What I find frustrating about losing him was he had done nothing wrong in all games he had featured, Anis was halfway out the door, Brandon and Vokes were not prolific and we kept the enigma that is TJ. Why the conversation didn’t go ‘Anis is going, you will get your chance, and then see what happens in the summer’. We’ve given TJ 3 years but AAH2.0 was given 6 months. We also had an idea that Gareth was on his way out too so why not see if the new manager fancied him.
This is easy to say now though. At the time, very few posters saw much in him. I even remember Chas Harps saying something along the lines of him being the only pro player he'd ever seen not even look where a ball was headed before running there.
He was here over a year, and at the time I'm sure the consensus was that De Barr was comfortably ahead of him as the development striker option.
Fair play to the tiny handful of people who rated him - they called this one well.
Full credit for him for taking the punt, putting the work in and making it happen, too many grazers at all levels of the game, plenty of others would have waited for their contracts to end and blamed everyone else. Thought he looked good in pre-season but against very lowly opposition. The management of the time must have seen something in him to request a large sell on fee but Wimbledon deserve a lot of credit for giving him a chance to shine, and boy has he taken it. Another loan somewhere may have been good in hindsight but they made the offer and not too many moaned at the time.
TJ is injured, but that in itself should be a worry for him. He’s barely stayed fit in the last 18 months and League 1 & 2 squad registration rules do not lend well to injury prone players - it’s why Gape and Thompson have had to drop so far down the football ladder.
(Only 22 outfield 21+ aged players allowed if I remember correctly).
It would also help if TJ was given an opportunity to play up front closer to L. Taylor or Vokes. TJ is absolutely not a 10.
I think the other thing to bare in mind with Ali is that he has gone from the top end of L1 to a mid-table L2 side (granted, they have climbed the table and are now chasing a play-off place, in a congested league table)…he is certainly showing his worth in that league but is yet to have a real crack at a higher division.
We have seen first hand strikers who have had a chance further up the pyramid and have struggled - Beavon and Trotta are good examples.
@bluntphil likes to remind everyone of his goal in front of the (empty) terrace - maybe we've got the striker we are crying out for already in the building! Granted, his goal wasn’t in a L1 match!!
AAH v1 looked five times the player AAH 2.0 did and he’s faded away to obscurity (or less prosaically, Chippenham Town.)
Ideally AAH 2.0 would be scoring bucketfuls for us this season. But given that he isn’t, if it’s true that we have a significant sell-on, then the whole situation could still be very positive for Wycombe. Instead of criticism for releasing a fringe player, the management seem to be due some credit for signing him in the first place, and allowing him to depart to somewhere where he can develop and we (reputedly) stand to benefit from that development.
“Blooms (Matt Bloomfield) was a big part in me coming here as well. We did a podcast together about a year ago and stayed in touch, and when he found out I was leaving Swansea he got in contact and helped me sign here.”
Comments
What I find frustrating about losing him was he had done nothing wrong in all games he had featured, Anis was halfway out the door, Brandon and Vokes were not prolific and we kept the enigma that is TJ. Why the conversation didn’t go ‘Anis is going, you will get your chance, and then see what happens in the summer’. We’ve given TJ 3 years but AAH2.0 was given 6 months. We also had an idea that Gareth was on his way out too so why not see if the new manager fancied him.
This is easy to say now though. At the time, very few posters saw much in him. I even remember Chas Harps saying something along the lines of him being the only pro player he'd ever seen not even look where a ball was headed before running there.
He was here over a year, and at the time I'm sure the consensus was that De Barr was comfortably ahead of him as the development striker option.
Fair play to the tiny handful of people who rated him - they called this one well.
Full credit for him for taking the punt, putting the work in and making it happen, too many grazers at all levels of the game, plenty of others would have waited for their contracts to end and blamed everyone else. Thought he looked good in pre-season but against very lowly opposition. The management of the time must have seen something in him to request a large sell on fee but Wimbledon deserve a lot of credit for giving him a chance to shine, and boy has he taken it. Another loan somewhere may have been good in hindsight but they made the offer and not too many moaned at the time.
Totally agree @StrongestTeam Good for him. If I was TJ I would be more worried...can't get into a failing team.
TJ is injured, but that in itself should be a worry for him. He’s barely stayed fit in the last 18 months and League 1 & 2 squad registration rules do not lend well to injury prone players - it’s why Gape and Thompson have had to drop so far down the football ladder.
(Only 22 outfield 21+ aged players allowed if I remember correctly).
It would also help if TJ was given an opportunity to play up front closer to L. Taylor or Vokes. TJ is absolutely not a 10.
I think the other thing to bare in mind with Ali is that he has gone from the top end of L1 to a mid-table L2 side (granted, they have climbed the table and are now chasing a play-off place, in a congested league table)…he is certainly showing his worth in that league but is yet to have a real crack at a higher division.
We have seen first hand strikers who have had a chance further up the pyramid and have struggled - Beavon and Trotta are good examples.
Basically you're reminding everyone that he has no more goals at league 1 level and above than anyone on the gasroom.😀
@bluntphil likes to remind everyone of his goal in front of the (empty) terrace - maybe we've got the striker we are crying out for already in the building! Granted, his goal wasn’t in a L1 match!!
AAH v1 looked five times the player AAH 2.0 did and he’s faded away to obscurity (or less prosaically, Chippenham Town.)
Ideally AAH 2.0 would be scoring bucketfuls for us this season. But given that he isn’t, if it’s true that we have a significant sell-on, then the whole situation could still be very positive for Wycombe. Instead of criticism for releasing a fringe player, the management seem to be due some credit for signing him in the first place, and allowing him to depart to somewhere where he can develop and we (reputedly) stand to benefit from that development.
“Blooms (Matt Bloomfield) was a big part in me coming here as well. We did a podcast together about a year ago and stayed in touch, and when he found out I was leaving Swansea he got in contact and helped me sign here.”
https://www.wwfc.com/news/2021/december/ali-anis-and-chris-are-trailblazers-for-young-players-here/
You do wonder what might have been if only Gareth had chosen Ali over Tjay before jumping ship.
Could well have been worse for all parties.
Another goal from Al-Hamadi.
Chem Campbell scores for Charlton.
Paul Smyth scores for QPR against Cardiff.
GA on as a pundit in the Sheff Wed vs Hull game
It would be interesting if GA became a pundit full time. He would be great, one would think.
Not sure he’d make enough money if he only managed to get EFL punditry gigs, but yes I agree he’d be an excellent pundit.
Maybe if he combined it with incomes for his music and haka school?
He could host a talk show called The Gazroom
Kortney Hause has returned to training after being injured for 18 months with a knee issue.
Likely to leave Villa, at least on loan, in the January window.
Still only 28, lets hope he can get back to playing at a good level soon.
He could always come back to our hause.
If the Bromley rumour proves correct we could wind up with two Hauses.
Hause was quality but it felt like he barely played for us he was snapped up so soon.
However, wiki tells me he did play 31 times.
By Ibe's standards (11 games!) That's experienced!
Would be great to see Brickout back.
Kortney $#*t HAUSEry he’s one of our own
Josh Blunkell has signed for Felixstowe & Walton United.
Well earned yellow card for LON in the Sunderland match...he wasn't even looking at the ball.
Kaikai with an FA Cup goal for Cambridge, away at Blackburn.
Ikpeazu scores for Port Vale.
Aaron Amadi-Holloway scored for Chippenham Town in their 3-2 home defeat to Hemel Hempstead.