Bikey is not the messiah he's a twunt.

[londinium]

Not only that, how many central defenders would you see jink past an oppo defender and put in an excellent cross as he did towards the end of the game?

Our best defender but I STILL think he could do a fine job in midfield...

At the death he was good coming forward which may well be where he is better suited... to many heart in the mouth moments at centre back for my liking.

[Dirk Gently]

Not only that, how many central defenders would you see jink past an oppo defender and put in an excellent cross as he did towards the end of the game?

Our best defender but I STILL think he could do a fine job in midfield...

At the death he was good coming forward which may well be where he is better suited... to many heart in the mouth moments at centre back for my liking.

He played the last 20 minutes yesterday at centre-forward!

[londinium]

Not only that, how many central defenders would you see jink past an oppo defender and put in an excellent cross as he did towards the end of the game?

Our best defender but I STILL think he could do a fine job in midfield...

At the death he was good coming forward which may well be where he is better suited... to many heart in the mouth moments at centre back for my liking.

He played the last 20 minutes yesterday at centre-forward!

Exactly... Royal Rother makes it read as if he came from centre back, steamed down the wing and stuck in a pearler of a cross.

He was actually playing upfront, took a touch and put in a decent cross, something I have seen Ivar, Pearce, Doobs, etc do when coming up for a S Hunt overhit corner

[RoyalBlue]

For the pass he hit 20 yards into the crowd when he could have easily rolled it to a nearby colleague.

For his general not arsedness and terrible positional play.

Readers of this board will know I am a positive poster but I hate the praise Bikey gets when imho he has been slack for months. And he is HUGELY overweight - what the fcuk has he been eating?

Discuss...

It bobbled like a bitch when he hit that pass into the crowd.

I thought he was one of our better players today TBF.

That's the way I saw it too. When the ball didn't bobble, he hit an absolute arrow like long diagonal pass from right of centre out to Hunt on the left wing, it flew low, fast and straight to feet. He also caused worried Birmingham every time he set off on one of his trademark runs upfield, literally shrugging off anyone who tried to challenge him for possession.

[Dirk Gently]

....... He also caused worried Birmingham every time he set off on one of his trademark runs upfield.

But that could also be written as "He also left us exposed at the back every time he set off on one of his trademark runs upfield, "

I just get the feeling that he doesn't want to be playing centre-back - he wants to be playing everywhere, and that he's playing for himself, not for the team. If you're going to be centre-back you need to be really, really disciplined and really, really concentrate - more so than any other position, arguably.

And he just isn't disciplined enough - instead of doing the easy thing he always does things the difficult way, with a much higher failure rate than he could have. Yes, the good things are very good, but there are too few of them compared with the bad things, and I'd always rather have a centre-back play it safe than try to be snazzy all the time.

[Royal Rother]

Snowball type stats would be interesting on this, but I suspect our defensive record with Bikey in the team (the one with the 2nd best defensive record in the League may I add) is (at least) equally as good as without him so he can't have been too many "bad things" surely?

I can live with the fact that he has done a few flashy things which on occasions make you flinch a bit because at least he has never failed to provide a moment or 2 of entertainment during displays which have largely, since Christmas, been wholly dull and uninspiring.

You might like safety-first but I say thank God for entertainers like Bikey and Matejovsky - without them what an incredibly tedious time we'd have had in recent months.

[Archie's penalty]

Snowball type stats would be interesting on this, but I suspect our defensive record with Bikey in the team (the one with the 2nd best defensive record in the League may I add) is (at least) equally as good as without him so he can't have been too many "bad things" surely?

I can live with the fact that he has done a few flashy things which on occasions make you flinch a bit because at least he has never failed to provide a moment or 2 of entertainment during displays which have largely, since Christmas, been wholly dull and uninspiring.

You might like safety-first but I say thank God for entertainers like Bikey and Matejovsky - without them what an incredibly tedious time we'd have had in recent months.

I understand where you're coming from but as Dirk says he's not in the position where he should be trying the things he does.

[Woodcote Royal]

Is this really a matter of such great concern for all the Bikey haters?

If, by some miracle, he's still here next season, another 12 months of Steve Coppell will, in all probability, ensure that we will only be able to afford class defensive combo's such the aging Duberry and Ingimarrson. Watching those two huff and puff against the nifty young bucks of the Championship will be an entertainment in itself.

Bikey in midfield? Now there's a thought

I believe the last time Coppell tried this he subbed Bikey at half time and we all know what that meant

Some of us have wanted to see this talented player in midfield since the day he arrived (or even getting a game at the back after Steve's favorites conceded 8 at Portsmouth ) but Steve Coppell and The Car Park Crew didn't agree....................ho hum.

[Archie's penalty]

Is this really a matter of such great concern for all the Bikey haters?

