Thetownend.com

til end of season on loan

IF this happens I suppose we have our CB cover for the rest of the season then.

He was the chap we were after in September?

And right back cover.

What time do players need to be registered by on a Friday to play/on the bench tomorrow?

Or replacement (gulp)

Very versatile and can play anywhere along the backline according to my Arsenal supporting friend. There's the CB and LB cover sorted.

This kid is not very good.

Sorry to say.

it goes without saying to some extent - he's going to be a backup player for a league 2 side.

Doubt Arsenal have sent him here to sit on the bench every week.

This could push Devera further down the pecking order, which would be a shame if so.  How many players do we realistically need as cover for each position?  Our squad seems to be getting ridiculously big?

How big is our squad?

The fact that Arsenal had about 8 central defenders and full backs missing, for their recent cup game and this fella didn't even make a bench of 7, would seem to endorse this view.   Still I'm sure the CG faithfull will give him 10 mins before getting on his case..

Ridiculously big...read the post above :D

that's the spirit fellas. Write him off before he starts!

Generous, many seem to have written him off before hes even kicked a ball for us.

Dex is in the know, when it comes to arse...if he says he's not all that, it's quite possibly a valid point.

Still everyone should start with a tabula rasa.....

Well I'm sure Chelsea fans thought Parkin was dogshite, too.

Come on, you know just because a player hasn't made an impact at one club doesn't mean he won't elsewhere. This could be his level, or below his level.

Few kids make it in the top flight.

This is indeed true.

Piss off juddie with your common sense and rationality

I do believe that it is horses for courses though, if a player is not skilled enough higher up the league against skillful players that doesnt mean that he will not make an impact at a much lower level playing against players of lesser skill, which Boateng will now find himself at.

A player who is not brilliant at Arsenal may well be perfectly acceptable at our level or even excel.

We can only guess until he actually plays for us.

I wouldn't take any Arsenal fans opinions on him too seriously, unless they watch reserve games week in, week out they won't have seen enough of him to form any opinion.

Anyway, decent cover for the backline, our fixture list becomes crazy busy now so it will become a squad game more than ever.

soapy tit wank.

Strood works for thier magazine iirc

Sounds like a pretty good signing, gives us the cover we need at the back.

We must see something in him if we have gone back in for him.

I do know he is involved with the club and does get to watch reserve and youth team games and there is probably a fair amount of truth in his comment, from an Arse persepctive but he may be good enough for us even if not good enough for the Arse.

He's at Arsenal FFS. How you can write him off before seeing him play is beyond me.

 :D

From the OS:



1    Mattia Lanzano    Goalkeeper  
2    Callum Kennedy    Defender    
3    Aden Flint    Defender  
4    Joe Devera    Defender  
5    Paul Caddis    Defender  
6    Simon Ferry    Midfielder  
7    Paul Benson    Striker  
8    Matt Ritchie    Midfielder  
9    Etienne Esajas    Midfielder  
10  Alan McCormack    Midfielder  
11  Oliver Risser    Midfielder  
12  Jordan Pavett    Striker  
13  Nathan Thompson    Defender       
14  Alan Connell    Striker  
15  Mark Scott    Goalkeeper  
16  Luke Rooney    Midfielder  
17  Lander Gabilondo    Midfielder  
18  Raffaele De Vita    Striker  
19  Jonathan Smith    Midfielder  
20  Phil Smith    Goalkeeper  
21  Alessandro Cibocchi    Defender  
22  Miles Storey     
23  Lukas Magera    Striker  
24  Leigh Bedwell     
25  Billy Bodin    Midfielder  
26  Ronan Murray Striker  
27  Wesley Foderingham    Goalkeeper  
28  Louis Thompson     
29  Mehdi Kerrouche    Striker  

-------------------------------------------------------

A bit big. But with a few leaving imminently, it's not exactly massive.

Pavett has gone hasn't he ?

thought he was on loan

I don't think anyone is writing him off...more like trying to point out, he may find it difficult, so will need some patience. Town fans have now become notorious for having < zero.  Take Jervis for example, seemed like a promising young player to me, scored a few, had a reasonable physical presence....yet written off as dogshite by most after a mere handful of games. Predictably now scoring at a higher level.

No its not actually that big, Lanzano, Pavett, Easyjet, Kerrouche and possibly Bodin (loan) could all be moving this transfer window and with Thompson N, Scott, Storey, Bedwell and Thompson L all youth/1st year pros they can't really be counted as part of the 1st team squad even if they have made the bench recently that leaves 19 pro's, not really that big at all IMO.

And you can't forget that reserve team Premiership football is a whole different kettle of fish to league 2. Boateng will take a few games to adjust to the physicality of this league.

Looks a big unit does Boateng

We should just get him and flint to stand in front of goal. We won't concede again all season.

Arse will be expecting him to be playing on a regular basis, so who is he going to replace? Thought the emphasis was going to be on signed players not loans

I can't see anybody being replaced, except maybe kennedy.

That'll be it then

How many loanees have we got at the moment? Murray, Boateng... that's it isn't it?

