[Archived] Nikola Kalinic

[thenodrog]

Worryingly similar excuses were trotted out for Cichio and Kev....... Kev was homesick for Chesterfield I recall, also had a throat infection that affected him.

I am not saying Kalanic is a dud but I am a little worried hence my appeal for supportive comments, I just can't help thinking that I have heard it all before.

I am also concerned that our club with a limited budget should blow most of it on a young unproven weakling from Croatia who may at best be expected to score only five goals this season.

I really expect our big signing to be up for it from day one.

I must say it's all making £10m for Kevin Davies look like a steal"

btw has Barry 'scam' Ferguson declared himself homesick in Brum yet?

[neekoy]

Second half of the year will be when the dynasty starts, still expect 10+ goals from him this year

[waggy]

i can't name another team in the premier whose biggest summer signing does not play regular,i think lardarse must have done a dennis wise here,watched to much u-tube

[gumboots]

I did hear that Owen coyle doesn't rate Kalinic after that behind closed doors friendly so if his name appears on the teamsheet against Burnley they'll be expecting an easy ride.

[Tom]

i can't name another team in the premier whose biggest summer signing does not play regular,i think lardarse must have done a dennis wise here,watched to much u-tube

Aston Villa - James Milner

[LeChuck]

Tuncay at Stoke? Bilyaletdinov at Everton? Zhirkov at Chelsea? Altidore at Hull?

We're certainly not alone in letting our new player settle in, although every case is probably for different reasons.

As long as he's ready in January (i.e. when Di Santo leaves) then there shouldn't be a problem.

[Billy Castell]

Zhirkov has been injured. I am starting to think Kalinic is a new version of Grabbi and had better be played a bit more in the next few months. Has he played much in the reserves?

[test]

Tuncay at Stoke? Bilyaletdinov at Everton? Zhirkov at Chelsea? Altidore at Hull?

We're certainly not alone in letting our new player settle in, although every case is probably for different reasons.

As long as he's ready in January (i.e. when Di Santo leaves) then there shouldn't be a problem.

Come on now, do you really believe what you have written? The more this lad ducks and dives in the reserves and on the bench the more I think he is not up to the job. I really hope to be proved wrong but I think he should have settled in by now and be fit enough for purpose. If he is being kept out of the side by Di Santo and Roberts then we have a serious problem.

He surely must play 90 minutess against Peterborough and score.

[alexanders]

Test. Do you think Slaven Bilic is a wise man with football knowledge or an idiot?

He is the one person who really make me have faith in Kalinic. He is very fond of him and have a great belief that he will be world-class. If he does , I do.

[philipl]

I think the instant gratification championship manager types have got this completely wrong at this stage.

Sam was straight up the moment he signed him that he did not expect Kalinic to make an impact for months- I am pretty certain I am quoting accurately.

As things stand, it doesn't look good but no way does it look bad. The lad had to get into position to become the ridiculous butt of Shearer/Lineker in the Sunderland game and one thing all the Youtube clips showed was that at Hadjuk he certainly hits the target even if a lot of them were being saved (and a goodly number were being scored). Yes there have been Croat flops in the English game but there are many considerable successes and it is way too early to categorise Kalinic.

He should get 90 minutes against Peterborough and I'd expect him to give a solid account of himself. Fantastic if he gets off the mark but not the end of the world if he doesn't.

[den]

Test. Do you think Slaven Bilic is a wise man with football knowledge or an idiot?

He is the one person who really make me have faith in Kalinic. He is very fond of him and have a great belief that he will be world-class. If he does , I do.

World class? You would think he'd be in the first team now then, wouldn't you? He's not a kid.

Sam was straight up the moment he signed him that he did not expect Kalinic to make an impact for months- I am pretty certain I am quoting accurately.

He said that about Van Heerden, Philip.

[G Somerset Rover]

Regardless of whether he will come good or not, one thing is for sure and that is whoever we signed to replace RSC should have been fit, ready and raring to go for August. We're not in a position where we can allow £6 million signings a season or so to make an impact.

None of our strikers are scoring and it's a big worry.

[joey_big_nose]

World class? You would think he'd be in the first team now then, wouldn't you? He's not a kid.