If, by some miracle, he's still here next season, another 12 months of Steve Coppell will, in all probality, ensure that we will only be able to afford class defensive combo's such the aging Duberry and Ingimarrson. Watching those two huff and puff against the nifty young bucks of the Championship will be an entertainment in itself.

Bikey in midfield? Now there's a thought

I believe the last time Coppell tried this he subbed Bikey at half time and we all know what that meant

Some of us have wanted to see this talented player in midfield since the day he arrived (or even getting a game at the back after Steve's favorites conceded 8 at Portsmouth ) but Steve Coppell and The Car Park Crew didn't agree....................ho hum.

I am not a Bikey hater by all means. I just have reservations about the guy. And he was TERRIBLE in midfield away at Blackburn.

[Woodcote Royal]

So Bikey was TERRIBLE in midfield away at Blackburn

Silly me, what a contrast that must have been to our otherwise class midfield performances of the last 2 years.........................

[RoyalBlue]

....... He also caused worried Birmingham every time he set off on one of his trademark runs upfield.

But that could also be written as "He also left us exposed at the back every time he set off on one of his trademark runs upfield, "
.

Maybe his highly paid professional colleagues should be more than capable of spotting the fact that Bikey has won possession and is in a good position to push forward and have the intelligence to drop in behind to cover.

What's more, he only started to push forward when we were chasing the game (probably urged on by the bench), and created more of a threat than the aimless hoof forward from some of his 'hot potato' team-mates.

[Royal Rother]

Couldn't agree more.

[brendywendy]

but Steve Coppell and The Car Park Crew didn't agree

i didnt realise we were demonstrating for bikey to play every game

[facaldaqui]

My belief is that the four main centre backs (and I include Ingi, who like Bikey before him, has been inflated in stature by his absence) are pretty much interchangeable. They are good but not perfect. None, on his own, makes much difference to the results.

I think they are interchangeable, the same way the midfielders are interchangeable. These days, it even seems the forwards and the left backs are interchangeable. This is what I think the trouble has been. Coppell doesn't know who's best for most positions, probably because no one particularly is. Nor do we on Hobnob. The only answer is to start buying some better players than the ones we've got instead of buying ones who are about the same.

[Ian Royal]

Bikey is not a midfielder by any stretch of the imagination. He's obviously got a lot of skill for a centreback, but it's very unconventional and he rarely looks especially comfortable with the ball.

He's too big and lumbering to be a midfielder and whilst his passing and control can be sublime it is often atrocious. The only reason he's good enough to play for us, is because he is so damned good at recovering from his mistakes. He certainly makes far too many of them.

I think like a lot of our players he has massive potential, and some really really strong areas of his game but one or two areas are just no where near good enough. If Bikey had better concentration and mentality he'd be with a top prem club. If Marek was more athletic and could tackle, he'd be with a top prem club. If Kebe could produce a more consistent final ball, (rather than shanking it half the time) or running straight into someone, or didn't just bottle things quite so much, he'd be in the Prem. If SHunt had just a little more skill, and was more consistent he'd be at a top Prem Club. If Doyle had just a half yard more pace or a tiny bit more skill, he'd be at a top Prem club (although he may well be there next season anyway). If Harper could tackle he'd be at a top prem club.

It goes on and on.

[Royal Rother]

With a little more of this and that I could be at a top Prem Club as well.

We are where we are.

[Ian Royal]

With a little more of this and that I could be at a top Prem Club as well.

We are where we are.

The point I was failing to make, is we'd be better off a with a few more players who are like Armstrong. No real stand out qualities, but good all round. Rather than those who could really be special, if only they weren't so bollox at one or two specific but important areas of their game.

[Royal Rother]

With a little more of this and that I could be at a top Prem Club as well.

We are where we are.

The point I was failing to make, is we'd be better off a with a few more players who are like Armstrong. No real stand out qualities, but good all round. Rather than those who could really be special, if only they weren't so bollox at one or two specific but important areas of their game.

Not sure whether my views are changing as I get older but I like to see players like Bikey and Matejovsky who resist the temptation to play the percentage ball all the time, players with a bit of style and artistry about them who cause me to smile and applaud at the entertainment they provide.

That's what football's all about.

[Ian Royal]

Hmmm.

Winning is about having players without weaknesses as much as players who have excellent skills and who entertain some of the time. Sadly I'm just not convinced we'll ever see Bikey or Matejovsky perform regularly, because of their quite considerable flaws.

We've all seen what can be done with average players on top of their game, and what can be done with excellent players with flaws who gel. My worry is do you stick with the flawed players in the hope they all click and blow the division apart, or go with the less quality but more reliable version who may edge promotion.

[Snowball]

or you work on the flaws and eliminate them

Look, for example how Ronaldo turned from a show-pony into a great great player