Category Archives: Fan Views

A Bolton fan’s view of Adam Bogdan

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , , , ,
Photo courtesy of express.co.uk

Photo courtesy of express.co.uk

The 28 year old Hungarian goalkeeper, Adam Bogdan, made his debut for Wigan Athletic at Macclesfield last week, saving a penalty within minutes of coming on to the field. The 6 ft 5 in tall keeper has been signed on a season-long loan deal from Liverpool.

Bogdan was born in Budapest and started his career in his home city for Vasas, one of the country’s foremost clubs. However, it was during a loan period at Vesces, a lower division club from the suburbs that he was spotted by a Bolton scout. He was to sign for Wanderers as a 20 year old in August 2007.  Bogdan went on to spend 8 years at Bolton, making 120 appearances. He was to establish himself as a top class goalkeeper.

In July 2015 Bogdan joined Liverpool on the termination of his contract with Bolton. However, his start at Anfield was less than auspicious. On his Premier League debut for Liverpool in December 2015 he dropped a corner after three minutes, leading to a goal for the opposition, the Reds going on to lose 3-0 to Watford. Then in early January he conceded a goal direct from a corner in an FA Cup tie at Exeter. He had to wait until the final game of the season to reappear in the first team.

More than any other position, goalkeepers tend to be remembered for their mistakes. All keepers make them, but Bogdan made them at Liverpool at inopportune moments. However, the big Hungarian has proved himself to be a top class keeper and he could make an outstanding contribution to Wigan Athletic’s return to the Championship. He has 20 caps for Hungary and would surely have had more if it had not been for his lack of game time at Liverpool.

In order to learn more about Bogdan’s time at Bolton we reached out to Chris Mann of the Burnden Aces fan site http://www.burndenaces.co.uk (Twitter @BurndenAces ). Chris has provided us with some excellent fan views in the past and this one is a good read too.

Here’s over to Chris:

Wigan Athletic completed the season-long loan signing of Adam Bogdan this week. The move may be a little underwhelming, but could serve as the catalyst he needs to get his career back on track.

 After eight years with Bolton, Bogdan departed at the end of his contract last summer and made the mistake of signing for Liverpool.

 Some may question how you could turn down such a move, but he was always going to be second choice at Anfield. Ultimately, a couple of costly mistakes in rare appearances saw him slip down the pecking order.

 It wasn’t just his club career that suffered. Bogdan should have been taking goal for Hungary at this summer’s European Championships, but a lack of game time over the last 12 months saw him left out of the squad entirely. At the end of his career, he may look back and wonder whether his brief time at Liverpool was worth it.

Bogdan moved to Bolton in August 2007, as a fresh-faced 20-year-old. Initially signed to link up with the reserves, Bogdan was way behind Jussi Jaaskelainen, Ali Al Habsi and Ian Walker, but had all the raw ingredients to be a success.

 Years of cup appearances and the occasional league outing followed, before Bogdan got his big chance at the start of 2012 – in a relegation campaign that saw him go on to be voted Player of the Year at the Reebok Stadium.

 Bogdan established himself between the sticks on our return to the Championship, eventually going on to make a total of 120 appearances, having seemingly shaken off the indecisiveness and lack of self-belief that had threatened to halt his progress.

 He remained prone to the occasional error, but was largely consistent and an excellent shot-stopper. An outstanding individual display in an FA Cup tie at Liverpool put watching eyes on him and it wasn’t long until he was on the move to Merseyside.

 12 months on, Bogdan has a point to prove. Gone are ambitions of European football, replaced with cold midweek trips to Burton Albion and Barnsley.

 But if he gets his head in the right place and, crucially, manages to avoid injury, Wigan have signed a goalkeeper that, without any disrespect, should be turning out at bigger and better places on a weekly basis. This should prove to be a very smart deal for Latics.

