Claims Akpom has gone for 2.5 million Euros

[Nano]

I suppose “an idiot” is the new wise man. Fans are very quick to judge and those that didn’t write him off at time by not commentating (cough me) perhaps hoped he’d go away and improve and return under a manager who saw his potential and play to his strengths. We have been lucky that we didn’t sell him and we now have a manager who sees how to effectively employ and give him service

Well it was Wilder who had previously dismissed him, failed to sell him or take him on preseason but then brought him back in and started him. We don't need to pretend Carrick is done genius who saw something nobody else did, he was already our best striker before he took over. Same as he didn't get the credit for Hackney as he was in the 1st team thanks to Leo.

The idiot comment was just that all evidence that fans had seen, maybe training is different, was that Akpom was not the sort of player who would ever trouble the top of the goalscorer charts. I'd be interested to see what the bookies thought his chances of top scorer was back in June/July.

 

[FabioPorkpie]

What do I find sad? That on a day when we have our most convincing result of the season, reach our highest league position some sad idiot decides to resurrect an old post that was representative of its time.

The poster in question very rarely offers anything worthy of reading.

I leave it to others to draw their opinion on someone who has the massive IQ to do something like this - and so soon after the game was completed. Pathetic and juvenile in my book

I think maybe you take this place too seriously.
I don’t see anything wrong in someone posting a thread showing how wrong we football fans can get it sometimes, or how sometimes players can make us eat our words.
It’s ok to be wrong sometimes.
Don’t take it all so personally.

 

[Johngannonsunderpants]

I thought yesterday was Chuba's best game. I know he scored 3 goals but he was far more involved and those balls he plays out to the left giving Watmore and Giles loads of time and space are pivotal in how we play now.

 

[junos_boots]

The person that we should contact is Warnock, when he was signed (scored in 1st 2 games) he was someone that Warnock had as top of the signings list, 2 months later and the recruitment team had forced him on him. No doubt he is back to being one of the top players that Neil sorted for the club

 

[Cardiffdaffs]

The person that we should contact is Warnock, when he was signed (scored in 1st 2 games) he was someone that Warnock had as top of the signings list, 2 months later and the recruitment team had forced him on him. No doubt he is back to being one of the top players that Neil sorted for the club

I have no idea the point you are making here. Why should we "contact" Warnock again?

 

[ForssAwakens]

Ridiculous to resurrect this thread. Whether you posted on it or not we all wondered why we’d paid £3m for Chuba back then, absolutely nobody would have batted an eyelid had we given him away permanently for free, except maybe to criticise the club for more wasted money.

To rip it out of people who posted on a thread where opinions are offered at the time is hypocritical when everyone thought the same. Poor craic imo.

Actually there’s a fair few posters who didn’t post on this thread to be fair. Everyone didn’t think the same and they never do

 

[Gains]

Actually there’s a fair few posters who didn’t post on this thread to be fair. Everyone didn’t think the same and they never do

I didn’t. And maybe there was varying opinions, but absolutely all of them will have been he’s not good enough.

 

[ForssAwakens]

I didn’t. And maybe there was varying opinions, but absolutely all of them will have been he’s not good enough.

You have no way of quantifying that stance

 

[Chappy112]

I have no idea the point you are making here. Why should we "contact" Warnock again?

Warnock likes to rewrite history similar to how he says McNair, Fry and Dijksteel are the best back 3 in the league after Wilder made them his back 3 despite Warnock never playing them as a back 3 once.

He said Akpom was the best available and top of his list when we first signed him then later on that season he was blaming recruitment and "stats guys" for signing him. No doubt he'll be along soon claiming he saw the greatness in Chuba.

 

[Gains]

You have no way of quantifying that stance

I’m aware of that. But telling lies on a football forum to try to claim ones football knowledge is better than others, more than most of whom you don’t know, is very strange behaviour.

 

[junos_boots]

I have no idea the point you are making here. Why should we "contact" Warnock again?

