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General Category => Altrincham FC First Team => Topic started by: Hugh on January 25, 2022, 10:02:33 PM
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I see there was something in this week's NLP about a couple of Hereford players, Afghanistan international (although UK based since age one) Maziar Kouhyar, who played in the Trophy final for them, and British Indian Dinesh Gillela, signed recently from Hayes. And Yeading. United. Absurdly, they represent 20% of British South Asians that are professional footballers. Just 10 out of 4,000 pro footballers in the UK - representing o.25% of footballers, compared to 7% of the total population . I remember a tv news item some years ago about the issues, how there was a perception among some club owners that "Asians" didn't make good footballers, and they interviewed one young lad who had broken all sorts of records in an amateur league, and yet had failed to get a trial at any professional club.
I assumed things would have changed by now, but apparently not. Hereford manager Josh Gowling, who wrote the article talked of unconscious biases, and one wonders if there is still a problem. There may be genuine reasons of course why South Asians are less likely to make it in the professional game, but at the same time, one might reasonably ask if enough is being done to make a path for them into the game. A couple of British Pakistani lads where I used to work - one was quite a decent football player, the other a cricketer and a real athlete (they were from Ashton). meanwhile, a boy from Altrincham's Kerala Catholic community (i.e. Indian) said he wanted to be a formula one driver.
There must be plenty of South Asians who would make good footballers, including many locally. The club have been talking about improving scouting for players - is it an issue they have considered, going out looking for players from this untapped community, scanning amateur leagues or even 5-aside leagues, trying to create an environment that would attract them? Surely it is a matter worth considering, besides which if there are really "unconscious biases", it would be the right thing to do. Wolves have quite a big group of "Asian" supporters, and Hereford are clearly benefitting from their South Asian players - are there things for us to learn?
In other Hereford related news, the FACupFactFile Team Award special 150th anniversary award for the non-league club that have had the biggest impact on the competition went to Hereford United, pipping Altrincham and Yeovil Town. Apparently 17 consecutive 1st round appearances is rated more highly than four consecutive third round appearances. I still say Alty had the best ever result though, the only team ever to win away at a first division club (since the third division started) coming from behind, even if Hopkins did help a bit!
And former Hereford player Mustapha Bundu recently starred at the Africa Cup of Nations for Sierra Leone in their 0-0 draw with champions Algeria. Who says Hereford players can't come good!
As for that other former Hereford player Kennedy Digie, I have reviewed some previous match highlights, and clearly there are a lot of bad mistakes that need to be cut out (although I stand by my comment thatafter the second Torquay goal he did ok - prove me wrong!). I wonder now if the fact of not having a settled team in recent times has been a contributory factor to mistakes from him and other players as well. If you have a settled team who all know each other's games, it must make it much easier to know where to pass, and what to do in given situations. I assume that Parky just sees the big strong lad and assumes that with time and coaching he can learn to cut out the worst of the mistakes. We will see. Maybe...
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As for that other former Hereford player Kennedy Digie, I have reviewed some previous match highlights, and clearly there are a lot of bad mistakes that need to be cut out (although I stand by my comment thatafter the second Torquay goal he did ok - prove me wrong!).
Here you go then - you're wrong...
To quote John Laidlar's match report:
"Torquay now brought on Holman for Wright and, within seconds, another slip by Digie gave Holman a great chance but his well-struck, low shot was tipped round the post by Thompson for a corner (77 mins).
Circa 9:47 onwards on the Alty TV highlights:
https://youtu.be/tUfAx1FjDAs?t=587 (https://youtu.be/tUfAx1FjDAs?t=587)
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I forgot about Laidlar's report. They tend to be quite extensive don't they?
I'll have a look at the highlights, though they may not be extensive enough to highlight all those good tackles I remember in the second half. A pity they don't make the whole match available so I can see how much of what I believe to have happened actually occurred.
The first bit seems to be right though...:) :-[
Edit: Watched the highlights now. Yes, that was poor to concede possession there (though those were the only two serious mistakes to make it to the highlights I think). Seriously - I know Parky likes a passing game, but when Digie gets in those positions and there's not a pass on, someone really should tell him to boot it out. At least he won't give away a goalscoring chance then. Though perhaps other players need to take responsibility too and give him an option or tell him to just clear it. The trouble is there's been so many players coming in and out of the team - Furman, Fitzpatrick, White coming back from injury and now Berkoe. Easier said than done, but we need to get a settled defence and some training sessions together - hopefully they will have times to work on these things this week.
