edit: BIKEYS RETURN unlikely TO BE A CATALYST

[Fezza]

Thought he looked solid last night, certainly he seems very fit, pretty much the only player still looking 100% after extra time (unlike Jaidi).

Would prefer him at the back to Sonks any day of the week.

[CMRoyal]

From what I've seen of the ACON, Bikey's had pretty much as good a tournament as we could hope for - the usual frailties are still apparent (hates being drawn out wide, occasionally takes risks in front of goal, distribution somewhat awry at times), but his confidence seems to have increased with each game (as have his pace and fitness), with him getting gradually more solid and error-free(ish - this is Bikey we're talking about!). I might be straw-clutching here, but his positional sense seems to have improved as well (Rigobert Song must be a big help there) and I've not seen him make any wild forays forward, exciting though they might sometimes be. So - ACON a good thing for Sonko's continued recovery from injury, and a chance to get his head together, and great for experience and confidence-building for Bikey. We just need a couple more cameos from Fae to maybe get his stock up a bit as well.

(This post courtesy of RTGs R Us - West African branch!)

[John Peel]

Thought Bikey looked solid last night, including an amazing 60 yard pass that set the front man down the wing. Tunisia weren't great though and the real test will be against Ghana. Not sure how much we can draw from his performance but to be honest we're pretty desperate at the moment!

Did Fae play in the demolition of Guinea? I know he hasn't played all their games so far.

Fae down the ring wing and Bikey as the tackling midfield we're lacking at the moment is what I say. But then what do I know.

[CMRoyal]

Did Fae play in the demolition of Guinea?

Last 15 mins. I never managed to catch any of it, myself - did anybody else out there?

[The Surgeon of Crowthorne]

Bikey will always be remembered for this, if nothing else...

[Millsy]

Bikey will always be remembered for this, if nothing else...

[rotherwick_royal]

Bikey will always be remembered for this, if nothing else...

Has been on my desktop ever since

[RobRoyal]

Did Fae play in the demolition of Guinea?

Last 15 mins

Didn't see it but they did score 3 times in the last 15 minutes!

[strap]

This board does make me smile sometimes!

On the one hand we have people slating others for hailing Mateovsky as a potential saviour, on the basis that he has shown he can actually pass a ball and read a game - but only for 1 game and 2 cameos.

Yet others are saying Bikey is our saviour because .... well because he's been at the ACoN! The fact that he's not actually influenced a game for us in his 11 league starts and 15 sub apps does seem to have been ignored.

Freedom of thought and speech ..... oh how I will miss this after the next NuLabour election victory! (Luckily, THAT may not be for a considerable time).

Let's be honest, Bikey is little more than a bit part player. He is one paced, (slow), has the tackling ability of Cisse, (agricultural shall we say), and is effectively vying for 2 centre-back positions that could easily by filled by any of 6 others, (Sonko, Ingimarsson, Duberry, Cisse [his best posn in my opinion], Pearce, [maybe not as he's Academy so won;t get near a RFC 1st XI shirt], and Gunnarrson).

Is he good enough for central midfield? Not from what I've seen so far, where he's up against 5 others in Harper [a Sir Steve fav], Hunt [another Sir Steve fav], Fae [does he still play for us?], Matevosky and Gunnarrson.

Sorry guys, it just doesn't add up for me. Maybe he'll come back form the ACoN a changed man, who knows?

[brendywendy]

This board does make me smile sometimes!

On the one hand we have people slating others for hailing Mateovsky as a potential saviour, on the basis that he has shown he can actually pass a ball and read a game - but only for 1 game and 2 cameos.

Yet others are saying Bikey is our saviour because .... well because he's been at the ACoN! The fact that he's not actually influenced a game for us in his 11 league starts and 15 sub apps does seem to have been ignored.

Freedom of thought and speech ..... oh how I will miss this after the next NuLabour election victory! (Luckily, THAT may not be for a considerable time).

