[Archived] Nikola Kalinic

[imy9]

Kalinic has a better minutes to goals ratio this season than Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba.

:lol:

"There are lies, damn lies and then there are statistics"

Kalinic 5 goals in 15 apps.

Rooney 10 goals in 22 apps... oh yeah 11 assists too!

Drogba 10 goals in 30 apps... oh yeah 10 assist too!

Paints a slightly different picture I think.

[Kelbo]

Now heres Keans downfall, you LIFT players dont knock them down, give them the confidence, here we have a player back from an International game and 2 goals, he should be lifting him high and praising, we would reap the benefit of that.

Thats why Kean is a clown!!

[brfc4ever]

Now heres Keans downfall, you LIFT players dont knock them down, give them the confidence, here we have a player back from an International game and 2 goals, he should be lifting him high and praising, we would reap the benefit of that.

Thats why Kean is a clown!!

Great post !

[Torgeir]

Now heres Keans downfall, you LIFT players dont knock them down, give them the confidence, here we have a player back from an International game and 2 goals, he should be lifting him high and praising, we would reap the benefit of that.

Thats why Kean is a clown!!

Who knows what he said to the player when they had a chat a couple of days ago? He said Kalinic had picked it up since they had a talk so maybe it was needed? All the players, staff and fans need to pull in the same direction now, and realise the difficult position we're in.

[BangkokRover]

Who knows what he said to the player when they had a chat a couple of days ago? He said Kalinic had picked it up since they had a talk so maybe it was needed? All the players, staff and fans need to pull in the same direction now, and realise the difficult position we're in.

A difficult position created by the owners and the Kean the Clown

[DE.]

Not sure if this has been posted, but from Plunkett's twitter...

@EddieVukovic @CircoW Personally I think Jason Roberts will start up front by himself. And I doubt Kalinic will feature #rovers

[booth]

Not sure if this has been posted, but from Plunkett's twitter...

I really hope that doesn't happen

[alexanders]

Jason Roberts on his own? His stupid fouling and smiling, horrible shooting. I dont think I can take it.

[Gav]

The telegraph has a good piece on Kalinic today:

Kalinic still can't speak the lingo after being here for 2yrs, which means he can't integrate with squad.

The club has invested time and effort helping him settle, but frustrated by the players response

The manager has had a 45 minute sit down with him to go through certain aspects of his game

He comes back from international duty unsettled and rumours of moves seem to surface after international duty

Spurs have reportedly shown an interest

He's likely to be involved today and has a future at the club, but Benjani has been showing more in training which has pushed him off the bench.

Good honest stuff from the manager I'd say.

[patrickvalery]

Now heres Keans downfall, you LIFT players dont knock them down, give them the confidence, here we have a player back from an International game and 2 goals, he should be lifting him high and praising, we would reap the benefit of that.

Thats why Kean is a clown!!

Yet when he praises Givet, blows hot air up his backside before last weekend he is also wrong! I know he didn't play, but it was surely done to try and get his head right. Forget his contractual issues and make him feel like part of the team.

Kean, for all his faults, is fighting a losing battle. He will never win over the fans because most have made their mind up. I have no problem with him being judged on results or tactics. No problem whatsoever. But this witch hunt where his every move is criticised is madness. One thing he seems to have done well so far is keep morale high.

[imy9]

The telegraph has a good piece on Kalinic today:

Kalinic still can't speak the lingo after being here for 2yrs, which means he can't integrate with squad.

The club has invested time and effort helping him settle, but frustrated by the players response

The manager has had a 45 minute sit down with him to go through certain aspects of his game

He comes back from international duty unsettled and rumours of moves seem to surface after international duty

Spurs have reportedly shown an interest

He's likely to be involved today and has a future at the club, but Benjani has been showing more in training which has pushed him off the bench.

Good honest stuff from the manager I'd say.

Compared with Rochina who has learnt the language in TWO months, this isn't honesty by the manager Gav it is lack of man management

[Gav]

Compared with Rochina who has learnt the language in TWO months, this isn't honesty by the manager Gav it is lack of man management

So Keans telling porkies?

