He came across as such a nice bloke during his interview with Phil. It's nice when good things happen for good people.
With regards to this season, I think he's got a massive role to play, and you might be right were it not for the emergence of Anis Mehmeti as a talent to be valued in the millions rather than the hundreds of thousands.
I've been watching his goal from Saturday again and the space he finds for himself shows a player who was completely aware of his surroundings, 360 degrees, and who runs away from goal to find the space he needs to fire his shot in before anyone had a clue what he was doing.
A jokey nickname Mehmessi may be, but that is precisely the way the Argentinian wizard operates. Anis is quickly becoming a player with very few weaknesses and almost unlimited potential.
My advice? Savour every last moment you get to see him in a Wycombe shirt.
I said the same thing a couple of weeks ago. He is so composed in possession and looks stronger and sharper than he did before his injury. I reckon it won’t be long before he’s holding down a regular starting place.
I agree with both of you as far as the brilliance of those two players. I have long been an admirer of Nick Freeman, and to see him come back and make the impact he has, even from the subs' bench, is quite moving. He was also a fantastic co-commentator last season, to boot. We have only seen cameos so far, and once he gets more minutes, we may well see an even truer picture of his talents.
As for Mehmeti, when he is on his game, he is basically unplayable at this level. I even wonder if he will eventually put Albania on the major tournament radar eventually like Bale has helped to do for Wales. And yes, that is a huge leap to make, but a fun one to contemplate!
Exciting players both...once Vokes is back to frighten the defence and they keep it up, quite a few clubs might find us difficult to cope with. Plan B.
I’d love to see Nick have a season to remember, as it would mean we’d play some scintillating football.
Perhaps the period in which he made his biggest contribution to the team was the curtailed 19/20 promotion season when he played in 34 of the 37 matches.
As I recall it, without checking so could be wrong, he started quite a lot of matches in the first half of the season when we secured most of the points that ultimately got us promoted but tended to be more of a sub in the second half (when we started to fall apart) and play-offs (when we were invincible).
Yes agree. There were memorable cameos at Derby and Bournemouth and he even did ok when asked to be an emergency holding midfielder in the home match with QPR.
I love Anis too, but I think I enjoy watching Nick play more. There's grace and poetry in everything he does, he's unpredictable but rarely out of control, the ball stays stuck to his feet like a bug in FIFA, and he can pick a pass like no-one else. Almost the first thing he did when he came on against Exeter was beat three defenders and put in an inch perfect cross. Vokes is gonna love him.
Anis is excellent as well. I only hope we can hang onto him for the rest of the season at least. He scores goals that no one else in the team can score. He has matured greatly and now knows that he needs to track back and do his job for the team. He is also getting much better at releasing the ball at the right moment.
A fantastic young player who could go a very long way in the game if he keeps grounded.
Nick Freeman coming back and being this good does mean that we wouldn't necessarily have to go out and spend any millions we get for Mehmeti straight away.
I think he'd slot into that role Anis has been playing very well indeed.
Looking forward to seeing Nick continuing to be brilliant well under the radar. Just for us to enjoy.
As for Anis. It's not his name on the thread so no comment or derailing from me. Just to say I think Nick Freeman would quite like leaving the limelight to someone else
First visit today and what a pleasant surprise to see a thread dedicated to a long-standing hero. Interesting comparisons too with a slightly more recent hero.
I think we were still in the Championship when I coined the word Mehmessi in recognition of Anis’s burgeoning talents but it was more recently, in the context of discussion about the game of Mornington Crescent in Radio 4’s I’m Sorry I haven’t a Clue, that I started the intermittent, totally random repetition of “Nick Freeman” , echoing the random (?) game settling cry of “Mornington Crescent”.
I’m hoping Nick becomes a regular starter this season (possibly on the right, which of course is where he excelled at the start of last season) so that the random quoting of his name will become superfluous.
Freeman is an odd one for those of us who don't see many games. This is his sixth season here (albeit last year was disrupted with injury), he is almost 27 and in all those seasons he has started 52 league games (don't know how many he has played the full 90 minutes) and come on as sub in another 52. Those statistics suggest a fringe squad player yet he seems to be just about the favourite player of many who post here.
For whatever reason, I guess the management haven't been seeing what we're seeing. However to add to that, for the vast majority of the time he's been here we were playing a style of football that Nick just didn't suit - there's not much he brings to a game when the tactic is just whoever gets the ball has to whack it to Bayo with as few touches as possible. The style we play now though, absolutely perfect for him which is why I think this is going to be his season.
To say that his season was disrupted @DevC is misleading. It came to a grinding halt on 21 August 2021 when a grinding challenge by a Lincoln player ‘did’ his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). To their eternal credit and with clear evidence that Nick had tremendous potential, the club immediately offered him a new contract (which he obviously accepted).