It was in regards to the comments that people make in hindsight and how Warnock had claimed he was delighted with getting a top signing to then claiming he was player that was forced on him and I was sarcastically wondering if he would have changed his mind again, just as a lot (most) of us fans have.

Tongue was firmly in cheek during original post, but I realise that isnt always obvious when I read it back

 

[ForssAwakens]

I’m aware of that. But telling lies on a football forum to try to claim ones football knowledge is better than others, more than most of whom you don’t know, is very strange behaviour.

Who’s doing that?

 

[borolad259]

Well this thread has been a brilliant read.

I do like a lazarus.

 

[Ipad1977]

I wasn’t on the forum in those days, I would have definetly said that chuba was a goal machine and we must persist with him though.

I've just had a proper look through all the original posters and noticed to my relief that I too never posted on this thread back then.

Rather than simply assuming the most likely reason, that I must have had a busy week at work and missed it, you can all rest assured that at the time I actually studied it scrupulously before rolling my eyes at the short-sightedness of the masses. I also considered posting a three paragraph response dictating exactly why him leaving would be terrible for Boro, including the fact that I fully expected him to be top of the champo goalscoring charts at the end of 2022.

The only reason I didn't is because I thought those who didn't even see the blindingly obvious future footballing majesty of Choobs would fail to understand even my simplest logic.

Any nods of respect you wish to send my way upon eventual realisation of my wisdom will be gratefully received and I will accept those plaudits with good grace, a bit like Mr Akpom himself.

Please also be aware that I've also held back in a similar fashion posts regarding the eventual "coming good in spectacular fashion" of Alex Mowatt, Afonso Alves and Joe Lumley. Don't worry I'll make you all aware of them when each starts to finally set their careers alight.
Never once though have I done the same regarding Rudy Gestede. I've instead repeatedly dismissed him as a useless waste of money and an absolute carthorse who was ready for the knackers yard on the day he turned pro.
In the interests of fairness each of you can also hoof this thread again on the day Gestede becomes a footballing titanasaurus. Which I'm quite confident will never happen.

 

[Bruce]

To be fair, one of the hardest things in football is to accurately judge how good a player really is. If you look at Chuba's record one thing seems apparent: when he plays as part of a front 2, he does well but when he plays as a lone striker he struggles. Until relatively recently, most teams played with a lone striker. In his first two games with us, he played in a front 2 with Britt and scored in both games. Then Warnock took the chance to boot Britt out of the team and play Chuba as a lone striker. Predictably, with hindsight, his goals dried up, his confidence took a knock and Warnock threw him under the bus.

Although Wilder got a lot wrong and clearly had no interest in bringing Chuba back, when his hand was forced, he played Chuba in a front two and he did really well. He then got injured. Leo also played him in a 2 as he came back from injury. Carrick took it to the next level by having play a deep-lying role which, it turns out, Chuba is ideally suited to play.

I think it's fair enough to look at Chuba's first season with us and his indifferent season at PAOK on loan and think he's never going to make it. But it is clear that he wasn't being played to his strengths. Play to his strengths and it's a revelation.

You can also look at someone like Mowatt who had an injury-blighted season at WBA, came to us and had to deal with the whole Wilder soap opera then had to sit on the bench waiting for a chance. He may not have been brilliant yesterday but he did a decent job and, assuming we can't send him back, I have no problem with him playing a back-up role for the rest of the season. I think he'll get better with more match time and probably chip in with a couple of important goals.

Conversely, I don't see Steffen improving beyond how he's playing now. He's done ok but I think he's plateaued and will probably end up back in the USA or Germany having a perfectly fine career. Thing is, all these judgements are based on seeing matchday performances and that's really the tip of the iceberg when it comes to judging how good a player really is. Steffen is only 27 and he could be going through an awkward adjustment from hardly ever playing for Man City to playing under 3 managers in a soap-opera while being dropped from the national team for the World Cup. In two months time he could easily look like the best keeper in the Championship. I don't think so, but ultimately you never know until afterwards.