John Buckley

[AllRoverAsia]

This news is bad enough without Lowe making an appearance.

[Colt Seavers]

Buckley is a similar size, weight and age to Phil Foden. From what I have heard, he performs like Foden in training which is why he is so highly rated and has been tied down.

He has yet to show this level in matches other than in flashes. I have seen him play many times in the Under 23s and I can see why there is a buzz around him.

Ultimately I think he plays too within himself, for want of a better description. He keeps it nice and tidy and safe the way Jason Lowe tried to. 

He needs a major shot of confidence instilling. He is a timid looking lad and is probably intimidated by the likes of Dack and other big personalities. He needs to find the required swagger and be much less risk averse if he is to become a big player at this level.

 

[RevidgeBlue]

4 hours ago, O'Malley said:

After last Friday's depressing debacle I can only bring myself to check Rovers news to see if the manager is finally being held to account. Instead I read that an ineffective waste of a squad number is being rewarded for not much at all with a lengthy contract. 

 

Ffs.

I'm indifferent to rather than depressed by the news that Buckley has landed a new long term deal but in devil's advocate mode you could certainly argue that this is symptomatic of the general malaise affecting the Club.

If your face fits - fail to impress - and land a long term deal.

None of them seem to be under any pressure to perform, particularly it seems the manager whose only focus seems to be keeping the cushy status quo intact.

[bazza]

2 hours ago, Colt Seavers said:

 

Ultimately I think he plays too within himself, for want of a better description. He keeps it nice and tidy and safe the way Jason Lowe tried to. 

He needs a major shot of confidence instilling. He is a timid looking lad and is probably intimidated by the likes of Dack and other big personalities. He needs to find the required swagger and be much less risk averse if he is to become a big player at this level.

 

This also applies to Nyambe, another lacking in confidence. 

This is another example of management failing.

[RoversClitheroe]

He was absolutely class yesterday.

Made a few errors with some through balls. 

But other than that absolutely class. Should start Tuesday.

[Sparks Rover]

4 minutes ago, RoversClitheroe said:

He was absolutely class yesterday.

Made a few errors with some through balls. 

But other than that absolutely class. Should start Tuesday.

Do you think Mowbray will trust him against a top team?

[RoversClitheroe]

Just now, Sparks Rover said:

Do you think Mowbray will trust him against a top team?

No idea.

Whatever goes on in that man's head is baffling lol.

Were you impressed by him yesterday? 

[Sparks Rover]

Just now, RoversClitheroe said:

No idea.

Whatever goes on in that man's head is baffling lol.

Were you impressed by him yesterday? 

Personally I think if he were Rothwell yesterday nobody would have said anything of note.  He did ok at times and there were large parts of the game that passed him by.  

I don't think Tony trusts him to play v Top team with a strong midfield.  Might be worth a look on tuesday or friday against swansea and brentford.

[bazza]

Tony wouldn't trust Harrison Reed to play against a top team either.

[Sparks Rover]

6 hours ago, bazza said:

Tony wouldn't trust Harrison Reed to play against a top team either.

Thats a fair point actually.  Buckley should watch Reed, a good example of a smaller lad playing central midfield.

[Ulrich]

5 hours ago, Sparks Rover said:

Thats a fair point actually.  Buckley should watch Reed, a good example of a smaller lad playing central midfield.

The lad needs to improve his physicality drastically. How old is the lad now 21? His body looks weak and athleticism is lacking and he is whether he likes it or not getting on now given career duration. He needs to hit the gym and it is disappointing he wasn't physically developed whilst within the academy. He has talent and its shows on occasion but without the body to impose himself it will always be flashes. Paul Scholes is the best example for Buckley, he may have been a midget but he was a terror for his opponents. Aggressive, strong, good engine all aspects that bucko needs to display and can thankfully improve as those are training and attitude considerations, not talent. I hope he sees it and starts training more/harder as his talent would be displayed much more frequently on the pitch. Said talent has been enough to attract some bigger clubs to follow him for years, now he needs to sort his body and then maybe we'll start to see sublime through balls from him constantly.

