Ex Player Mark Sykes

[Upthecowboys]

Sykes is one of the most confusing players I've seen in an Ox shirt..

Without doubt a skillful player with great feet, but not consistent enough for me and not enough end product. I know he'll argue he hasn't been given a run of games. If we sold him the risk is next year will be his breakthrough year, but if we can reinvest any transfer fee / his wages then I think it's a risk worth taking.

In other seasons I might be thinking that we should give him next season, but we really do need to raise the bar to turn us from a good division 1 side to a side that really should get promotion. A fee in line with the amount that has been mentioned on here, plus a sell on just in case is probably the way to go.

It just hasn't quite happened for him with us, so it might be in his interests to try somewhere else.

 

[werthersoriginal]

Sykes is one of the most confusing players I've seen in an Ox shirt..

Without doubt a skillful player with great feet, but not consistent enough for me and not enough end product. I know he'll argue he hasn't been given a run of games. If we sold him the risk is next year will be his breakthrough year, but if we can reinvest any transfer fee / his wages then I think it's a risk worth taking.

In other seasons I might be thinking that we should give him next season, but we really do need to raise the bar to turn us from a good division 1 side to a side that really should get promotion. A fee in line with the amount that has been mentioned on here, plus a sell on just in case is probably the way to go.

It just hasn't quite happened for him with us, so it might be in his interests to try somewhere else.

Do we know what his best position is? He’s been left and right midfield and right wing.

 

[WuTang]

Do we know what his best position is? He’s been left and right midfield and right wing.

Before joining us, his entire career was spent as a number 10, just behind the striker, and I'm not sure he's played there once for us as we don't use that formation!

 

[Foley]

Do we know what his best position is? He’s been left and right midfield and right wing.

He can play in a number of positions.
I am not sure that he has a 'best position'.
It seems to me that he is a little inconsistent in the various positions he plays in.
Having said that he does generally play well in the 'big games'.

 

[SteMerritt]

Do we know what his best position is? He’s been left and right midfield and right wing.

I'd be tempted to give him a go at Right Back.

 

[Jason N]

I'd love to see Sykes stay and be told how important he could be to the team. He works hard, has very good skill and really seems to care. He looked like one of the best players on the pitch in the Play-off first leg and deserved better from his team mates, who let him down.

 

[werthersoriginal]

I’d like him to stay but he’s not going to get into the team regularly over Cam, McGuane, Gorrin, Henry and maybe Lee. But he’d certainly be the first option if any of those was missing

 

[Scotchegg]

The difference between Sykes and McGuane is composure. Sykes plays like a kid in the park, boundless energy, running after everything and can make the game come alive, but lacks the end product. That's not just in scoring goals, but also knowing when to lay the ball off, when to take an extra touch or slow things down. McGuane played with a lot more control and whilst he didn't have that explosive pace he was able to transition the play from defence into attack quickly, giving opportunities to the likes of Shodipo.

If Sykes could develop that composure then there is a very good player there who could excel at this level. But there is work needed and maybe a full preseason without the distraction of a new baby being born will allow him to focus on the small changes that could make a big difference to his game.

And that could come from the work we do behind the scenes. We have Gary Bloom who is excellent at all of the psychotherapy stuff, but I wonder how much of that is built around creating a safe space for people to express themselves, and how we could build on that to create a winning mentality throughout the team. At crucial moments we have collectively fallen short and I hope that we can continue to support the mental wellbeing of our players whilst also giving them that extra belief to do the right thing when it matters. Not only would Mark Sykes benefit from that but so would Dan Agyei, and if they can both add the end product to match their undoubted talent and work ethic, then we have two absolutely huge assets on our hands.

 

[WRox]

I’m not debating that McGuane is most likely a better player than Sykes overall, as you rightly say he matched Sykes’ assist returns in half the number of games, I’m merely saying that there’s an argument that we already signed a player who plays the same role as Sykes who at least doesn’t score any more goals than he does, for the sort of money you mentioned, and that nobody appears to be reacting with anything less than jubilation. At least I can remember Sykes getting into a few good positions, even if he didn’t finish his chances. How many goalscoring positions did McGuane get himself into? I can’t remember him going through on goal even once. I would certainly be interested to see the xG and xA numbers on the pair of them.

