[Archived] Morten Gamst Pedersen

[darrenrover]

People hate to be proven wrong and very few are ever willing to freely admit that their opinion was wrong. Human nature I'm afraid.

I agree with most that you've said but with regards to MGP, why did he not spend more time practising on the training ground how to clear the first man with either cross or corner? The most frustrating aspect of his game IMO, in addition to that missed header at Old Trafford of course!

I do however wish him well.

[Waggy76]

When he leaves the Rovers the got to moan about pick on somebody mob will move onto somebody else probably Jason Lowe.

Lowe will never be as good has Pedersen neither will Marrow.......

[den]

I agree with most that you've said but with regards to MGP, why did he not spend more time practising on the training ground how to clear the first man with either cross or corner? The most frustrating aspect of his game IMO, in addition to that missed header at Old Trafford of course!

I do however wish him well.

Lol.

But his detractors say his assists all came from dead ball situations.................lol!

[Tom]

I agree with most that you've said but with regards to MGP, why did he not spend more time practising on the training ground how to clear the first man with either cross or corner? The most frustrating aspect of his game IMO, in addition to that missed header at Old Trafford of course!

I do however wish him well.

He could clear the first man every single time if that was his sole aim

The idea is the whip it marginally above head height which makes it really hard to defend but much harder to get perfect

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Our loss will be the Danish "Superliga's" gain.

A Champions League club currently ranked the 45th best team in Europe, surely you're not suggesting its a step down? If he ends up at Copenhagen it'll prove his supporters right. Our loss indeed, Copenhagen would hang up the phone if we tried to flog them any other midfielder in our squad.

[Fife Rover]

When he leaves the Rovers the got to moan about pick on somebody mob will move onto somebody else probably Jason Lowe.

You're too late......they are already on to him. Lowe is the new Andrews/Pederson compulsory hate figure.

There has never been a time since I started watching Rovers in 1946 that there has not been some unfortunate Rovers player that has been the target of a significant number of fans that take a fervent dislike to that player.

[Salgado Is A Hero]

A Champions League club currently ranked the 45th best team in Europe, surely you're not suggesting its a step down? If he ends up at Copenhagen it'll prove his supporters right. Our loss indeed, Copenhagen would hang up the phone if we tried to flog them any other midfielder in our squad.

Until he performs well for them, it will prove absolutely nothing.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Until he performs well for them, it will prove absolutely nothing.

And yet there's absolutely no way of defining whether he plays well because a lot of our fans don't admit it when he has.

It proves Copenhagen rate him highly enough to be part of their squad. This is a team currently ranked above Napoli in the UEFA rankings. So if they do sign him then it means yet another set of experts within the game disagree with his critics amongst our fans.

[Amo]

A Champions League club currently ranked the 45th best team in Europe, surely you're not suggesting its a step down?

Mate, you really want to reference the "Uefa rankings". All those ranking systems are an absolute joke.

And yes, FC Copenhagen are a CL team. So are FC Shakhter Karagandy, as it happens.

If he ends up at Copenhagen it'll prove his supporters right. Our loss indeed, Copenhagen would hang up the phone if we tried to flog them any other midfielder in our squad.

According to his 'supporters', Peds should be walking into our side and could be playing in the PL, seeing as he was such a talisman under Allardyce not all that long ago. And yet he'll be joining the Hans Christian Andersen league, not unlike the level he was playing before he first came here. If you don't see that as a step-down, then you're quite obviously blinkered.

[patrickvalery]

And yet there's absolutely no way of defining whether he plays well because a lot of our fans don't admit it when he has.

It proves Copenhagen rate him highly enough to be part of their squad. This is a team currently ranked above Napoli in the UEFA rankings. So if they do sign him then it means yet another set of experts within the game disagree with his critics amongst our fans.

Come now, you're intelligent enough to realise rankings mean nothing. Its all twisted and illogical statistics. But then again that seems to be the order of the day.

[thenodrog]

Mate, you really want to reference the "Uefa rankings". All those ranking systems are an absolute joke.

And yes, FC Copenhagen are a CL team. So are FC Shakhter Karagandy, as it happens.

According to his 'supporters', Peds should be walking into our side and could be playing in the PL, seeing as he was such a talisman under Allardyce not all that long ago. And yet he'll be joining the Hans Christian Andersen league, not unlike the level he was playing before he first came here. If you don't see that as a step-down, then you're quite obviously blinkered.

