WHEN WILL CITY PLAY THE PRINCE OF PERSIA?

[Manwell Pablo]

Tbh, I think the only one any of us are calling terrible is Hammond. Which he is, appaulingly bad.

[Geo V]

Behave, we're all eager to see the bloke but we're only going to end up disappointed if he is rushed. Let the people who have seen him play judge when he is ready, it could harm his confidence much more to come into the team and be blamed for defeat or a goal and then dropped. There are plenty of factors as to why this decision may have been made, he is in a completley new country/culture with absoloutly no ability to understand or speak the language, he is young at 22 and has bought a family with him for what is a massive change .

I don't think that for someone like him who has played in high profile games in front of big crowds will not relish the first team but to somehow attribute a potential mistake in the game that will also cause a goal and deep in confidence is a bit far fetched! His confidence cant get much lower than now surely as instead of enjoying all the build-up of a big Championship game in front of a big crowd, he gets to play in the reserves. I`d look at it more positively than that and think he may well add an edge to our game going forward from a wide right position, something that the likes of Chambers and Newton haven't managed to do.

I`d much rather have him at right-mid of a 442 in home games where he can attack more and maybe even drop him for the away games when we play 532. I also don't think that Stearman should be dropped from the wing-back role for him and would probably prefer Chambers there if Stearman lost form.

[Raj]

Oh shit...Geo's here....

Best Get Thrac outta here....i smell blood!!!!

[MPH]

I wouldn't care if Kaebi had 150 caps. On what I've seen there is no way he's as good as Hammond in English football.

As for my Chosen Men Sheehan has had a hand in five goals this season - and it should have been more. Nils didn't manage that in his entire career here, nor any other player in that position over the last three years. And our defence has stayed as tight as with anyone else.

Wesolowski's maintained his promise when some wanted to give up on him after his second broken leg and has been our best midfielder this season, Stearman has had a decent season, King you've mentioned and Porter has been injured most of the time having played a perfectly acceptable 30-odd games in his first season.

Gradel and Odhiambo seem to be doing extremely well or moderately well out on loan and the "arguably best team" which I've said Megson seems to be picking now is not losing many at all with people I like such as Fulop, N'Gotty, Clemence, Mattock.

So who are these "terrible" Chosen Men you mention?

how many chances has Kaebi been given in english Football? I dont consider his short time against Watford really a chance. Hammond has had plenty of chances at leicester. fluffed most of them. He isnt good enough to play for us. as simple as that- he has had the chance and proved that.

i dont always use the reserves as an indication as to how well players play. i Think established internationals struggle to motivate themselves to play reserve team football. I dont blame them.

If you, as a 21 year old, had got over 50 caps for the highest ranked team( according to FIFA at the time he signed for us) in Asia, would you be motivated to play in the reserves of a team languishing in the bottom half of the championship?

Sure, if we were top and were setting the division alight then i can see a reason to not play him, But its hardly been the case...

on a side note, Schmeical junior was considered 3rd choice keeper at Man city, look what he did when he got his chance...

[Geo V]

Oh shit...Geo's here....

Best Get Thrac outta here....i smell blood!!!!

don't be cheeky. I have gone through 3 packs of Prozac and am enjoying my time in good old blighty until next Wednesday.

[Thracian]

how many chances has Kaebi been given in english Football? I dont consider his short time against Watford really a chance. Hammond has had plenty of chances at leicester. fluffed most of them. He isnt good enough to play for us. as simple as that- he has had the chance and proved that.

i dont always use the reserves as an indication as to how well players play. i Think established internationals struggle to motivate themselves to play reserve team football. I dont blame them.

If you, as a 21 year old, had got over 50 caps for the highest ranked team( according to FIFA at the time he signed for us) in Asia, would you be motivated to play in the reserves of a team languishing in the bottom half of the championship?

Sure, if we were top and were setting the division alight then i can see a reason to not play him, But its hardly been the case...

on a side note, Schmeical junior was considered 3rd choice keeper at Man city, look what he did when he got his chance...

And Logan became our first choice...

There's a long way to go for both.

Kaebi WAS motivated in the reserves. There was nothing whatsoever wrong with his effort and attitude.

It is clear Kaebi has a lobby on here - a lobby that will see no wrong in the guy.

I wish I could feel the same.

Sadly such flaws as there are in his game were so glaring you couldn't help but notice them.

[ronnup]

And Logan became our first choice...

There's a long way to go for both.

