The myth that Cody Macdonald is better than Jackson...

[InLambertWeTrust! 0]

Cody is onloan at Gillingham and is scoring goals - good for him, he deserves first team football. However- it''s as though people have forgotten that Jacko did exactly that at the same club!

I know how certain posters on here love to beat Jackson with the ''quality'' of Cody Mac but for the love of gawd, have some perspective!

At Palace on saturday the girl in front of me booed Jackson every time he touched the ball- even in the warm up!

Do folk think that Cody would score with just as limited service as Jackson (and the rest of our strikers) are currently getting?

[ron obvious 1,502]

Thing is, Cody does more than score goals. One of the things I remember most was him nicking the ball off Roseright on the touchline, sprinting through & slipping a lovely ball through to Grant for a tap in. Simeon doesn''t seem to be that sort of player.

[John 0]

By all accounts Cody does have a better scoring to game ratio in League Two than Jackson, but Simeon is unnecessarily getting a hard time from Norwich fans, undoubtedly. If one were to actually ask Gillingham fans of their opinion on Cody, the picture painted of him is less pretty than it is on these boards, from people who''ve scarcely seen more than a range of 10 second highlights of his goals. He''s described as being dormant when the play isn''t in the final third (note; Lambert seems to urgehis players to run the pitch whenever necessary, will Cody slot into the team as perfectly as some seem to assume?), and when it is, he, oddly enough, is apparently struggling to put away the easy chances, and that has fuelled a lot of frustration amongst Gills fans. Some have reckoned that with marginally more refined finishing, he could have double the current tally he''s amassed.He''s doing well, no one can question that - but it''s been far from plain sailing for Cody. I''d suggest he''d be useful for us if he were here, but the difference would by no means be season defining. He needs a full season with Gillingham to truly develop into the professional game, and by allowing him to continue at that level i firmly believe we''ll see a better player by the time the final whistle has been blown this season, than if we hadn''t.

[I am a Banana 0]

[quote user="ron obvious"]
Thing is, Cody does more than score goals. One of the things I remember most was him nicking the ball off Roseright on the touchline, sprinting through & slipping a lovely ball through to Grant for a tap in. Simeon doesn''t seem to be that sort of player.

[/quote]this is why CD is better the SJ

[Jason Shackells limp Tackle 0]

[quote user="CT"]Cody is onloan at Gillingham and is scoring goals - good for him, he deserves first team football. However- it''s as though people have forgotten that Jacko did exactly that at the same club!

I know how certain posters on here love to beat Jackson with the ''quality'' of Cody Mac but for the love of gawd, have some perspective!

At Palace on saturday the girl in front of me booed Jackson every time he touched the ball- even in the warm up!

Do folk think that Cody would score with just as limited service as Jackson (and the rest of our strikers) are currently getting?[/quote]I can''t be bothered to trawl up old posts but I am pretty sure that I have read you lauding Cody previously. What you need to take into account are a number of factors that make Cody''s current exploits stand out. This is his longest run of starting games since becoming a pro. He has been a pro for only 2 years. He has pace and aggression which he uses to full effect (not something we have seen too much of from Jackson). His goals to games ratio are probably one of  the best in the country (does''nt matter what pro league you are in).I am not knocking Jackson I really thought we had bought ourselves serious player in the summer, but, for whatever reason, he has not lived up to his reputation. Oh, and another thing Jackson was bought for about 750K, McDonald 25K...

[Gingerpele 0]

No one has been saying Cody is better, they have said Cody would have done better. I have not seen JAckson play well, Apparently he played well yesterday, so thats good, but still he got taken off an hour into the game, and wasn''t on the pitch when we scored.

[I am a Banana 0]

[quote user="Gingerpele"]No one has been saying Cody is better, they have said Cody would have done better. I have not seen JAckson play well, Apparently he played well yesterday, so thats good, but still he got taken off an hour into the game, and wasn''t on the pitch when we scored.[/quote]jackson was good for 20 mins. thats it. better to be a 20mins impact player than a 20 mins starter that players 60 imo!