A Dundee United fan’s view of Kyle Knoyle

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , , ,

Kyle_Knoyle

The 19 year old Kyle Knoyle has joined Wigan Athletic on loan from West Ham United for the whole of the coming season.Knoyle is a right back, a position which was problematic for Latics last season.

Last summer Caldwell signed Kevin McNaughton on a one year contract and Jonjoe Kenny on a two month loan. Unfortunately things did not work out with McNaughton making only three appearances before picking up an injury that effectively kept him out for the rest of the season. Moreover Kenny was recalled by Everton when his loan spell expired. Donervon Daniels was moved across from the centre of defence and showed promise in the right back position, if not being entirely convincing. Donald Love was brought in from Manchester United for a short term loan, with Reece Wabara being signed as a replacement in January. Wabara’s short term contract terminated in summer and it appears that Latics were not willing to meet his wage expectations for staying.

With Knoyle and Daniels available it could be that Gary Caldwell will not be seeking another right back. The signing of Knoyle could therefore prove crucial.

On signing the Newham-born youngster Caldwell said “Kyle is a young player with potential, one who has been identified as having the qualities we are looking for and was watched last season. We are optimistic he can develop here with us and make a positive contribution to the squad and we’re happy to have him on board.”

The 5 ft 9 in Kyle Knoyle is a product of the West Ham academy with three caps for the England under 18 team. He has made just one appearance for the Hammers’ senior team, playing the full 90 minutes against Astra Girgiu in Romania in the Europa League last August. He was an unused substitute on three occasions last season.

In January Knoyle went on loan to Dundee United, where he was to play alongside Billy Mckay. He made his debut for the Tangerines as an 82nd minute substitute in a 3-0 win at Ross County in late February. He repeated this with a 66th minute substitution against the same side a week later in the Scottish Cup, which United won 3-2. Knoyle had to wait until early April to make his first start in a 1-0 victory over St Johnstone. Despite poor team results in the rest of April and May he was a regular starter. Knoyle made a total of 9 starts for United.

In order to get more information on Knoyle’s time at Tannadice we reached out to the Dundee United fan forum on www.arableague.co.uk.

I hasten to add that United have been referred to as “the Arabs” since the 1962-63 season when the harsh winter led to the cancellation of many matches. However, on one occasion they were due to play at home to Albion Rovers and the club hired a tar burner to melt the snow and ice on the pitch, which they covered with tons and tons of sand. The team played so well on the sandy surface, virtually devoid of grass, that they became known as the Arabs.

The feedback we received through the forum:

Setenza commented that:

He only really started getting a game towards the end of his loan period for us. Once he did, most people wondered why he didn’t start before.

We were a pretty dreadful team last season, playing mostly long ball football, but he did show plenty of willingness to get forward from full back and attack, and in my view was one of our better performers. Worked hard and usually tried the right thing in possession. Defensively, maybe a few more slip ups, but was playing in an awful defence.

Certainly wouldn’t have been unhappy if we’d signed him for another loan spell. Seemed to have the right attitude to be a decent player in time.

Micky added that:

Can’t add anything more than what Set said, seems a good attacking option from full back..

Naebody responded:

For a couple of games, he looked the best player in the worst United team for 50 years. Everything Set says is fair. But it’s impossible to know whether the awful quality of players around him were making him look better or worse.

We also got feedback from the Dundee United Mad forum:

TerryTheTerror commented:

Signed on loan in January then never given a chance in the team. Once he did get that chance he was a fixture and ended up probably being our best and most consistent performer. Fast, athletic, hard in the tackle, and good with the ball. Everything a full back should be.

Weedude83 supported Terry’s comments:

Once our idiotic manager decided to play him, was regularly our best player.

Quick, strong and likes to get forward and help the attack.

Defensively, strong in the tackle, very tenacious and won his share of headers – sometimes caught out of position but that’s to be expected at his age/experience.

Genuinely wish we had him for next season.

Smirky4 was less positive:

I thought he was very average, I think people hyped him up on here and everyone looked at him with rose tinted glasses, often caught out of position, not a flying wing back bombing forward getting crosses in or indeed playing that killer pass…..