As I’m sure you’ve noticed (perhaps not), the style of football which Wycombe now play has evolved over the last couple of seasons and Nick’s silky, composed skills now fit it like a glove. In his mid-twenties, he is approaching his peak years and is seen as a player who will make a huge contribution this season and, hopefully, a few more to come.
Keep watching and I think you will soon see what the rest of us are seeing.
I love the way you say it’s Nick’s sixth season HERE @DevC. At the club, yes. But a total of ten matches at the start of each of the last two seasons means that he has only had four full seasons here and, don’t forget, he was a youngster plucked out of non-league when Wycombe signed him.
For me I’ve always enjoyed Nick’s cameo performances (since watching him as a trialist away at Slough years back) because he offered something different to our (historic) ‘hoof ball’ approach. When he comes in those gliding penetrating runs are really exciting. Yes it’s annoying when fans around you always shout the same thing but every time he gets the ball I find myself shouting “go on Nick” like I’m his dad or something!
Whether Nick is or will be a consistent stand out performer at this level is obviously up for debate, but i think its his graceful floating and probing that wins him so many admirers. The late Kevin Durham was very similar, he set off on a run, and you always thought he had a cunning flick, pull back or slide pass already in his mind. Intelligent players with pace and drive, always get you off your seat.
Historically Nick hasn’t scored enough goals to be first choice in a wide forward role. Nor has he been able to do enough of the dirty work to get in the starting 11 in a midfield 3.
His strengths are travelling with the ball, showing some poise when everyone else is engaged in pinball, and standing up a decent cross to the back post. I’d imagine Vokes would enjoy being on the end of some of his deliveries since they’re normally pretty reliably delivered into the same back post area.
Comments
He came across as such a nice bloke during his interview with Phil. It's nice when good things happen for good people.
With regards to this season, I think he's got a massive role to play, and you might be right were it not for the emergence of Anis Mehmeti as a talent to be valued in the millions rather than the hundreds of thousands.
I've been watching his goal from Saturday again and the space he finds for himself shows a player who was completely aware of his surroundings, 360 degrees, and who runs away from goal to find the space he needs to fire his shot in before anyone had a clue what he was doing.
A jokey nickname Mehmessi may be, but that is precisely the way the Argentinian wizard operates. Anis is quickly becoming a player with very few weaknesses and almost unlimited potential.
My advice? Savour every last moment you get to see him in a Wycombe shirt.
I said the same thing a couple of weeks ago. He is so composed in possession and looks stronger and sharper than he did before his injury. I reckon it won’t be long before he’s holding down a regular starting place.
I agree with both of you as far as the brilliance of those two players. I have long been an admirer of Nick Freeman, and to see him come back and make the impact he has, even from the subs' bench, is quite moving. He was also a fantastic co-commentator last season, to boot. We have only seen cameos so far, and once he gets more minutes, we may well see an even truer picture of his talents.
As for Mehmeti, when he is on his game, he is basically unplayable at this level. I even wonder if he will eventually put Albania on the major tournament radar eventually like Bale has helped to do for Wales. And yes, that is a huge leap to make, but a fun one to contemplate!
Exciting players both...once Vokes is back to frighten the defence and they keep it up, quite a few clubs might find us difficult to cope with. Plan B.
I’d love to see Nick have a season to remember, as it would mean we’d play some scintillating football.
Perhaps the period in which he made his biggest contribution to the team was the curtailed 19/20 promotion season when he played in 34 of the 37 matches.
As I recall it, without checking so could be wrong, he started quite a lot of matches in the first half of the season when we secured most of the points that ultimately got us promoted but tended to be more of a sub in the second half (when we started to fall apart) and play-offs (when we were invincible).
I thought Nick played well in the few chances he got in the Championship, too. I remember being miffed he got sent back to the bench.
Such an intelligent player. Balancing the graft and flair we have in that midfield is tough.
Yes agree. There were memorable cameos at Derby and Bournemouth and he even did ok when asked to be an emergency holding midfielder in the home match with QPR.
Totally agree. He is so good on the ball and just needs a good run in the side to build his confidence. I truly hope he has a great season.
I love Anis too, but I think I enjoy watching Nick play more. There's grace and poetry in everything he does, he's unpredictable but rarely out of control, the ball stays stuck to his feet like a bug in FIFA, and he can pick a pass like no-one else. Almost the first thing he did when he came on against Exeter was beat three defenders and put in an inch perfect cross. Vokes is gonna love him.
Freeman is also up to 3rd in total MOTM votes (league only), despite not starting a single match. Not easy to garner that many with cameos!