[paul moy 235]

[quote user="I am a Banana"][quote user="Gingerpele"]No one has been saying Cody is better, they have said Cody would have done better. I have not seen JAckson play well, Apparently he played well yesterday, so thats good, but still he got taken off an hour into the game, and wasn''t on the pitch when we scored.[/quote]jackson was good for 20 mins. thats it. better to be a 20mins impact player than a 20 mins starter that players 60 imo![/quote]

I saw Jackson start at Bristol City where he played well, scored and we won 3-0. He has not really had a proper run in the team since then and needs that before people can fairly pass judgement. I hope Lambert now gives him a number of starts as he needs match-fitness.  

[Salopian 1]

John wrote

"By all accounts Cody does have a better scoring to game ratio in League Two than Jackson, but Simeon is unnecessarily getting a hard time from Norwich fans, undoubtedly. If one were to actually ask Gillingham fans of their opinion on Cody, the picture painted of him is less pretty than it is on these boards, from people who''ve scarcely seen more than a range of 10 second highlights of his goals. He''s described as being dormant when the play isn''t in the final third (note; Lambert seems to urge his players to run the pitch whenever necessary, will Cody slot into the team as perfectly as some seem to assume?), and when it is, he, oddly enough, is apparently struggling to put away the easy chances, and that has fuelled a lot of frustration amongst Gills fans. Some have reckoned that with marginally more refined finishing, he could have double the current tally he''s amassed.He''s doing well, no one can question that - but it''s been far from plain sailing for Cody. I''d suggest he''d be useful for us if he were here, but the difference would by no means be season defining. He needs a full season with Gillingham to truly develop into the professional game, and by allowing him to continue at that level i firmly believe we''ll see a better player by the time the final whistle has been blown this season, than if we hadn''t."

I have nothing particularly against Jackson, except that earlier in the season he missed a couple of one-on-one chances to score.

But I would defend Cody. I have not heard any comments by Gillingham fans, but presumably they are happy with him, as he''s scoring the bulk of their goals. Their manager was quoted as saying that he would desperately like to sign Cody. He is clearly very impressed.

As to being "dormant", which may or may not be true, if he''s a threat you can be sure that other teams will mark him well, and possibly leave gaps elsewhere. Thinking back to the past Earnshaw, Ewan and even Hux scored plenty of goals without making much defensive contribution.

Whether Cody will make the grade in the Championship, I don''t know, but he would probably be better than a couple of our present strikers. He certainly has more pace than Martin and Holt, and is better at heading the ball than Jackson and Martin.

[Nexus_Canary 1,016]

The problem lies in the fact that its probably not a myth !Ive seen both Jackson and Cody play, Jackson is rubbish, Cody is not.....

[MyGodWeArePoorToWatch 0]

Its a crazy argument CT.

Thats like saying because one player cant step up, none can.

The most important thing is hitting the back of the net.

I for one think cody would do a bloody good job here and now in the championship.

He is just about the only striker we have thats scoring anywhere.

And if you ask me, the service the strikers are getting is just fine.

Its the strikers that are the problem, because there not scoring and not taking the chances they do get.

It says a lot that most of our goals are from midfield and deffence for gods sake.

[norfolkbroadslim 223]

Does Jackson really have pace?

 

Gills fans don''t seem to think so.  They say if he got infront of a defender he would nearly always get caught.

 

A large bulk of Jackson''s goals were penalties

[Lynn Canary 0]

Obviously it will take Jackson a while to make the step up to the Championship. Some players take time and some take too it straight away. However, i still feel Cody has more to offer to the team all round. I heard a few days ago that Lambert said that Cody wouldn''t be moving to another tea at the end of the season as he see''s him a vtial part of the team for the future. So obviously Lambert thinks he can do the job too. I mean, Chis Martin scored 13 league goals for Luton when he was on loan there, and Cody is on 15 already. This season will give him a massive confidence boost, and if we are lucky enough to get promotion, i feel he could really trouble some Premier League teams, sort of like DJ Campbell does for Blackpool. Lots of pace,quite powerful and can header and finish the ball. But i just can''t see Jackson doing that. Botgh players are good, but i just feel Cody has more to add to the team as a whole.

