Max Gradel

[StanSP]

when did he play to "lose form"

Could mean form or play in training? Not playing so well there whereas others have stepped up their game to the required level...

[Babylon]

when did he play to "lose form"

Every day in training.

[Joe.]

There were time's early last season when we wondered what there was that Max Gradel WASN'T capable of.

Yes that scintillating form didn't last long, but the boy has ability. Apparently he tore league 1 apart the season before last, why does he not even deserve a place on the bench at least to show he may of may not have recaptured his form and lived up to his potential. Even more so when the current wingers are so inconsistant, and we're having to play central midfielders and strikers in that position.

What?! I can recall less than five moments of absolute quality from him since he's played for us, they're so few and far between. He's never showed scintilating form for us, because he's never been consistent enough to hold down a regular place for a substantial period of time. Just read through this I wrote back in June, and not a lot's changed since.

[lildave3]

I love Max.

And Joe, he played a part in two of the most important goals last season against Dons and Leeds, was quality against Dons on the opening day and set up a goal I think, changed the game against Fulham and dicked all over the Hereford full back to set up Steve.

There's five off the top of my head

I'd rather play Gradel on the right than Gallagher.

[davieG]

What?! I can recall less than five moments of absolute quality from him since he's played for us, they're so few and far between. He's never showed scintilating form for us, because he's never been consistent enough to hold down a regular place for a substantial period of time. Just read through this I wrote back in June, and not a lot's changed since.

Well he's hardly been seen since and I think the reason people are calling for his return is that he's being kept out of the team by equally inconsistent (N'Guessan) or inappropriate selections (Gallagher).

[Joe.]

I love Max.

And Joe, he played a part in two of the most important goals last season against Dons and Leeds, was quality against Dons on the opening day and set up a goal I think, changed the game against Fulham and dicked all over the Hereford full back to set up Steve.

There's five off the top of my head

I'd rather play Gradel on the right than Gallagher.

Dons and Hereford were my immediate thoughts, but thinking about it that Fulham performance was ****ing brilliant actually. I stand by my points though, he's rarely shown his talents on a consistent enough basis. I wouldn't object to playing him ahead of Gallagher, but I don't think it would make a huge difference at the moment.

Don't get me wrong here, I do like Max but I find him so frustrating. He's got the talent, but he just doesn't use it often enough for my liking.

[Thracian]

Dons and Hereford were my immediate thoughts, but thinking about it that Fulham performance was ****ing brilliant actually. I stand by my points though, he's rarely shown his talents on a consistent enough basis. I wouldn't object to playing him ahead of Gallagher, but I don't think it would make a huge difference at the moment.

Don't get me wrong here, I do like Max but I find him so frustrating. He's got the talent, but he just doesn't use it often enough for my liking.

He's probably had so much advice about how to play and what to do he doesn't know what to do for the best.

It's ironic how Gallagher has been given a free role to see if he can find anywhere to fit in but Gradel has always been locked on the right wing.

It's ridiculous. Gradel is arguably stronger off the left side anyway but can genuinely do his job on either flank.

But if he's obliged to do so much tracking back (which Gallagher and N'Guessan never seem especially burdened with) they need to use him in shortish spells. Even despite my belief that Gradel is actually fitter than both of the other two mentioned.

Why? Cos when Gradel defends he goes back as far as it takes, even to his own defensive goalline. I remember noticing cos I don't know what the hell he's doing there really.

My ask of Gradel would be simplicity itself. Swop flanks by all means, don't do tricks in the defensive half of the field but otherwise, love the football and go score or make goals in any way you can. He should also take the lion's share of free-kicks.

As for the full-backs and midfield players, they should encourage him, make sure he keeps believing and be mindful to offer cover and an "out" ball wherever he goes. Gradel is basically about confidence. The more he has the better he is.

[knowitall]

Has a young man not getting in the team. You try and conform to the wishes of thoses in charge.

Hug the line, dont drift in, get back and cover.

Even if these requests are against the strong points of your play.

So you try and try and they bring in a forward. They then play this forward in midfield and give him a total free range. Go were you want do what you want.

Then thoses in power make public statements about a lose of form.

Something you are unable to put right as you are not given a chance to do so.

Even in reserve matches you are told to conform to a certain way.

[haraven]

Is knowitall Maxi Gradel?

[flanimal]

Gradel is probably better on the left, did a great job when he was on loan, cutting inside and scoring quality goals.

The Gallagher on the wing thing doesn't work for me, but maybe it'll get good over time.

[lou]

Has a young man not getting in the team. You try and conform to the wishes of thoses in charge.

Hug the line, dont drift in, get back and cover.

Even if these requests are against the strong points of your play.

So you try and try and they bring in a forward. They then play this forward in midfield and give him a total free range. Go were you want do what you want.

Then thoses in power make public statements about a lose of form.

