Kenny Mclean; Sky Bet player of the month?

[Midlands Yellow 3,995]

When K M is your flagship player, you ain’t going up or going down. Seldom crap but never brilliant and explains always in this scenario why promotion isn’t happening. 

[Worthy Nigelton 1,051]

9 minutes ago, Rich T The Biscuit said:

I don't think anyone on here has said they don't rate him at championship level, that's his level and he's a consistent 6 or 7 out of 10 most weeks.

Unfortunately for him he was played at defensive midfield and for that position he's probably a 4 or 5.

I did. I don't rate him at Championship level. At Premier League level he is ridiculously bad, at Championship level, he's more acceptable but still not very good. He's a 6/10 Championship midfielder at best and a 1/10 Premier League midfielder.

And I know plenty of very good semi-pro footballers who also think he's terrible.

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,432]

Whatever your views I must congratulate the poster for coming up with “Kenny Fan Boy” 

Top work that man. 
 

 

[Rich T The Biscuit 562]

5 minutes ago, Worthy Nigelton said:

I did. I don't rate him at Championship level. At Premier League level he is ridiculously bad, at Championship level, he's more acceptable but still not very good. He's a 6/10 Championship midfielder at best and a 1/10 Premier League midfielder.

And I know plenty of very good semi-pro footballers who also think he's terrible.

If I'm going to be pedantic you didn't actually say it 😬 but I think it could be assumed 😂

We got the same out of 10 though.

[Worthy Nigelton 1,051]

15 minutes ago, Rich T The Biscuit said:

If I'm going to be pedantic you didn't actually say it 😬 but I think it could be assumed 😂

We got the same out of 10 though.

I have on this board previously (plenty of times!).

[Rich T The Biscuit 562]

3 minutes ago, Worthy Nigelton said:

I have on this board previously (plenty of times!).

Not seen any of those, I'll take back my comment then about no one having done it 😂

[hogesar 9,676]

46 minutes ago, Worthy Nigelton said:

I did. I don't rate him at Championship level. At Premier League level he is ridiculously bad, at Championship level, he's more acceptable but still not very good. He's a 6/10 Championship midfielder at best and a 1/10 Premier League midfielder.

And I know plenty of very good semi-pro footballers who also think he's terrible.

I forgot to add Darren Eadie to the list, as well as Grant Holt (although Holty said it in person so you'd have to take my word on it).

Still, 4 current experienced managers and coaches, Russell Martin, Simon Lappin, Darren Eadie and Grant Holt vs some Pinkun Posters and apparent semi pros.

I'm still liking the odds!

[Worthy Nigelton 1,051]

5 minutes ago, hogesar said:

I forgot to add Darren Eadie to the list, as well as Grant Holt (although Holty said it in person so you'd have to take my word on it).

Still, 4 current experienced managers and coaches, Russell Martin, Simon Lappin, Darren Eadie and Grant Holt vs some Pinkun Posters and apparent semi pros.

I'm still liking the odds!

How many ex-players say a current first team regular is rubbish though? I can't recall a single time I've heard that.

[nutty nigel 7,539]

12 minutes ago, Worthy Nigelton said:

How many ex-players say a current first team regular is rubbish though? I can't recall a single time I've heard that.

He's not rubbish is he. You just don't rate him. Surely this recognition of one of our players is something to celebrate.

Every single thread goes the same way. It's been ten times worse since the binners didn't beat us.

I don't know how some of you even get yourselves up and dressed in the mornings.

 

 

Let love shine a light

[Midlands Yellow 3,995]

3 minutes ago, nutty nigel said:

He's not rubbish is he. You just don't rate him. Surely this recognition of one of our players is something to celebrate.

Every single thread goes the same way. It's been ten times worse since the binners didn't beat us.

I don't know how some of you even get yourselves up and dressed in the mornings.

 

 

Let love shine a light

How are you never able to answer simple questions ? It’s an enigma but keeps this board ticking over. 

[Google Bot 3,278]

1 hour ago, Worthy Nigelton said:

And I know plenty of very good semi-pro footballers who also think he's terrible.

My friend has a truck, and he says cars are crap.

[hogesar 9,676]

28 minutes ago, Worthy Nigelton said:

How many ex-players say a current first team regular is rubbish though? I can't recall a single time I've heard that.

Youre missing the point. Unprompted talking about the Norwich side in Holt and Martins case. Lappin said on canary call ask the rest of the first team and they'll have him as one of the first names on the team sheet, Eadie said the same and current players have told him the same.

Trying to deflect from it rather than just accept your view is at odds to current and ex players who've played at that level or above as well as managers the same seems silly.