[imy9]

I was inferring what certain sections of out 'support' are likely to say. I agree with the honesty angle I think it's poor on the part of the player not to have learnt the language and integrated more in two years here. Jean was 1st team coach so knows the guy better than most I would presume.

[Tom]

Seems coincidental that these rumours of a spurs Move come after international duty, probably just modric in his ear about Spurs whilst he's there.

Sounds a bit like our Niko has an attitude problem, which some Split fans warned us of the day he signed

[Majiball]

Yet when he praises Givet, blows hot air up his backside before last weekend he is also wrong! I know he didn't play, but it was surely done to try and get his head right. Forget his contractual issues and make him feel like part of the team.

Kean, for all his faults, is fighting a losing battle. He will never win over the fans because most have made their mind up. I have no problem with him being judged on results or tactics. No problem whatsoever. But this witch hunt where his every move is criticised is madness. One thing he seems to have done well so far is keep morale high.

Kean needs to think things through a bit more. He's obviously a thinker, but I question whether he is a critical thinker. You see by blowing hot air up Givets ass, as you put it and then claiming he is fine again and ready to play, Kean has placed himself in a position where Givet must at least be on the bench. Kean should have had the discussion with Givet about playing first before he spoke about it all. When you make a statement like that for me it means you've done all the ground work and every things in place and ready to go.

Obviously that was not the case as Givet did not play for whatever reason, Kean has also said that Givets response was "I'll play if you want me too". Kean has then taken that as meaning "if I have too" IMO and so left him out. Now dropping a player is fine, no issue, but dropping a player that less than 24 hours earlier you publicly claimed was ready, for the same reason, well doesn't paint Kean in a good light as it then appears that he spoke out without dealing with the problem, thinking yes, critically thinking no chance because he hasn't considered what happens if Givet isn't ready.

Next part people have to consider is that since Venky's have descended onto Ewood we have had lots of words and then actions that contradict those words. Now even our own manager is doing the same. Kean yes is in a difficult position, but he makes it worse for himself when he does things like this. He should have said we've spoken we're hopeful of getting him out there and we've been working hard on ending his contract issue, because when he doesn't get selected Kean looks a fool, and like a fool who doesn't know whats going on at his own club, or with his own players.

Yes Kean should be judged on results that's what football is all about, so for me I'd rather he shut his gob and focused on that, and start doing his talking on the pitch and in the dugout.

[Gav]

I was inferring what certain sections of out 'support' are likely to say.

Sorry Imy, misunderstood.

[Majiball]

Seems coincidental that these rumours of a spurs Move come after international duty, probably just modric in his ear about Spurs whilst he's there.

Sounds a bit like our Niko has an attitude problem, which some Split fans warned us of the day he signed

Spurs are not the first club to come sniffing round Niko, one other top four finisher last season has definitely taken a long look at him.

So Niko has an attitude problem, fair enough then lets just write off our 6million investment, cause we don't have the skill base to turn the situation around.

For me this plus Givet and Formica's sudden decline, merely highlights the bloody desperate need for a psychologist, full-time at Rovers asafp.

[Roversider]

I have never understood why English clubs are so tolerant of players who don't learn English. That isn't the case in Serie A but it isn't unusual in the Premiership. It is amazing to think that Carlos Tevez hasn't learnt English yet after a lot longer here than Kalinic. Has it affected Tevez' game? Don't think so, but he is an exceptional talent and doesn't seem to care where he settles down, although he seems to be hankering back to Argentina or Spain so maybe it is a problem for him.

If Niko wants to play here he needs to either learn English to an adequate level or move to a club where there are other players who can translate for him, maybe back to Croatia?

Premier clubs shower all sorts of support on the foreign players and most respond by taking advantage of that to try to settle in. If that doesn't happen I think you need to move the player on because they will never be totally happy at a club or fully integrated. I really hope Niko can fit in, become fluent in English and be a star for the future. Given that Kean is multi-lingual and used to working abroad I suspect he understands better than most what is needed.

For once I think the manager has more understanding of the pressures on the players and the need to integrate in the team than any of the posters here. Football is a team game after all.

[vintageadidas]

Kean - damned if you do, damned if you dont

It makes me rate Kalinic even less after this article.

To be honest, i cannot stand any of our striker. They are all SH*T!

