How impressed are you with BMcD's return to the club?

[Silver Fox]

I'd accept a "Why did we sell Antnoio?" only if the person saying it had actually said at the time we were wrong to let him go

[Maneki Neko]

still not having it.
hes just become good enough.
when we let him go he still wasn't good enough

[No Fixed Abode]

[quote="Maneki Neko"]
hes just become good enough.
/quote]

Just? I mean he's been playing well in the Championship for a few years now before his move to WHU

[wingnut]

Tbf there were a few posters who were saying at the time it was a mistake to let Antonio go - particularly Paula.
After his successful loan spell at Wednesday, he was given a handful of chances to prove himself but he comprehensively blew them. He only had a year left on his contract and it was clear he'd be sent out on loan again as he hadn't shown anything (at Reading) that he was better than who we had playing wide already. So, both he and the club decided to call it a day - especially as Wednesday were keen to have him back.
It's as much his fault as the club's, IMO, for not doing better with the chances he was given.

[Extended-Phenotype]

still not having it.
hes just become good enough.
when we let him go he still wasn't good enough

He was on loan most of his career here. He signed for his loan club Wednesday permanently and then got snapped up by Forest before going on to West Ham.
 
So I don’t think its case of us either paying excessive wages on a bench warmer OR selling him. We could have continued to loan him or done what those three clubs did and like, play him and stuff. I always thought he was as consistent as HRK.

[SCIAG]

still not having it.
hes just become good enough.
when we let him go he still wasn't good enough

He was on loan most of his career here. He signed for his loan club Wednesday permanently and then got snapped up by Forest before going on to West Ham.
 
So I don’t think its case of us either paying excessive wages on a bench warmer OR selling him. We could have continued to loan him or done what those three clubs did and like, play him and stuff. I always thought he was as consistent as HRK.

We couldn't continue to loan him because he was out of contract at the end of the next season.

We couldn't realistically play him because he'd not done the business in the Championship, we'd got promoted and signed McCleary.

I always thought HRK was clearly better, I don't remember Antonio ever having a game as good as Barnsley (?) at home when he came on at 1-1, scored one and set another up.

[Extended-Phenotype]

No biggie, it happens, but I was sad to see him go at the time and thought we should have spotted his potential at Weds, offered him a new contract and brought him through a bit more, rather than seeing the cash and dismissing him on the back of a couple of cameos.

Clubs mistake but they are allowed to make them, just as people are allowed to point them out.

[The Sum of the Parts]

still not having it.
hes just become good enough.
when we let him go he still wasn't good enough

Nope - we were a Premier League club and he didn't have the opportunity to progress with us. He wasn't old enough or experienced enough at the time to break through in a Premier League first team - even one as bad as ours.

He went to Wednesday - two leagues lower - on yet another loan and did well and loved it.

Wednesday wanted to buy him, he wanted to go. He had a year left on his contract so we could either let him go and take the opportunities we couldn't give him here - or tie him to the final year of a contract (and more loans out) for him to inevitably leave at the end of that year.

So we did the decent thing to let him leave and further his career when the timing was bad - whilst also making sure there was a good sell-on fee if he was successful - to make the the most money out of the deal. Win-win!

He's only the player he is now because we let him go and get games - if we'd forced him to stay he'd almost certainly not have developed as he did.

[Extended-Phenotype]

Fair play.

[Maneki Neko]

hes just become good enough.
/quote]

Just? I mean he's been playing well in the Championship for a few years now before his move to WHU

for the prem.

TBF he may well have been good enough when he was with us, but at no time did he ever really show it for us.looked a prospect that needed work, but wasn't willing to wait around.

with that extra information it makes some sense

[Maneki Neko]

still not having it.
hes just become good enough.
when we let him go he still wasn't good enough

He was on loan most of his career here. He signed for his loan club Wednesday permanently and then got snapped up by Forest before going on to West Ham.
 
So I don’t think its case of us either paying excessive wages on a bench warmer OR selling him. We could have continued to loan him or done what those three clubs did and like, play him and stuff. I always thought he was as consistent as HRK.

looked a head down lump to me, who rarely looked anything more than a big dumb rabbit in the headlights.
but im glad hes progressed and forged a very successful career. he certainly looks very very good this season.

