Thetownend.com

The lad excites me even though I haven't seen him in the flesh, even a Hadwin update mentioning his name grabs my immediate attention.

One of my favourites ever was Hazard because as soon as he got the ball, you know that ANYTHING could happen, as with Moncur.

Bodin, Summerbee and Kerslake had a similar affect, because they could whip in a killer cross from anywhere.

You could always, ALWAYS really on Digby, Taylor and Calderwood to do their biz when called upon. (I used to smirk at times when the opposition attacked thinking that they could beat them)

And when the ball reached the feet of the likes of Big Dunc, Chalkie and Jan the man you just KNEW that a goal was coming.

I think you get my drift, and I know it is early days for the wee lad macca.

But does he inspire the same confidence?

And could he be the next all time town legend?

I'd love it if he was. But:

- If he keeps playing well he'll get sold to a higher league club
-  Teams suss him out, double up/kick him

As I mentioned in another thread, it could be used to our advantage.

We'd get good money for him yes. But would still end up with the same thing - no mcnamanatee

OK, no McManatee.

But what I was trying to ask is does he excite, or inspire as much confidence as our previous "Legends"?

i Dont know i wasn't born when most of them played :D

Guess he's the most exciting that i've seen since parkin, or ricky shakes when he first joined. Or mark walters!!!

Mark Walters is a good shout, is McManatee more exciting than Walters?

And why is this a Bangkok Red / STFC conversational thread? Not that I'm bothered mind you. How's you Dave?

He's head and shoulders above anything I've seen in this league in terms of natural ability.

If teams double up on him, it should give other players more space, therefore even if he's crowded out, he'll still have an impact.

If he continues in the same way next season there'll be a load of Championship clubs sniffing around in January........................

err yeah im good thanks. yourself. I cant really remember if walters was any good or not, i just remember thinking he had an ace name  8)

positives-the lad has a great touch,skill,and crosses the ball superbly.
negatives-doesn't jump to make headed challenges and is very small and lightweight.
the positives by far outweigh the negatives.
he will have games where he isn't in it but likewise will tear other teams apart.

If only we had a right footed version we'd be laughing........then we could tell JP who was woeful again today to fuck off

harsh and unfair i'd say.he did ok today imo.but he aint the tricky player that macnamee is so is less pleasing on the eye.

Exactly. Hes not  a winger whose going to trick past the full back, but he can cross and pick a pass when on form. More david beckham than ronaldo.

What was the name of that Brazilian lad who played for Middlesborough in the Prem? Can't remember his name bit he was a small bloke yet he tore many Prem defences to shreds.

junnihio(i know its mispelt)

His final ball is stunning; that's what sets him apart from all our current and previous recent wingers.

My main concern with McManatee, is in away games...our home form has been at least average, but poor away form has briefly threatened a relegation campaign..

   This will require him to take on greater defensive duties, to which he's probably not suited....bit like Wenger prefers Eboue, over Walcott for away games etc because of this.

Yeah something like that. He was a very small chap, and therefore an example that size doesn't matter if you have the skill to pull it off.

Wise is a short-ass also but he more than held his own at the top.

He excites me more than any player since George Ndah

For those who do remember, how does he compare to Hazard for example, in terms of  a buzz when he gets the ball?

Have to say when he gets it you are waiting for something to happpen. He tore them to shreds today, although thewere pretty shite. Wouldn't say 's quite in the "you know he's going to do something" bracket but could reach it in time.

And whoever complained about McGovern today is clearly just looking for something to moan about. I'm hardly the guy's biggest fan but today he actually ran about quite a bit, he linked well with Jack Smith, and he put so good balls into the box. The only criticism would be his defensive efforts but even they were ok for the most part.

 Completely different....Wee Macca is a throwback to a different age, the tricky little winger. They used to get them from the haggis mines in Jockoland,  think Jinky Jimmy Johnstone.

Bangkok Red, well, today he almost "did a Gazza" (from Euro 96), flicked it over the defender's head with his left then immediately smashed it with his right. Went well wide though.

Wonder if the dentist chair would have been re-enacted?

