Sotona

[ncRover]

Deji has been an unused sub in 2 out of the last 3 Boston games.

For the other he got 4 minutes off the bench.

Perhaps he was a “Reo style gamble” after all.

[selby]

  We should be looking at the striker they have called Knowles, he is scoring for fun

[Draytonian III]

In Boston’s last 3 matches there has been 4 hat tricks,Knowles has got 2 of them and Mooney has got the other 2, well to totally correct Mooney has scored has had a hat trick a 4 goal return

[RoversInSpain]

I'd rather we go for players in the Adelakun ilk in the summer, who we know can perform at this level or even above. Don't mind the odd Sotona type gamble but if we want to challenge for promotion, then sign proven quality.

Exactly, we’ve delved into the Gateshead’s, Boreham Woods and Halifax’s we now need to add some strength and quality that have competed higher up the ladder to complement and bring out the best of these players. Adelukan,Craig and TLT types have shown how well this can work

[dickos1]

The one from Gateshead has been our best player. So surely that proves it’s irrelevent where we sign them from

[RoversInSpain]

The one from Gateshead has been our best player. So surely that proves it’s irrelevent where we sign them from

You’ve completely missed my point.
We’ve brought in good players from lower down the league and to bring out the best in them and to help them thrive they need to have some quality shoulder to shoulder. Baileys been great this season but 10 games ago we were on our way down. Since some quality has come in Sterry has looked better, Molyneux (Hartlepool) has looked miles better etc etc

[Buzzberry]

Can't get a game at Boston. Fans don't want him there say he's lazy and doesn't track back. Happy that since he's been dropped their form has been good and looking at a dead cert for play offs now can't see him back in a rovers shirt.

[roversdude]

Martin Woods is playing there and is on our coaching staff, hopefully reporting back on these players

[drfcsteve]

A player that looked good in one pre season friendly and some our fans were crying out to sign him immediately.

[NickDRFC]

A player that looked good in one pre season friendly and some our fans were crying out to sign him immediately.

Reading back on this thread is definitely interesting!

https://www.drfc-vsc.co.uk/index.php?topic=288371.180

[drfcsteve]

A player that looked good in one pre season friendly and some our fans were crying out to sign him immediately.

Reading back on this thread is definitely interesting!

https://www.drfc-vsc.co.uk/index.php?topic=288371.180

That’s hilarious, Gazlaz proved right again. You’d think we’d have signed Ronaldo the way some reacted.

[pib]

Probably best not to get too excited about one or two pre-season appearances. We've fallen for that a few times.

Still, in the few outings I saw of Sotona early in the season he definitely had something. It's finding a role for him in a team and getting the best out of him that's clearly the sticking point.

[selby]

  Another one who has moments in games attracts the eye, and can be exciting fleetingly, the rest of the time a liability to the lads defending behind him and being carried.

[IDM]

  Another one who has moments in games attracts the eye, and can be exciting fleetingly, the rest of the time a liability to the lads defending behind him and being carried.

Lots of teams have “luxury” players who could be potential match winners with a touch or two of genius, but are crap the rest of the time..

Players like Cotterill for us, Maddison at Posh etc..

[ncRover]

  Another one who has moments in games attracts the eye, and can be exciting fleetingly, the rest of the time a liability to the lads defending behind him and being carried.

Lots of teams have “luxury” players who could be potential match winners with a touch or two of genius, but are crap the rest of the time..

Players like Cotterill for us, Maddison at Posh etc..

I think they’re becoming a dying breed though in the modern game though.

I can’t think of a single “luxury player” in the premier league for example.

[ravenrover]

Fernandes, Maddison,

[Bailey Vickerage]

Could tell in the first game I saw him at York in pre season.

Frightening on the ball and would hate to defend against him but off the ball he’s a liability and would be better off with one of us on the pitch.

In that game against York there were so many times where the CB had the ball and u had Sotona in no man’s land with the LB wide open for a pass.

[Scooter]

If I was Gaz Laz I would be sat with my feet up with a nice pint of cold lager. I would smugly be telling everyone ‘I told you so’

[GazLaz]

Just reading back over that. Not smug at all, it was an absolute tap in of an opinion. I see that prick Colin C was the first to jump on me with his little fluffer Pancho not far behind thinking we could have unearthed “a gem”.

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

Why in football are players not allowed time to learn and develop?  Sotona is raw, very raw and these loans are there to teach him the things he needs to learn in football.

I find it mad that we don't allow that.  How many players have been largely poor here and kicked on elsewhere?  Alfie May for example?

[ncRover]

We talk about players as if they have no agency over themselves sometimes. Ultimately there is responsibility on them themselves to become better. If they don’t have the right attitude that is less likely to happen. This is why coaches want young players who want to learn.

Alfie May he dropped down a division after leaving us and didn’t set that division alight straight away either. Perhaps things just lined up right in life for him to kick on afterwards. There are many such examples across all football clubs.

If we had kept every young player we released over the years just in case they became world-beaters we’d be in a right mess.

[Bentley Bullet]

Why in football are players not allowed time to learn and develop?  Sotona is raw, very raw and these loans are there to teach him the things he needs to learn in football.

I find it mad that we don't allow that.  How many players have been largely poor here and kicked on elsewhere?  Alfie May for example?

True, although Alfie May isn't a good example. The only thing largely poor about his time with us was the failure to recognise his potential.

[Bentley Bullet]

We talk about players as if they have no agency over themselves sometimes. Ultimately there is responsibility on them themselves to become better. If they don’t have the right attitude that is less likely to happen. This is why coaches want young players who want to learn.

Alfie May he dropped down a division after leaving us and didn’t set that division alight straight away either. Perhaps things just lined up right in life for him to kick on afterwards. There are many such examples across all football clubs.

If we had kept every young player we released over the years just in case they became world-beaters we’d be in a right mess.

Alfie scored 67 goals in all competitions and played a huge part in Cheltenham's League Two title victory, followed by a record-breaking season in League One.

May's Cheltenham career began in January 2020 and he hit the ground running scoring on his debut in a 3-0 victory over Oldham Athletic, just a day after signing.

He continued that early form, scoring another five goals in 11 games before the season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[ncRover]

We talk about players as if they have no agency over themselves sometimes. Ultimately there is responsibility on them themselves to become better. If they don’t have the right attitude that is less likely to happen. This is why coaches want young players who want to learn.

Alfie May he dropped down a division after leaving us and didn’t set that division alight straight away either. Perhaps things just lined up right in life for him to kick on afterwards. There are many such examples across all football clubs.

If we had kept every young player we released over the years just in case they became world-beaters we’d be in a right mess.

Alfie scored 67 goals in all competitions and played a huge part in Cheltenham's League Two title victory, followed by a record-breaking season in League One.

May's Cheltenham career began in January 2020 and he hit the ground running scoring on his debut in a 3-0 victory over Oldham Athletic, just a day after signing.

He continued that early form, scoring another five goals in 11 games before the season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

9 goals in 44 games in league 2 after we let him go.

Had he stayed with us it’s impossible to say that he would still have become the player he is now.

Footballers aren’t robots and life is complicated. We aren’t the only club and he isn’t the only player this has occurred with in football history. Move on.

[Bentley Bullet]

I have moved on, I'm just correcting your claim that he didn’t set that division alight straight away. He did, and continued flourishing following Cheltenham's promotion to League One, and his subsequent move to Charlton, where he is still hitting the ground running.