Dunno bout the Skandi lot but watch MoTD then watch the football league show straight after. The gulf is massive.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

"The club coefficient rankings are based on the results of clubs competing in the five previous seasons of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League"

Can you think of a more accurate way to rank teams from different countries than that? The only illogical thing here is the underlying theme of thinking statistics aren't important, or at least aren't as important as fan judgement. Absolutely Amarillo, he should be walking into this side and could still play in the PL. And the fact that a club who would beat every single team in the Championship and half the teams in the Premiership want to sign him, surely vindicates that?

You can't judge steps up or down purely on the domestic league if the club concerned also has a half-decent European pedigree. Pedersen going Copenhagen is about the same as Pedersen going to Celtic. Both have better players, bigger gates, and the opportunity (or certainty in Copenhagen's case season) of playing at a much higher level. You're obviously blinkered if you don't see how that equals a step up.

[patrickvalery]

Dunno bout the Skandi lot but watch MoTD then watch the football league show straight after. The gulf is massive.

Is this not the point though theno? Three years ago peds was hailed as a £6m man by Allardyce. In the premier league no less. Now would it not be fair to then expect performances similar to that the much maligned Kevin Nolan managed at this level? I can read all the stats until the cows come home. But thw fact is our £4m man (allowing for depreciation) hasn't dominated a game in years. Yes he covers his fullback but so what? Thats the safe option. For a star man I expect more than endurance and discipline. Maybe just me I fully accept.

[Stuart]

It's horrible to see Pedersen as such a joke/hate* figure (*delete as appropriate). Totally unwarranted too.

The treatment of players like Pedersen is the reason for the behaviour of players like Orr.

I know who I'd rather see off the wage bill first.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Is this not the point though theno? Three years ago peds was hailed as a £6m man by Allardyce. In the premier league no less. Now would it not be fair to then expect performances similar to that the much maligned Kevin Nolan managed at this level? I can read all the stats until the cows come home. But thw fact is our £4m man (allowing for depreciation) hasn't dominated a game in years. Yes he covers his fullback but so what? Thats the safe option. For a star man I expect more than endurance and discipline. Maybe just me I fully accept.

Fans don't judge player performance accurately though, surely you'd acknowledge that? You only have to look at our often ridiculous man of the match awards that leave some of the ground agreeing, but most of it baffled as fans discuss a range of more worthy alternatives. How well someone plays according to us is as much subjective as it is objective.

Of course Nolan is going to seem much better than Pedersen because he plays as a second striker and scores goals, just like with us the 2009/10 season was all about Dunn and we had our fans regularly singing for an international call up. Goals are the one thing fans value above all else. Last season Nolan scored 10 and created 3, the season Allardyce was bigging up Pedersen he scored 5 and created 7. Not much difference if you add them both together. Of course that doesn't mean Pedersen is as good as Nolan because he was 3 years younger. At that time Pedersen may have been rated about £4m (saying £6m was obviously Allardyce giving Peds a confidence boost) , but at that time Nolan would have been rated at £10-12m.

All he does is cover the full-backs...sigh. This season we've looked about as threatening on the ball as Mike Myers when he played up front in Soccer Aid. Are people still trying to ignore this or looking for reasons why yet? Maybe one day Pedersen might crop up in the reasons why hunt. Or maybe not, fans ability to ignore his contribution when he played for us verged on the supernatural. He'd do something bad and fans would go ballistic, he'd do something good and all you got was silence for a few seconds and instant memory loss after that.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

And yet there's absolutely no way of defining whether he plays well because a lot of our fans don't admit it when he has.

It proves Copenhagen rate him highly enough to be part of their squad. This is a team currently ranked above Napoli in the UEFA rankings. So if they do sign him then it means yet another set of experts within the game disagree with his critics amongst our fans.

Let's see how many games he starts. By the way I believe he's already got an agent.

[patrickvalery]

Fans don't judge player performance accurately though, surely you'd acknowledge that? You only have to look at our often ridiculous man of the match awards that leave some of the ground agreeing, but most of it baffled as fans discuss a range of more worthy alternatives. How well someone plays according to us is as much subjective as it is objective.

Of course Nolan is going to seem much better than Pedersen because he plays as a second striker and scores goals, just like with us the 2009/10 season was all about Dunn and we had our fans regularly singing for an international call up. Goals are the one thing fans value above all else. Last season Nolan scored 10 and created 3, the season Allardyce was bigging up Pedersen he scored 5 and created 7. Not much difference if you add them both together. Of course that doesn't mean Pedersen is as good as Nolan because he was 3 years younger. At that time Pedersen may have been rated about £4m (saying £6m was obviously Allardyce giving Peds a confidence boost) , but at that time Nolan would have been rated at £10-12m.