SIMPLE.

[patrickvalery]

Kean needs to think things through a bit more. He's obviously a thinker, but I question whether he is a critical thinker. You see by blowing hot air up Givets ass, as you put it and then claiming he is fine again and ready to play, Kean has placed himself in a position where Givet must at least be on the bench. Kean should have had the discussion with Givet about playing first before he spoke about it all. When you make a statement like that for me it means you've done all the ground work and every things in place and ready to go.

Obviously that was not the case as Givet did not play for whatever reason, Kean has also said that Givets response was "I'll play if you want me too". Kean has then taken that as meaning "if I have too" IMO and so left him out. Now dropping a player is fine, no issue, but dropping a player that less than 24 hours earlier you publicly claimed was ready, for the same reason, well doesn't paint Kean in a good light as it then appears that he spoke out without dealing with the problem, thinking yes, critically thinking no chance because he hasn't considered what happens if Givet isn't ready.

Next part people have to consider is that since Venky's have descended onto Ewood we have had lots of words and then actions that contradict those words. Now even our own manager is doing the same. Kean yes is in a difficult position, but he makes it worse for himself when he does things like this. He should have said we've spoken we're hopeful of getting him out there and we've been working hard on ending his contract issue, because when he doesn't get selected Kean looks a fool, and like a fool who doesn't know whats going on at his own club, or with his own players.

Yes Kean should be judged on results that's what football is all about, so for me I'd rather he shut his gob and focused on that, and start doing his talking on the pitch and in the dugout.

I agree with most of your points Maji. I'd sooner he kept quiet rather than make bold statements if they haven't been fully considered. But i think the Givet debacle reflected poorly on the player rather than the manager. What if Kean did have the conversation with him? What if he got the answers he was looking for? People change their minds, situations change etc... But i'd be in complete agreement about some of his other comments. They have been in direct opposition to things he has previously said.

I think Mr Kean has learnt the flip side to the media. He used the coverage to his advantage when he first got the managers gig. His pragmatic and logical approach was very impressive. It gave a sense of calm during very turbulent times. However, fans don't forget soundbites! They are an unforgiving bunch. Comments about Formica being the new Batistuta live long in the memory.

However, IMO, you have to allow him some breathing space. I know the league isn't so forgiving. But he is learning as he goes and in any other walk of life he'd be given time to adapt. I know results have been tripe, but i think he has shown glimpses of having something about him. If the whiff of controversy over the morality of his appointment didn't exist, i think people may be more forgiving. It sounds as if i'm a big fan of his when in truth i'm pretty unconvinced either way. I just think the way our own fans actively seek to destroy the man steering our ship is crazy. Crap analogy i know, but when my son was learning to walk i didn't tear strips off him every time he fell over. I picked him up and prasied him for the 4-5 steps he took before toppled over. Our fans, who should all want the same thing seem to get very vocal about his failures and then a certain section are quick to dismiss, or begrudgingly utter mild praise under their breath when we succeed.

Nobody wanted this situation. I imagine nobody wanted Kean to get the job over a more experienced manager. Equally not many wanted Allardyce out. But this is the situation we're faced with. You either bitch and moan about every little thing or not. I just think its counter productive to condem the man who is in charge. Another crap analogy here, but if you were on a plane which had lost its engines you wouldn't keep running into the cockpit to slap the pilot round the head if the in flight meals were cold.

Sorry about the analogies and the fact this post is in entirely the wrong place.

[Majiball]

I agree with most of your points Maji. I'd sooner he kept quiet rather than make bold statements if they haven't been fully considered. But i think the Givet debacle reflected poorly on the player rather than the manager. What if Kean did have the conversation with him? What if he got the answers he was looking for? People change their minds, situations change etc... But i'd be in complete agreement about some of his other comments. They have been in direct opposition to things he has previously said.

I think Mr Kean has learnt the flip side to the media. He used the coverage to his advantage when he first got the managers gig. His pragmatic and logical approach was very impressive. It gave a sense of calm during very turbulent times. However, fans don't forget soundbites! They are an unforgiving bunch. Comments about Formica being the new Batistuta live long in the memory.