Let's be honest, Bikey is little more than a bit part player. He is one paced, (slow), has the tackling ability of Cisse, (agricultural shall we say), and is effectively vying for 2 centre-back positions that could easily by filled by any of 6 others, (Sonko, Ingimarsson, Duberry, Cisse [his best posn in my opinion], Pearce, [maybe not as he's Academy so won;t get near a RFC 1st XI shirt], and Gunnarrson).

Is he good enough for central midfield? Not from what I've seen so far, where he's up against 5 others in Harper [a Sir Steve fav], Hunt [another Sir Steve fav], Fae [does he still play for us?], Matevosky and Gunnarrson.

Sorry guys, it just doesn't add up for me. Maybe he'll come back form the ACoN a changed man, who knows?

i think that is disengenuous
people have been very happy with the promise that matejovsky has shown, yes, and have said that if it continues he will prove to be a very astute signing. he has looked a class apart when he has been on, IMESHO

as for bikey i thought he has looked more than a bit part player almost every time he has ever come on.as a sub, and in his few full games,
has made some fantastic tackles, kept big name players totally in his pocket at times, looks strong, and pretty quick to me-(dunno why you thought he was slow), very fit, and has a great attitude-many people have been saying for a while why he hasnt come into the team more often, especially with ivar and sonks a little wayward this term, (id trawl through and find the multitude of quotes but i cant be arsed)
the only reason the ACON is mentioned is becuase its on at the mo and people are interested in how he is doing out there
his decision making was questioned last season-but now all our defenders have made alot of rash challenges i dont see why he isnt given a go in there

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

Bikey like Cisse is not a good enough footballer to play centre mid in the Prem, they are both centre halves, we can't keep playing people out of position.

I like Cisse and espicialy Bikey at centre half, but I do get the feeling Coppell will go for Sonks and Ivar. Which imo is our best/most balanced pairing we have. If Sonks don't do it though Bikey should be put straight in the side. Coppell clearly hopes Sonk's will be the one who saves us. He is Superman and we should all believe.

Still long term we badly need a ball playing centre half to balance out Cisse, Bikey and Sonko. I doubt we'll actually buy one though. Why take a step forward when you can take two steps back?

[Uke]

From reuters:

"Under German coach Otto Pfister, the new-look Indomitable Lions have removed any hint of finesse from their game and instead serve up a mix of hoofed clearances upfield and crunching tackles, often played on the limits of the law.

The defence's response to the slightest sign of danger is to kick the ball as far and high as possible and several clearances in Monday's game threatened to go out of the stadium.

The midfield is usually by-passed altogether in favour of long balls forward looking to exploit the talents of forward Samuel Eto'o."

Bikey's been developing some useful habits under Pfister then I see.

Should fit in nicely.

Please Cameroon stay in it as long as possible to keep this mentality away from our back four!

Now would those clearances perhaps stop goals being scored

In which case...

(just for now)

[Riseley]

Hitting long balls up to the big front men is sure to get us out of trouble. Less McGhee and more Brantfoot as it were.

[strap]

This board does make me smile sometimes!

On the one hand we have people slating others for hailing Mateovsky as a potential saviour, on the basis that he has shown he can actually pass a ball and read a game - but only for 1 game and 2 cameos.

Yet others are saying Bikey is our saviour because .... well because he's been at the ACoN! The fact that he's not actually influenced a game for us in his 11 league starts and 15 sub apps does seem to have been ignored.

Freedom of thought and speech ..... oh how I will miss this after the next NuLabour election victory! (Luckily, THAT may not be for a considerable time).

Let's be honest, Bikey is little more than a bit part player. He is one paced, (slow), has the tackling ability of Cisse, (agricultural shall we say), and is effectively vying for 2 centre-back positions that could easily by filled by any of 6 others, (Sonko, Ingimarsson, Duberry, Cisse [his best posn in my opinion], Pearce, [maybe not as he's Academy so won;t get near a RFC 1st XI shirt], and Gunnarrson).