[Worthy Nigelton 1,051]

2 hours ago, hogesar said:

Youre missing the point. Unprompted talking about the Norwich side in Holt and Martins case. Lappin said on canary call ask the rest of the first team and they'll have him as one of the first names on the team sheet, Eadie said the same and current players have told him the same.

Trying to deflect from it rather than just accept your view is at odds to current and ex players who've played at that level or above as well as managers the same seems silly.

Nonsense Hog, no ex-player who is still involved with the club in some sense (all of your examples are) would slag off a regular first team player. It never happens.

You're bending an argument to suit your view, rather than addressing my points. Why has he never been nominated before? Why has he never won player of the season despite playing loads, or when we were good even made the top three? Why has he never been in team of the season despite being in two title winning teams? Why? Why have Scotland improved since dropping him?

I can agree with you that three managers have picked him (which is what you'll say), you're right on that, and three have been sacked in three years (assuming Wagner gets canned soon). 

He's not the worst player ever, I'll agree on that, but he's a great example of where the club is falling/has fallen short. He's not a very good player, put simply.

[hogesar 9,676]

11 minutes ago, Worthy Nigelton said:

Nonsense Hog, no ex-player who is still involved with the club in some sense (all of your examples are) would slag off a regular first team player. It never happens.

You're bending an argument to suit your view, rather than addressing my points. Why has he never been nominated before? Why has he never won player of the season despite playing loads, or when we were good even made the top three? Why has he never been in team of the season despite being in two title winning teams? Why? Why have Scotland improved since dropping him?

I can agree with you that three managers have picked him (which is what you'll say), you're right on that, and three have been sacked in three years (assuming Wagner gets canned soon). 

He's not the worst player ever, I'll agree on that, but he's a great example of where the club is falling/has fallen short. He's not a very good player, put simply.

They don't need to slag him off. Martin wasn't involved in the club at the time, Holt was far more involved with West Ham than Norwich at the time.

There's a difference between them just toeing a line to be polite to the club and player and saying "If you've ever played football you'd understand the value his teammates and manager put on him" "He'll be one of the first names on the team sheet if you ask the other squad members, and I know because I have".

Again, they didn't need to slag off but Lappin and Eadie have questioned several players via social media / bbc in terms of if they should be regularly playing or not. Yet both persist with Mclean being in their 11. So I'm sorry, it's not nonsense, it's just an inconvenient fact, accurately representing what they said.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,768]

When we won this league 3 seasons ago Skipp was the no.1 defensive midfielder in the whole league, McLean alongside him was probably in the top 8 / 10 midfielders in the league.

Now , he doesnt have that quality of midfielder alongside him to do that dirty work whereas he isnt now in the top 20 midfielders in this league.

What was good enough 3 and indeed 5 seasons ago isnt ,either now or last season for a top 2 team and evidently not for a top 6 team either, he has declined as a midfielder whereas the standard required to be a top club in this league has improved

He's no longer one of our best 2 midfielders (Sara and Nunez) and if this club did ever see fit to sign a proper defensive midfielder would drop further down the midfield pecking order.

He does now seem to found a different role at centre half. Is he one of our best 2 centre halves at the club?....I'd say no to that too if Hanley and Duffy are both available

Hanley's injury may give him a reprieve for a couple of weeks but when he's back , we then have player that shouldnt either be a first choice in our mudfield or in our defence......unless of course Wagner makes a habit of playing 5 at the back i.e Southampton (h) or, as I suspect he may, sacrifices the 2nd striker (Barnes) and plays 3 in midfield

 

Edited January 12 by GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary

[Rich T The Biscuit 562]

6 hours ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

When we won this league 3 seasons ago Skipp was the no.1 defensive midfielder in the whole league, McLean alongside him was probably in the top 8 / 10 midfielders in the league.

Now , he doesnt have that quality of midfielder alongside him to do that dirty work whereas he isnt now in the top 20 midfielders in this league.

What was good enough 3 and indeed 5 seasons ago isnt ,either now or last season for a top 2 team and evidently not for a top 6 team either, he has declined as a midfielder whereas the standard required to be a top club in this league has improved

He's no longer one of our best 2 midfielders (Sara and Nunez) and if this club did ever see fit to sign a proper defensive midfielder would drop further down the midfield pecking order.

 

Perfectly put.

And then the club gave him a new longer contract because apparently Leeds were interested.

[shefcanary 2,410]

Kenny was bought as an attacking left side midfielder. He started out his career as a left back. Sara was bought to replace him. All this is fact.

