

It was more reflective than anything else. 

I some times do the same with the Lambert side that gained promotion. How few of those went on to genuinely better things. 

I don't know, players reaching the premier league and never better seems pretty decent to me. Players like Vrancic, Stiepermann and Klose played through their prime years at the club, it's hardly surprising they're now on downswings basically. 

The strangest one to me will always be Leitner, was an excellent player before he came here but seems to always find a way out of clubs.

[NewNestCarrow 191]

1 hour ago, chicken said:

Lewis had given up football altogether hadn't he? To focus on running which was felt, at the time, he would have better odds in. Wasn't he spotted as part of an athletics group or something? Strange to think both he and Aarons were rejected by Luton.

Aarons was not rejected by Luton. He declined their offer and was with Spurs for a year.

You've already stated why Lewis left Luton.

[NewNestCarrow 191]

12 hours ago, Mr Angry said:

4 times-on Saturday, then 3 away games last season-Man City, Chelsea and Palace. Although you could have made a point for all of them to be subbed off at halftime against Man City and Chelsea.

Also the FAC tie at Charlton.

So five HT hooks out of his 40 Canary starts.

[Surfer 1,547]

If he's out of contract in the Summer let's just move on to McCallum. If he's not ask what's his wages v's McCullam plus the next available junior squad member. Then play McCallum and spend the saved wages somewhere else on the pitch. Same for other players like Hernandez and  Mumba -that will have to wait until the Summer obviously. 

[canarybubbles 1,915]

Let's not make a scapegoat of Dimi. Yes, he had a stinker. Yes, he got skinned twice for their two goals. But there was still a way to go before the ball was in the back of the net and our central defence hardly covered itself in glory, especially in terms of positioning.

In Wagner's two league games so far, Krul has made suicidal passes to an attacker which weren't punished but should have been. Mistakes that don't lead to conceding goals are soon forgotten, though, so no one is saying he should be dropped, even though his mistakes were much closer to being howlers.

I'm not suggesting we scapegoat Krul either. IMO, the only reasons we should severely diss a player are lack of effort or being disruptive to harmony in the squad.

EDIT: I know I'm being a bit hypocritical here because I diss players at times but I'm trying not to now that we seem to have a new start and fresh hope for the future. They're all clearly trying their utmost but confidence still seems fragile, particularly in defence.

Edited January 24, 2023 by canarybubbles

[Newtopia 517]

54 minutes ago, canarybubbles said:

Let's not make a scapegoat of Dimi. Yes, he had a stinker. Yes, he got skinned twice for their two goals. But there was still a way to go before the ball was in the back of the net and our central defence hardly covered itself in glory, especially in terms of positioning.

In Wagner's two league games so far, Krul has made suicidal passes to an attacker which weren't punished but should have been. Mistakes that don't lead to conceding goals are soon forgotten, though, so no one is saying he should be dropped, even though his mistakes were much closer to being howlers.

I'm not suggesting we scapegoat Krul either. IMO, the only reasons we should severely diss a player are lack of effort or being disruptive to harmony in the squad.

EDIT: I know I'm being a bit hypocritical here because I diss players at times but I'm trying not to now that we seem to have a new start and fresh hope for the future. They're all clearly trying their utmost but confidence still seems fragile, particularly in defence.

I think the key part is to not make it personal.  Dimi tries hard, he did not spit his dummy out when Brandon was made first choice ahead of him.

In my opinion he perhaps if he worked on his strength and practiced passing under pressure so he gives the ball away less would be great, he is certainly good going forward.

I like McCalum, I do wonder if he will be a centre back long term, he is a strong player, he makes a lot of blocks and although not as good as Dimi in the last third he is better on the ball than Grant, Andy, or Ben.  I guess if that was a possibility either Farke or Smithwould have tried it whilst we had our injuries in that area.

[jaberry2 550]

Like many players we have Dimi needs a run in the side to really assess him. Yes he has made mistakes but should really have the calibre to exceed expectations in the championship. I would expect to see improvements from him as the season progresses if he continues to play.

[Robert N. LiM 4,342]

Lots of comments about Dimi's defensive weaknesses and people calling him 'an attacking fullback'. But in the modern game all fullbacks are attacking fullbacks. It's the primary part of the job, especially in a team like ours without wingers. But obviously he doesn't make it easy for his coaches if he keeps playing suicidal passes and has to be taken off at HT. Real challenge for Wagner to sort out that part of his game. He seems decisively better than McCallum to me (understandably given their respective experience) and I think we'll be a better side with Dimi in it and playing well.

[shefcanary 2,405]

11 hours ago, repman said:

The strangest one to me will always be Leitner, was an excellent player before he came here but seems to always find a way out of clubs.

He can't find a club at the moment, training on his own and still managing to get a bad injury that had to have an operation and resulted in being in plaster for 3 months.

The only club he seems able to find at the moment is the "influencer" club, he's doing a helluva job promoting the vegan lifestyle and vegan products on Instagram (strangely in both English and German).

Still only 30.