Is he good enough for central midfield? Not from what I've seen so far, where he's up against 5 others in Harper [a Sir Steve fav], Hunt [another Sir Steve fav], Fae [does he still play for us?], Matevosky and Gunnarrson.

Sorry guys, it just doesn't add up for me. Maybe he'll come back form the ACoN a changed man, who knows?

i think that is disengenuous
people have been very happy with the promise that matejovsky has shown, yes, and have said that if it continues he will prove to be a very astute signing. he has looked a class apart when he has been on, IMESHO

as for bikey i thought he has looked more than a bit part player almost every time he has ever come on.as a sub, and in his few full games,
has made some fantastic tackles, kept big name players totally in his pocket at times, looks strong, and pretty quick to me-(dunno why you thought he was slow), very fit, and has a great attitude-many people have been saying for a while why he hasnt come into the team more often, especially with ivar and sonks a little wayward this term, (id trawl through and find the multitude of quotes but i cant be arsed)
the only reason the ACON is mentioned is becuase its on at the mo and people are interested in how he is doing out there
his decision making was questioned last season-but now all our defenders have made alot of rash challenges i dont see why he isnt given a go in there

If you can't be arsed to trawl through other threads then you will not have picked up on those of the opinion that Mateovsky is not "our saviour", nor those that suggest Bikey is only a bit-part player

Seems a tad churlish to dispute opinions without bothering to check what the opinion is based on. You might be better advised to read what is posted, rather than what you think is posted.

So do i take it then that your opinion is that Bikey will save us from relegation then? On what basis do you hold that opinion?

[brendywendy]

[quote="brendywendy
i think that is disengenuous
people have been very happy with the promise that matejovsky has shown, yes, and have said that if it continues he will prove to be a very astute signing. he has looked a class apart when he has been on, IMESHO

as for bikey i thought he has looked more than a bit part player almost every time he has ever come on.as a sub, and in his few full games,
has made some fantastic tackles, kept big name players totally in his pocket at times, looks strong, and pretty quick to me-(dunno why you thought he was slow), very fit, and has a great attitude-many people have been saying for a while why he hasnt come into the team more often, especially with ivar and sonks a little wayward this term, (id trawl through and find the multitude of quotes but i cant be arsed)
the only reason the ACON is mentioned is becuase its on at the mo and people are interested in how he is doing out there
his decision making was questioned last season-but now all our defenders have made alot of rash challenges i dont see why he isnt given a go in there

If you can't be arsed to trawl through other threads then you will not have picked up on those of the opinion that Mateovsky is not "our saviour", nor those that suggest Bikey is only a bit-part player

Seems a tad churlish to dispute opinions without bothering to check what the opinion is based on. You might be better advised to read what is posted, rather than what you think is posted.

So do i take it then that your opinion is that Bikey will save us from relegation then? On what basis do you hold that opinion?

[/quote]
No !
im only saying plenty of people on here have said why isnt bikey getting a start, he has looked good when hes played.
but that has no relevance to whether some other people said he was a bit part player only, or that marek wasnt the saviour-im quite clear that plenty of people have said both of these things.
im just stating the fact that plenty of people have he should play.
the cant be arsed bit just means i dont care if you believe me, becuase i remember them.you can trawl through to look if you like,but im certainly not going to.

and no, i will not, and have never said that bikey will keep us up
you did, pretending that i somehow had.
i just said i thought he was a really good player who i liked.im somewhat shocked that this is such a flame worthy opinion

[PEARCEY]

This board does make me smile sometimes!

On the one hand we have people slating others for hailing Mateovsky as a potential saviour, on the basis that he has shown he can actually pass a ball and read a game - but only for 1 game and 2 cameos.

Yet others are saying Bikey is our saviour because .... well because he's been at the ACoN! The fact that he's not actually influenced a game for us in his 11 league starts and 15 sub apps does seem to have been ignored.

Freedom of thought and speech ..... oh how I will miss this after the next NuLabour election victory! (Luckily, THAT may not be for a considerable time).