However, IMO, you have to allow him some breathing space. I know the league isn't so forgiving. But he is learning as he goes and in any other walk of life he'd be given time to adapt. I know results have been tripe, but i think he has shown glimpses of having something about him. If the whiff of controversy over the morality of his appointment didn't exist, i think people may be more forgiving. It sounds as if i'm a big fan of his when in truth i'm pretty unconvinced either way. I just think the way our own fans actively seek to destroy the man steering our ship is crazy. Crap analogy i know, but when my son was learning to walk i didn't tear strips off him every time he fell over. I picked him up and prasied him for the 4-5 steps he took before toppled over. Our fans, who should all want the same thing seem to get very vocal about his failures and then a certain section are quick to dismiss, or begrudgingly utter mild praise under their breath when we succeed.

Nobody wanted this situation. I imagine nobody wanted Kean to get the job over a more experienced manager. Equally not many wanted Allardyce out. But this is the situation we're faced with. You either bitch and moan about every little thing or not. I just think its counter productive to condem the man who is in charge. Another crap analogy here, but if you were on a plane which had lost its engines you wouldn't keep running into the cockpit to slap the pilot round the head if the in flight meals were cold.

Sorry about the analogies and the fact this post is in entirely the wrong place.

You make some good points patrickvalery, trouble is I am not the sort of person to follow a man I have no faith in. I am that principled I have quit jobs with no thought of consequence, purely based on being asked to bend my beliefs and principles. Trust and Loyalty for me are the two most important aspects any man can display and for me those that don't display these characteristics, can go jump. I'm sorry if my posts come across as negative, but since Venky's took over I have seen nothing but negative and stupid choices being made by and within our club. I see absolutely nothing to be positive about at present where rovers are concerned.

Don't get me wrong Patrickvalery, givet cannot be absolved of all blame and I understand that things change. But for me to make a statement like would only occur if I was 100% certain and lest we forget it's a very quick change of stance, less than 24 hours. It's almost akin to me announcing my research based on half the results and then finding out the rest of them alter the findings, I'd look a right tit.

Kean for me talks a good game, but to quote my old boss "there's two types of people in football, talkers and walkers". Kean for me talks a lot and initially he spoke well, but I don't see that talk transpiring into the team walking the walk. Now whilst in the rest of life he would be given time to settle, this is far from normal life or a normal business due to the turn around time between matches, so should we take the approach you would in normal life? For me the answer is no. Results are the be all and end all and ours since January have been god damm bloody awful and if we don't win today or a least nick a point we could very likely end the day level with 18th place on points. I truly hope that doesn't happen as I'm not convinced our ships captain has the right stuff to steer us away from the relegation zone should we end up in it. There is a world of difference between being in a relegation fight but staying out of the zone, than there is when you drop into it at this stage of the season.

Can we afford to have someone learning the ropes in our current situation? He may well be steering the ship but so far we've travelled south IE gung-ho, then north again reverting back to direct football, for me that smacks of a captain who doesn't know what he wants or what we need. Now he maybe new to all of this but at the same time he's been working in this league for a long duration and yet those are the mistakes I would have expected from an Ince with absolutely no experience of coaching/managing at this level. That is not the case with Kean. Against Brum I sat in the JW and watched Kean and what he did, trouble is patrickvalery I saw many an occasion for him to give support or instruction to the players, but he didn't. At one stage when he did asking Olsson to drop deeper as we had a one on one with phillips and one of defenders at the back for a corner. Olsson looked at him shrugged his shoulder held his hands out as if to say what and then stayed, he did not move in the direction Kean had requested. Second half we attacked mainly down the right, which is fine, but again I saw several incidents where our attack broke down on that flank, we moved the ball inside and the player that received in the middle doesn't turn his head round before receiving the ball to appreciate what's going on in the areas he cannot see and just passed it back to the right flank. If said player had looked around he would have seen time and again that Olsson was stood all on his own, with plenty of space in front of him. I expected Kean to say something to the player to give him instruction, but he didn't and so we just kept doing the same thing, when we desperately needed to try and stretch Brum out to create some space to attack them 2nd half, but we didn't. Every ship needs a captain, trouble is I don't think we have one at present, given what I have seen with my own eyes, captains give direction, orders, instruction, motivation whilst steering the ship.

