I'm still trying to make my mind up on this lad. A lot of natural ability, a lot of experience for a young player, a Welsh international and highly regarded.
But so far his displays have failed to back many of those observations up. He has scored twice, a cracker v Charlton in a match we have all forgotten about and a tap in v Bristol City.
He has operated in the lone striker role and as a 10 playing off the target man and hasnt convinced me in either position. He isnt lightning quick yet isnt slow by any means. He's strong but falls over a lot. He's well built but won't put his foot in. There are a lot of similarities to Andre Gray with his reluctance to work hard for the team apart from the goal return!!
He moans more than any other player we have, he throws his arms up when things dont go his way and has recently started mouthing off to his own players. Is he a big time bertie who thinks he's doing us a favour by being here? Does he have the temperament to be a real performer in a league where natural ability gets you so far but a work ethic gets you further?
He isnt at the same level as Willock and i dont think he ever will be. We need him to step up now Chris is out but all the talk is that Ilias needs to be the main man. For me, Mr Roberts should be the guy who steps up as he's the guy on loan from a Premier League club and should be looking to impress us enough for the club to hand over 4 million pounds for his services on a permanent deal next June.
If this lad isn't prepared to put a shift in and be as committed as a Sam Field or a Jimmy Dunne then I would rather cut the loan deal short and send him back. If he bucks his ideas up and shows us the player we were told he was when we signed him then he could be a star for years to come.
The choice is his but will he take it???
Over to you Tyler........
But so far his displays have failed to back many of those observations up. He has scored twice, a cracker v Charlton in a match we have all forgotten about and a tap in v Bristol City.
He has operated in the lone striker role and as a 10 playing off the target man and hasnt convinced me in either position. He isnt lightning quick yet isnt slow by any means. He's strong but falls over a lot. He's well built but won't put his foot in. There are a lot of similarities to Andre Gray with his reluctance to work hard for the team apart from the goal return!!
He moans more than any other player we have, he throws his arms up when things dont go his way and has recently started mouthing off to his own players. Is he a big time bertie who thinks he's doing us a favour by being here? Does he have the temperament to be a real performer in a league where natural ability gets you so far but a work ethic gets you further?
He isnt at the same level as Willock and i dont think he ever will be. We need him to step up now Chris is out but all the talk is that Ilias needs to be the main man. For me, Mr Roberts should be the guy who steps up as he's the guy on loan from a Premier League club and should be looking to impress us enough for the club to hand over 4 million pounds for his services on a permanent deal next June.
If this lad isn't prepared to put a shift in and be as committed as a Sam Field or a Jimmy Dunne then I would rather cut the loan deal short and send him back. If he bucks his ideas up and shows us the player we were told he was when we signed him then he could be a star for years to come.
The choice is his but will he take it???
Over to you Tyler........
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