Something you are unable to put right as you are not given a chance to do so.

Even in reserve matches you are told to conform to a certain way.

I miss his 35 yard screamers of goals! I suspect he was told not to try those anymore too. He used to score loads of long range goals.

[leftsideoverhere]

Take out the specifically football-related references and KIA has pretty accurately summed up the work-life experience of nine-tenths of the population. I don't see that footballers have any right to expect it to be different for them.

One thing that hasn't particularly been mentioned in the talk about Gradel going out on loan because he "needs to play" is the relative advantages of being where he is - working with Taggs and getting some experience as captain of the reserve team. If NP wants Gradel to become a more mature player, tempering his talent with more judgement and awareness of what will work when, then possibly having to be thinking for the team as captain in a reserve team game might be better training for that than banging in goals and being loved as a hero in league 2.

Of course, it might go horribly wrong, and Max might get his head turned by promises of more love elsewhere, but for a short time at least I think his current situation will probably be doing him more good than going out on loan would do.

Doesn't mean I'd be enjoying it, if I were him. But I might be sober enough to be grateful for it all the same.

[moseeds]

Our club has a general apathy towards academy players. With the exception of Stearman every promising Leicester lad seems to drift away when they fall into the chasm that lies between the first team and youth team. This has been a problem before Pearson and in both this division and the 3rd division. I am hesitant to believe in a county with close to 1 million people we can't actually nurture any talent.

[Thracian]

Our club has a general apathy towards academy players. With the exception of Stearman every promising Leicester lad seems to drift away when they fall into the chasm that lies between the first team and youth team. This has been a problem before Pearson and in both this division and the 3rd division. I am hesitant to believe in a county with close to 1 million people we can't actually nurture any talent.

The trouble is that managers have no real need to risk acclimatising young players in the first team when they can buy ready made players of appropriate experience and, in some cases, get the transfer percentage written into their contract relating to an established player rather than utilising someone who might fail and be worth sod-all.

Especially when the risks of using youth as opposed to experience may get them the sack with club owners desperate to draw on their investment.

Wasn't there even a story recently of players being signed just to curry favour with some foreign agent or agents?

The sooner the football authorities make a rule not just about the minimum number of home developed players each squad has to have but also the minimum number of home grown players who must play a certain percentage of first team football the better.

And then they should change the balance from two thirds foreign and one third home grown to one third foreign and two thirds home grown.

Then you'll get some of Leicestershire's population turning up in the side again. And you might even start seeing more blue and white City shirts around the town instead of far too many Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United shirts.

[Edmund]

I am hesitant to believe in a county with close to 1 million people we can't actually nurture any talent.

I'm pretty sure Villa and other top league clubs scout heavily in Leicestershire. They have the resources and are a more attractive option to join.

[MPH]

a certain football website that shall rename nameless mentions that qpr have bid 1.2 for dyer... whilst i suspect it to be total bull of course it would leave the left hand side slot vacant for Max!!

[Narborough Bod]

Our club has a general apathy towards academy players. With the exception of Stearman every promising Leicester lad seems to drift away when they fall into the chasm that lies between the first team and youth team. This has been a problem before Pearson and in both this division and the 3rd division. I am hesitant to believe in a county with close to 1 million people we can't actually nurture any talent.

It's not just our club though is it, I'd say that most teams in the top 2 tiers run their clubs in the same way.

We wouldn't have Hobbs as CB if Liverpool weren't similar.

Most of the loanee / young players who drop down to our level do so because, over a period, they aren't good enough (yet). In the same way that over time, the players we release tend to spend the rest of their careers at a lower level at best. Tommy Wright, Dodds, Branston, Odihambo, Cox, McKay. Plenty who were raved about but never cut the mustard and still haven't.

Surely the fact that Gradel is still here at the moment and hasdn't been shipped out means that Taggs / Pearson et al do see something in him. No player has a divine right to be in the squad, especially when the team, newly promoted, are only just outside the play offs.

I for one, would at least like to see him on the bench, but at the moment it's not necessarily justified. Go on a 10 match winless run, and still don't pick him and I'll start to ask more animated questions.

[MPH]

It's not just our club though is it, I'd say that most teams in the top 2 tiers run their clubs in the same way.

We wouldn't have Hobbs as CB if Liverpool weren't similar.

Most of the loanee / young players who drop down to our level do so because, over a period, they aren't good enough (yet). In the same way that over time, the players we release tend to spend the rest of their careers at a lower level at best. Tommy Wright, Dodds, Branston, Odihambo, Cox, McKay. Plenty who were raved about but never cut the mustard and still haven't.

Surely the fact that Gradel is still here at the moment and hasdn't been shipped out means that Taggs / Pearson et al do see something in him. No player has a divine right to be in the squad, especially when the team, newly promoted, are only just outside the play offs.

