Jimmy Knowles retained by Stags.

[Warnocks Legends]

I have to say, I'm a little disappointed by some of the negative comments on here about Jimmy Knowles. Yes he may be a little lightweight and naive at times, but he is young, wasn't Tommy Johnson, Mark Draper and others the same? He wasn't utilised in his most effective position under Ardley or given consistent game time to develop. He never gave less than 100% , certainly had an eye for goal and had that youthful energy and enthusiasm for the game. It's about time we gave some of our youth the same opportunities. I thank Jimmy for his contribution and wish him every success in his future career.

[laddo]

I think he clearly out performed expectations but was too inconsistent to be given a long run in the side. Agree that naive and lightweight was to be expected.

Ardley's regular changing of formation didn't help him or others but as expected with youth players he wasn't consistent enough or reliable enough to play week in week out.

As mentioned by someone else if he hadn't been retained by the Stags, I would have been happy to see him at Notts developing under IB as Knight hopefully will.

[BigFatPie]

It's about time we gave some of our youth the same opportunities. I thank Jimmy for his contribution and wish him every success in his future career.

That’s the key bit isn’t it? I can take youthful inconsistency and frailty if like Draper and Johnson they’re our own players, and we obviously have an interest in developing them. If we’re loaning young lads in the future, I’d hope they’d be of a higher standard than someone who can’t get into Mansfield’s squad, a team who’ve been battling relegation for a decent part of the season.

[jacobncfc]

That’s the key bit isn’t it? I can take youthful inconsistency and frailty if like Draper and Johnson they’re our own players, and we obviously have an interest in developing them. If we’re loaning young lads in the future, I’d hope they’d be of a higher standard than someone who can’t get into Mansfield’s squad, a team who’ve been battling relegation for a decent part of the season.

This. Loanees have a big role to play at our level (and the couple above), but it needs to be someone good enough to come in and contribute as a regular starter.

[drillerpie]

Knowles is a good young player. He's got the natural gift of being a good finisher, which is something you can't really teach, and I'm sure he'll have a good career.

He's (understandably) slipped down the pecking order at ML recently, but don't rule out him making an important contribution to our promotion push between now and the end of the season!

[slack_pie]

Knowles is a good young player. He's got the natural gift of being a good finisher, which is something you can't really teach, and I'm sure he'll have a good career.

He's (understandably) slipped down the pecking order at ML recently, but don't rule out him making an important contribution to our promotion push between now and the end of the season!

My thoughts exactly. His ability to be in the right place at the right time is something you cannot teach. That alone should make him a decent option in the lower leagues. If he can beef up a bit, he might be able to make a career for himself a league or two above where we are now. Given the reaction when we signed him (which was understandable to be fair), he's definitely proven a lot of people wrong and managed to win us fans over with his enthusiasm and goals. Seems a nice lad, too.

[magpie_mania]

I have to say, I'm a little disappointed by some of the negative comments on here about Jimmy Knowles. Yes he may be a little lightweight and naive at times, but he is young, wasn't Tommy Johnson, Mark Draper and others the same? He wasn't utilised in his most effective position under Ardley or given consistent game time to develop. He never gave less than 100% , certainly had an eye for goal and had that youthful energy and enthusiasm for the game. It's about time we gave some of our youth the same opportunities. I thank Jimmy for his contribution and wish him every success in his future career.

Knowles has done OK but doesn't come close to being compared with Johnson and Draper.

[queenslandpie]

Compared with the majority of our loan signings this season he is positively a super star in the making. Ultimaely he has probably done as well as you could expect. He has weighed in with some good goals, has looked out of his depth at times and has also turned matches. I think on balance he has done better than most would have expected and I wish him all the best. I would not mind if he was back as cover next season but he is certainly not a replacement for the likes of Dennis.

[i961pie]

That’s the key bit isn’t it? I can take youthful inconsistency and frailty if like Draper and Johnson they’re our own players, and we obviously have an interest in developing them. If we’re loaning young lads in the future, I’d hope they’d be of a higher standard than someone who can’t get into Mansfield’s squad, a team who’ve been battling relegation for a decent part of the season.

Don't forget where we are? We are a non league side. I don't think many teams with potentially decent young strikers in higher leagues will be breaking their necks to send them to us.