 

 

A Fulham fan’s view of Dan Burn – part 2 [new article]

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , ,

Dan_Burn

Last Sunday we published of a compilation of  views on Dan Burn obtained through a Fulham fan site.

Since then we received a detailed and informative article on the player on our Facebook site. The fan view is written by Peter Grinham.

Here’s over to Peter:

Your fanzine editor asked on a Fulham Supporters website about Dan Burn and a view on him. I am a Fulham supporter of many years going back to the days of our legend Johnny Haynes (Fulham and England captain) and been part of the roller coaster ride during those years, so no Johnny Come Lately! I watch every Fulham 1st team home game, a few aways and every home U21 and U18 game, so I have seen a lot of Dan Burn.

Dan is a product of the North East and came to us from Darlington. He is about 6’ 6” tall and has always played centre back for us. He is left footed and, unsurprisingly, prefers to play left centre back. He had 2 loan spells at Birmingham and Yeovil respectively. I don’t know about his Yeovil experience but the Birmingham management thought well of him and were interested in extending his loan at the time with a view to signing him.

Dan is full of enthusiasm and has admirable leadership qualities but only in respect of drive and determination. He is said to train hard. He takes the game seriously and nobody could ever accuse him of not giving 100% in every game. This alone made him popular with many Fulham supporters. He is physically strong which is what you expect in a centre back. However, some of his decision making is questionable and if players run at him his legs buckle with fast jinky players, as his reading of those situations is poor and he is often left floundering on his backside.

His aerial ability is somewhat mixed. From a defensive point of view he is strong in the air at defending crosses but often he does not get good purchase on the ball and in some situations the ball seems to loop of the top of his forehead when it needs to be powered away. This rather poor technique can be attributed to the fact that, like some tall players, he does not jump highly and has probably never had to at junior levels because of his height. This puts him at a disadvantage if a forward builds up a head of steam on the run and can either rise above him or equal his height. He should have scored more goals from set pieces but the same heading restrictions impede that part of his game too.

I always thought that Dan would benefit from better coaching because unless he is a slow learner – and I have no reason to believe that – he could improve a lot on his technique and decision making. However, Fulham have not been blessed with decent coaching since the destructive Magath arrived and decimated our club, Kit Symons followed but was not allowed experienced coaching staff, having to make do with U21 coaches (NB: A big step up without a mix of 1st team experienced coaches). We now have some decent 1st team coaches but they obviously don’t fancy Dan.

Whilst I have never met Dan, everyone Fulham fan that has likes him immensely. One thing that I do know is that when he signed the Wigan contract he will be genuinely devoted to the cause and not be false in the usual footballers speak of ‘great to be here’. If he sad that he would mean it and give all for the cause. I genuinely wish him all the best in his career and I hope that he is a late developer who will prove some people wrong.

Hope this insight helps. Good luck with the new season.

A Colchester fan’s view of Alex Gilbey

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , ,

Gilbeybbc

Wigan Athletic have announced the signing of 21 year old midfielder Alex Gilbey from Colchester United. Although the player was at the end of his contract the U’s will be due to receive compensation due to the player’s age. Gilbey has signed a three year contract for Latics.

On signing Gilbey, Gary Caldwell commented on the club’s official site that:  “Alex was one of the outstanding young talents in League One last season, and we believe the next stage of his career can be fulfilled here. He’s exactly the sort of player and person who suits this club and we’re delighted to add him to the group for pre-season. He scored an excellent goal against us at Colchester last season and he was a standout player on the day, making him an excellent addition.”

The 6 ft tall Gilbey is a product of the Colchester academy where he became youth team captain. He made his first team debut as a 17 year old in October 2012 in a Football League Trophy game against Northampton. In March 2013 he went on a short term loan to Newport County, which ended in them getting promoted back into the Football League. Gilbey was named Man of the Match in the second leg of the playoff semi-final against Grimsby. He went on to play the full ninety minutes in Conference playoff final at Wembley when Newport went on to beat Wrexham 2-0.