Not really. They're are not many 21 year old strikers (any?) regularly starting in the premier league at the moment. You do get the odd one who is super precocious (Rooney, Owen) but usually it takes a little while to adapt to the pressure.

We will use him. He will be a regular within two months - we don't really have a choice becuase Di Santo is going back - and there is not a lot of point in anyone getting on his back. I hope he is good enough. Also we should remeber he is on the bench and if games had panned out differently he would already of had more time on the pitch.

You do have to remember that he is coming from a league much worse than the premiership where the physical demands are much less. I think Allardyce has decided that he needs to get up to speed, get psycologically right, and build up his body strength. We are not in a position to criticise that until he gets onto the pitch and we see how he plays.

I suppose everyone works at different speeds. NZonzi has come in and done well nearly straight away, Hoilett looks like he is now in the zone, Van Heerden and Kalinic are taking a bit longer. I don't see anything wrong with that providing they do come good so I am prepared to wait. In every walk of life some people can immediately make the adjustment and some cannot.

A good case in point is David Bentley who was very poor at Norwich, deeply average for us in his first season, then blossomed into an excellent player. The stakes are higher with 6m on the table but the principle is the same.

[LeftWinger]

A good case in point is David Bentley who was very poor at Norwich, deeply average for us in his first season, then blossomed into an excellent player.

An excellent point.

[LeChuck]

Come on now, do you really believe what you have written? The more this lad ducks and dives in the reserves and on the bench the more I think he is not up to the job.

Of course I believe what I've written, not many 21 year old strikers play regularly in the Premier League...especially 'target man' style players.

Look how long it took players like Carlton Cole, Peter Crouch, Kenwyne Jones etc. to become established in this league - certainly none of them were doing it at 21.

Even Didier Drogba was still knocking around second-rate French teams until his mid-twenties.

Give the lad time to get settled to a new country, a new culture and a new style of play. I can't believe people are writing him off already - Allardyce said he was 'one for the future' when we signed him, so obviously thought he needed work before being ready for regular first team football.

[ada2020]

Not really. They're are not many 21 year old strikers (any?) regularly starting in the premier league at the moment. You do get the odd one who is super precocious (Rooney, Owen) but usually it takes a little while to adapt to the pressure.We will use him. He will be a regular within two months - we don't really have a choice becuase Di Santo is going back - and there is not a lot of point in anyone getting on his back. I hope he is good enough. Also we should remeber he is on the bench and if games had panned out differently he would already of had more time on the pitch.You do have to remember that he is coming from a league much worse than the premiership where the physical demands are much less. I think Allardyce has decided that he needs to get up to speed, get psycologically right, and build up his body strength. We are not in a position to criticise that until he gets onto the pitch and we see how he plays.I suppose everyone works at different speeds. NZonzi has come in and done well nearly straight away, Hoilett looks like he is now in the zone, Van Heerden and Kalinic are taking a bit longer. I don't see anything wrong with that providing they do come good so I am prepared to wait. In every walk of life some people can immediately make the adjustment and some cannot.A good case in point is David Bentley who was very poor at Norwich, deeply average for us in his first season, then blossomed into an excellent player. The stakes are higher with 6m on the table but the principle is the same.

Good call, the manager knows what he's doing.

Some people just want him to play for the sake of it, who really cares how much he cost.

So long as he is ready when Franco heads back to Chelsea thats all that matters for me.

[den]

Not really. They're are not many 21 year old strikers (any?) regularly starting in the premier league at the moment.

How is that relevant to my point that Kalanic will be 22 in January? He's not going to improve much after that.

I've said it many times, - a striker has to be playing first team football regularly by the time they are 21/22, otherwise they are highly unlikely to make it at that level.

Name me a rovers striker that came good, at Ewood, after he turned 22?

[LeChuck]

How is that relevant to my point that Kalanic will be 22 in January? He's not going to improve much after that.

Come on Den that's nonsense, many players improve massively from that point on. You seem to have completely ignored my post where I've named some - Carlton Cole possibly being the most recent example. Look at how much Adebayor has improved since he arrived in England as well.

You also seem to be completely ignoring the fact that Kalinic has been playing regular first team football since he was 18. His development isn't going to be damaged by spending a few months adjusting to a new way of life and being prepared for a new style of football in training.