[Admiral Nelsen]

5 hours ago, Ulrich said:

The lad needs to improve his physicality drastically. How old is the lad now 21? His body looks weak and athleticism is lacking and he is whether he likes it or not getting on now given career duration. He needs to hit the gym and it is disappointing he wasn't physically developed whilst within the academy. He has talent and its shows on occasion but without the body to impose himself it will always be flashes. Paul Scholes is the best example for Buckley, he may have been a midget but he was a terror for his opponents. Aggressive, strong, good engine all aspects that bucko needs to display and can thankfully improve as those are training and attitude considerations, not talent. I hope he sees it and starts training more/harder as his talent would be displayed much more frequently on the pitch. Said talent has been enough to attract some bigger clubs to follow him for years, now he needs to sort his body and then maybe we'll start to see sublime through balls from him constantly.

 

Couldn't agree more that Scholes is the perfect example for Buckley to follow - but I think the lessons he'll need to learn are more about attitude and using his brain than physically bulking up. Scholes was asthmatic and about 8 stone wet through for pretty much his whole career, but he had a serious amount of devilment in him and was never afraid to put his foot in when he didn't have the ball. He wasn't bullied when in possession that much mainly because his brain and feet were sharp enough to avoid those situations in the first place. 

 

I think that's the template for Buckley - be sharp and brave enough to anticipate where he can win the ball out of possession (good signs on that front yesterday) and be a bit cleverer with his positioning and decision making when we have the ball (much more of a work in progress). I'm hopeful that we'd see big dividends once he gets a proper run of starts, but we'll have to wait and see. 

 

[Ulrich]

Scholes may have been small but he always held his own physically against much bigger /stronger opponents. Bucko's engine isn't good enough, he needs to be able to run for 90 and he most certainly cannot at present. I think that's poor at 21. I agree on his positioning and speed of thought, whether this can be improved however also depends on his coaches and their ability to coach him. I'm not convinced our staff can give him that as tactics and formations are not covered by rovers 1st team staff. But that's another story.

We should tweet bucko some vids of Scholes and let's send him for some boxing training lol.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, Admiral Nelsen said:

 

Couldn't agree more that Scholes is the perfect example for Buckley to follow - but I think the lessons he'll need to learn are more about attitude and using his brain than physically bulking up. Scholes was asthmatic and about 8 stone wet through for pretty much his whole career, but he had a serious amount of devilment in him and was never afraid to put his foot in when he didn't have the ball. He wasn't bullied when in possession that much mainly because his brain and feet were sharp enough to avoid those situations in the first place. 

 

I think that's the template for Buckley - be sharp and brave enough to anticipate where he can win the ball out of possession (good signs on that front yesterday) and be a bit cleverer with his positioning and decision making when we have the ball (much more of a work in progress). I'm hopeful that we'd see big dividends once he gets a proper run of starts, but we'll have to wait and see. 

 

Scholes was a nasty bastard on the pitch. All this about him fouling people because he didn't know how to tackle is nonsense. He knew exactly what he was doing. He didn't get bullied because if you fouled him you could put your house on the fact he'd get you back.  He got away with murder.

The point is you can't turn somebody into a nasty bastard on the pitch, they've either got it in them or they haven't.

Edited March 8, 2021 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[LeftWinger]

17 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

The point is you can't turn somebody into a nasty bastard on the pitch, they've either got it in them or they haven't.

I remember Souness saying something similar about Martin Taylor when he was here.

6'5" but just not nasty enough with it.

I seem to remember them shaving his head to make him appear tougher, but he was still too nice ever be an aggressive centre half.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 minute ago, LeftWinger said:

I remember Souness saying something similar about Martin Taylor when he was here.

6'5" but just not nasty enough with it.

I seem to remember them shaving his head to make him appear tougher, but he was still too nice ever be an aggressive centre half.

Yes, it was a tragedy he was involved with the Arsenal lad getting his leg broken when Tiny was at Big Club. Totally out of character and I suspect his manager had wound him up before the game. Tiny was never the same player again.

I played with and against quite a few lads who played pro, two even played in the old Div 1 for years.  The best lad I ever played with was a centre half who was like Tiny, not a nasty bone in his body. I used to have to kick players for him. What a brilliant player he was, skillful and great in the air.

[Admiral Nelsen]

3 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Scholes was a nasty bastard on the pitch. All this about him fouling people because he didn't know how to tackle is nonsense. He knew exactly what he was doing. He got away with murder.

The point is you can't turn somebody into a nasty bastard on the pitch, they've either got it in them or they haven't.

 

Nasty bastard he certainly was, and I agree you can't completely change the personality of the player. Seems very unlikely that Buckley will ever have that streak in him, so no arguments there. Back to Buckley though, the Scholes example (although we could just as easily mention some of the diminutive midfielders Spain have churned out over the last 10-15 years) shows that being brave and reading the game well enough can more than compensate for being lightweight.