I see Digie did one good pass inside, so at least one of the good passes weren't just imagined! And he actually won a header as well - "half cleared". As I thought, he went up field a few times too. I wonder if he might actually be more effective up there, trying to unsettle defenders and scrapping for the ball? It wouldn't matter so much if he gave the ball away in those positions either.
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It's hard to tell which posts from you make you look more delusional.
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It's hard to tell which posts from you make you look more delusional.
;D ;D ;D
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The only place Digie would be effective is at a club in the North West Counties League. Berkoe needs to step up to, if he's capable of doing so. We're in a very bad place right now, and climbing out of it is not going to be easy.
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Sadly, reminds me of Cyrus.
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Sadly, reminds me of Cyrus.
Vance?
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Sadly, reminds me of Cyrus.
Vance?
Miley ?
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Both of these are probably better at centre back than the John I'm referring to! 😉
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Sadly, reminds me of Cyrus.
Vance?
Miley ?
Who? Had to look her up on the internet. I have learnt my one thing for the day. Ta.
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It's hard to tell which posts from you make you look more delusional.
Be nice if you could actually contribute to the discussion sometimes.
I mentioned an unsettled team. The first Torquay goal would appear to be a case in point - new player Osborne and new player Berkoe both apparently pointing the finger, in one case while the ball was still in play. Would this sort of thing happen if we had a settled team?
It would also be interesting to hear from management about Digie. Presumably they know more about it than any of us, and they must have their reasons for playing him. What is their thinking?
And just out of interest, perhaps AA (or anyone else) would like to tell me if Digie made any other mistakes after the second goal, or if it was just the one mistake in 40 minutes of football, and also say what else he did. Very difficult for me to prove anything from just brief highlights and my memories (maybe I should make notes next time if people are going to be so fussy).
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It's hard to tell which posts from you make you look more delusional.
Be nice if you could actually contribute to the discussion sometimes.
I mentioned an unsettled team. The first Torquay goal would appear to be a case in point - new player Osborne and new player Berkoe both apparently pointing the finger, in one case while the ball was still in play. Would this sort of thing happen if we had a settled team?
It would also be interesting to hear from management about Digie. Presumably they know more about it than any of us, and they must have their reasons for playing him. What is their thinking?
And just out of interest, perhaps AA (or anyone else) would like to tell me if Digie made any other mistakes after the second goal, or if it was just the one mistake in 40 minutes of football, and also say what else he did. Very difficult for me to prove anything from just brief highlights and my memories (maybe I should make notes next time if people are going to be so fussy).
Rather than being nice to hear from the management about individual players it would be incredibly unprofessional of them to do so.
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It's hard to tell which posts from you make you look more delusional.
Be nice if you could actually contribute to the discussion sometimes.
I mentioned an unsettled team. The first Torquay goal would appear to be a case in point - new player Osborne and new player Berkoe both apparently pointing the finger, in one case while the ball was still in play. Would this sort of thing happen if we had a settled team?
It would also be interesting to hear from management about Digie. Presumably they know more about it than any of us, and they must have their reasons for playing him. What is their thinking?
And just out of interest, perhaps AA (or anyone else) would like to tell me if Digie made any other mistakes after the second goal, or if it was just the one mistake in 40 minutes of football, and also say what else he did. Very difficult for me to prove anything from just brief highlights and my memories (maybe I should make notes next time if people are going to be so fussy).
Hannigan is injured.
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It's hard to tell which posts from you make you look more delusional.
Be nice if you could actually contribute to the discussion sometimes.
I mentioned an unsettled team. The first Torquay goal would appear to be a case in point - new player Osborne and new player Berkoe both apparently pointing the finger, in one case while the ball was still in play. Would this sort of thing happen if we had a settled team?
It would also be interesting to hear from management about Digie. Presumably they know more about it than any of us, and they must have their reasons for playing him. What is their thinking?
And just out of interest, perhaps AA (or anyone else) would like to tell me if Digie made any other mistakes after the second goal, or if it was just the one mistake in 40 minutes of football, and also say what else he did. Very difficult for me to prove anything from just brief highlights and my memories (maybe I should make notes next time if people are going to be so fussy).
Rather than being nice to hear from the management about individual players it would be incredibly unprofessional of them to do so.
If we had a local paper doing the interviews over Brian (a club press officer) I'd imagine Parkinson would be commenting on individuals as the focus of the interview would be answering the fans views because this drives clicks and views for their employer.
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Regardless of who conducts the interviews, I would be amazed if our management picked out specific players for criticism. We can do that for ourselves !
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Regardless of who conducts the interviews, I would be amazed if our management picked out specific players for criticism. We can do that for ourselves !