Kaebi WAS motivated in the reserves. There was nothing whatsoever wrong with his effort and attitude.

It is clear Kaebi has a lobby on here - a lobby that will see no wrong in the guy.

I wish I could feel the same.

Sadly such flaws as there are in his game were so glaring you couldn't help but notice them.

I hate to agree with Thrac, not cos it's you mate but cos we all have this hugelt inflated view of Kaebi based on international praise and videos on youtube. Fact is, he isn't ready. Megson aint going to leave out a fantastic player if he is. Fact!

[Geo V]

And Logan became our first choice...

There's a long way to go for both.

Kaebi WAS motivated in the reserves. There was nothing whatsoever wrong with his effort and attitude.

It is clear Kaebi has a lobby on here - a lobby that will see no wrong in the guy.

I wish I could feel the same.

Sadly such flaws as there are in his game were so glaring you couldn't help but notice them.

Im personally not saying that he has no faults. Im just saying that I`d like to see him in two or three first team games to make a judgment.

[Thracian]

Im personally not saying that he has no faults. Im just saying that I`d like to see him in two or three first team games to make a judgment.

I've no idea what you've got against the first team!

[Geo V]

I've no idea what you've got against the first team!

shocking stuff sir, shocking stuff!

[Strokes]

I don't think that for someone like him who has played in high profile games in front of big crowds will not relish the first team but to somehow attribute a potential mistake in the game that will also cause a goal and deep in confidence is a bit far fetched! His confidence cant get much lower than now surely as instead of enjoying all the build-up of a big Championship game in front of a big crowd, he gets to play in the reserves. I`d look at it more positively than that and think he may well add an edge to our game going forward from a wide right position, something that the likes of Chambers and Newton haven't managed to do.

I`d much rather have him at right-mid of a 442 in home games where he can attack more and maybe even drop him for the away games when we play 532. I also don't think that Stearman should be dropped from the wing-back role for him and would probably prefer Chambers there if Stearman lost form.

He couldn't do alot worse than these muppets i suppose.

[Ric Flair]

I hate to agree with Thrac, not cos it's you mate but cos we all have this hugelt inflated view of Kaebi based on international praise and videos on youtube. Fact is, he isn't ready. Megson aint going to leave out a fantastic player if he is. Fact!

He left Marlon King out at Forest and let him go and he showed Megson what an astute move that was by ripping in over 20 goals that season for Watford.

Megson does have previous for bearing grudges with players for what sometimes could be seen as no apparent reason. Not that I think Megson is doing that with Kaebi just yet, but considering he didn't sign him. He might feel he has no duty to pick him, irrespective of what he's achieved in such a short time as a professional footballer with Iran.

[MPH]

And Logan became our first choice...

There's a long way to go for both.

Kaebi WAS motivated in the reserves. There was nothing whatsoever wrong with his effort and attitude.

It is clear Kaebi has a lobby on here - a lobby that will see no wrong in the guy.

I wish I could feel the same.

Sadly such flaws as there are in his game were so glaring you couldn't help but notice them.

intresting how when its about Dodds you write

As he's never played in the Championship I don't see how anything could be "evident".

when talking about his ability but now its about kaebi its different?

[ronnup]

He left Marlon King out at Forest and let him go and he showed Megson what an astute move that was by ripping in over 20 goals that season for Watford.

Megson does have previous for bearing grudges with players for what sometimes could be seen as no apparent reason. Not that I think Megson is doing that with Kaebi just yet, but considering he didn't sign him. He might feel he has no duty to pick him, irrespective of what he's achieved in such a short time as a professional footballer with Iran.

good point mate, I agree that Megson may not favour him. But We know nothing about his actual potential. We just reeeally want the hype to be true. It's a dangerous game that we play having such high hopes and it's fuelled by the abscence of a genuine home grown world class talent since Emile. Hense all the stroking done over King and Mattock.

[The_Persian]

It´s a known fact that if you play with better players , you automatically play better (most of the time).

You can´t judge a player only on the games that he has played with the reserevs, you have to give him confidence and let him play 2 or 3 matches with the main team. Then and only then can you judge a player.

A player that doesn´t have the coaches trust looses his confidence after a while, and a player without confidence will never make it to the first team.

A good example is Javier Mascherano, last season when he was with West ham, the coach didn´t let him play cos he thought that he sucked...so Mascherano went to Liverpool and months later he was a starter in the champions leauge final!

Bottom line, he sucked when playing with "sucky" players and he played great with great players.