Also fact is I started out in my rather **** football career as a left sided attacker, slowly drifting back into left sided midfield, then left back, finishing up as a left sided Centre back. Such is the life of a left footed footballer, who doesn't have a lot of pace, but likes to see the ball in front of him. Dare I say this is also true of Kenny.

Kenny is good in the air, certainly in the opposition box probably the best we have. Also fact.

Total conjecture now. I think playing Kenny at LCB given his age is actually the best thing Wagner has done so far. We have found a position his lack of pace, his relatively good passing ability, his heading ability, that he likes to see what is going on in front of him (rather than having to turn and chase back with enthusiasm but without positional sense), suits him very well. He can also point out to colleagues when they drift out of position because for once he can see that they have, rather than deflecting blame from himself. This is all opinion.

Also provocative but I think is true. That we found a position where Kenny is comfortable, continue to play him after many matches where he makes mistakes that cost us goals, that he has never provided a constant attacking threat producing goals, that he has now played in every position on the left hand side of the pitch without really securing a position of his own, shows that he is a jack of all trades on the left side, but master of none. 

That we rely on him still after five years does indeed show a drop in the standard of the quality of the player we have. Remember he struggled to get in the team regularly when he signed, he put in a good match winning performance, followed by 5 or 6 really mediocre performances which certainly provoked me question why he was in the team on here. 

In my view, the club would perform better if it did not have to rely on him. The fact we do shows a drop in standards. If he had stayed in Scotland he would have been a household name up there, probably winning matches for his side most weeks. He never produced the quality to show he was an EPL quality player.

I would prefer the LCB to be someone who was going to serve us well for a long term in the future (i.e. not Gibson either). We are where we are, not in a good place. As things stand, I'd prefer him to retain the LCB position, as it stops him playing in that defensive midfield role where he is totally ineffectual.

Knapper has to find better quality players. And why we gave Kenny such a lengthy contract extension baffles me; given his age I'm sure he would have been more than happy with a two year extension with an option, he must have risked injuring himself doing the cartwheels celebrating what he was offered.

Having said all that, he is a fantastic club servant, will do anything asked of him. His performances at LCB in December deserved some recognition and I am glad he got it. The Daryl Sutch of the teenies and twenties.

🙂 Love to all.

[Worthy Nigelton 1,051]

Kenny showing player of the month quality for their goal and exactly why he's a top class no. 6. In every coaching session they'll tell you "don't engage the player, get out of the way and turn your back when they shoot". Exceptional stuff from our captain.

[LaUnionCanary 86]

On 11/01/2024 at 22:10, Worthy Nigelton said:

At exactly the same performance levels but in the centre of midfield, there is absolutely no way he gets nominated, just like he never has before despite well over 100 Championship games. Honestly, these Kenny fan-boys make it up as they go along.

Honestly these Kenny detractors make it up as they go along. They will NEVER give him credit for anything positive.

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

On 12/01/2024 at 07:02, Rich T The Biscuit said:

Perfectly put.

And then the club gave him a new longer contract because apparently Leeds were interested.

That'll be Leeds with Farke, who worked with McLean for several years, then.

[hogesar 9,676]

8 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said:

That'll be Leeds with Farke, who worked with McLean for several years, then.

Yeah but, and here's the list:

Farke

Smith

Wagner

Farkes coaching staff

Smiths coaching staff

Wagners coaching staff

Darren Eadie

Simon Lappin

Grant Holt

Russell Martin

Are all wrong, whereas a few Norwich fans are definitely right. Ultimately screening the back 4 is far from his best position but it appears he is the best we have according to those watching our players train week in week out. It doesn't surprise me that he then slips into CB pretty seamlessly and Sara waxes lyrical about how important and intelligent a player he is and how important to the starting line-up he is.

[Nuff Said 5,145]

This thread is becoming increasingly pointless. Each poster is convinced they are arguing black is black and white is white, while those with the opposing view see “black is white”.

I know very little about football but when I look at Kenny I see someone who has played regularly for the club for 5+ years, been consistently selected by three different coaching teams and became something of a legend for his performance at the promotion parade in 2019. IMHO that’s enough to deserve a little respect from supporters. Quite why he arouses such passions, especially in the light of the excellent job he’s done at CB, is a mystery to me.

[Worthy Nigelton 1,051]

1 hour ago, LaUnionCanary said:

Honestly these Kenny detractors make it up as they go along. They will NEVER give him credit for anything positive.

You saw the goal, right?

[Rich T The Biscuit 562]

3 hours ago, TheGunnShow said:

That'll be Leeds with Farke, who worked with McLean for several years, then.

Maybe we missed a trick and we should have done a swap for one of their central midfielders then.

There is no way he's getting in their 11 is there.