[Captain Holt 522]

No one has been saying Cody is better, they have said Cody would have done better.

--------------------------------------------

What a ridiculous thing to say.

[Lambert is King 0]

Strange old world, he was not as good, he may or may not be better now, He will be better in the future. I think the original post is a bit harsh on what Cody is acheiveing and to positive on Jackson. Facts show Jackson 09/10 ( L1 ) 48 appearences 17 goals 08/09 ( L2 ) 46 appearences 18 goals. Cody McDonald 10/11 ( L2 ) 24 appearences 15 goals. Cody has already scored more league goals in a season than Jackson.

Jackson also scored a number of goals from penalties. Of course Gillingham say they have a better player as Cody is the one that plays for them,in reallity the jury is out and Cody will need to be judged on his return, but one has to concede that if Cody comes back a good player Lambert will have a decision to make.  

[John 0]

[quote user="LambertisKing"]

Strange old world, he was not as good, he may or may not be better now, He will be better in the future. I think the original post is a bit harsh on what Cody is acheiveing and to positive on Jackson. Facts show Jackson 09/10 ( L1 ) 48 appearences 17 goals 08/09 ( L2 ) 46 appearences 18 goals. Cody McDonald 10/11 ( L2 ) 24 appearences 15 goals. Cody has already scored more league goals in a season than Jackson.

Jackson also scored a number of goals from penalties. Of course Gillingham say they have a better player as Cody is the one that plays for them,in reallity the jury is out and Cody will need to be judged on his return, but one has to concede that if Cody comes back a good player Lambert will have a decision to make.  

[/quote]And to be fair, Cody is feeding off from the support of man mountain Adebayo Akinfenwa, and with players like Jack Payne coming through, they''re developing a strong and talented side this season, that, in my opinion, has yet to come into it''s element in actual fact. They started the season as favourites for a very good reason. Whereas Simeon Jackson was playing an isolated role at the tip of a 4-5-1 formation, was scarcely supported in League One, and played in a collectively average side in League Two (lost 7-0 to Shrewsbury) that he carried to League One the season before.I don''t want to give off the impression that i don''t rate McDonald highly by the way. I certainly do, and as a matter of fact i''ve been one of only a few on this forum to have supported him throughout his career here, writing this in early December last year (admittedly my opinion of Gillingham''s present side has since changed):[quote user="John"][quote user="chicken"][quote user="CT"]

[quote user="morty"]If this were to come off, I wonder where it leaves our other "promising" strikers, Oli and Cody?[/quote]

A very good point you raise there mate.

TBH those two would not get in ahead of Holty, C.M or SJ at the

moment and bringing in Leigh Griffiths or any other striker would mean

they get pushed back even further down the pecking order.

I would suggest a move to Gillingham might become permanent for Cody.

[/quote]

Not

sure on that. I think if Cody keeps banging in goals and has something

near 20 by the end of the season someone in league one would take a

gamble on him. His pace means that if you have players capable of

playing good through balls he will score buckets.[/quote]If he''s scored 20 by the end of the season we should bloody keep him! Especially seeing as he''s been hampered by injury.Grant

Holt scarcely missed a game in League Two at Shrewsbury and went on to

score 20 goals as a 28 year old. If McDonald happens to emulate that as a

24 year old in a far more depleted side, less capable of providing him

with the opportunities he relies on, we should seriously consider

keeping him. I''d even go as far to say that if he simply reaches double

figures this season the door must remain open to him. I must admit to

only having seen him in brief moments on the telly in his loan spell,

but 2 or 3 of his goals this season really are a class above that league

from what i''ve seen.We really have to refrain from being rash

with Cody. It was always going to be a long term project developing a

player having had no professional coaching by the age of 21, given how

deep into to the depths of the non-league we ventured to pry him from.

But as people in football so often forget these days, when there is a

glimmer of promise, given time, care and attention, it will generally go

on to burn brighter.[/quote]My stance is that neither player is bad, and it''s certainly not the case that either is dramatically worse because the other happens to be better (as is the mentality that forum rants frequently succumb to).

[ricardo 7,385]

Sadly niether of them are ever going to set this division alight.

