Current Player #39 Gatlin O'Donkor

Scotchegg said:
Bookmark it - I agree with you!

(but Roger Cook?! What were you thinking!!!)
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Bookmark it #2 - I agree with you, too!

GOD has had to be pigeonholed into first team action and elevated to senior ‘leading the line effectively’ status, far quicker than the club could ever have envisaged.

I still don’t think a good loan for him, will be out of the question next season - regardless of the division that we find ourselves in. He will need regular football every week and to find consistency in his performances (and hopefully a decent goal return). Whatever happens, we should be looking to attract more polished players that can effect games more frequently, whether that be a title push in LG2 or an unlikely charge to a play off place in LG1.
 
Keep him here - I want to see him play. Loan him out to develop him then sell him. Noooo.
 
I’d imagine GOD going out on loan depends on many things. How he comes back in pre season (he might spend all summer working his nuts off), what formation we play, who we bring in.
If Manning sticks with 1 up front then I’d send him out on loan for 6 months, if he plays 2 then I’d keep him around.

I’d keep Tyler rather than loan him out as I think he would get the game time and develop more here than he would with a loan in league 2.

It seems right now though that Manning is going for experience to try and get us over the line rather than risk playing Tyler.
 
Keep the option to play 2 up front.......... sometimes its needed, and if the option isn`t available..... 🤷‍♂️
 
I totally agree. He has looked far more effective than Matty did this season and he is visibly improving. On friday he made a positive impact on play more often than not. And that was up against one of the best defenders in lg 1. He will improve if given the chance to play against the best defenders I just dont see the logic of improving by playing against less good players.
 
Ewes said:
I don’t get this “Send G’OD out on loan”. He’s the best striker we have??
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The point is if we want to get anywhere in this division next season, should we still be in it, we will need a proven strike force, not relying on a promising teenager making his way in the game.
 
SteMerritt said:
The point is if we want to get anywhere in this division next season, should we still be in it, we will need a proven strike force, not relying on a promising teenager making his way in the game.
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There is space in a squad for both, depending on the system. I suppose it all comes down to whether 30+ appearances (15+ starts?) in L1 next year would be better for him than 40+ starts in L2 or lower.

I’m not a believer in one size fits all. Man City are a great example of this - not every player goes on loan. Plenty have spent their development years around the senior camp picking up sporadic minutes at an elite level rather than playing regularly somewhere else and done very well (Foden, Palmer, Rico Lewis to name a few). O’Donkor may be that player Pep would hang on to and develop himself but one things for sure, we’d need someone in the building for him to learn from otherwise that’s a pointless exercise. 2 senior strikers are a must whether G’OD remains here or not.
 
SteMerritt said:
The point is if we want to get anywhere in this division next season, should we still be in it, we will need a proven strike force, not relying on a promising teenager making his way in the game.
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But if he ,as he is , showing excellent promise then he should be 3rd choice pushing to get a start . He might well go on to be a championship striker , a loan at Slough or somewhere equally wonderful at a lower level I don't see much point in personally.
Both him and Tyler should be first team squad - pushing to get into the side .
' you'll win nothing with kids '
 
Thomas/Brock/Jones said:
But if he ,as he is , showing excellent promise then he should be 3rd choice pushing to get a start . He might well go on to be a championship striker , a loan at Slough or somewhere equally wonderful at a lower level I don't see much point in personally.
Both him and Tyler should be first team squad - pushing to get into the side .
' you'll win nothing with kids '
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I think this right, they have earned their right to be classed as full squad players, especially Tyler, but they shouldn’t be near first choice
 
Swaby39 said:
I suppose it all comes down to whether 30+ appearances (15+ starts?) in L1 next year would be better for him than 40+ starts in L2 or lower.
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Yep, this is the question, although I'd say if he is starting 15 games next season we have failed in our recruitment again, unless he takes another big step forwards.
 
We’ve either got to back them to play a part in our season or let them go and play elsewhere. I personally think both are capable of squad roles, particularly if surrounded by better players, and both have done enough to show they can hold their own in L1 and be trusted with regular minutes. But if Manning sees them as fill-ins then they need to go out as we’re essentially then devaluing our own assets.
 
I would rather he worked with some excellent coaches and some excellent senior pros than getting lumps kicked out of him in non league and part time coaches and veteran non league players to learn from. If he was at a premier league club they wouldn’t send him to non league, he would be in league one, probably with the likes of us. He’s already improved at lot this season, let’s improve the squad and have him a part of it (with a first team place his to fight for)
 
SteMerritt said:
I'm sure there is a point in there somewhere 🤷‍♂️
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the point is ( and I'm sure you understood it) that he won't be a teenager next year, and that he is only a couple of years younger than one of the best players in the PL.

He's shown promise and perhaps might have been loaned out this year- but he now needs to be treated as a core member of the squad, who needs to be managed carefully, but should stay here next season. The club should have faith in him. Would rather he was working with Manning (and whichever striker he brings in) than sent out elsewhere.
 
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WokinghamYellow said:
I would rather he worked with some excellent coaches and some excellent senior pros than getting lumps kicked out of him in non league and part time coaches and veteran non league players to learn from. If he was at a premier league club they wouldn’t send him to non league, he would be in league one, probably with the likes of us. He’s already improved at lot this season, let’s improve the squad and have him a part of it (with a first team place his to fight for)
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agree 100% , great post @WokinghamYellow
 
YellowTaxi said:
He'll be 20 next year.
Bukayo Saka is 21
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He is 18 and Saka is 21, that is quite a difference.

We don’t need to rush O Donkors development, a season on loan at Woking, Barnet or Aldershot can lead to us having a better player in the future.

Study’s have shown that people develop more when they are at the top of the class than when they are thrown in the deep end at a level at which they struggle (which he understandably has at times this season), no harm in taking a longer term view on an 18 year old.
 
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