On another note, is it normally this cold in April? I seem to remember Mansfield at home last season being quite pleasant.

this years normal isn't it? It was last year that was weirdly warm

It's global warming...

Has global warming stopped then? Bring it back I say.

mansfield was warm last year, and JPM was OK today, not shite.

Well, I'm a little confused...the natural oscilations of the earth's temperature suggest it should be warmer than it is.  However, humans are responsible for warming up the earth (which is colder than it ought to be), and that's apparetnly bad.  However, it's snowed in fucking April this year (not unique I know), and last year the summer sucked big time.

Does anyone actually know what's going on, or are all the scientists just making it up as they go along?

global warming doesn't stop in britain you know.there are other countrys that are feeling the effects of it.

True enough...however using the word global suggests everywhere to me.  Hopefully we can get it sorted, though.

Or maybe Bobby Barnes from what you describe ?

NMH

  A bit similar though Bobby was much stockier and stronger, in his first season he scored 10 goals which considering he didn't sign until October is a good return.

  No, Wee Macca is a bit special,  its difficult to work out some of his tricks, one today where he flicked the ball up, and it just spun down off his head and rolled down his body as he turned away from the player.  8)

   I don't think Lou liked that sort of thing which is why he didn't bother to sign Roy Wegerle.

The best winger we have had for years. Really class at times today. I wonder why he is even playing at this level sometimes.

i agree, hes superb, every time he gets the ball, he just pulls a new trick out  the back, its ace, the little knee/ankle flick over he did today in the last few minutes was nothing short of genius. he;'s like the ronaldinho of league 1

As said to DV and Tails last night if teams double up on McManatee then it'll give our other players space. So we really need to sort out our midfield and left back positions.

"He's small and lightweight" said someone


Thank God he is, I wouldn't want a tall heavy bloke out on the wing.  The lad is a class act, by far the best winger I've seen in this division.

I recall that he did want to sign Wegerle, but Wegerle didn't want to sign because he felt he was too good for the league we were in.

NMH

Ok McManatee i small and lightweight but f we play proper football, passing to feet, it won't matter. And to be fair to the lad there were a couple of times yesterday where he won it from a long ball against their big (but shite) lad at the back

I personally thought JP was very good yesterday....He even took his man on to great effect (However, their left back was shocking), and seemed to link play better than usual.

I thought McGovern was good. Although he and Smith left the wing exposed an awful lot, but then we were going forward to kill them off, realising they were just plain shit.

  Nah....Lou didn't fancy Wegerle because he liked to dribble the ball in dodgy areas, so he went to Luton for 75K  a season and a bit later, QPR paid a mill for him.  Nobody gets it all right .

Reminds me of when Miglioranzi used to take the ball past opposition players in our own box  8)
I miss him  :(

A bit of nostalgia for me. Jimmy Bain was OL when I first watched Swindon, early 1950's. Although we were pretty crap, Bain, like Mc Namee, excited me because he was small and wiry, stayed on the wing, rarely gave the ball away, and regularly hit the heavy ball high on to Owen's head from the byeline. I thought he was quick and tricky then, and I see he scored 43 goals in his career. Was he as good as I remember? Probably not, I was not so critical then.
I also enjoyed Harry Lunn's wingplay, and John Skull's, in that era, so I was probably easily pleased!
Bain scored more goals after he settled in a while, so we hope the same for McManatee.

 Hmmm good names, a bit before my time....Maurice Owen, I just caught right at teh end of his career when he was playing right back.  He gradually moved back in his career...think Lee Peacock may do the same.

 Harry Lunn, I seem to recall had a shop in Commercial Road, can't recall ever going in it.  I also recall Harold Fleming's Sports shop.

 John Skull, of course, had a place up in Goddard Ave...is it still there?  Got a feeling it went relatively recently.

John Skull is still listed as a physio in the BT Phone Book, in Goddard Avenue, but I don't know Reg. He treated me in the 1980's for a strained ligament in my knee, making it twitch with an electric current, a bit wierd. He had been a very good sprinter, and tried to persuade me to give up long distance running, as it was bad for the legs. He was probably right.