[Maneki Neko]

still not having it.
hes just become good enough.
when we let him go he still wasn't good enough

Nope - we were a Premier League club and he didn't have the opportunity to progress with us. He wasn't old enough or experienced enough at the time to break through in a Premier League first team - even one as bad as ours.

He went to Wednesday - two leagues lower - on yet another loan and did well and loved it.

Wednesday wanted to buy him, he wanted to go. He had a year left on his contract so we could either let him go and take the opportunities we couldn't give him here - or tie him to the final year of a contract (and more loans out) for him to inevitably leave at the end of that year.

So we did the decent thing to let him leave and further his career when the timing was bad - whilst also making sure there was a good sell-on fee if he was successful - to make the the most money out of the deal. Win-win!

He's only the player he is now because we let him go and get games - if we'd forced him to stay he'd almost certainly not have developed as he did.

yeah, agree

[Ian Royal]

Why did McDormott sell Michal Antonio , off the subject maybe and iam not McDormotts biggest fan I thought that bringing him back showed no ambition and he hasn't set the world alight since his return . But as a former scout and seeing how well Antonio has done for Wednesday , Forest and now West Ham in the Premier League should he have not done more with him ? Its probably been mentioned before

because he wasn't good enough. it was years ago.

if we just kept Cox and Antonio for years, until the day they finally came good, wed have spent millions on pointless wages for bench/resrve players whod be pissed off you didn't let them go somewhere else toplay regular football.

Though someone else was willing to do that

Both those someone else's had less good teams and played at a lower level than us, the level at which it was appropriate for the players to play at to develop to their current level of ability.

[Extended-Phenotype]

Slaviša Jokanović: “Reading are playing good football, they’re very organised and very fast.

“In the last month they played better football than before. They had a great result last week [at Charlton Athletic] and are in the FA Cup Quarter-Finals.”

Nice confirmation from a professional that we are indeed improving. Fingers crossed we can continue to convert this improvement into points.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

How many goals have Long, siggy and Antonius now got in the Prem, and who worked with them.a long time ago, keeping their feet on the ground.

[Winston Smith]

People are the sum of their experiences. If Antonio had been given a new contract and stayed with us for years he may have never improved and his career may have dwindled away. Had he joined another team instead of Wednesday he may even had suddenly improved and been in the PL within 12 months.

To say a player was successful in a certain environment therefore it is unacceptable that he was not successful in a very different environment is to not understand humans really. Take a look at Leicester for a great example right now.

[Longhorn1970]

Slaviša Jokanović: “Reading are playing good football, they’re very organised and very fast.

“In the last month they played better football than before. They had a great result last week [at Charlton Athletic] and are in the FA Cup Quarter-Finals.”

Nice confirmation from a professional that we are indeed improving. Fingers crossed we can continue to convert this improvement into points.

In the last month we were better than the month before ?? Fair assessment by a guy who didn't make the grade as a player here ...

[72 bus]

In the last month we were better than the month before ?? Fair assessment by a guy who didn't make the grade as a player here ...

If I managed to play 39 games in the premiership for Chelsea I would probably think to myself "yes I've made the grade"
Fuck me you must be good if that does not qualify for making "the grade"
We currently have an entire football team that will never achieve that...ever

[Royal Ginger]

Only 2 defeats in the last 14! That's crept up on us. Not enough wins sure, but it looks a bit better than it did. Well done McD and team.

[mambo3]

People are the sum of their experiences. If Antonio had been given a new contract and stayed with us for years he may have never improved and his career may have dwindled away. Had he joined another team instead of Wednesday he may even had suddenly improved and been in the PL within 12 months.

To say a player was successful in a certain environment therefore it is unacceptable that he was not successful in a very different environment is to not understand humans really. Take a look at Leicester for a great example right now.

Antonio was never given a chance if he had played as many games as hrk or mcleary we would have seen his
Potential. How come 3 clubs see what we didn't see and this bullshit about he was not that good when he was playing for us is rubbish.