[Archived] Nikola Kalinic

[Hughesy]

If Kalinic scores ten before the end of the season I'll eat the Walkersteel.

Yeah ok How do you plan on doing that then?!

[thenodrog]

at the end of the day,we paid 6 million for a player only seen on youtube,he's scored in the carling cup against chelskis squad players,its time to see him on the pitch from the start.lardarse made a pathetic statement thats its about the 4year term of his contract,sorry at that price he should have been ready to hit the ground running.if he had took one of his chances at blunderland he would have played the next game.this he needs time is a smoke screen

How many goals per minute has he scored? It'll be far more than Di Santo. I'm suprised that you aren't trying to bury him too.

Just a thought waggy..... There is always hope in football, the best current striker in the prem by a country mile was very poor first season in the Prem. No doubt that might be a disappointing thought for you in your continuing crusade to cause damage and unrest to BRFC.

[thenodrog]

It can't be taught Waggy.

I disagree. Skill / ability / instinct cannot be taught or transferred I'll grant you but they can be improved with technique and coaching. Speed off the mark, timing of runs, shooting and heading techniques in varying situations etc can all be improved. Biggest of all is confidence and that too will alter with age and experience.

[thenodrog]

I think we're probably making the same points really. Of course practice/coaching will improve anyone's game. It will only improve it so much though, wont it? I think a coach can improve a natural talent slightly, but you can't teach someone who hasn't got the talent to start with, as you could never teach Ashley Ward how to shoot as well as Alan Shearer.

Have we really got a difference here Bellars?

It's foolish to even compare Kalinic with Shearer but lest we forget... At Kalinic's age (and apart from a debut hat trick at Highbury) Shearer was hardly setting the goalscoring charts alight at lowly Soton was he? He only improved his scoring record when he signed for a team with better players which was set up solely to play to his strengths.

From Wiki.....

Despite this auspicious start to his career, Shearer was eased gradually into the first team and made just ten goalless appearances for the club (Southampton) the following season. Throughout his career Shearer was recognised for his strength,[4] which, during his time at Southampton, enabled him to retain the ball and provide opportunities for team mates.[3] Playing as a lone striker between wide men, Rod Wallace and Matt Le Tissier, Shearer scored three goals in 26 appearances in the 1989–90 season,[5] and in the next, four goals in 36 games.

[S15]

Yeah ok How do you plan on doing that then?!

Yes that's right Hughesy, I made the statement because I'm certain Kalinic will score ten goals, forcing me to eat the Walkersteel stand.

[joey_big_nose]

If Kalinic scores ten before the end of the season I'll eat the Walkersteel.

I'll take you up on that. I think he will get around that in all comps.

[S15]

Alright Joey, but if he doesn't, you have to eat Keith Andrews.

[Silencio]

Yes that's right Hughesy, I made the statement because I'm certain Kalinic will score ten goals, forcing me to eat the Walkersteel stand.

There's no way you will be able to eat the Walkersteel, no way!

[den]

It's foolish to even compare Kalinic with Shearer but lest we forget... At Kalinic's age (and apart from a debut hat trick at Highbury) Shearer was hardly setting the goalscoring charts alight at lowly Soton was he?

Shearer joined Rovers at the age of 21 Gord. That first season, at the age of 22, With Blackburn Rovers, Shearer scored 16 goals in the 21 games he played. He missed half of that season through injury. Kalanic is 22 next month Gord.

Not that that has anything to do with any point being made here. No-one is comparing their two goalscoring records. I simply made the remark that you can only coach so much out of a player - hence, you could never teach Ashley Ward to shoot like Shearer.

Rover6 made a comment on a thread about Allardyce not bringing young players through at Bolton. He used Vaz Te as an example. However, he was there when Eidur Gudjohnsen made his first team debut. The point is that Vaz Te wasn't ever good enough while Gudjohnsen was. Coaching made little difference as to the outcome of eithers careers. It's not so much to do with coaching as it is natural ability.

[Blue n White Rover]

Kalinic must start for me today. He has great movement which most of us on here have realised, and with Birmingham having only conceded 6 goals at home all season, he will pose them a different threat. Maybe in 90 minutes of fottball he will find his feet and bag a goal in for us. Many of us need to remember that he still has not started a game for us in the PL. When he has started in the Carling Cup, as we all say he was great. So maybe the lad just needs a start and get a feel of the opposition before he grabs his first goal.

I'd start him up top on his own today with McCarthy playing just behind him.

