Current Player Thread Brian De Keersmaecker

[Carpy]

 

[Upthecowboys]

Good luck to the lad and hopefully he can fulfill his potential with the right treatment.

Hopefully we now manage to get the young lad in on loan as long as the EFL give the ok on it.

‘The right treatment’ what on earth do you mean.

You are having a nightmare on this thread!!

 

[SamLongSlidingTackle]

Yes. Fit to play on Saturday too. What a prick.

Clearly didn't want to get injured and risk the move not going ahead.

 

[Steve Gilbert]

‘The right treatment’ what on earth do you mean.

You are having a nightmare on this thread!!

I was just wishing BDK all the best in his move to Bristol.

 

[Manorlounger]

It occurred to me that, having stated that he gad a conversation over a month ago, Bristol City did not have the conviction to meet his release clause. So highly valued is he by them. And, despite his behaviour, we have still facilitated a loan move.
How daft are we? That option to buy had better be for a bloody good price.

 

[ECYellow]

Isn’t it ironic that the music he has used to say how pleased he is to sign for Bristol City is Born Slippy.

After all, he’s been a slippery fucker stinking our place out for months now.

 

[Peterdev]

It occurred to me that, having stated that he gad a conversation over a month ago, Bristol City did not have the conviction to meet his release clause. So highly valued is he by them. And, despite his behaviour, we have still facilitated a loan move.
How daft are we? That option to buy had better be for a bloody good price.

I’d like to think so but I don’t think we will know what the ultimate price will be.I really hope we don’t stitched up like we did with Findlay

 

[Joey]

Good quality recruitment work in any business is a great deal more than just “we’ve found this player whose stats show will improve our side”.

You need the right support structure in place, particularly when signing overseas players. Player mentors, English lessons, agreed trips back home to see their family, help with housing, banking, taxation etc.

It’s no secret that every one of our recent overseas signings have failed to have the impact we wanted, and have been moved on quickly. You could theoretically sign Messi and he would flop without the right club support, and I firmly blame the recruitment team for not getting this right. I wouldn’t trust the current team to sign anyone outside an OX postcode.

Of course and I'm not letting them off the hook by any stretch but in the case of BDK I still think he was an excellent pickup, the fact that he's got a move to an established Championship club despite not playing since January is testament to this. If we paid £2.5m for him then that's not much by Championship standards and had Mitchell been allowed to spend the money originally promised, around £10m I believe, then I think things would have looked a hell of a lot different.

While he was on the pitch he was generally very good but he, like every manager and player for the last few years, was let down by those higher up. I don't give Mithcell a free ride but I think it's harsh to blame him for everything that's gone on above him which ultimately has set us back hugely. It wasn't the recruitment team's fault they were told that actually the budget had all been spent rather than having several million to round off the squad, or that we went on a vanity tour to Indonesia, or that we refused to spend a penny on a manager so spent ages before appointing Bloomfield etc. We've been rotten from the top down for some time and that spread, in my opinion that was a far bigger problem than the signing of BDK.

 

[holdsteady]

Do we have to have a picture of him at the top of the page? Can we not change it for someone more attractive and with better morals? Like Fred West or Peter Sutcliffe?

 

[GreenMachine]

He sees himself as a future prem player. Best we can hope is that he does really well for them and a few other clubs come in for him other than BC pay a nice hefty fee. If it was me I would recall him in January If he is doing well just to be spiteful but obviously that's not the right thing to do for the club.

Basically the worst thing has played out very slowly this window we have been used as a example by the EFL one that doesn't ruffle too many feathers big enough to show what happens not big enough to cause a legal issue for them as we are already deep in with stadium issues etc. Not saying we didn't bring it on ourselves we should never have let it get this far. Bad choices like keeping Rowett until It was too late hapless recruitment. We made it nice and easy for them to give us a kick and put us in our place for everyone too see.

Any club that gets relegated of our size trying to survive in the championship will be in for a tough time.

Sort of all things came together with Birmingham and Wrexham coming up when usually it would have been teams with lesser budgets to compete with year 2. It's just how it played out and we paid the price

 

[Byrne Baby Byrne]

We gave him an opportunity and he shafted us in return.
And Why were Bristol City allowed to chat him up two months ago? Same with Mills.

 

[bazzer9461]

It occurred to me that, having stated that he gad a conversation over a month ago, Bristol City did not have the conviction to meet his release clause. So highly valued is he by them. And, despite his behaviour, we have still facilitated a loan move.
How daft are we? That option to buy had better be for a bloody good price.

And u wonder if he will be fit to play on Saturday?

 

[TheYolker]

How the mighty have fallen…from the highs of that famous Blenheim palace photo incident and a good first few games to this.

Good luck Brian

 

[Yellow2K22]

Awful professional attitude, wont be missed. Never saw any passion from him when he could be bothered to play, spent over 6 months of the year ‘injured’ when he didn't fancy it, clearly has some talent but will never reach his full potential, prem player is laughable. He even looks bored and uninterested in the Bristol announcement picture .

