Richard Kone

[honeybradger]

11 minutes ago, ithuriel said:

Did Evans sign a new contract? 

Don't think so. Him not being in the squad for the last friendly certainly won't have helped.

 

Us not securing Evans and putting our trust in him will be one of the biggest mistakes in recent memory, which is significant given the number of horrible mistakes we have made in the last half a decade. He will go to the top, whether it is with us or without us.

 

Regarding Kone he was outscored by Charlier Kelman last season in league one who has been sold by QPR for this upcoming season. Shows the performance level Kone is at currently considering his counterpart isn't good enough currently for QPR. Not very high!

Edited 5 August 2025 by honeybradger

[ThorpeAstleyFox]

4 minutes ago, honeybradger said:

Don't think so. Him not being in the squad for the last friendly certainly won't have helped.

 

Us not securing Evans and putting our trust in him will be one of the biggest mistakes in recent memory, which is significant given the number of horrible mistakes we have made in the last half a decade. He will go to the top, whether it is with us or without us.

 

Regarding Kone he was outscored by Charlier Kelman last season in league one who has been sent back out on loan again by QPR for this upcoming season. Shows the performance level Kone is at currently considering his counterpart isn't good enough currently for QPR. Not very high!

Kone was the League One (joint) top goal scorer last season. He wasn't outscored by anyone.

[moore_94]

8 minutes ago, honeybradger said:

Don't think so. Him not being in the squad for the last friendly certainly won't have helped.

 

Us not securing Evans and putting our trust in him will be one of the biggest mistakes in recent memory, which is significant given the number of horrible mistakes we have made in the last half a decade. He will go to the top, whether it is with us or without us.

 

Regarding Kone he was outscored by Charlier Kelman last season in league one who has been sent back out on loan again by QPR for this upcoming season. Shows the performance level Kone is at currently considering his counterpart isn't good enough currently for QPR. Not very high!

Kelman has been sold to Charlton for £3.5m rising to £5m - price for Kone is meant to be around £5m

 

Kone scored every 153 mins

Kelman scored every 162 mins

 

Kelman is also nearly 2 years older than Kone

Edited 5 August 2025 by moore_94

[Finnegan]

11 minutes ago, lanefox said:

Leave my son's team out of it 🤣

 

As a Rothley Imps allumni, you can bollocks

[Verumex]

21 minutes ago, honeybradger said:

Im just not that convinced that Kone is as good as is being made out on here.

 

I think rotating in Jake Evans with Ayew and Daka with the aim of making him our long term first choice striker is a bold decision but also the right decision. He certainly has a far higher ceiling than Kone.

In fairness, is anyone here actually hyping him up? The general consensus is that we need to get someone in who fits the profile we need, and Kone is one of the few that fits that profile whilst also being a young and promising player.

We will not be playing a system that requires a lot of pressure on the striker to provide all of the goals, and that means that we can just make some cheap tidy business to fill the gap and hope that he's a gudden.

Kone just fits the bill and would be a relatively cheap pick up. I'm not seeing excitement for Kone in particular, just for any movement in that market at all.

[honeybradger]

5 minutes ago, ThorpeAstleyFox said:

Kone was the League One (joint) top goal scorer last season. He wasn't outscored by anyone.

Not true, he was outscored by Kelman and Stansfield last season.

 

[Ric Flair]

20 minutes ago, ithuriel said:

Did Evans sign a new contract? 

Louis Page hasn't yet signed his either but is being considered a 1st team player. 

 

We need to be very careful with our treatment of Evans, massive talent.

[Ric Flair]

14 minutes ago, honeybradger said:

Don't think so. Him not being in the squad for the last friendly certainly won't have helped.

 

Us not securing Evans and putting our trust in him will be one of the biggest mistakes in recent memory, which is significant given the number of horrible mistakes we have made in the last half a decade. He will go to the top, whether it is with us or without us.

 

Regarding Kone he was outscored by Charlier Kelman last season in league one who has been sold by QPR for this upcoming season. Shows the performance level Kone is at currently considering his counterpart isn't good enough currently for QPR. Not very high!

To be fair, Kelman outscored Stansfield too who would be first choice here comfortably so sometimes it is a little more nuanced than that. Kone has been a professional football as well for less than two years.

[UniFox21]

12 minutes ago, honeybradger said:

Not true, he was outscored by Kelman and Stansfield last season.

 

Important to note Birmingham paid £15m + for Stansfield, 1 goal more in 4 games less in a side that walked the division.

Edited 5 August 2025 by UniFox21

[HankMarvin]

Richard Kone was a revelation in 2024/25, scoring 0.51 goals per 90 minutes across 3,161 minutes in 43 matches. The 21-year-old emerged as a crucial attacking outlet for Wycombe Wanderers, combining raw pace, clever movement, and clinical finishing.