Nobody said criticism, it said comment on. Phil parkinson spoke at length on Adam Porter.
I'd love to have heard why he opted for Toby in CM against Stockport.
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Regardless of who conducts the interviews, I would be amazed if our management picked out specific players for criticism. We can do that for ourselves !
Nobody said criticism, it said comment on. Phil parkinson spoke at length on Adam Porter.
I'd love to have heard why he opted for Toby in CM against Stockport.
You and a few others mate
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It's hard to tell which posts from you make you look more delusional.
Be nice if you could actually contribute to the discussion sometimes.
You are right I promised myself I'd only make you look silly on your covidiot rants. I'll leave others to tell you how terrible you are at spotting football talent.
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Regardless of who conducts the interviews, I would be amazed if our management picked out specific players for criticism. We can do that for ourselves !
Nobody said criticism, it said comment on. Phil parkinson spoke at length on Adam Porter.
I'd love to have heard why he opted for Toby in CM against Stockport.
While I take your point, I'm really saying that PP wouldn't comment on an individual player in a negative manner while that player remains in the first team squad.
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It was PP that decided to play him out of position. It would be harsh to then go on and criticise him.
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It's hard to tell which posts from you make you look more delusional.
Be nice if you could actually contribute to the discussion sometimes.
I mentioned an unsettled team. The first Torquay goal would appear to be a case in point - new player Osborne and new player Berkoe both apparently pointing the finger, in one case while the ball was still in play. Would this sort of thing happen if we had a settled team?
It would also be interesting to hear from management about Digie. Presumably they know more about it than any of us, and they must have their reasons for playing him. What is their thinking?
And just out of interest, perhaps AA (or anyone else) would like to tell me if Digie made any other mistakes after the second goal, or if it was just the one mistake in 40 minutes of football, and also say what else he did. Very difficult for me to prove anything from just brief highlights and my memories (maybe I should make notes next time if people are going to be so fussy).
Hannigan is injured.
Certainly I wouldn't expect Digie to play at the moment if Sutton and Hannigan were fit, available and on form. The thing is, longer term can Digie be a decent player at this level if he cuts out the mistakes? Is that likely, or is he being used as an emergency measure?
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Regardless of who conducts the interviews, I would be amazed if our management picked out specific players for criticism. We can do that for ourselves !
Not necessarily criticism but the thinking behind signing and playing him. i agree it would be unusual and probably bad for morale to slaughter an individual player for mistakes.
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It's hard to tell which posts from you make you look more delusional.
Be nice if you could actually contribute to the discussion sometimes.
You are right I promised myself I'd only make you look silly on your covidiot rants. I'll leave others to tell you how terrible you are at spotting football talent.
Oh, you mean my concerns (which you have failed to adequately address) about the biggest policy and social disaster of modern times that has been ruining football?
So you don't wish to say anything further about Digie then? What about my other points on Asian players or the FA Cup or African cup? I thought they were worth discussing anyway, but somehow it just seems to have got back to slating Digie (or in your case deriding my legitimate concerns about the totalitarian measures of recent times that have been afflicting the game, the same as you have derided people's concerns on other issues).
I accept that for whatever reason, Digie has been making too many bad mistakes that have cost us, the point is whether he did as badly as all that for 40 minutes after the second goal (yes there was one more bad mistake at least but I think there were some good things too) and whether Parky can make a decent player out of him. I seem to remember Micky Hayde could hardly pass at all as I recall, whilst Shepherd could pass but only with his right foot. Maybe it's not as easy as we imagine to get good passing defenders, I don't know. If he was the finished article he would go to someone like Stockport, I suppose management feel they just have to take a chance on players sometimes and hope they can do something with them. I still think some of those mistakes can be cut out with training ground work and a settled team. I remember back in 1997 when we had nearly a whole team out and were forced to play some very Strange(!) teams. It must be extremely disruptive and unsettling having so many players out.
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It's hard to tell which posts from you make you look more delusional.
Be nice if you could actually contribute to the discussion sometimes.
You are right I promised myself I'd only make you look silly on your covidiot rants. I'll leave others to tell you how terrible you are at spotting football talent.
I accept that for whatever reason, Digie has been making too many bad mistakes that have cost us, the point is whether he did as badly as all that for 40 minutes after the second goal (yes there was one more bad mistake at least but I think there were some good things too)
It doesn't matter if he is fantastic for the rest of the game. A defender cannot go making 1 or 2 mistakes every other game that leads to goals. I don't think it is something that can be cut out either. He looks awkward on the ball. You can't fix that unless he hoofs it out every time he touches the ball, rightly or wrongly we don't play like that. He doesn't suit us
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It's hard to tell which posts from you make you look more delusional.