Give kaebi a chance with the real guys and see what he can do!

[Manwell Pablo]

It´s a known fact that if you play with better players , you automatically play better (most of the time).

You can´t judge a player only on the games that he has played with the reserevs, you have to give him confidence and let him play 2 or 3 matches with the main team. Then and only then can you judge a player.

A player that doesn´t have the coaches trust looses his confidence after a while, and a player without confidence will never make it to the first team.

A good example is Javier Mascherano, last season when he was with West ham, the coach didn´t let him play cos he thought that he sucked...so Mascherano went to Liverpool and months later he was a starter in the champions leauge final!

Bottom line, he sucked when playing with "sucky" players and he played great with great players.

Give kaebi a chance with the real guys and see what he can do!

Hmm

Although I do not agree with use of the term sucky on this board, in a way he has a point.

[Thracian]

intresting how when its about Dodds you write when talking about his ability but now its about kaebi its different?

Not at all. Dodds has demonstrated his ability at lower levels with his 65 goals in three seasons. He has never had chance to demonstrate his ability at Championship level so it seems impossible that anyone could form a judgement on him in that respect.

Kaebi has NOT demonstrated his ability at lower levels (of English football) so how anyone could reasonably expect that his flaws would suddenly disappear at a higher level I really don't know.

[Manwell Pablo]

Not at all. Dodds has demonstrated his ability at lower levels with his 65 goals in three seasons. He has never had chance to demonstrate his ability at Championship level so it seems impossible that anyone could form a judgement on him in that respect.

Kaebi has NOT demonstrated his ability at lower levels (of English football) so how anyone could reasonably expect that his flaws would suddenly disappear at a higher level I really don't know.

No he's just had a decent world cup and was once touted as one of the worlds top ten most promising talents.

Of course he's going to take time to adapt to English football thats why he's in the reserves! It will happen alot quicker if he's played in the first team though!

[MPH]

Not at all. Dodds has demonstrated his ability at lower levels with his 65 goals in three seasons. He has never had chance to demonstrate his ability at Championship level so it seems impossible that anyone could form a judgement on him in that respect.

Kaebi has NOT demonstrated his ability at lower levels (of English football) so how anyone could reasonably expect that his flaws would suddenly disappear at a higher level I really don't know.

yet dodds is struggling at lincoln? 2nd from bottom of the whole football league?

i mean, kaebi has only played in a world cup.... i forgot leicester reserves is several tiers above that....

so, dodds plays well in leicester reserves, yet crap in lincolns first team, kaebi plays in a world cup ( and well by all accounts) yet isnt worth a punt in the first team and Dodds is?

You have a screw loose..

[Thracian]

It´s a known fact that if you play with better players , you automatically play better (most of the time).

You can´t judge a player only on the games that he has played with the reserevs, you have to give him confidence and let him play 2 or 3 matches with the main team. Then and only then can you judge a player.

A player that doesn´t have the coaches trust looses his confidence after a while, and a player without confidence will never make it to the first team.

A good example is Javier Mascherano, last season when he was with West ham, the coach didn´t let him play cos he thought that he sucked...so Mascherano went to Liverpool and months later he was a starter in the champions leauge final!

Bottom line, he sucked when playing with "sucky" players and he played great with great players.

Give kaebi a chance with the real guys and see what he can do!

So where would that leave Gradel? No matter how supposedly shit his team-mates he still plays great. Does that mean he'll be a world beater in our first team?

Lost confidence? Why didn't Fryatt, Hammond, Tiatto, Kenton, Stearman, Cort show all this "lost confidence" you talk about?

I don't believe a word of it but if playing for the reserves is all it takes for him to lose confidence he won't do much good in the cauldron of english football anyway.

And he didn't seem to lack confidence in the one good game he played.

[Manwell Pablo]

So where would that leave Gradel? No matter how supposedly shit his team-mates he still plays great. Does that mean he'll be a world beater in our first team?

Lost confidence? Why didn't Fryatt, Hammond, Tiatto, Kenton, Stearman, Cort show all this "lost confidence" you talk about?

I don't believe a word of it but if playing for the reserves is all it takes for him to lose confidence he won't do much good in the cauldron of english football anyway.

And he didn't seem to lack confidence in the one good game he played.

do you really expect an Iranian to answer those questions.

[Thracian]

yet dodds is struggling at lincoln? 2nd from bottom of the whole football league?

i mean, kaebi has only played in a world cup.... i forgot leicester reserves is several tiers above that....

so, dodds plays well in leicester reserves, yet crap in lincolns first team, kaebi plays in a world cup ( and well by all accounts) yet isnt worth a punt in the first team and Dodds is?