I for one, would at least like to see him on the bench, but at the moment it's not necessarily justified. Go on a 10 match winless run, and still don't pick him and I'll start to ask more animated questions.

since when has this website allowed sensible replies?

[Heart-Shaped Fox]

a certain football website that shall rename nameless mentions that qpr have bid 1.2 for dyer... whilst i suspect it to be total bull of course it would leave the left hand side slot vacant for Max!!

Must be bull, but that is good money. I rate Dyer though and think even though he is a hot and cold sort of player he has performed well for us so far this season

[MPH]

Must be bull, but that is good money. I rate Dyer though and think even though he is a hot and cold sort of player he has performed well for us so far this season

yeah.. who knows... hasn't one of the QPR board recently left F1? wonder if it means they have more money to spend now...

Not sure i'd be ready to sell Dyer.. although as i mentioned Maxi could fill in nicely for him on the left...

[CosbehFox]

It's not just our club though is it, I'd say that most teams in the top 2 tiers run their clubs in the same way.

We wouldn't have Hobbs as CB if Liverpool weren't similar.

Most of the loanee / young players who drop down to our level do so because, over a period, they aren't good enough (yet). In the same way that over time, the players we release tend to spend the rest of their careers at a lower level at best. Tommy Wright, Dodds, Branston, Odihambo, Cox, McKay. Plenty who were raved about but never cut the mustard and still haven't.

Surely the fact that Gradel is still here at the moment and hasdn't been shipped out means that Taggs / Pearson et al do see something in him. No player has a divine right to be in the squad, especially when the team, newly promoted, are only just outside the play offs.

I for one, would at least like to see him on the bench, but at the moment it's not necessarily justified. Go on a 10 match winless run, and still don't pick him and I'll start to ask more animated questions.

Nicely put. It's often the case anyway recently that if you're good enough, you'll find yourself at the level again with a couple of years. Take Kightly or Hooper for example.

[Narborough Bod]

Nicely put. It's often the case anyway recently that if you're good enough, you'll find yourself at the level again with a couple of years. Take Kightly or Hooper for example.

Or Izzet, Savage, Lennon...maybe Gradel just needs the Gradi touch.

[moseeds]

It's not just our club though is it, I'd say that most teams in the top 2 tiers run their clubs in the same way.

We wouldn't have Hobbs as CB if Liverpool weren't similar.

Most of the loanee / young players who drop down to our level do so because, over a period, they aren't good enough (yet). In the same way that over time, the players we release tend to spend the rest of their careers at a lower level at best. Tommy Wright, Dodds, Branston, Odihambo, Cox, McKay. Plenty who were raved about but never cut the mustard and still haven't.

Surely the fact that Gradel is still here at the moment and hasdn't been shipped out means that Taggs / Pearson et al do see something in him. No player has a divine right to be in the squad, especially when the team, newly promoted, are only just outside the play offs.

I for one, would at least like to see him on the bench, but at the moment it's not necessarily justified. Go on a 10 match winless run, and still don't pick him and I'll start to ask more animated questions.

That's very true Narborough Bod I do agree with you to an extent but I still believe we're doing something very wrong considering clubs such as Leeds, Southampton, Charlton, Crewe, Derby, Forest, etc , etc all similar in stature to city seem to be "better" than city at nurturing promising talent. In the last few years the excellent academy has produced 3 notable players - Piper, then Stearman and now Mattock - with a total sell on value of about £7 million (i think). We are a selling club and the only professional team in the city. Surely those figures could be better?

Clubs such as Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, etc are prolific at nurturing talent but not always to the world-class standards they demand.

I just think we're missing a trick considering the debt the club is in. Also Max Gradel should be given a go at Championship defences!

[Thracian]

Most of the loanee / young players who drop down to our level do so because, over a period, they aren't good enough (yet). In the same way that over time, the players we release tend to spend the rest of their careers at a lower level at best. Tommy Wright, Dodds, Branston, Odihambo, Cox, McKay. Plenty who were raved about but never cut the mustard and still haven't.

I don't actually remember anyone "raving" about Dodds, Odihambo, Cox or McKay. Dodds deserved a chance in the circumstances of the time, Odihambo was always going to fall short, while Cox and McKay were merely noted as promising and a potential "option" on rare occasions.

If that amounted to "raving" I suppose the same description will be applied to comments about Bolger, Parkes, Yussef, Jorrin John etc who, themselves' are simply promising.

[MPH]

I don't actually remember anyone "raving" about Dodds, Odihambo, Cox or McKay. Dodds deserved a chance in the circumstances of the time, Odihambo was always going to fall short, while Cox and McKay were merely noted as promising and a potential "option" on rare occasions.

If that amounted to "raving" I suppose the same description will be applied to comments about Bolger, Parkes, Yussef, Jorrin John etc who, themselves' are simply promising.

ahahahahaha!!!

oh you of short memory! YOU raved about him all the time! oh how funny!