Let's be honest, Bikey is little more than a bit part player. He is one paced, (slow), has the tackling ability of Cisse, (agricultural shall we say), and is effectively vying for 2 centre-back positions that could easily by filled by any of 6 others, (Sonko, Ingimarsson, Duberry, Cisse [his best posn in my opinion], Pearce, [maybe not as he's Academy so won;t get near a RFC 1st XI shirt], and Gunnarrson).

Is he good enough for central midfield? Not from what I've seen so far, where he's up against 5 others in Harper [a Sir Steve fav], Hunt [another Sir Steve fav], Fae [does he still play for us?], Matevosky and Gunnarrson.

Sorry guys, it just doesn't add up for me. Maybe he'll come back form the ACoN a changed man, who knows?

i think that is disengenuous
people have been very happy with the promise that matejovsky has shown, yes, and have said that if it continues he will prove to be a very astute signing. he has looked a class apart when he has been on, IMESHO

as for bikey i thought he has looked more than a bit part player almost every time he has ever come on.as a sub, and in his few full games,
has made some fantastic tackles, kept big name players totally in his pocket at times, looks strong, and pretty quick to me-(dunno why you thought he was slow), very fit, and has a great attitude-many people have been saying for a while why he hasnt come into the team more often, especially with ivar and sonks a little wayward this term, (id trawl through and find the multitude of quotes but i cant be arsed)
the only reason the ACON is mentioned is becuase its on at the mo and people are interested in how he is doing out there
his decision making was questioned last season-but now all our defenders have made alot of rash challenges i dont see why he isnt given a go in there

If you can't be arsed to trawl through other threads then you will not have picked up on those of the opinion that Mateovsky is not "our saviour", nor those that suggest Bikey is only a bit-part player

Seems a tad churlish to dispute opinions without bothering to check what the opinion is based on. You might be better advised to read what is posted, rather than what you think is posted.

So do i take it then that your opinion is that Bikey will save us from relegation then? On what basis do you hold that opinion?

Give Brendy a break Strap. He is on here enough to have read what others have said and doesn't need to trawl through it all again.You are right in that Bikey has been a bit part player. A lot of us happen to think that is a shame. He has shown a lot of promise IMO but how is he to integrate in the team and really impress when he is never given a decent run in the side.I would like him to have that chance when he gets "Out of Africa"

[Millsy]

Give Brendy a break Strap. He is on here enough to have read what others have said and doesn't need to trawl through it all again.You are right in that Bikey has been a bit part player. A lot of us happen to think that is a shame. He has shown a lot of promise IMO but how is he to integrate in the team and really impress when he is never given a decent run in the side.I would like him to have that chance when he gets back from the Africa

I wouln't. Hoof after hoof would give the ball straight back to the opposition.

[andrew1957]

Bikey was very solid last night - I was impressed. I had my doubts at the beginning but he has improved hugely over the last 12 months and I would love to see a Cisse/ Bikey partnership at CB as both are much quicker than Sonko and Ingi. Cannot see this happening until next season though.

Also watched the game on Monday and Fae was very solid in central mid but did nothing spectacular and was not involved in any of the 3 goals scored - hard to judge really as the game was won by the time he came on. He certainly did nothing wrong.

[PEARCEY]

Bikey was very solid last night - I was impressed. I had my doubts at the beginning but he has improved hugely over the last 12 months and I would love to see a Cisse/ Bikey partnership at CB as both are much quicker than Sonko and Ingi. Cannot see this happening until next season though.

Also watched the game on Monday and Fae was very solid in central mid but did nothing spectacular and was not involved in any of the 3 goals scored - hard to judge really as the game was won by the time he came on. He certainly did nothing wrong.

Yep I would like to see Bikey/Cisse.........the trouble was I was saying Bikey/Sonko three months ago...and now I fear Sonks being back in again...perhaps harsh but he had a nightmare few weeks in before and over Christmas

[Rygorroyal]

Bikey will always be remembered for this, if nothing else...

Has been on my desktop ever since

And on mine, Great picture !! Great Wallpaper !!