Anis is excellent as well. I only hope we can hang onto him for the rest of the season at least. He scores goals that no one else in the team can score. He has matured greatly and now knows that he needs to track back and do his job for the team. He is also getting much better at releasing the ball at the right moment.
A fantastic young player who could go a very long way in the game if he keeps grounded.
Nick Freeman coming back and being this good does mean that we wouldn't necessarily have to go out and spend any millions we get for Mehmeti straight away.
I think he'd slot into that role Anis has been playing very well indeed.
Best squad we've ever had.
I just hope when he inevitably leaves, we put a very large sell on percentage rather than concentrating solely on an initial transfer fee.
Looking forward to seeing Nick continuing to be brilliant well under the radar. Just for us to enjoy.
As for Anis. It's not his name on the thread so no comment or derailing from me. Just to say I think Nick Freeman would quite like leaving the limelight to someone else
First visit today and what a pleasant surprise to see a thread dedicated to a long-standing hero. Interesting comparisons too with a slightly more recent hero.
I think we were still in the Championship when I coined the word Mehmessi in recognition of Anis’s burgeoning talents but it was more recently, in the context of discussion about the game of Mornington Crescent in Radio 4’s I’m Sorry I haven’t a Clue, that I started the intermittent, totally random repetition of “Nick Freeman” , echoing the random (?) game settling cry of “Mornington Crescent”.
I’m hoping Nick becomes a regular starter this season (possibly on the right, which of course is where he excelled at the start of last season) so that the random quoting of his name will become superfluous.
Freemania is really taking off
I'll fight tooth and nail to ensure your random quotes don't become superfluous @micra
Nick Freeman.
If Vokes is to continue to be absent and we don’t get in / trust someone else then Nick on the right and GMac in the centre is more effective IMHO
Freeman is an odd one for those of us who don't see many games. This is his sixth season here (albeit last year was disrupted with injury), he is almost 27 and in all those seasons he has started 52 league games (don't know how many he has played the full 90 minutes) and come on as sub in another 52. Those statistics suggest a fringe squad player yet he seems to be just about the favourite player of many who post here.
Any views on why the apparent contradiction?
Very basically I think you are assuming everyone showing love for Nick also thinks he is our best player. I think that assumption is wrong.
For whatever reason, I guess the management haven't been seeing what we're seeing. However to add to that, for the vast majority of the time he's been here we were playing a style of football that Nick just didn't suit - there's not much he brings to a game when the tactic is just whoever gets the ball has to whack it to Bayo with as few touches as possible. The style we play now though, absolutely perfect for him which is why I think this is going to be his season.
To say that his season was disrupted @DevC is misleading. It came to a grinding halt on 21 August 2021 when a grinding challenge by a Lincoln player ‘did’ his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). To their eternal credit and with clear evidence that Nick had tremendous potential, the club immediately offered him a new contract (which he obviously accepted).
As I’m sure you’ve noticed (perhaps not), the style of football which Wycombe now play has evolved over the last couple of seasons and Nick’s silky, composed skills now fit it like a glove. In his mid-twenties, he is approaching his peak years and is seen as a player who will make a huge contribution this season and, hopefully, a few more to come.
Keep watching and I think you will soon see what the rest of us are seeing.
This describes Nick’s style and impact perfectly.
Keep watching.
I love the way you say it’s Nick’s sixth season HERE @DevC. At the club, yes. But a total of ten matches at the start of each of the last two seasons means that he has only had four full seasons here and, don’t forget, he was a youngster plucked out of non-league when Wycombe signed him.
For me I’ve always enjoyed Nick’s cameo performances (since watching him as a trialist away at Slough years back) because he offered something different to our (historic) ‘hoof ball’ approach. When he comes in those gliding penetrating runs are really exciting. Yes it’s annoying when fans around you always shout the same thing but every time he gets the ball I find myself shouting “go on Nick” like I’m his dad or something!
Whether Nick is or will be a consistent stand out performer at this level is obviously up for debate, but i think its his graceful floating and probing that wins him so many admirers. The late Kevin Durham was very similar, he set off on a run, and you always thought he had a cunning flick, pull back or slide pass already in his mind. Intelligent players with pace and drive, always get you off your seat.
Historically Nick hasn’t scored enough goals to be first choice in a wide forward role. Nor has he been able to do enough of the dirty work to get in the starting 11 in a midfield 3.
His strengths are travelling with the ball, showing some poise when everyone else is engaged in pinball, and standing up a decent cross to the back post. I’d imagine Vokes would enjoy being on the end of some of his deliveries since they’re normally pretty reliably delivered into the same back post area.
He changes direction as quickly as a 2D animated character from an 80s computer game. It's glorious.