I remember you making similar comments about Aaron Lennon back when Bentley left...I thought that might have made you revise your opinion on age/development.

[den]

Come on Den that's nonsense, many players improve massively from that point on. You seem to have completely ignored my post where I've named some - Carlton Cole possibly being the most recent example. Look at how much Adebayor has improved since he arrived in England as well.

It's not nonsense LeC.

Carlton Cole was playing in the Prem at 19 yrs of age. He was playing regularly by the time he was 21.

Adebayor was also playing regular first team football at Monaco in 2003, at the age of 19 and he scored seven goals in 17 appearances, helping them reach the Champions League final with two goals in 10 games.

I didn't say strikers [i'm not talking mids, or defenders here, because they tend to mature later] don't improve at all, but I ask again, which striker at Ewood has made it through to the first team after they turned 22?

I remember you making similar comments about Aaron Lennon back when Bentley left...I thought that might have made you revise your opinion on age/development.

Why, what's any different about Aaron Lennon now?

[Hughesy]

Another example

First half of last season - Modric came for mega cash and was talked up, he was awful.

Now - Key player and very important to Spurs. I trust Sam & Bilic's judgement.

[LeChuck]

It's not nonsense LeC.

Carlton Cole was playing in the Prem at 19 yrs of age. He was playing regularly by the time he was 21.

Adebayor was also playing regular first team football at Monaco in 2003, at the age of 19 and he scored seven goals in 17 appearances, helping them reach the Champions League final with two goals in 10 games.

I didn't say strikers [i'm not talking mids, or defenders here, because they tend to mature later] don't improve at all, but I ask again, which striker at Ewood has made it through to the first team after they turned 22?

Why, what's any different about Aaron Lennon now?

Cole managed 25 appearances between 2001-2006, I'd hardly call that regular football. Even when he got more regular football at Charlton and Villa he showed little sign of improvements, it's only since Zola has taken over at West Ham that's he's become a good Premier League striker.

I can't offer you any Rovers related examples, but I don't see why that matters. Players should develop with us as they would anywhere, we've probably only had a handful of 21 year old strikers in my lifetime so it's not really fair to expect me to pull an example out of them.

Kalinic has been playing regular football since he was 18, scoring 1 goal every 2 games in the same league that Eduardo and Krancjar came from, and they're not doing bad. It's not like he's taking his first steps into professional football, the lad even has international experience.

re: Lennon. You used to argue that he never had an end product and that he was too old to improve it, most people disagreed. He has managed to improve that side of his game massively (2 goals and 3 assists so far) hence his England recall. I'm just not sure why you think players don't improve much from 21/22 onwards...I know this tends to be the case at Rovers (but then a phrase involving 'polishing' and 'turds' comes to mind), but it certainly isn't elsewhere.

[AggyBlue]

I didn't say strikers [i'm not talking mids, or defenders here, because they tend to mature later] don't improve at all, but I ask again, which striker at Ewood has made it through to the first team after they turned 22?

I don't see your point Den

That has no bearing whatsoever on Kalinic

[super_arran]

I did hear that Owen coyle doesn't rate Kalinic after that behind closed doors friendly so if his name appears on the teamsheet against Burnley they'll be expecting an easy ride.

I read that Owen Coyle wasn't even at the behind closed doors friendly....so that would be a pretty weird.

Maybe he's been watchin youtube

[den]

Another example

First half of last season - Modric came for mega cash and was talked up, he was awful.

Now - Key player and very important to Spurs. I trust Sam & Bilic's judgement.

Another example of what? There hasn't been an example given yet.

Modric is a midfielder Hughesy - I'm talking about strikers. He was also Bosnian player of the year at 18 years old.

[The Prof.]

At an average backside of say 20 square centimetres Kalanic at 20x20 = 400 centimetres or £15,000 per centimetre of bench coverage. Mmmm I'd get 40 sq centimetres of coverage so only cost Rovers £7,500 per centimetre.

Therefore I would mathamatically be certain to have more impact than Kallinic on the bench.

Strongly suspect Sam thinks he's got a dud there.

Otherwise we'd be saying Robbo's keeping him out or Di Santo's keeping him out. But as they can't score either I think we're currently in dire straights up front.