[Hunter106 0]

[quote user="ricardo"]Sadly niether of them are ever going to set this division alight.
[/quote]

I feel that both of them can do a good job for us, they might not ''set the division alight'', but in contrast to other teams, nor have our current players, yet we are still in second.

 

I really rated Cody when he first came here, I remember the game against Cardiff and he came on and scored a goal within seconds of being on the pitch. He works hard for the team, and always hassles defenders which is something that Martin does not do, and got his rewards in a few games last year (someone mentioned he nicked the ball off a defender near the touchline, and then came on to socre two to win us the game against Walsall was it?).

 

 I honestly think both Cody and Simeon have had hard luck. Both were and are generally brought in when things arent going our way (Simeon was brought in yesterday because Martin wasnt performing, adding pressure on him to have a good game. As it goes we didnt play at our best, but because Simeon was brought in and fans ''expect him to perform'' and like the whole team he didnt, we label him has rubbish) Cody came to the club having just jumped up about 10 divisions and was in a side that were struggling to keep in the Championship, he only featured once from the start of a game and that was againsrt Reading, and only made 6 subs appearances. In league one he started 4 games and came on as a sub in 13, and scored 3 goals, out of a campaign of over 40 games. Now that he has finally started to play regular games he is banging goals in for fun, and I really think he could have done as good as job or an even better one than Martin did last year. The same goes for Jackson, I really think he could turn into a prolific goalscorer, but he needs to have a longer run in the team to settle in and acustom himself to the way we play etc. If Martin has had a free run of games, why cant Simeon?

[CambridgeCanary 0]

Doesn''t this really come down to the fact that Cody always played here with a hunger and enthusiasm which was uplifting even when not successful?  He would harry, chase and run sometimes making things happen.  He seemed to care in the way that Holt seems to care by doing whatever he could to win and not just being there. Perhaps it is his gratitude for the chance to play league football but whatever it is, his heart is as visible as it is huge.

Jackson tries hard but he lacks that apparent desire. Compared to Cody he seems an anaemic almost anonymous character.

Fans are suckers for the players who give extra and seem to care as much as we do.  How else do you explain Lee Crofts'' popularity?  Cody has that special extra something and for that he will always have a special, perhaps disproportionate place in fans'' affections.

[Morisons Prozac 0]

If Jackson plays like he did for the first half last night I would be more than happy to keep him in the team, as he shows more desire than Chrissy and more ability than Wilbraham.

[Smudger 0]

For me Jacko always gives us 100% and runs his knackers off for us.Criticise him if you don''t think he is good enough and capable of scoring goals at this level by all means.  I think that the majority of managers in this Division would disagree with you though and a lot of them would love to have Simeon as part of their squad.I guarantee that Simeon Jackson and Chris Martin are both capable of scoring plenty of goals at this level and if it is not for us then it will be for somebody else.  I also guarantee that Cody McDonald will never hold down a first team place for any team in the Championship (apart from one that is possibly going to be relegated).  All that Cody has is pace, his control is woeful and he was pretty much out of his depth at the top end of the 3rd tier.Lets re-vist this thread in a few years and compare the players careers then shall we?

[Captain Fantastic 0]

Jackson was hungry last night and it was good to see, he looked our only real threat in the first half.

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,023]

I was hungry last night, does not mean I deserve a place in the Norwich City team......

[InLambertWeTrust! 0]

To the cretin who said ''it doesnt matter what pro league you score goals in''...

WHAT THE F*CK!?

[The Great Drinkell 50]

[quote user="norfolkbroadslim"]

Does Jackson really have pace?

 

Gills fans don''t seem to think so.  They say if he got infront of a defender he would nearly always get caught.

 

A large bulk of Jackson''s goals were penalties

[/quote]

Darren Purse gave him a two yard head start last night and caught him in the first half. He''s reasonally quick but by no means Ian Rush/ Gary Lineker quick. If this is his main asset then I''m disappointed.

[Jason Shackells limp Tackle 0]

[quote user="CT"]To the cretin who said ''it doesnt matter what pro league you score goals in''...

