2018/19 Kieran Dowell

Lanolin · October 4, 2018

Barnfred 55 said:
Having started him I thought it was then wrong to bring him off at half time. Unless he was having an absolute stinker which I don't think he was. I didn't see the game by the way.

He kind of was having a stinker to be fair, but I agree that dragging him off at half time won't have done him any favours.

davek · October 4, 2018

Barnfred 55 said:
Having started him I thought it was then wrong to bring him off at half time. Unless he was having an absolute stinker which I don't think he was. I didn't see the game by the way.

Me neither.

If he retained him and didn't loan him out it's incumbent upon Silva to give him substantial playing time. Maybe he will once we get a few wins together and we're comfortably top half.

Philw · October 4, 2018

Eggs said:
...I think he was Forests leading scorer for much of the season and was lauded until his form fell away over the last few months. Anybody who scores double figure goals from midfield in their first season of open-age football at that level is clearly a talent.

Funny how his detractors like to ignore his loan spell and want him binned off the one performance the other night. Sure if he had played well they'd say "it's only one game, Southampton weren't even trying, doesn't mean anything"...

Brisan123 said:
This from a chap who has probably seen more of Dowell playing than the rest of us combined says it all for me
If Cameron says he hasn’t got it then that says it all
And from what I’ve read Cameron wants our young players to succeed

Can't say I recall ever reading posts of his in the Youth Teams thread. Anyone can say they watched someone for 5 years, doesn't make it true or them any good judge of ability.

Ebrell22 · October 4, 2018

Should have been loaned out for his own good.

davids · October 4, 2018

Ebrell22 said:
Should have been loaned out for his own good.

I've a feeling the modern game has passed him bye.Very few players have high enough skill levels to be able to stroll around looking to play the odd clever pass with no work ethic.

Barnfred 55 · October 4, 2018

Philw said:
Funny how his detractors like to ignore his loan spell and want him binned off the one performance the other night. Sure if he had played well they'd say "it's only one game, Southampton weren't even trying, doesn't mean anything"...

Can't say I recall ever reading posts of his in the Youth Teams thread. Anyone can say they watched someone for 5 years, doesn't make it true or them any good judge of ability.

I was thinking the same. Not saying his opinion is wrong or anything, but I certainly wouldn't be putting him up there as a paragon of youth football.

Barnfred 55 · October 4, 2018

davids said:
I've a feeling the modern game has passed him bye.Very few players have high enough skill levels to be able to stroll around looking to play the odd clever pass with no work ethic.

Think it's a bit unfair to say he has no work ethic. He does tend to put a shift in. But he does have a very languid style that makes him look lazy, and he definitely switches off too often and drifts out of games. He's also not clever enough at finding space for himself to play the number 10 role at the moment which doesn't help.

I do agree though that the modern English game is not suited to his style. It's going to be very difficult for him to make it here I fear.

Brisan123 · October 4, 2018

Philw said:
Funny how his detractors like to ignore his loan spell and want him binned off the one performance the other night. Sure if he had played well they'd say "it's only one game, Southampton weren't even trying, doesn't mean anything"...

Can't say I recall ever reading posts of his in the Youth Teams thread. Anyone can say they watched someone for 5 years, doesn't make it true or them any good judge of ability.

Well if you check on his postings he’s a regular poster on the youth teams thread and attends matches

Eggs · October 4, 2018

Ebrell22 said:
Should have been loaned out for his own good.

..he apparently wasn’t willing to have another loan. He only had 12 months left on his contract and was in a strong position.

Eggs · October 4, 2018

ArtetaMoney said:
I agree, to a certain extent. His games are months apart at the minute, that’s no way to get into a rhythm. I’d like to see him used a bit more as a sub for the last 20 min, it would be easier if we finished teams off early and had a chance to bring players like him on. A loan to a lower premier league team in January, would probably be better for him.

..I din’t get the ‘loan to a lower Premier League team’, when we might be around that position ourselves. It is a matter of play him or sell him.

Barnfred 55 · October 4, 2018

MarcelsGoat said:
*snigger*

I remember watching Euro 96, and thinking this Zidane fella is not all that. I thought Djorkaeff was twice the player. Zidane was 24 at the time, 3 years older than Dowell is now.

Now before you or anyone else starts, I'm not comparing Dowell to Zidane. I've got more chance of winning the lottery than Dowell has of being half as good as Zidane. But he's a prime example of somebody who didn't excel until his mod twenties. You can say the same with the likes of Salah and De Bruyne.

Parker · October 4, 2018

Barnfred 55 said:
I remember watching Euro 96, and thinking this Zidane fella is not all that. I thought Djorkaeff was twice the player. Zidane was 24 at the time, 3 years older than Dowell is now.

Now before you or anyone else starts, I'm not comparing Dowell to Zidane. I've got more chance of winning the lottery than Dowell has of being half as good as Zidane. But he's a prime example of somebody who didn't excel until his mod twenties. You can say the same with the likes of Salah and De Bruyne.

Too late, it's there in black and white mate. Can't wait to have the English Zidane and Aubameyang up front together.

Barnfred 55 · October 4, 2018

Eggs said:
...I think he was Forests leading scorer for much of the season and was lauded until his form fell away over the last few months. Anybody who scores double figure goals from midfield in their first season of open-age football at that level is clearly a talent.

The @atrottel summaries in the loan thread are always worth a read for accurate game-by-game fans reaction. They are essential reading.

The situation remains, though, that he has to grasp opportunities when they arise. He has the ability to do very special things on a football pitch but his game time will be limited if he fails to deliver.

I think the big conundrum with the lad is where on the pitch do you play him. Out wide he drifts out of games far too easily. He just isn't good enough at the moment at finding pockets of space to play the number 10 role, so I'm not entirely surprised that he didn't grasp his opportunity the other night.

Personally I'd like to see him tried in a slightly more withdrawn role as part of a midfield 3. He played there quite often for forest last season and also for us against Rotherham. He's actually quite a strong runner with the ball at his feet and, as you know, has both the vision and ability to pick a pass. He'd need a hard working tackler alongside him, but given that we've been working with a combination of Schneiderlin, Davies and Gana this season, none of which has really worked, I'd have given him a go there against Southampton.

Difficult to see him getting another opportunity now there's extra pressure on Silva following the cup exit. Maybe a loan in January if he's not in his plans, either to Germany or Italy where the game is more suited to his style.

Gaffa · October 4, 2018

He did have a stinker Tuesday and something had to change. I would suggest he is loaned to say Newcastle / Watford / Fulham / Bournemouth type. Dan Gosling gets a game every week at Bournemouth!