U23's: Derby (H) Monday 7pm

[lysglimt]

My issue is that we're focusing too much on what happened today and extrapolating it to his whole season and ignoring the progress he's made with his temperament (as if taking a negative view is neutral). At the start of the U23 season, he was as bad as he was today; he'd lose his head real easily, give away the ball a ton, and just mope his way through the matches. As the season progressed, though, he improved on this front and became an even better player for it, even getting called into first-team training as a result.

Today, we see him fall back to the issues from the beginning of the season, and we have you and Pogue thinking that he's been like this whole time, as if the rest of the season was just a mirage. Isn't this unfair? Why not take what happened today and events from the first bit of the season in conjunction with what we've seen from the rest of it? Basically, why are we ignoring the progress in his temperament?

He is a tremendous talent, but unless he learns to control his temper - he will risk his career. I read people saying he can't play in the U23s - where would he play ? Will he get more protection in first-team football - yeah maybe, but he will also be exposed to harder tackles, more provocation - and he is not ready for neither. He has the skills to be on the verge of breaking into the first-team squad - but mentally he is not. Has he improved during the season ? Yes - but not more than that he get himself needlessly sent off in a game where he wasn't targeted. If he had been targeted, I could more easily have excused him.

See comments from Neil Wood below

Wood: "I know you can't do that in this country. I'm not sure maybe Hannibal doesn't quite know but he does now. I've had a good 25-minute chat with him."

“It's something he needs to learn from, especially in his career, he needs to learn to stay focused and not get distracted. It's a shame because it distracts away from his performances he's had for the majority of this season. "

 

[JoeyJoJoJrShabadoo]

He is a tremendous talent, but unless he learns to control his temper - he will risk his career. I read people saying he can't play in the U23s - where would he play ? Will he get more protection in first-team football - yeah maybe, but he will also be exposed to harder tackles, more provocation - and he is not ready for neither. He has the skills to be on the verge of breaking into the first-team squad - but mentally he is not. Has he improved during the season ? Yes - but not more than that he get himself needlessly sent off in a game where he wasn't targeted. If he had been targeted, I could more easily have excused him.

See comments from Neil Wood below

Wood: "I know you can't do that in this country. I'm not sure maybe Hannibal doesn't quite know but he does now. I've had a good 25-minute chat with him."

“It's something he needs to learn from, especially in his career, he needs to learn to stay focused and not get distracted. It's a shame because it distracts away from his performances he's had for the majority of this season. "

You don't get multiple kicks in first team football. Especially now VAR is there. You can get away with being a dirty cnut in PL2

 

[lysglimt]

You don't get multiple kicks in first team football. Especially now VAR is there. You can get away with being a dirty cnut in PL2

I can't remember exactly how many times Hannibal was fouled yesterday - was it 3 times ? What he got his second yellow for was a simply tug in the shirt - not a nasty tackle. So I don't quite see your point

 

[JoeyJoJoJrShabadoo]

I can't remember exactly how many times Hannibal was fouled yesterday - was it 3 times ? What he got his second yellow for was a simply tug in the shirt - not a nasty tackle. So I don't quite see your point

Considering he got sent off so early in the second half you are right he only got fouled a few times. You are welcome to watch more than 1 game to make up your opinion though. I know I have.

 

[Adnan]

My issue is that we're focusing too much on what happened today and extrapolating it to his whole season and ignoring the progress he's made with his temperament (as if taking a negative view is neutral). At the start of the U23 season, he was as bad as he was today; he'd lose his head real easily, give away the ball a ton, and just mope his way through the matches. As the season progressed, though, he improved on this front and became an even better player for it, even getting called into first-team training as a result.

Today, we see him fall back to the issues from the beginning of the season, and we have you and Pogue thinking that he's been like this whole time, as if the rest of the season was just a mirage. Isn't this unfair? Why not take what happened today and events from the first bit of the season in conjunction with what we've seen from the rest of it? Basically, why are we ignoring the progress in his temperament?

Good post, which I completely agree with.

He's been kicked from pillar to post through out the season and i'm not surprised with his reaction. It was a reaction of a player that is basically saying to the ref, 'do your job'. I'm not worried at all with his temper, because at his age it's normal for certain players to have a immature side to them where they tend to play on the edge. Rooney had it and so did Ronaldo when he moved from Nacional da Madeira to Lisbon at SCP. Ronaldo it's said was so immature and problematic that he was causing issues not only whilst playing football but also at School, where he ended up throwing a chair at the Teacher. But as Ronaldo matured, he learned how to channel his frustration with help from the SCP coaching staff. And i'm pretty confident we'll see the same with Hannibal, which will hopefully help him fulfil his undoubted potential, which has been on display at the club since he was only 16 years old in the 23s.

 

[AltiUn]

Considering he got sent off so early in the second half you are right he only got fouled a few times. You are welcome to watch more than 1 game to make up your opinion though. I know I have.

He’s a pretty regular watcher.

 

[Sea-Cow]

I know this is "victim blaming" a bit, but he does appear to take a ton of touches. He looks brilliant at football of course and if he can develop a good shot from outside the box, like his goal in this match, then he could be very good. But man he loves to dominate the ball!

 

[pascell]

@lysglimt I completely agree with your opinion on Hannibal and him losing his head, it's happened on plenty of occasions this season. I know he gets kicked alot but his aggression needs channeling, we had to do the same with Rooney when he was younger.

 

[JoeyJoJoJrShabadoo]

He’s a pretty regular watcher.

Then his opinion confuses me more

 

[chattichattichatta]

Shola not playing today because he had his driving test earlier on. He passed. I fancy him to be there versus Looserpool on Thursday.