Everton v Boreham Wood (FA Cup)

Rotterdam 1985 wrote:

hairy cataract wrote:

Rotterdam 1985 wrote:

hairy cataract wrote:

Rotterdam 1985 wrote:

hairy cataract wrote:

Rotterdam 1985 wrote:A comment on Mykolenko. And despite the circumstances and all the emotion before the game, this is primarily a football comment.

I know it was Boreham Wood, not City, and he wasn't put under any significant pressure defensively. But on the ball, it was the first time since we signed him that I thought to myself "actually he looks alright." He wasn't tripping over it, didn't look as uncomfortable in possession as he has done previously. His passing looked better.

I think it's easier for some players than others to settle down and play at their best straight away. Could be down to an overnight change of scenery/culture, could be down to language difficulties, what position they play, etc. So van de Beek, who is clearly a very good player anyway, had an advantage over Mykolenko in all three of those areas (I'm presuming that, being Dutch, he speaks better English than me, and he was already in the north-west of England when we signed him.)

The third point I mentioned, the position the player occupies, is also key, I think. Goalkeepers can fuck themselves up quickly if they make some errors in their first few games for a new club. Anyone remember Massimo Taibi? United signed him about 20 years back, he made a couple of howlers, only lasted four games, Ferguson got rid straight away. He went back to Italy and played (1st choice) in Serie A for the rest of his career. An extreme example, perhaps, but the perception of shiteness lingers long for keepers - de Gea, for example, made a bad start at United, couldn't deal with corners. Ferguson was more patient with him, and he improved.

Strikers too, to an extent. However well they play, they'll always judged by the number of goals they score (with the odd exception, for good reasons, such as Sheringham.) Another United example springs to mind - Diego Forlan, from around the same time. Really good player, he lasted two seasons at United. I remember his general play was sound, but he just didn't score enough goals, and in Ferguson's 4-4-2, the strikers had to score. So off Forlan went to Spain, where he banged in loads of goals for several seasons. He scored against us, of course, in the Collina game.

Anyway, I would suggest that defenders are a little bit more exposed to what I'd call "bad first impressions" than midfielders are. If midfielders run around a lot, give 100% and put a couple of tackles in, they can quickly win a crowd over. I think Blues generally have fond memories of Kilbane, for example, a limited footballer who played his heart out every game. Whereas a full-back is that bit more exposed, because of the 1-on-1 nature of what they sometimes have to do. Get skinned a couple of times by a tricky winger in your first couple of games and the consequences can be more serious than a CM losing a couple of 50/50 tackles or playing a few overhit passes.

To be clear, I did think Mykolenko was worryingly bad in his first few games, both defensively and in possession. I'm just saying, it's probably something we're all guilty of sometimes, judging players too soon and not taking into account their need to just settle in, and remembering that different players require different settling-in periods due to different circumstances, advantages and disadvantages. I thought Carsley was shit when we first signed him. I thought DCL was a Championship player at best when he first broke into the team. What made it worse for Mykolenko is that he was brought in to replace one of our better players, who most of us didn't want to see leave. Clearly Mykolenko is no Digne, he's no Baines, and he may well end up being a dud for us.  But we shouldn't write him off too soon. He's 22 and an established international, and it's not his fault that he's being asked to take over from a really good player during a relegation battle.

Final point - the Ukraine tragedy didn't just happen overnight. Putin had been sable-rattling for a good year before the invasion. We signed Mykolenko in January, round about the time when Russia was starting to pull its embassy staff out of Kyiv and already had 100,000 troops on the border. For all I know this may have had little effect on Mykolenko. But it's been a long time since we in the UK had to face the prospect of invasion; even those low-level Cold War nuclear fears of my childhood are basically a lifetime ago. Who are we to know where his head has been at, since we signed him?

Fuck me Rotts, eight paragraphs to say that Mykolenko is bang average?  It's like the old days on here

Inspired by the return of Tonts and Gazbow.  Let's roll this back to 2005...

That's not what I'm saying though. A lot of comments on here have been that Mykolenko isn't/won't be good enough. I'm saying we don't know what he'll turn out as, it's too soon.

Having said all that, I also claimed that Salah and van Dijk were wastes of money when the Shite signed them. So I wouldn't pay any attention to anything I ever say - as you know, it's just rambling bollocks. I'm just looking for something to do on a day off work while I wait for the rain to stop before I can take the dog out. He doesn't like rain, the big wuss.

Shane Warne has died. Bloody hell.

Oh that's alright then - eight paragraphs to say that we don't know whether or not Mykolenko is bang average.  

52.  That's all Shane Warne was.  When I was 52 I was still trying to work out what to do with my life.  Still am actually.  Mind you, I hadn't shagged Liz Hurley when I was 52, I had to wait a few years for that.

Yes, that's more accurate, thank you for correcting the record. This is why I should ghost-write your book hairy. I could get it spread over three volumes, you'll rake it in.

Thinking about it, I think my wordiness would have lent itself to music writing quite well, if I could have been arsed (and lived in London. And been Oxbridge-educated.) Two whole pages dedicated to why Change Giver by Shed Seven is "alright, I suppose." I'm reading England's Dreaming at the moment, Jon Savage's punk epic. It's really good, but also really long. Only Jon Savage, and me, could possibly think that the central supporting pillar in Viv and Malc's shop would be worthy of comment.

I'm 52 now. Still trying to work out what to do with my life but such news makes me want to fuck off to Greece tomorrow.

I started reading Paul Morley's biography of Tony Wilson the other week. Hundreds and hundreds of pages, mostly dedicated to Paul Morley talking about why Paul Morley was the right choice to author Paul Morley's biography of Tony Wilson and how Paul Morley kept having to restart it because... I haven't got to the reasons because I'm only up to page 367.  You could deffo have written that one Rotts.

I've always quite liked listening to Paul Morley when he's talking, but I can't read him. His Bowie book in particular was a grind, I'm not sure I even finished it.

Anyway we've deviated from Everton v Boreham Wood somewhat.