Be nice if you could actually contribute to the discussion sometimes.
You are right I promised myself I'd only make you look silly on your covidiot rants. I'll leave others to tell you how terrible you are at spotting football talent.
Oh, you mean my concerns (which you have failed to adequately address) about the biggest policy and social disaster of modern times that has been ruining football?
So you don't wish to say anything further about Digie then? What about my other points on Asian players or the FA Cup or African cup? I thought they were worth discussing anyway, but somehow it just seems to have got back to slating Digie (or in your case deriding my legitimate concerns about the totalitarian measures of recent times that have been afflicting the game, the same as you have derided people's concerns on other issues).
I accept that for whatever reason, Digie has been making too many bad mistakes that have cost us, the point is whether he did as badly as all that for 40 minutes after the second goal (yes there was one more bad mistake at least but I think there were some good things too) and whether Parky can make a decent player out of him. I seem to remember Micky Hayde could hardly pass at all as I recall, whilst Shepherd could pass but only with his right foot. Maybe it's not as easy as we imagine to get good passing defenders, I don't know. If he was the finished article he would go to someone like Stockport, I suppose management feel they just have to take a chance on players sometimes and hope they can do something with them. I still think some of those mistakes can be cut out with training ground work and a settled team. I remember back in 1997 when we had nearly a whole team out and were forced to play some very Strange(!) teams. It must be extremely disruptive and unsettling having so many players out.
No one will adequately answer in a counter argument to your beliefs because you are unwilling to see when you are wrong. Case in point - dIgIe iS a GoOd fOOtBaLLeR.
I don't comment further than what I see on highlights, because, and here is the kicker pal; You should make sure you understand something well before trying to be an expert on it. I've lost count of how many times you've said "I don't recall X" only for people to show you that you need to be better at doing a simple google.
Seriously man, you make yourself look more idiotic every day. You are completely irrational.
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And for my part, I think you've been all over the place with some of your comments (and lacking in empathy). It's just an opinion about Digie. Since when did someone have to be an expert to have one? Maybe I will have to make detailed notes...
Anything on the other points I made then (and which made the main body of my original post)?
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It's hard to tell which posts from you make you look more delusional.
Be nice if you could actually contribute to the discussion sometimes.
You are right I promised myself I'd only make you look silly on your covidiot rants. I'll leave others to tell you how terrible you are at spotting football talent.
Oh, you mean my concerns (which you have failed to adequately address) about the biggest policy and social disaster of modern times that has been ruining football?
So you don't wish to say anything further about Digie then? What about my other points on Asian players or the FA Cup or African cup? I thought they were worth discussing anyway, but somehow it just seems to have got back to slating Digie (or in your case deriding my legitimate concerns about the totalitarian measures of recent times that have been afflicting the game, the same as you have derided people's concerns on other issues).
I accept that for whatever reason, Digie has been making too many bad mistakes that have cost us, the point is whether he did as badly as all that for 40 minutes after the second goal (yes there was one more bad mistake at least but I think there were some good things too) and whether Parky can make a decent player out of him. I seem to remember Micky Hayde could hardly pass at all as I recall, whilst Shepherd could pass but only with his right foot. Maybe it's not as easy as we imagine to get good passing defenders, I don't know. If he was the finished article he would go to someone like Stockport, I suppose management feel they just have to take a chance on players sometimes and hope they can do something with them. I still think some of those mistakes can be cut out with training ground work and a settled team. I remember back in 1997 when we had nearly a whole team out and were forced to play some very Strange(!) teams. It must be extremely disruptive and unsettling having so many players out.
No one will adequately answer in a counter argument to your beliefs because you are unwilling to see when you are wrong. Case in point - dIgIe iS a GoOd fOOtBaLLeR.
I don't comment further than what I see on highlights, because, and here is the kicker pal; You should make sure you understand something well before trying to be an expert on it. I've lost count of how many times you've said "I don't recall X" only for people to show you that you need to be better at doing a simple google.
Seriously man, you make yourself look more idiotic every day. You are completely irrational.
There's intelligent debate...and there's replies like this!
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And for my part, I think you've been all over the place with some of your comments (and lacking in empathy). It's just an opinion about Digie. Since when did someone have to be an expert to have one? Maybe I will have to make detailed notes...
Well, at least that way it would enable you to recall all of Digie's blunders and save you from posting a ludicrously inaccurate panegyric about his performance!
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Intelligent debate isn't a possibility with Hugh, JD.