[king canary 7,605]

11 hours ago, repman said:

The strangest one to me will always be Leitner, was an excellent player before he came here but seems to always find a way out of clubs.

Everything I've heard about Leitner is that he's a good player with a horrific attitude and ego. We weren't the first club he got frozen out of.

Someone on here who seemingly knew a couple of people at the club said he was described as one of the most arrogant players they'd ever met. To have an ego like that you need to be a better player than he was.

[Grumpy 122]

Demi certainly won't be starting against Burnley. Aarrons had one of his hardest games against Zaroury and if Burnley play Benson on the other side then I would start with McCallum,who to me is a better all-round full back,or if needs must perhaps give McLean another stab at it

 

[Canary Wundaboy 1,359]

1 hour ago, Grumpy said:

Demi certainly won't be starting against Burnley. Aarrons had one of his hardest games against Zaroury and if Burnley play Benson on the other side then I would start with McCallum,who to me is a better all-round full back,or if needs must perhaps give McLean another stab at it

Who plays DM if you move Kenny to LB?

[ged in the onion bag 855]

The signing of Dimi exposed a massive scouting flaw IMO.    It must have been obvious that he was too lightweight for English football and likely injury prone.    He’s far too easy to brush off the ball or halt his progression upfield with an arm that he often can’t get into games.  

No use having a decent left peg if you can’t get in positions to use it.   That said, he’s not really offered that much with it.   Then there’s the lack of concentration! 
 

A desperate signing at the time and another waste of millions!   We need to move on sadly!  

 

[chicken 2,624]

On 24/01/2023 at 00:37, NewNestCarrow said:

Aarons was not rejected by Luton. He declined their offer and was with Spurs for a year.

You've already stated why Lewis left Luton.

Wasn't with Spurs for a year(unless pre Luton). Equally, if he'd been offered a contract by Luton, they'd have been due a compensation fee... there wasn't one.

Edited January 25, 2023 by chicken

[Thirsty Lizard 3,163]

22 hours ago, Canary Wundaboy said:

Who plays DM if you move Kenny to LB?

Sorensen!

And I wouldn't move Kenny to LB. Just play McCallum - he's noticeably better at actually defending than Giannoulis. (And both were on the field for 45 minutes on Saturday - McCallum got an assist in that time and Dimi didn't).

[NewNestCarrow 191]

6 hours ago, chicken said:

Wasn't with Spurs for a year(unless pre Luton). Equally, if he'd been offered a contract by Luton, they'd have been due a compensation fee... there wasn't one.

I am sure you are a massive expert in all things football but I'm happy going with the version of events offered by the Head of Luton's Academy at the time.

And also what Max Aarons has said himself.

Edited January 25, 2023 by NewNestCarrow

[chicken 2,624]

19 hours ago, NewNestCarrow said:

I am sure you are a massive expert in all things football but I'm happy going with the version of events offered by the Head of Luton's Academy at the time.

And also what Max Aarons has said himself.

No need to be an expert but we can't have signed him for free if that is the case, due to his age. Can't see a fee in relation to him signing.

Re Spurs, was certainly before his spell with Luton, I'm struggling to find reference to it.

 

[canarydan23 4,060]

9 minutes ago, chicken said:

No need to be an expert but we can't have signed him for free if that is the case, due to his age. Can't see a fee in relation to him signing.

Re Spurs, was certainly before his spell with Luton, I'm struggling to find reference to it.

 

Max left Luton of his own volition at 14 after rejecting their contract offer. He then had a brief trial spell at Tottenham which didn't work out. He was without a club for a while before Gregg Broughton gave him a trial at Norwich having worked with him at Luton.

So Luton did want to keep him.

Similarly with Lewis, he left of his own accord to pursue middle-distance running. Whether that was because he felt Luton did not fancy him I don't know.

[Dean Coneys boots 1,400]

I think he might be a better winger than FB- same with Mumba 

[Yellow Fever 3,782]

12 minutes ago, Dean Coneys boots said:

I think he might be a better winger than FB- same with Mumba 

That's a good call - and if we do play 'wingers' would be good a helping out  / doubling back as required.  

[NewNestCarrow 191]

2 hours ago, canarydan23 said:

Max left Luton of his own volition at 14 after rejecting their contract offer. He then had a brief trial spell at Tottenham which didn't work out. He was without a club for a while before Gregg Broughton gave him a trial at Norwich having worked with him at Luton.

So Luton did want to keep him.

Similarly with Lewis, he left of his own accord to pursue middle-distance running. Whether that was because he felt Luton did not fancy him I don't know.

So neither Max nor Jamal were rejected by Luton.

Glad we finally got that sorted out!

[TeemuVanBasten 3,327]

On 23/01/2023 at 21:55, mrdi said:

 Olsson was good. 

Watched Malmo recently, randomly, and guess who was playing left wing back!

Didn't look very good mind, and lost his pace, which isn't a surprise considering the injuries he's had in his career. 

[Yobocop 1,098]

I rate Giannoulis he was instrumental in our promotion winning season but since being injured isn’t up to speed 

McCallum isn’t the answer for me