A load of rubbish that he needed to protect himself ahead of a move, he was being paid by the club and should have turned up to training. I remember Kemar Roofe still attending his training and giving his all right up until his big money move to leeds.

Glad he is out the club, just a shame it wasn’t earlier.

 

[Kamal]

This, along with the Mills situation, is utterly baffling with how it played out. A player is either for sale (if the asking price is met) or they're not. Why loan out our biggest asset with no obligation to buy, but only an option? What prevents us from being in this situation again in 12 months? At the very least he should have been loaned out with an obligation to buy at the release clause price. I sincerely hope we've received a loan fee and Bristol City are paying 100% of the wages.

 

[Golden Dr Otto]

Not if the club has only come in late in the window.

 

[Golden Dr Otto]

Has been all summer.

 

[Essexyellows]

I thought if we loaned players out we couldn`t bring anyone in................ I`m sure I asked the same on the embargo thread.

Yet here we are......... loan one out, one comes in.......... are the EFL making it up as they go along?

 

[CaptainOx]

I thought if we loaned players out we couldn`t bring anyone in................ I`m sure I asked the same on the embargo thread.

Yet here we are......... loan one out, one comes in.......... are the EFL making it up as they go along?

It definitely seems so.

 

[outsidethebox]

This, along with the Mills situation, is utterly baffling with how it played out. A player is either for sale (if the asking price is met) or they're not. Why loan out our biggest asset with no obligation to buy, but only an option? What prevents us from being in this situation again in 12 months? At the very least he should have been loaned out with an obligation to buy at the release clause price. I sincerely hope we've received a loan fee and Bristol City are paying 100% of the wages.

My guess is that the embargo left us in a weak position where negotiation was concerned. Add to that a player who doesn't want to be at the club and one I suspect the manager wants away from the place.

If Bristol City are playing 100% (or near to) of his wages and he busts a gut for them giving us a realistic option of recalling and selling him to whoever in January I can live with that.

 

[Whingit]

It's surprising there was even a debate when it's been clear for years who's ITK and who's not on here.

 

[Morris Oxford]

It's surprising there was even a debate when it's been clear for years who's ITK and who's not on here.

Appears that one or two posters have been fed bullsh!t and in the desperation to be seen as ‘in the know’ believed it, despite the signs pointing in the opposite direction.

The phrase ‘useful idiots’ comes to mind.


As an aside it was clear Williams had at least one stooge on here he could rely on to push the club’s position in a positive light when needed.

So Tim was quite smart in that regard, he also knew a useful idiot when he needed one.

 

[holdsteady]

Appears that one or two posters have been fed bullsh!t and in the desperation to be seen as ‘in the know’ believed it, despite the signs pointing in the opposite direction.

The phrase ‘useful idiots’ comes to mind.


As an aside it was clear Williams had at least one stooge on here he could rely on to push the club’s position in a positive light when needed.

So Tim was quite smart in that regard, he also knew a useful idiot when he needed one.

I have said it elsewhere, there are some posters on here that would sell out a family member to get a message from a pro footballer, let alone the club they claim to support.

 

[m]

Useless idiots utilising useful idiots?

My brain hurts.

 

[carefreeoufc]

Appears that one or two posters have been fed bullsh!t and in the desperation to be seen as ‘in the know’ believed it, despite the signs pointing in the opposite direction.

The phrase ‘useful idiots’ comes to mind.


As an aside it was clear Williams had at least one stooge on here he could rely on to push the club’s position in a positive light when needed.

So Tim was quite smart in that regard, he also knew a useful idiot when he needed one.

As night follows day there have been posters on the various incarnations of this forum that have been ‘ITK’ and those that have been used to identify leaks from the club, or to promote a particular narrative from the SMT.

The issue with this one, it was so obviously untrue that it’s surprising it was believed in the first place. We can all be accused of putting two and two together and coming up with some number, but it never stacked up.

Now we’re seeing the subject change to Leigh again and his dodgy tooth. Tbh, I think Leigh probably did/does want to go. But fair play, he’s been involved in merchandise promotions and has been training for most of the pre-season if the official social media is to be believed. In complete contrast to BDK who’s even said that he spoke with Bristol City a couple of months ago (about the same time he disappeared from club training photos).

 

[Sheik Djibouti]

Useless idiots utilising useful idiots?

My brain hurts.

Thats coz your anidiot

Don't worry though, we're all idiots here, so you're in great company (another good forum strapline).

 

[Ewes]

Do we have any evidence of any of this? They all seemed physically incapable and fragile but I'm sure Brian and Romeny at least were in no need of English lessons.

The evidence is there in our departures list -

BdK - Loaned out after failing to be consistent or physically resilient enough. Lasted 6 months plus another 6 months on the treatment table.

Prelec - Sold to Polish club for half of what we paid for him. £16k wages reputedly for a handful of games and just one goal. Failed at Cagliari too before joining us. Lasted 9 months.

