Reply With Quote'Cough, Pompey' say I.
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Not so long since people on here were saying he was wasteful on chances. Such a change is such a short time for some (not all).
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'Cough, Pompey' say I.
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From what I've seen of Sam I'm not a fan but maybe a run in the team would help although not on the wing for me so then he's also not going to replace Wootton. He has got skill though and the ability to score great goals. As for Wootton I'm surprised we haven't tied him down before now but he might not want to, I can see him in league two but not sure about one.
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Agree wholeheartedly...Potential is definitely there. It wasn't long again the same sort of criticism was coming the way of Ruben as one of those unreliable flaky foreigners. Even when we have been chasing games lately , he cant get on , i cant remember against who , but IB brought on Cameron rather than Sam and also could have used more subs against Rochdale at home but chose not to bring him on. I Cant really explain it without thinking there must be more too it.Originally Posted by the_anticlough
Yes, noted and respected. The odds are actually against it now (making an impact).
Here's mine though - Eli Sam has actually got more potential to be the promotion winning striker we need than Kyle Wootton.
The heights he could potentially reach are higher than the level Wootton could ever aspire too. There's something of the Thierry Henry about his style and there's no doubting he has better technical ability than many forwards we've had at Notts over the years. There are many things getting in the way of this, including confidence, lack of determination as well as us not being able to afford giving a player 5-6 games to find his feet.
I think we've been wasting a talent and a hundred comments telling me I'm wrong won't change my mind about that
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Good points there.
It's been encouraging to see that when you break from the conventional party line, there are quite a few people who also don't follow it
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My guess is that Eli Sam hasn't done enough in training or in his minutes on the pitch to deserve a place in the team.
No mystery, simple as that.
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This is pretty well where I am with Eli Sam. Yes he needs opportunity to shine but a player can only earn that and then grasp that opportunity with both hands when it comes along. I don't feel Eli has been able to show that. I'm not terribly optimistic of that happening but he needs a little more of a chance to get himself into games and show more than the odd flash of ability to be fair.
Regards Kyle Wootton, I'd say that with the current squad, his absence would be more of a blow to Notts' hopes than practically any other squad member. That is with great respect to Rodrigues who is obviously on a productive streak making great progress and is a joy to watch. Notts of course have the opportunity to offer him a new contract but League 1 and League 1 wages will obviously be a draw. He seems happy and content at Meadow Lane though and just maybe, he'll want to delay his decision to see how this season plays out before committing his future.
For the role he plays I'd certainly consider him reasonably 'free-scoring', finishing with 18 and 19 goals in the past two seasons. He shoulders a great deal of weight up front, works extremely hard and contributes well in helping the defence out at set pieces too. I think Notts are quite fortunate to have him actually.
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In the games I saw him play last season there was an air of disinterested about him a lot of the time. A lack of determination as mentioned previously. I don't think you can bolt such an attribute onto someone either you are determined or you aren't and it appears he is not. If he isn't then he is not going to work at Notts and on that basis alone I woiuld get rid as quickly as possible especially with the small squad. Even send him out on loan back into Europe or whatever. Its not a question of ability there is obviously some, but if he isn't going to put a shift in what's the point. i would sooner have a workhorse who puts a shift in that a massive talent who doesn't especially at this level. with the small squad size we don't have room for passengers.
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Genuine question.
For the fans that think he hasn’t been given a fair chance to prove himself, would you be happy if he was picked in place of Wootton tonight, for the sake of giving him a chance?
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I don't care how young you are once you are a professional player you know that if you aren't getting game time, opportunities to impress on a match day then the only way you can force yourself into the starting XI is by putting it in in training.
Naturally it doesn't carry as much weight as your efforts in competitive games but it's the next best thing.
I don't care whether it's Eli or Rùben if you don't put in the effort you don't play. It's ***** any club creates a competitive atmosphere within the squad where lack of effort isn't tolerated and certainly isn't rewarded. The only players who get away with this are extremely talented and their performances speak for themselves. Even our star Portuguese player discovered this early on in IBs tenure.
Read comments from young Chalobah at Chelsea who spoke of the players hating to concede goals even in 5 on 5 in training and it filters throughout the squad to first team games.
If Sam wants to play he simply has to put in the effort and perofmances in training and give IB no choice. Otherwise he can have no complaints.
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