Basically, I’m neither criticising McGuane nor sticking up for Sykes. Merely saying that personally, I see pretty similar players with pretty similar output. For now. If McGuane can play 40 games next season and chip in with 8+ assists and a few goals then there will certainly be no doubt that there isn’t a comparison to be had.

Are they pretty similar? The excitement around McGuane for me is that he gives the midfield drive and power that it’s missed since Baptiste left. I’m not expecting that extra control to manifest itself into a stack of goals and assists from McGuane directly, although I would expect to see an improvement as he develops. I’m not sure what Sykes brings to the table that outweighs his lack of end product? People say he needs to bulk up but he’s a long way off being able to receive the ball under pressure and do much more than a fancy turn or fall to the floor.

For me the gamble on Sykes is that given time, he should be able to improve his composure in the final third and could record some excellent numbers. I’m not sure how long that will take as he doesn’t make our best midfield three, so wouldn’t mind him staying or leaving for a decent fee.

 

[WokinghamYellow]

If we don’t sell Sykes now and we keep him next season, and he does well, then we will lose him on a free anyway

 

[Andy1505]

Are we thinking it will be a midfield three of

McGuane-Gorrin-Brannagan

that will be our first choice midfield going forward? If so then surely Sykes has a role to play in the squad as he can also play wide or one of the wider central positions, we're going to need multi position players and I think his energy could be a good weapon later on in games. But I guess the finances have to be right.

 

[tonyw]

Is anyone really going to pay significant money right now for Sykes?

I can't really see it - he's flashed potential, and definitely has skill and a great engine. But anyone doing any scouting on him would have to recognise the lack of end product, and the occasional tendency to go into headless chicken mode (see Swindon (H))

I would be very surprised to see anyone fork out significant cash for him.

Which means - why not keep him for another year? At worst, he's a decent depth piece. At best, he might improve in the final third and then we could have a real player on our hands. Course we then might have a fight on for his signature, but that's still better than giving him away now.

 

[gingerox]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1400418004924502017

Looks like talks are continuing, anyone ITK with it?

 

[Steve Gilbert]

I’d take the money for Sykes and move on. He has always shown glimpses of being a good player but IMO, after being here for 2 and a half years he still hasn’t progressed as much as you’d expect him to.
It’s a lot easier to replace a Mark Sykes than it is to replace someone like Atkinson or Brannagan.

 

[Golden Dr Otto]

He’d be a great five a side player. Really fun to watch. ... Doesn’t seem to have an obvious position in league one football though.

Certainly not an impact sub who can change a game if we struggling.

Certainly not an obvious starter.

Negligible goals and assists for an “attacking midfielder”.

Most people seem concerned about “what if he gets good” or “what if he scores on us”. You could say the same for Abdou Sall. “What if?”.

He’s 23. Take the money and run.

 

[milburn]

Take the money, I can’t see him ever being a championship regular or his stock really going up whilst he’s with us.

 

[Symp59]

Absolutely take the money how many times do you see him getting petulant with silly tackles when it's a battle in midfield and he's seen not to be strong enough. I would describe him as a nice player but he's not a game changer like Henry or Lee when they are on song.

 

[Oufcluke34]

Absolutely take the money how many times do you see him getting petulant with silly tackles when it's a battle in midfield and he's seen not to be strong enough. I would describe him as a nice player but he's not a game changer like Henry

So Gorrin doesn't make "petulant" tackles either then ?? Henry was missing for large parts of the season and was poor in the playoffs,sykes should have a big future in an ox shirt.....maybe you'd rather rob Hall back?

 

[Nadi-]

Was one of our most consistent players towards the end of the season.

 

[WokinghamYellow]

Was one of our most consistent players towards the end of the season.

Consistent at what? Running around looking busy