Now since we are on analogies I have a good one, I learnt to drive at 14, by trashing an austin maestro round our field. At 15 thanks to dad I was capable of doing handbrake turns, sliding round corners etc. Would you let me on the road? I can drive very well, but I have zero experience dealing with other cars or the laws of the road and I'm going to make grave mistakes along the way. Not a chance in hell IMO, as my dad told me every time I asked. Now at the uni, we have undergrads each and everyone of them believes that they can do a better job than the people they see coaching in football, lol. Do we let them loose with our major clients IE man Utd, liverpool, Chelsea et al. not a chance in hell, if they make one mistake it would most likely mean the end of that relationship, which has happened in the past. So in the main we don't send them out because it normally ends in disaster. This is what I see at rovers at present, someone who is nowhere near ready to be in charge of a premierleague club, in charge of one and given the results to date I only see him steering us to disaster, I hope I'm wrong. The uni analogy for me seems very much like our current plight.

At the end of the day patrickvalery this goes back well before Venky's Rovers fans have been split down the middle since Ince and then Sam came along. No middle ground has been found and so we have factions amongst people who at the end of the day all want the same thing, success for rovers. I'm sorry if my posts come across as negative, but since Venky's took over I have seen nothing but negative and stupid choices being made

Until that situation changes we'll be going round in circles.

[patrickvalery]

You make some good points patrickvalery, trouble is I am not the sort of person to follow a man I have no faith in. I am that principled I have quit jobs with no thought of consequence, purely based on being asked to bend my beliefs and principles. Trust and Loyalty for me are the two most important aspects any man can display and for me those that don't display these characteristics, can go jump. I'm sorry if my posts come across as negative, but since Venky's took over I have seen nothing but negative and stupid choices being made by and within our club. I see absolutely nothing to be positive about at present where rovers are concerned.........................Until that situation changes we'll be going round in circles.

Maji, your post didn't some across as overly negative. Completely understandable in fact. I agree on many many points. But i always come back to the same thought. If he is staying put (which seems to be the case according to the Rao's) then it limits your options to 2. Support or don't support. One of those will help and one of them won't.

When Kean got the job i posted on here i felt it was a bad move because of the change in relationship with the players. A coach often acts a middle ground between the players and the manager. Changing that relationship with existing players can be hard and i felt a new face would command more respect. So, i wasn't endorsing his appointment by any means. As i said, i think most people shared that opinion. But if we are stuck with him what can you do? Encourage or criticise. In my experience most people react ore positively to praise. I know he hasn't done a great deal worth praising. But people knocking him for every little thing is not conducive to improving his or the team's performance.

Hope that made sense. It did in my head.

[Majiball]

I understand your position and stance patrickvalery and if being honest I commend you for it

My trail of thought on posts is that Venky's monitor these websites and I live in vain hope that some of my points will hit home with them, like I see Den has also said. Assuming off course that their minions do read what posted to gauge the fans feelings and given their geographical location one would expect that to be the case.

On a Saturday (today) I'll be cheering the lads on albeit from the lab, watching on my laptop as I set yet another poor soul on a journey to absolute exhaustion.

[Kelbo]

So Keans telling porkies?

He's telling porkies if he says Rochina has learned the lingo in two months!!

English is taught as the second language in Spanish schools and Rochina had a good understanding prior to coming here.

Further to that, Croatia (old Yugoslavia) had something like 90 dialects so Niko was on a difficult one for starters.

[patrickvalery]

I understand your position and stance patrickvalery and if being honest I commend you for it

My trail of thought on posts is that Venky's monitor these websites and I live in vain hope that some of my points will hit home with them, like I see Den has also said. Assuming off course that their minions do read what posted to gauge the fans feelings and given their geographical location one would expect that to be the case.

On a Saturday (today) I'll be cheering the lads on albeit from the lab, watching on my laptop as I set yet another poor soul on a journey to absolute exhaustion.

I have never thought of it like that. In that case i should mention that i am a good thinker who enjoys working long hours. Just in case anyone is reading who might be looking to appoint somebody on big money in some capacity. Oh and that Jerome Anderson is a bloddy good chap!

Enjoy the match mate. Albeit from your laptop.