All he does is cover the full-backs...sigh. This season we've looked about as threatening on the ball as Mike Myers when he played up front in Soccer Aid. Are people still trying to ignore this or looking for reasons why yet? Maybe one day Pedersen might crop up in the reasons why hunt. Or maybe not, fans ability to ignore his contribution when he played for us verged on the supernatural. He'd do something bad and fans would go ballistic, he'd do something good and all you got was silence for a few seconds and instant memory loss after that.

Man of the match awards are picked by sponsors. Fans will always be left bewildered.

I'm not a Peds hater. The man has served the club well (and been very well paid in the process). But as Nolan received adulation for his goal return, Bellamy received the same love for his overall contribution for Cardiff. As did Berkovic (sp) and Hignett in 99. Pederson has never stood up and lead the team. He isn't that kind of person. But for the experience he has and the money he commands, I think its right to expect more than he has given. No problem with his commitment or work rate. But he falls short on quality imo.

[Salgado Is A Hero]

So we look theatening with Peds in the side SKH? Because I can remember people (and by that I mean more than the usual few) who have said he had decent games in that one where he covered Morris and Leeds away, when a lot of his good work seemingly involved the left back in that game, Marcus Olsson.

You may think that anyone who doesn't rate him is scapegoating him or whatever but I know that if he had played well, he would have got praised for it. Just like Lowe against Carlisle. But I can barely remember any of that.

[moerpho]

Ahem....a couple of points about FC Copenhagen at the moment. Cared to look at the danish football league table lately, Steve Keans Hypnotoad? They've just appointed Ståle Solbakken (prev. Koln and Wolves....and FCK) to come and "save them" as he is seen as something of a football genius down there after his previous stint. Saying that FCK as of 2013 would beat all the teams in the championship and half the teams in PL is taking things a bit too far if you ask me. Also...if you seriously believe that FCK is a better team than Napoli...well...the lesser said the better methinks.

On MGP: He used to be a big star in Norway and was among the first to get picked for the national team. When his form began dipping under Sam so did his form for Norway, but still managed to hold on to his spot on the team. Not anymore - and he is not sorely missed either - and it is not because Blackburn got relegated (King still gets picked believe it or not!). I have really fond memories of MGP for both Blackburn and Norway so don't get me wrong, but I don't think he is up for it anymore. Truly decent guy with a big heart for Blackburn Rovers, but that alone doesn't cut it. Last 4-5 matches I've seen him he has been downright poor. Still...will be really sad to see him go, but hope he will get a good life in beautiful Copenhagen if he chooses to go.

Edit: Also just read that Solbakken says to norwegian TV2 that he won't be buying Gamst (http://www.tv2.no/sport/fotball/solbakken-vil-ikke-hente-gamst-til-fck-4107837.html) so that's the end of that!

[Parsonblue]

Mate, you really want to reference the "Uefa rankings". All those ranking systems are an absolute joke.

And yes, FC Copenhagen are a CL team. So are FC Shakhter Karagandy, as it happens.

According to his 'supporters', Peds should be walking into our side and could be playing in the PL, seeing as he was such a talisman under Allardyce not all that long ago. And yet he'll be joining the Hans Christian Andersen league, not unlike the level he was playing before he first came here. If you don't see that as a step-down, then you're quite obviously blinkered.

Somehow I don't think we need worry about a Champions League team coming in for the likes of Judge, Marrow, Taylor, Lowe etc., they will be regulars with the Brothers Grimm club - sadly.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

You may think that anyone who doesn't rate him is scapegoating him or whatever but I know that if he had played well, he would have got praised for it.

Well I find that hard to agree with. There was a heart-warming period in the Darwen End under Allardyce when we were singing songs for and really getting behind the likes of Sam, Diouf and Pedersen who would get stick from a lot of other fans. But that aside in the past 5 years his name has rarely been sung, he rarely gets a big ovation going off, some fans even refuse to clap him when he walks over to them after a match. I've heard fans say he's done nothing this match when he's created a goal, I've heard fans attribute an assist from him to the wrong player, and the stony silence from most fans when he plays a good ball or wins a good header can almost be guaranteed.