His development over the season was impressive, contributing not only with goals but also by stretching defences and creating space for others. Kone’s work rate was immense, and his ability to adapt to League One football was a testament to his character and potential. With scouts from higher divisions reportedly monitoring his progress, Wycombe fans will hope to retain his services for at least another season.

[dmayne7]

13 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Louis Page hasn't yet signed his either but is being considered a 1st team player. 

 

We need to be very careful with our treatment of Evans, massive talent.

We do but we also have to be fair about his performances in pre season and the very brief cameos he's had. Been very little to get excited about based on those. I think that's why you've seen the likes of Page and Aluko jump ahead. But of course, the lad is only 17 so to get those chances says a lot. Really hard to pin just how good he's going to be 

[honeybradger]

11 minutes ago, moore_94 said:

Kelman has been sold to Charlton for £3.5m rising to £5m - price for Kone is meant to be around £5m

 

Kone scored every 153 mins

Kelman scored every 162 mins

 

Kelman is also nearly 2 years older than Kone

So why is a player who is generally equivalent to Kelman (who bottom of the table QPR sold to bottom of the table charlton) considered good enough for promotion hopefuls Leicester?

 

For me Kone fails the eye test, he looks like he is going to be affected more than most good league one players when moving to a higher level due to having less space available to him and less mistakes to capitalise off of.

 

I will reiterate again, Evans is a major talent that we are very lucky to have on our hands. Why risk losing him for a striker who on the face of it is clumsy, slow and non-clinical? Is it just because we need to feel safe that we have a new 'established' striker even if he's not very good? Why not roll the dice and give Evans a chance to piece it all together rather than knock him down the ladder for a known player who doesnt seem to be very good?

[honeybradger]

8 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

Important to note Birmingham paid £15m + for Stansfield, 1 goal more in 4 games less in a side that walked the division.

Stansfield was a massive overpay by Birmingham. It's well known among league one fans and even most Birmingham fans would agree.

[Muzzy_no7]

22 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

To be fair, Kelman outscored Stansfield too who would be first choice here comfortably so sometimes it is a little more nuanced than that. Kone has been a professional football as well for less than two years.

What’s the latest with Page and Evans?

 

Set to sign or likely to leave?

[Finnegan]

36 minutes ago, honeybradger said:

Not true, he was outscored by Kelman and Stansfield last season.

 

 

He actually "only" managed 0.56 goals per 90 minutes.

 

Of players to play ~20 or more lots of 90 last year in League One, that would put him 5th behind Louie Barry, Matthew Godden, Jay Stansfield and Alfie May who were more around the 0.7 to 0.6 mark.

 

Barry would have been a ****ing good loan, by the way. Gone to Sheff Utd for the year.

 

Edited 5 August 2025 by Finnegan

[Grebfromgrebland]

44 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Louis Page hasn't yet signed his either but is being considered a 1st team player. 

 

We need to be very careful with our treatment of Evans, massive talent.

Being careful is one thing but what do you expect us to do? Too young to be loaned out not quite ready for the first team physically 

[Ric Flair]

1 minute ago, Grebfromgrebland said:

Being careful is one thing but what do you expect us to do? Too young to be loaned out not quite ready for the first team physically 

He'd be in the match day squads like Ruud had him in and use him when the opportunity presents itself.

[Pliskin]

52 minutes ago, moore_94 said:

Kelman has been sold to Charlton for £3.5m rising to £5m - price for Kone is meant to be around £5m

 

Kone scored every 153 mins

Kelman scored every 162 mins

 

Kelman is also nearly 2 years older than Kone

Kelman has also had an academy background. Kone has gone from the homeless World Cup, to non-league, to league football, and matched Kelman. So which set of stats are more impressive? @honeybradger  
 

People probably said the same about Antonio, and they definitely did about Vardy. Kone hasn’t come from an established academy background, which makes his impact last season more impressive for me. If I was to take a risk on a league one player, it would be Kone. 

[HankMarvin]

28 minutes ago, honeybradger said:

So why is a player who is generally equivalent to Kelman (who bottom of the table QPR sold to bottom of the table charlton) considered good enough for promotion hopefuls Leicester

Because they rate Rayan Kolli highly and strengthened in other areas like signing Poku who Birmingham and Rangers were after 

[Verumex]

45 minutes ago, honeybradger said:

So why is a player who is generally equivalent to Kelman (who bottom of the table QPR sold to bottom of the table charlton) considered good enough for promotion hopefuls Leicester?

 

For me Kone fails the eye test, he looks like he is going to be affected more than most good league one players when moving to a higher level due to having less space available to him and less mistakes to capitalise off of.

 

I will reiterate again, Evans is a major talent that we are very lucky to have on our hands. Why risk losing him for a striker who on the face of it is clumsy, slow and non-clinical? Is it just because we need to feel safe that we have a new 'established' striker even if he's not very good? Why not roll the dice and give Evans a chance to piece it all together rather than knock him down the ladder for a known player who doesnt seem to be very good?