Romeny - Signed Jan25 for a reported £1.75M, loaned out with an option to buy for £600k. Managed 1 goal in 32 appearances.

Jeon Jim-Woo. Signed Jan26 despite not playing for a few months previously (Korean pre-season) but we throw him into a relegation dogfight before signing MP-H and then put Jeon on the bench and then (unsurprisingly) he got injured. 7 games, no goals. Quality player no doubt but was he right for a Championship team at the foot of the table and then the inevitable drop in standards in League 1?

Marselino Ferdinan - Signed summer 2024. Made 1 appearance no goals. Then disappeared into the Bermudan Triangle.

Hidde ter Avest - Another quality player but not what we needed at the time, with other RBs already in place. One goal and 34 appearances in 2 years. Free transfer but didn’t set the world alight.

Shemmy Placheta - Free transfer in summer 2024. Tried to overplay too often. 6 goals & 4 assists in 2 years.

Not one of those players was suited to a lower-table Championship team nor the inevitable drop into League 1. WBA and the likes can get away with it as they’ll use hardened British signings to get out of trouble. There’s a reason why Wrexham have seen remarkable success recently - they buy British players suitable for the division they’re in and then move them on.

We should confiscate the passports & internet firesticks from everyone in the recruitment team going forward, and instead give them a bus pass and freedom to scout academy Under 12s in Oxon only.

 

[Slade Yellow]

This, along with the Mills situation, is utterly baffling with how it played out. A player is either for sale (if the asking price is met) or they're not. Why loan out our biggest asset with no obligation to buy, but only an option? What prevents us from being in this situation again in 12 months? At the very least he should have been loaned out with an obligation to buy at the release clause price. I sincerely hope we've received a loan fee and Bristol City are paying 100% of the wages.

You would certainly hope so!
The problem is we have so many recent and past instances where our recruitment team are terrible at getting a proper fair deal that actually really benefits our club. If we do unearth a gem they tend to go for peanuts, if we are really lucky a few Tesco club card points might be thrown in!

 

[werthersoriginal]

The evidence is there in our departures list -

BdK - Loaned out after failing to be consistent or physically resilient enough. Lasted 6 months plus another 6 months on the treatment table.

Prelec - Sold to Polish club for half of what we paid for him. £16k wages reputedly for a handful of games and just one goal. Failed at Cagliari too before joining us. Lasted 9 months.

Romeny - Signed Jan25 for a reported £1.75M, loaned out with an option to buy for £600k. Managed 1 goal in 32 appearances.

Jeon Jim-Woo. Signed Jan26 despite not playing for a few months previously (Korean pre-season) but we throw him into a relegation dogfight before signing MP-H and then put Jeon on the bench and then (unsurprisingly) he got injured. 7 games, no goals. Quality player no doubt but was he right for a Championship team at the foot of the table and then the inevitable drop in standards in League 1?

Marselino Ferdinan - Signed summer 2024. Made 1 appearance no goals. Then disappeared into the Bermudan Triangle.

Hidde ter Avest - Another quality player but not what we needed at the time, with other RBs already in place. One goal and 34 appearances in 2 years. Free transfer but didn’t set the world alight.

Shemmy Placheta - Free transfer in summer 2024. Tried to overplay too often. 6 goals & 4 assists in 2 years.

Not one of those players was suited to a lower-table Championship team nor the inevitable drop into League 1. WBA and the likes can get away with it as they’ll use hardened British signings to get out of trouble. There’s a reason why Wrexham have seen remarkable success recently - they buy British players suitable for the division they’re in and then move them on.

We should confiscate the passports & internet firesticks from everyone in the recruitment team going forward, and instead give them a bus pass and freedom to scout academy Under 12s in Oxon only.

Yes I agree that most were unrewarding signings (though I'd say Shemmy was decent value as a squad player - and was already in England). But I don't know that lack of social integration or English lessons was the problem - more physical incapacity.

 

[Brahma]

We gave him an opportunity and he shafted us in return.
And Why were Bristol City allowed to chat him up two months ago? Same with Mills.

Suspect that when his agent was hawking him around, trying to get our pants down with a derisory bid (under his then lower release clause) from rival clubs, he was talking to them on his client's behalf and having direct talks with our knowledge.

Then his release clause kept going up, resulting in panic from his agents end.

Then got so high, that no fucker wanted to buy him. So a loan with I hope a loan fee, and they can try before they buy.

Bet the training ground environment distinctly improves now.

 

[The Mighty Aldo]

Suspect that when his agent was hawking him around, trying to get our pants down with a derisory bid (under his then lower release clause) from rival clubs, he was talking to them on his client's behalf and having direct talks with our knowledge.

Then his release clause kept going up, resulting in panic from his agents end.

Then got so high, that no fucker wanted to buy him. So a loan with I hope a loan fee, and they can try before they buy.

Bet the training ground environment distinctly improves now.

Unless the members of the squad who were linked to a move are thoroughly pissed off that two have been allowed to go when the club said nobody was leaving.
If they had decided to sulk and not train they could have moved onto better things