There are so many fans that as soon as they see him on the pitch think right, I'm ready to get stuck into this guy as soon as he does something wrong. They don't want to praise him, they're just not in that mindset. Now and again if he does something brilliant you get a grudging, half-strangled grunt of approval like its painful to force it out, usually followed by something negative like about time or why can't he do that every time. There's a guy in my local who would slate him every game, once after a match I got him to admit Pedersen played well. He had a face like a slapped arse when he said it. Is that an unbiased view? Pedersen has never got a fair crack from our fans ever since it became apparent he wouldn't regain his original stratospherically high level.

[gumboots]

Totally agree. There's a guy behind me who groans "argh Pedersen" every time the ball goes within 5 yards of him as though everything that goes wrong on the pitch is somehow Pedersen's fault. Used to do it with Lucas Neill even if he won tackle after tackle as though the one he missed far outweighed the ten he did perfectly well. Some people just become hate figures for no obvious reason

[thenodrog]

Totally agree. There's a guy behind me who groans "argh Pedersen" every time the ball goes within 5 yards of him as though everything that goes wrong on the pitch is somehow Pedersen's fault. Used to do it with Lucas Neill even if he won tackle after tackle as though the one he missed far outweighed the ten he did perfectly well. Some people just become hate figures for no obvious reason

Bloody loads of that sort about gumboots.

They are usually the ones who do not see a link between the absence one of our best 'providers' and the current goal drought and almost disinterested bearing of our very expensive and previously prolific centre forward. How many do we all know who constantly hurl bile toward MGP every time he touches the ball and then come on here to blame the demise of Jordan Rhodes on lack of quality service from his team mates?

[Blue blood]

Bloody loads of that sort about gumboots.

They are usually the ones who do not see a link between the absence one of our best 'providers' and the current goal drought and almost disinterested bearing of our very expensive and previously prolific centre forward. How many do we all know who constantly hurl bile toward MGP every time he touches the ball and then come on here to blame the demise of Jordan Rhodes on lack of quality service from his team mates?

You would think perhaps people might see a connection between the two, or something that is at least worth trying again.

Well I find that hard to agree with. There was a heart-warming period in the Darwen End under Allardyce when we were singing songs for and really getting behind the likes of Sam, Diouf and Pedersen who would get stick from a lot of other fans. But that aside in the past 5 years his name has rarely been sung, he rarely gets a big ovation going off, some fans even refuse to clap him when he walks over to them after a match. I've heard fans say he's done nothing this match when he's created a goal, I've heard fans attribute an assist from him to the wrong player, and the stony silence from most fans when he plays a good ball or wins a good header can almost be guaranteed.

There are so many fans that as soon as they see him on the pitch think right, I'm ready to get stuck into this guy as soon as he does something wrong. They don't want to praise him, they're just not in that mindset. Now and again if he does something brilliant you get a grudging, half-strangled grunt of approval like its painful to force it out, usually followed by something negative like about time or why can't he do that every time. There's a guy in my local who would slate him every game, once after a match I got him to admit Pedersen played well. He had a face like a slapped arse when he said it. Is that an unbiased view? Pedersen has never got a fair crack from our fans ever since it became apparent he wouldn't regain his original stratospherically high level.

Agree. Never seen anyone the the amount of flak Peds does AND get no credit for what he does correctly. It's the latter that galls me. Many of his supporters (myself included) acknowledge he's not the player he was and when he gets a bad game but it doesn't seem to work both ways. Those who dislike Pedersen never see anything good that he does.

So we look theatening with Peds in the side SKH? Because I can remember people (and by that I mean more than the usual few) who have said he had decent games in that one where he covered Morris and Leeds away, when a lot of his good work seemingly involved the left back in that game, Marcus Olsson.

You may think that anyone who doesn't rate him is scapegoating him or whatever but I know that if he had played well, he would have got praised for it. Just like Lowe against Carlisle. But I can barely remember any of that.

This is exactly the point! We're a better team with Pedersen in the team. He brings out the best of some pretty rank left backs Olsson and Morris. Imagine how much he'd bring to the team working with a player like Spurr. Far better than the abysmal layoffs Judge gave him at Donny.

Incidentally the problem at Donny, and for much of this season is the team doesn't seem to be clicking. We've some decent players for this level, but they aren't working as a team; they don't seem to be gelling. In Pedersen we've got someone who can bring out the best in others, who has fitted in to numerous Rovers formations over the years, but we chose not to use him. Seems strange to me.

[saxo1man30]

looks like he`s not gonna leave the club unless he gets every last drip of cash he can out of us, fc copenhagen move broken down reportedly due to his high wage demands..

were gonna have to pay him off as well i suspect, and after we do, watch the fc copenhagen move suddenly re-emerge..