Following that successful loan spell as a young player at Newport, Gilbey went on to establish himself in the senior team at Colchester. Although only 21 years old he made 101 appearances for Colchester, scoring 8 goals. He was the U’s Player of the Season for 2015-16, making 42 appearances and scoring five goals, two of which were against Latics.

In order to learn more about Gilbey we contacted U’s fan Martyn Bell through Twitter (@MartynBell10).

Here’s over to Martyn:

Alex Gilbey is a talented player and deservedly has earned a move to championship Wigan. Alex is a box to box player with tremendous energy levels and an eye for goal.

Just look at the quality of goals he has scored most from outside the box, he is a level headed player and gives 100 percent which fans love.

A player with premiership potential and he is from Colchester United’s academy, good luck from all Col U fans.

A Fulham fan’s view of Dan Burn

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , , , , ,

Dan_Burn

Wigan Athletic have announced the signing of 24 year old Dan Burn. The 6 ft 7 in central defender was out of contract with Fulham.

Gary Caldwell is clearly pleased to have signed Burn and the club’s web site reports him saying that “He fits our profile exactly, young, hungry and with experience at this level and the desire to progress with us. He is a powerful defender, but he likes to play as well and adds tremendous competition to the squad.”

Dan Burn was born in Blyth but came up through the youth ranks at Darlington, making his first team debut at the age of 17.  He went on to make 14 appearances for the north east club before moving to Fulham in the summer of 2011 for a fee of around £350,000.

In September 2012 Burn went on an initial short term loan to Yeovil, but the loan period was to be extended to the end of the season. He made 41 appearances for the League 1 side, scoring three goals. Burn was to be sent off on another loan in July 2013, this time to Championship club, Birmingham City. He made 28 appearances for the Blues, scoring one goal, before being recalled to Fulham in January 2014. He made his debut for the Londoners on January 4th 2014 in an FA Cup tie at Norwich.

Burn went on to make a total of 69 appearances for Fulham scoring two goals.

In order to learn more about Burn we reached out to Fulham fans on The Independent Fulham Forum.

Alanos commented that Burn was:

Hugely promising early in his career, especially on loan to Yeovil and for a little while Birmingham. Very disappointing in the last few years playing for us, though the same inexplicable loss of form seemed to come over many of our defenders. Who knows, could be a great acquisition (or not).

Biff added that:

Progress seems to have stalled the last few seasons but several players seemed to have been affected as our form and progress fell away.

BS recognises Burn’s top performance against Manchester United:

Probably had his best game against Man Utd when we got a draw at Old Trafford, season we were relegated. Headed so many clearances Sky asked if he had a headache in the post-match interview. Think he might have got MoM for that.

Mike H adds that:

He held Man Utd at bay for 90 mins a few years ago. If the opposition keep floating cross into the box, he’ll clear them. Not so reliable against nippy forwards though.

JamesS notes:

Some harsh comments. Still think he could have a very good Championship future. Wholehearted and good man to have in your squad.

NoHost comments that:

For his size, he doesn’t command the in and around the box as much as you’d think, although he has had his good days. He is prone to making simple mistakes which develop into bigger ones when he tries to rectify. Seems to trip over his own legs sometimes. He talks a lot on the pitch, but I’m not sure what he says is actually helpful. He is determined and genuine and perhaps can be coached into a more solid performer.

Barry@ENF recognises Burn’s determination:

….perhaps with the addendum that you will rarely, if at all, accuse him of lacking heart!

Harry adds:

Excellent attitude and good guy. Positives: Better coaching at a stable club could improve him. Negatives: prone to the odd howler and a liability with quick forwards running at him. Wish him well, though.

Lowe’s Pate sums up by adding:

Huge aerially & plays with his heart on his sleeve. Sometimes loses out positionally but personally would have been delighted if we’d have retained him.