Yeah but for me Evans fails the eye test, so I get to ignore all context, stats and info I want, and disregard everything you say, to make any ridiculous point I want. 

 

(If there's two words I've come to despise in the realm of football fandom, it's the dreaded "eye test". Such a meaningless way to say that you have absolutely nothing to back you up other than vibes.)

[honeybradger]

19 minutes ago, Pliskin said:

Kelman has also had an academy background. Kone has gone from the homeless World Cup, to non-league, to league football, and matched Kelman. So which set of stats are more impressive? @honeybradger  
 

People probably said the same about Antonio, and they definitely did about Vardy. Kone hasn’t come from an established academy background, which makes his impact last season more impressive for me. If I was to take a risk on a league one player, it would be Kone. 

Vardy knocked a championship side out of the FA cup whilst playing for a non league side. Has Kone achieved something of that calibre in his career so far? Also considering we are signing Kone for right now could we afford him having a season like Vardy in 12/13? Will we have as much patience for a player getting to grips with a higher level as we did back then? As we all know Vardy was very close to not making it work here in those early years.

 

To me Kone looks very rough, he looks like he struggles to keep control of the ball and we already have a striker like that in Daka. Perhaps he does have raw talent which allows him to perform to a good level in League 1 with little experience but will that translate well to a higher level where the players have both raw talent and experience? He seems to thrive off of loose balls and mistakes/sloppy defending from the opposition, which he will benefit much less from at championship level.

 

He is also quite slow whereas both Vardy and Antonio were rapid which made them harder to deal with for defenders at any level. Kone's lack of pace is likely to hinder him from making the jump up.

[UniFox21]

Let's not compare the lad to Vardy. Majority of strikers in world football didn't compare well with him. 

[honeybradger]

25 minutes ago, Verumex said:

Yeah but for me Evans fails the eye test, so I get to ignore all context, stats and info I want, and disregard everything you say, to make any ridiculous point I want. 

 

(If there's two words I've come to despise in the realm of football fandom, it's the dreaded "eye test". Such a meaningless way to say that you have absolutely nothing to back you up other than vibes.)

It's not just 'vibes' though is it. It's looking at his goals and making my own opinion on whether he would translate well to championship level. Seeing how he scores, where he scores, should the defender have done better and would they do better at Championship level.

 

A lot of his goals are the result of sloppy defending from the opposition which should raise questions about how he would perform against better defenders. His touch is also loose, there are a few goals from last season

where if the defender was a bit faster they would have made the tackle before he was able to get the shot off.

 

His shooting also seems a bit sloppy, often times just hitting it at the goalkeeper and getting fortunate with a rebound. He is also slow which doesnt help with making the step up.

 

 

 

Maybe im completely wrong and he's sharp enough to catch Championship defenders off guard, it is clearly a strength of his. I do think you always have to worry with a striker who relies on defenders making mistakes making the step up.

 

In comparison I think Jake Evans has a very strong set off foundational skills which with experience will allow him to trouble defenders at any level. He is comfortable with the ball at his feet, fast, strong, can finish with both feet, can take players on, has good power on his shots, is intelligent with linking up with the players around him and making the right runs.

 

Again I could very well be wrong but this is just my opinion so feel free to take it with a grain of salt.

[em9999]

Well daka is useful as a traffic kone up front (cone in case someone claims I'm thick)

 

We may as well sign one in his memory for when he leaves on a free 

Edited 5 August 2025 by em9999

[Ric Flair]

4 minutes ago, honeybradger said:

It's not just 'vibes' though is it. It's looking at his goals and making my own opinion on whether he would translate well to championship level. Seeing how he scores, where he scores, should the defender have done better and would they do better at Championship level.

 

A lot of his goals are the result of sloppy defending from the opposition which should raise questions about how he would perform against better defenders. His touch is also loose, there are a few goals from last season

where if the defender was a bit faster they would have made the tackle before he was able to get the shot off.

 

His shooting also seems a bit sloppy, often times just hitting it at the goalkeeper and getting fortunate with a rebound. He is also slow which doesnt help with making the step up.

 

 

 

Maybe im completely wrong and he's sharp enough to catch Championship defenders off guard, it is clearly a strength of his. I do think you always have to worry with a striker who relies on defenders making mistakes making the step up.

 

In comparison I think Jake Evans has a very strong set off foundational skills which with experience will allow him to trouble defenders at any level. He is comfortable with the ball at his feet, fast, strong, can finish with both feet, can take players on, has good power on his shots, is intelligent with linking up with the players around him and making the right runs.

 

Again I could very well be wrong but this is just my opinion so feel free to take it with a grain of salt.

I watched this last week and thought his touch was half decent and he looked quick. I'll re-watch again unless i'm very much mistaken. Reminded me of early years Ivan Toney a hell of a lot.