WHAT THE F*CK!?[/quote]Dear CT, Being labelled a cretin by a serial, attention seeking prat as yourself, who refers to ticket as "Tix" is a wonderful display of irony. I salute you - what college are you at and what are you studying ? Working in recruitment, I will make a mental note to avoid anyone with the same educational background as you.I cannot believe that someone who goes to football/ plays football cannot understand the justification in my comment: It does not matter what professional league you are in, if you have a goals to games ratio of 15 in 24, it would suggest you are a natutrally gifted striker. That is all.

[grantroederdisaster 0]

I think Cody Macdonald would score goals at any level  if he got the service cause thats the sort of player he is!

 

But I was thinking last night, we haven''t created many chances lately so I think he would find it hard going in our team at the moment!

 

Jackson last night for me was trying to hard which had a negative effect on his game. Hes a goal poacher but how many out and out chances does he get?

 

One of our problems at the momwnt is that we''re not direct enough in the final 3rd and don''t put enough pressure on the oppositions penalty box. Millwalls keeper looked p iss poor but we just didn''t put him under nowhere near enough pressure.

 

Wilbraham is suffering from our lack of directness and penalty box pressure as well. Hes not going to run about much but I think hes the sort of player that will score goals with his head if hes given the service. We don''t put in enough crosses!

 

Jackson still has time to turn things around - afterall Iwan Roberts only scored 7 goasl in his 1st season with us and was targeted by the boo boys/girls!

 

But I  definately think that Macdonald would of done just as much as what Jackson has done this season if not more, except he wouldn''t have cost £600,000!

[InLambertWeTrust! 0]

Dear Jason Shackell''s limp tackle,

Can you tell me what company you work for so that I dont apply to work for someone like you...

Thanks.

P.S do you really think that someone scoring goals in league 2 would be able to be a regular scorer in the premierleague? LOL

[Largey 0]

You cannot have a sustainable argument on this matter until both players are playing for the same team

You can''t say McDonald is better than Jackson because he is scoring in a division below where Gillingham are creating more chances, and you can''t say Jackson is better than McDonald because Jackson isn''t scoring at the moment and hasn''t looked very threatening all season.

Wait till next season!

[ricardo 7,385]

[quote user="grantroederdisaster"]

I think Cody Macdonald would score goals at any level  if he got the service cause thats the sort of player he is!

 

But I was thinking last night, we haven''t created many chances lately so I think he would find it hard going in our team at the moment!

 

Jackson last night for me was trying to hard which had a negative effect on his game. Hes a goal poacher but how many out and out chances does he get?

 

One of our problems at the momwnt is that we''re not direct enough in the final 3rd and don''t put enough pressure on the oppositions penalty box. Millwalls keeper looked p iss poor but we just didn''t put him under nowhere near enough pressure.

 

Wilbraham is suffering from our lack of directness and penalty box pressure as well. Hes not going to run about much but I think hes the sort of player that will score goals with his head if hes given the service. We don''t put in enough crosses!

 

Jackson still has time to turn things around - afterall Iwan Roberts only scored 7 goasl in his 1st season with us and was targeted by the boo boys/girls!

 

But I  definately think that Macdonald would of done just as much as what Jackson has done this season if not more, except he wouldn''t have cost £600,000!

[/quote]I hesitate to say rubbish GRD but its laughable to think that Cody would score goals at any level. Can you really see him performing on a regular basis in the Prem, let alone the Championship. He''s a good little journeyman striker who could be a big fish in league 2 and at a push league 1. Jackson is a slightly better bet but for £600k I think he was overpriced. As I said earlier, he won''t set this league alight and should we somehow get promotion to the Premier league then niether of them are ever likely to feature.As for Wilbraham suffering from our lack of directness. The only thing Willers is suffering from is the lack of ever having the ability to perform at this level.What amazes me is how some of you continue to bum quite ordinary players up long after it is patently obvious to a blind man that they have limited ability. It doesn''t take a dozen games to see if a player has got what it takes to perform at the top level. Did any of you ever need more than one game to guage the  ability of players like Huckerby, Sutton, Gordon, Ruel Fox etc etc???? No of course not and if some of you didn''t see it in Lansbury last night then I suggest you chose a different game than football to follow.