You have a screw loose..

In what way is Dodds struggling? He is leading scorer despite playing out of position and has collected perfectly good player ratings.

I've talked about these international caps of Kaebi's before. Playing internationally for Iran is totally different to playing for England or Spain or Brazil.

I beat six national champions at squash and even a world champions and world number two - including the champions of Italy, Holland and Switzerland - at a time when squash was a major participant sport and it DIDN'T make me a good player. Not at all.

It just meant I could put together what would have been a convincing CV if you didn't look too closely - which is what Kaebi has in my view.

Because at the time I would have ranked number one in places like Italy and Holland I was down to number four or five in my own club's national cup side and had probably dropped outside the top 80 players in this country...effectively a journeyman.

Kaebi might have had some early success in his football career, and shown a lot of promise. But how well did he do in the recent Asia Cup? Did he make any significant impression at all?

Far from me having a screw loose it's you who want to start weighing things up objectively and not punctuating your arguments with misleading remarks.

I have no problem with Kaebi eventually playing for our first team - but when he shows himself good and ready for the task.

But having a place provided for him just because a guy has caps for a weak football nation doesn't convince me one bit.

[Ric Flair]

In what way is Dodds struggling? He is leading scorer despite playing out of position and has collected perfectly good player ratings.

I've talked about these international caps of Kaebi's before. Playing internationally for Iran is totally different to playing for England or Spain or Brazil.

I beat six national champions at squash - including the champions of Italy, Holland and Switzerland - at a time when squash was a major participant sport and it DIDN'T make me a good player. Not at all.

In fact, at the time I would have ranked number one in those countries I was down to number four or five in my own club's national cup side and had probably dropped outside the top 80 players in this country.

Kaebi might have had some early success in his football career, and shown a lot of promise. How well did he do in the recent Asia Cup? Did he make any significant impression at all.

Far from me having a screw loose it's you who want to start weighing things up objectively and not punctuating your arguments with misleading remarks.

This chap is likely to know more than us whether Kaebi is very good or not. You've not been impressed with him so fair at reserve level, fair enough. I don't think it really warrants the level of words you have posted about him consistently. You've seen him play about 5 times and in a couple of those you sung his praises, in the last 2 or 3 you've expressed your concerns, it's remarkable that Kaebi requires this much discussion from any of us at the moment. It's too early for the doubters like you to write him off and it's too early for people like me to think he is better than our other players. So I think we should cut the lad a bit of slack and hope that he becomes a success here.

He has every right to be frustrated with not getting in for us, given the interest from clubs at a higher level than us. It's evident he's far from the finished article and there's work to be done, but his record before he came here in a footballing community that's far from dreadful is impressive and i'd have thought it warranted a chance for him in our distinctly mediocre first team.

[Thracian]

This chap is likely to know more than us whether Kaebi is very good or not. You've not been impressed with him so fair at reserve level, fair enough. I don't think it really warrants the level of words you have posted about him consistently. You've seen him play about 5 times and in a couple of those you sung his praises, in the last 2 or 3 you've expressed your concerns, it's remarkable that Kaebi requires this much discussion from any of us at the moment. It's too early for the doubters like you to write him off and it's too early for people like me to think he is better than our other players. So I think we should cut the lad a bit of slack and hope that he becomes a success here.

He has every right to be frustrated with not getting in for us, given the interest from clubs at a higher level than us. It's evident he's far from the finished article and there's work to be done, but his record before he came here in a footballing community that's far from dreadful is impressive and i'd have thought it warranted a chance for him in our distinctly mediocre first team.

I have not written him off. As I and others who have seen him have remarked, he needs time. Not pushing into a team before he's ready.

[Fez of Mahrez]

I beat six national champions at squash and even two world champions - including the champions of Italy, Holland and Switzerland - at a time when squash was a major participant sport and it DIDN'T make me a good player. Not at all.

It just meant I could put together what would have been a convincing CV if you didn't look too closely - which is what Kaebi has in my view.

Because at the time I would have ranked number one in places like Italy and Holland I was down to number four or five in my own club's national cup side and had probably dropped outside the top 80 players in this country...effectively a journeyman.

Yeah well, I beat SEVEN national champions at badminton and even THREE world champions.

And I'm CRAP at badminton.

And that's why Alan Sheehan is rubbish.