He keeps talking though and we keep on having to have his baseless beliefs rammed down our throats on a forum about f**king football for Christ's sake.
Can we not just go back to asking where Chris senior is? Or making puns based on the opposition defenders name? Or he can keep it up and this forum can become even more like 4chan.
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That's a good question AA. Where is Chris senior?
Also with rain due soon do we still have those covers we bought?
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That's a good question AA. Where is Chris senior?
Also with rain due soon do we still have those covers we bought?
there is another thread with a rumour that he is at Darlington but I have not seen any evidence to support this .
In terms of the covers the rumour is they are the new roof for the much anticipated fan zone
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THE COVERS! Excellent call SA why are we not using them more?
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THE COVERS! Excellent call SA why are we not using them more?
Because they contravene Trafford Council health and safety regulations. When the covers are rolled up at the edge of the pitch they are deemed to be a trip hazard for our dainty footballers.
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And for my part, I think you've been all over the place with some of your comments (and lacking in empathy). It's just an opinion about Digie. Since when did someone have to be an expert to have one? Maybe I will have to make detailed notes...
Well, at least that way it would enable you to recall all of Digie's blunders and save you from posting a ludicrously inaccurate panegyric about his performance!
He'd need a bloody big notepad.
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And for my part, I think you've been all over the place with some of your comments (and lacking in empathy). It's just an opinion about Digie. Since when did someone have to be an expert to have one? Maybe I will have to make detailed notes...
Well, at least that way it would enable you to recall all of Digie's blunders and save you from posting a ludicrously inaccurate panegyric about his performance!
Look, it was just a gut reaction based on what I saw of his second half performance. I was still eating my food when the second goal scored so didn't see it properly. I missed the second mistake for some reason - maybe I mixed him up with Bercoe who I think had been playing some of the game in that position.
For the sake of argument, let's say he does make too many mistakes, that he is awkward on the ball and never going to learn. It brings us back to why management brought him in and played him. My theory would be something like this: they were short of players, it is difficult to persuade a team to release one of their best players during the season so they thought they would take a gamble on Digie and see if they could make something of him (and it sounded like Parky pretty much said that in the interview), and knowing that he might be exposed against the likes of County but believing he could do a job at least against the lesser teams. They would have a go at improving him and see where they were at the end of the season. Could it have been something like this, and if Digie is not good enough, how hard would it be to find someone who was significantly better?
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Intelligent debate isn't a possibility with Hugh, JD.
He keeps talking though and we keep on having to have his baseless beliefs rammed down our throats on a forum about f**king football for Christ's sake.
Can we not just go back to asking where Chris senior is? Or making puns based on the opposition defenders name? Or he can keep it up and this forum can become even more like 4chan.
Sounds like you want to ban me from commenting on first team players as well! That's not how it works though. The point is for someone like me to throw out an idea. People more knowledgeable about the matter can discuss it, put me right if necessary. I will learn something, and hopefully a few other people who happen to be reading the comments might learn something too. What's so bad about that?
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THE COVERS! Excellent call SA why are we not using them more?
Because they contravene Trafford Council health and safety regulations. When the covers are rolled up at the edge of the pitch they are deemed to be a trip hazard for our dainty footballers.
Reminds me of Burnden Park. There was a big slope down from the edge of the pitch, as I remember, and I used to think, surely that's not safe? A bit different from their new ground!
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If we use the covers as a roof won't we still get wet? I believe they have holes in them. Maybe the board could clarify this for the fans?
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Intelligent debate isn't a possibility with Hugh, JD.
He keeps talking though and we keep on having to have his baseless beliefs rammed down our throats on a forum about f**king football for Christ's sake.
Can we not just go back to asking where Chris senior is? Or making puns based on the opposition defenders name? Or he can keep it up and this forum can become even more like 4chan.
you mean naked attraction? ;)
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Intelligent debate isn't a possibility with Hugh, JD.
He keeps talking though and we keep on having to have his baseless beliefs rammed down our throats on a forum about f**king football for Christ's sake.
Can we not just go back to asking where Chris senior is? Or making puns based on the opposition defenders name? Or he can keep it up and this forum can become even more like 4chan.
Sounds like you want to ban me from commenting on first team players as well! That's not how it works though. The point is for someone like me to throw out an idea. People more knowledgeable about the matter can discuss it, put me right if necessary. I will learn something, and hopefully a few other people who happen to be reading the comments might learn something too. What's so bad about that?
Not liking what someone says doesn't mean they are wrong or what they say should be dismissed summarily.
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It's ok JD you don't need to protect him, he's a big boy capable of making his own mistakes... That's plain to see for all at this point
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No need to be patronising