Yes.

The adver seems to suggest here's here to provide cover

I have to be honest, I hadn't actually looked and thought it was bigger than that.  I therefore amend my comment of ridiculously big to 'quite' big on the assumption that we will see further leavers in the next week or so :D

It's easy to think the squad is very big because we have bought in so many.

Wasn't digging at you jotty, I was just curious myself.

Fun fact: Both Alan Connell and Daniel Boateng born in Enfield!

Wow, the odds against that must have been billions to one :sherlock:

Another possibility....McCormack back to centre mid, although that would add fuel to the 'di Canio is a lunatic' chain if thought.

Cant see Macca going back to midfield. Paolo is still after a CM id have thought

Paolo has already said how important Macca is at the back - I think he's pretty set on keeping him there. Wouldn't be surprised to see Boateng fill in at left back a bit, and possibly centre back when one of the first choice pair are out.

Flint/A-Mac no.1 pairing with Devera and Boateng cover at CB, also Boateng can play RB or LB, so some versatility in our new loan signing...hope he's a success and onwards up the league! C.O.Y.R

Agree on Macca staying at CB. To be fair one defeat in 21 would indicate our first XI doesn't need much change. Rooney may push De Vita for a starting spot but by signing him who can seemingly play all across midfield and Boateng who can play all across the back Di Canio has given us cover for 8 positions with 2 transfers. Good business imho.

Well he is a lunatic everyone knows that. But he's our lunatic.

Hes a bit crap isnt he.

Felt much more confident when my mate risser came on.

Discuss.

He sounded shit on the radio.

He looked shit from the stands too!

Shit or nervous?

Think Devera earlier in the season

I dont think we will be seeing him again somehow

Head like a 50p, the passing ability of a dog but the speed of a Jaguar. He'll do fine at this level.

I think you could be right.

He's barely played, so I think he needs some more time before we crucify him. Although I do concede he was a weak link and with Risser being so calm and assured at CB, I'd be inclined to play Risser over him from now on.

He looked pretty dire. Not even as good as Devera was during his dodgy phase at the beginning. I can't really come up with a positive thing to say about his performance tonight (and he sounded a bit rubbish on the radio Saturday), so hopefully he won't need to feature all that much.

Just a poor player with little positional sense. He won't be at Arsenal for long.

He struggled tonight, kept getting caught out and some of his heading was dreadful.

I wonder if Risser will start on Saturday if Devera is still injured?

Paolo actually did say on the radio that he needs more "training" on when to come for the ball and when to drop off!!  Think he wasn't over impressed either, but I didn't think he was as bad as some have said.  Risser did make a difference when he came on and it showed in the other players too.  

I don't think it's a matter of crucifying him, I just don't think Di Canio will risk him again after the last two games.

Sounds like he'd fit nicely in the Arsenal back four next to Djourou.

I think you're right. The back line was quite ropey tonight and perhaps that was down to others being a bit worried about Boateng making a mistake and having to cover for him. I noticed Wes seemed to charge forward for punches a lot more than normal tonight, perhaps in part due to his lack of confidence in Boateng?

When Risser came on, the team appeared to settle and the whole back four seemed to relax - he certainly appears to be the antithesis of Boateng on that showing.

If Boateng can inadvertently do for Risser's career what Comazzi did for McCormack's, it is a worthwhile loan.

and the strength of a kitten

Has Agent Darren dealt us a dud? Serious question: Is it a case of 'find me a half decent centre half' and we sign someone based on his recommendation or does Di Canio go to watch potential signings?

Boateng looked like what he is, a 19 year old with 1 1/2 league games under his belt.

He had good pace, but is very very raw. And has a 50p head :)

Correct.

PDC's decision to sub Boeteng was a monster one.

Not often that a centre back gets dragged off without being injured. It was obvious that it was probably going to cost us dearly if he stayed on, but it was a brave and inspired substitution.

McCormack spent all fucking night worrying about him till he got taken off. Normal service resumed as soon as Risser came on.

Bigger picture: Boeteng is a younster. Quick as fuck - which cant be coached. He'll learn in the next year or so wherever he is and will have a good career.

As someone said, think Devera earlier in the season.

Well he had a bad game but I guess he wasn't the only one. If that was the first time I'd seen Bodin this season I'd suggest sending him back to Torquay, but we know how good he was against Southend and Crawley. The problem is that you can't make a mistake at the back or you usually get punished.

All managers have to learn that getting a loan player from a big club guarantees nothing.

I dont think weve got the time to see if Boateng improves.

Id certainly put him at the back of the queue that has mcormack, flint, devera, risser, ciobocchi before him on tonights showing.

He looked much better against Hereford on Sat but was really struggling against the better quality players tonight.
Good substitution by PdC - I was calling for Kennedy to come on @ LB with Cibo moving inside

That's the problem isn't it. He could turn out to be brilliant after a dozen games, can't give him that long while we are going for promotion.