[RevidgeBlue]

Arguably we play better with Kalinic + one other striker in the side than with just Di Santo up front.

Kalinic's movement off the ball is more varied and unpredictable and we tend to play the ball shorter to him and to feet which gives us more options than simply launching a fairly aimless long ball towards Di Santo.

[broadsword]

Surely the player is the raw material and the coaching is the polish.

If a diamond has a flaw in it, it might not be removed with polishing, but it will look better. The flaw will still be there, but not as noticeable.

You can't take a lump of coal and polish it into a diamond though, otherwise I'd be off down Betteshanger now digging like beggary. Same way you couldn't coach Iain Dowie to step over, do a dummy, cut inside his man and dink it over the keeper. he'd be more likely to do all that but leave the ball behind.

[den]

Surely the player is the raw material and the coaching is the polish.

If a diamond has a flaw in it, it might not be removed with polishing, but it will look better. The flaw will still be there, but not as noticeable.

You can't take a lump of coal and polish it into a diamond though, otherwise I'd be off down Betteshanger now digging like beggary. Same way you couldn't coach Iain Dowie to step over, do a dummy, cut inside his man and dink it over the keeper. he'd be more likely to do all that but leave the ball behind.

Yup.

unless the flaw is so deep it can't be polished out.

[Ozz]

That's enough diamond analogies thanks-Ed.

[den]

Thought you liked that kind of thing Ozz - being the diamond geezer you are.

[groan].

[Tom]

I'm tipping him to sparkle tonight

[mellison24]

Surely the player is the raw material and the coaching is the polish.

If a diamond has a flaw in it, it might not be removed with polishing, but it will look better. The flaw will still be there, but not as noticeable.

You can't take a lump of coal and polish it into a diamond though, otherwise I'd be off down Betteshanger now digging like beggary. Same way you couldn't coach Iain Dowie to step over, do a dummy, cut inside his man and dink it over the keeper. he'd be more likely to do all that but leave the ball behind.

but coal can be burned and over millions of years of metamorpism and compositional changes, it MAY become a diamond. Of course, it could be coal again.....

Other than that.....WHAT TCO SAID!

[DE.]

Unlucky AGAIN tonight. Shows genuine quality, and if he had a decent strike partner to link up with he would have scored in the premier league by now. Unfortunately, tonight he was paired with Roberts, and had Andrews playing behind him and for most of the game MGP and Diouf on either wing. Torres would struggle to score in our team, let alone poor old Niko.

[Tom]

Our best player by a mile tonight he's just having torrid luck in front of goal, he couldn't have done much more with his header at the end and his link up play is superb.

May as well play Jan Molby up top with him than Roberts though

[Amo]

Misguided lumps into the box aren't his cup of tea. He had to feed on scraps tonight. And he didn't get much change out of the ref either. That said, he was unlucky not to score in the final minutes.

[mellison24]

The unluckiest man in the premiership. Play him with DiSanto up top. McCarthy (or Dunn) just behind. A midfield 3 of Bert (how is he?), N'zonzi and Grella (see Bert). Defense was shaky too....my team for the Spurs match based on who is DEFFO available NOW would be:

Robbo

Jacobsen-Samba-Nelsen-Givet

Salgado-N'Zonzi-Chimbonda

McCarthy

Kalinic-DiSanto

That looks KINDA strong, but depending on who's fit, could be a lot better.

[RibbleValleyRover]

Thought he was our best player tonight, his link up play was superb and if it wasn't for Larsson's face he would have got the equaliser. Need to find a way to get some better service to him as i think he will score goals in the league on a regular basis once he gets a couple.

[Blue n White Rover]

The unluckiest man in the premiership. Play him with DiSanto up top. McCarthy (or Dunn) just behind. A midfield 3 of Bert (how is he?), N'zonzi and Grella (see Bert). Defense was shaky too....my team for the Spurs match based on who is DEFFO available NOW would be:

Robbo

Jacobsen-Samba-Nelsen-Givet

Salgado-N'Zonzi-Chimbonda

McCarthy

Kalinic-DiSanto

That looks KINDA strong, but depending on who's fit, could be a lot better.

You want to drop Chimbonda when he was one of our best performers tonight?

[Bobby G]

One answer:

David Dunn.

[mellison24]

You want to drop Chimbonda when he was one of our best performers tonight?

no, read it again. Chimbonda is better on the left cos he's weaker on that foot. he therefore keeps it simple.