 

Remains to be seen if Buckley has those characteristics, but I think we find out by playing him more regularly and then see what he's like after a run of starts. Wouldn't do him any harm to have another half a stone of muscle on him, but I don't think it's as important as it is sometimes suggested on here. Certainly wouldn't be the priority for me at the expense of developing other aspects of his game. 

[Admiral Nelsen]

59 minutes ago, Ulrich said:

Scholes may have been small but he always held his own physically against much bigger /stronger opponents. Bucko's engine isn't good enough, he needs to be able to run for 90 and he most certainly cannot at present. I think that's poor at 21. I agree on his positioning and speed of thought, whether this can be improved however also depends on his coaches and their ability to coach him. I'm not convinced our staff can give him that as tactics and formations are not covered by rovers 1st team staff. But that's another story.

We should tweet bucko some vids of Scholes and let's send him for some boxing training lol.

 

He did - I was probably wrong to say the perfect example for that reason. Can't imagine Buckley ever picking up the number of cards that Scholes did for his 'mistimed' tackles!  Still, he's an example of a player who coped fine against midfielders who were much bigger, stronger, quicker and fitter than he was - mainly by using his brain and being brave when he had to. Personally I think that's the blueprint for Buckley too, rather than hitting the weights and bulking up, although I accept that you're making a different point about his stamina. You could well be right about that, although I'm not sure that he's started enough games to be sure one way or the other! 

[Sparks Rover]

5 minutes ago, Admiral Nelsen said:

 

Personally I think that's the blueprint for Buckley too, rather than hitting the weights and bulking up, although I accept that you're making a different point about his stamina. You could well be right about that, although I'm not sure that he's started enough games to be sure one way or the other! 

This is his possible value point.  He isnt a midfielder.   Can he do the foden role?  Can he be the replacement for Dack?  His body suggests a number 10.

If I were his agent I'd be getting him to a conditioning coach to work on his legs.  If he can add some pace, he can pick a short pass or a long pass, but he has to make a difference and that's going past people? 

[Hoochie Bloochie Mama]

5 minutes ago, Sparks Rover said:

This is his possible value point.  He isnt a midfielder.   Can he do the foden role?  Can he be the replacement for Dack?  His body suggests a number 10.

If I were his agent I'd be getting him to a conditioning coach to work on his legs.  If he can add some pace, he can pick a short pass or a long pass, but he has to make a difference and that's going past people? 

Do you know which one is Buckley? 

[its_rovertime]

I have to say I thought he was woeful the first 20-30 minutes at the weekend. Our worst player in the opening period by my reckoning. After that he settled into it and had a half decent game. He obviously has an eye for a pass and some natural ability but at this moment in time I still think we will only see it in flashes. Totally agree with others who have suggested he needs to be more physical both in attitude and body. Fingers crossed he develops further and we have a quality player on our hands, overall I'm yet to be convinced but hoping to be proven wrong!

 

[Darwen Rover 007]

I honestly think, Buckley is an outcome of Tony.. he comes on and fades in and out of games.. a manager that demands high standards would really be pushing this guy.. same goes for many other players 

Tony is not a winner.  He rules with his heart too much over his head 

[bazza]

He may not be a nasty bastard on the field but he needs a skin twice as thick as a rhinoceros to withstand all that's said about him on social media.

Why does a footballer need to be a nasty b.....?  I think Travis is trying to be one and gets himself and the team into trouble for it.

[LDRover]

3 hours ago, its_rovertime said:

I have to say I thought he was woeful the first 20-30 minutes at the weekend. Our worst player in the opening period by my reckoning. After that he settled into it and had a half decent game. 

 

This is the point for me. It's obvious the lad has ability but has always struggled to impose himself in a tight game from the get go - almost hiding on occasions. Once we scored on Saturday and the realisation hit that Millwall were garbage it's noticable that he became more influential.

So, has he the mentality to get us on top in tight games or is he the icing on the cake when we're in the ascendancy?

[Exiled_Rover]

6 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Scholes was a nasty bastard on the pitch. All this about him fouling people because he didn't know how to tackle is nonsense. He knew exactly what he was doing. He didn't get bullied because if you fouled him you could put your house on the fact he'd get you back.  He got away with murder.

The point is you can't turn somebody into a nasty bastard on the pitch, they've either got it in them or they haven't.

It's also a different game now - Scholes would have been sent off a lot more nowadays.