Didn't see him on Sat, but was there last night.  He was certainly fast, but we only saw that because he was caught out of position so often.  To be fair there was one occasion in the first half where he sprinted back almost half the pitch and easily got the ball from their striker who had passed him by.  It's a hard one to call.  Can anyone be judged on his second performance, and from a team performance that generally was way below par.  The huge gaps in midfield left the back four horribly exposed at times - but he clearly did not have the confidence to do a mccormack - and it was McC who was caught out in the 'penalty' decision.

There must be more to him for him to have such a prominent role in the Arsenal reserves, but can we risk waiting for him to settle.  I hope Devera will be fit for Sat - although I guess Accrington is the kind of team who in other circumstances might provide the opportunity to give Boateng more experience.

I agree with this. We need a fit Devera not a half crocked one, at least until Flint is available again. I'd have no problem with Risser on the bench covering a number of roles. Let's just be thankful that we're not missing McCormack for the next three games.

Its probably been said, but he reminded me of Jerel Ifil last night.

But as Paolo said, he has been brought in as cover and thats exactly what hes done so far. I would imagine Devera will be back on Saturday.

Exactly my thoughts, no distribution but quick as fuck. He has better positioning sense in fairness to him though.

He's a young lad coming to terms with the pace and physicality of league football, will no doubt improve with time.

Ive said it before about prem / champ kids who come to us.  All good physical specimens, all good speed, maybe some raw skill on the ball, no bloody football brain.  Maybe they'll get it and at a team with little to play for in the lower divisions, fine, but not in a team going for the league in a tight match. 

Danny Ward says hi!

Point taken though.

I think as has been mentioed he is a young in-experienced lad that is here as cover he is good enough as cover and I'm sure in time he will improve but we was poor Tues getting caught out at times and I'm sure on another day he would be fine and not stand out

Strangely enough I thought one of his biggest problems was that he got himself into bad positions.

He has the physical attributes, but not the experience of playing tough games.
I'm sure he looks really good playing reserve football for Arsenal, as I'm sure they get a lot more time on the ball in those games.

He needs experience, but I'm not sure he is going to get it with us.

Not sure about that, even though its early days. Take Steven Cauker, (CB, Yeo/Slavers/Swans) was at Yeovil at, what, 18 years old, had both the pace and physical attributes needed. More importantly he has a football brain - not sure DB has, or will have, that. Granted I've only seen him the twice.

We had a great example of a young player going places on Tuesday. Grandison, Shrews no. 2, also a CB, won just about everything thrown at him, and he's only 21. OK Daniel is 2 years younger. He needs to play a season prob. lower down than us but would Arsenal want that?

Is Flint still out for the season anyone? Any positive news on that front? Some good posts reference Boetang, hoping Devera is available for Saturday and would like Ferry to start aswell.

To me he looked like he would be more at ease as a full back than a centre back

They said he will be back by the end of March/early April.

When I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago he was hoping to be available for the JPT final...

Cheers, Devera will have to do a job on Constable, he seems to have picked up a bit for them.

I wouldn't jeer and boo any of our players and I know he's only made 2 appearances, so won't say he's shit. What I would say however is that his performance on Tuesday night was ropey as fuck.

Someone earlier in this thread said his positional play was good? Do me a favour, he was all over the place, sometimes appearing to mark the same player as Mcormack! Heading was woeful, lost out on most of them and when he did win one the direction the ball went was random to say the least.

Maybe I'm being over critical, but for me he doesn't look ready to be playing in our first team and I'd rather have Risser as a replacement CB. 

I have beensaying he had slightly better positional sense than Jerel Ifil (mean't when not next to an experienced head like Adi Williams)....that's definitely not a compliment.

Haha, a headless chicken had better positional sense than Jerel!

How old is Flint? 21? He's been superb this season and will get better and better. No pace, granted... but we've an embarrassment of riches with Devera able to slot in.

To think, last time we were in the 2nd tier, at times we were scraping around with Willis and Davies at the back and no cover, and Young and Quinn up top.

Don't think he played much, he was our very own sick note. Actually pulled a hamstring heading a ball back to the keeper once.

yes - but we finished bottom as befits a team that would have struggled in the 3rd tier.

Daniel Boateng has been recalled by Arsenal. He might be in Gunners squad tonight, was always going to happen if he didnt get games....

Can't say I'm that gutted.

He wasn't recalled, he was sent back.

Not a great loss. Have there been any updates on Flint? Last I heard was injury was not as serious as first thought?

Official club twitter says he was recalled.

If that bit is true, they really are in the shit

Confirmed by Jeremy Wray that he has gone back hoping to be on the bench tonight.


EDIT.

He didn't get on the bench in the end.

Heard a rumour at the ground tonight that he was arrested on Saturday evening - have no idea of the source or if it is even true.  Hope for his sake that it is just a malicious rumour.

He took a ballboy out, sent a rude tweet and created a full scale riot down.at supermarine.

I was told last night he is back in training and looking to be available for Crewe away (17th March), just in time for the JPT final. Hope he's not rushing back just to appear in that as if he's not ready he could do some damage and be out longer.