87 | James McAtee - 2024/25

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Lovebitesandeveryfing said:
Now I had Merlin right in my mind in making that post. Now I rate McAtee, anyone can see that. But with all due respect — David Silva is David Silva, i.e. in my considered opinion, the best player at City in my lifetime. And I saw Bell many times. And I'm well aware of what Kev was at his height, i.e. the best single season by a City player that I've seen in 17-18. Over and over again, City players confirmed that you couldn't get near Silva in training. They were in awe of him. McAtee is simply not comparable.
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Probably attributable to my clumsy wording but what I was trying to say was that, while McAtee is in no way currently comparable in terms of playing ability, Silva's similarly slight frame proved to be no impediment to him. If (and, admittedly, it's a big 'if') McAtee does improve as a player, we can only hope that his ability will transcend any doubts around his apparent physical deficiencies.
Incidentally, I'm with you in terms of Silva being the best of the best and I'm similarly long in the tooth.
; )
 
When I first saw James a few years ago I immediately thought what a very talented player we have...I still do. I was excited at the prospect of watching him develop into a top player like Foden...but sadly it's just not happened....yet. I was really hoping he would do great against Celtic and show his true talent for all to see. He was OK in the game but I get frustrated watching him play and want him to do more. You do see the brilliant touches and vision that he has in moments. I also think it's very important that he is staying with us next season. I really hope he can make that breakthrough at the highest level over the next year and nobody will be rooting more for him than yours truly.
 
br88 said:
When I first saw James a few years ago I immediately thought what a very talented player we have...I still do. I was excited at the prospect of watching him develop into a top player like Foden...but sadly it's just not happened....yet. I was really hoping he would do great against Celtic and show his true talent for all to see. He was OK in the game but I get frustrated watching him play and want him to do more. You do see the brilliant touches and vision that he has in moments. I also think it's very important that he is staying with us next season. I really hope he can make that breakthrough at the highest level over the next year and nobody will be rooting more for him than yours truly.
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The thoughts of a true fan, IMO.
 
br88 said:
When I first saw James a few years ago I immediately thought what a very talented player we have...I still do. I was excited at the prospect of watching him develop into a top player like Foden...but sadly it's just not happened....yet. I was really hoping he would do great against Celtic and show his true talent for all to see. He was OK in the game but I get frustrated watching him play and want him to do more. You do see the brilliant touches and vision that he has in moments. I also think it's very important that he is staying with us next season. I really hope he can make that breakthrough at the highest level over the next year and nobody will be rooting more for him than yours truly.
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Agree with on this. Had watched McAtee in the EDS a couple of times & thought he was excellent & had enormous potential. I think he's mentioned the step up to the first team has been large & playing in the Premiership, especially he commented on the speed of the game.

He has a wand of a left foot, perhaps not as great as Palmer's but not far off.

Like you mentioned, would love to see him to do more in these first team opportunities, as it feels he's holding back & not wanting to make mistakes in front of the coaches. He needs to take the game by the balls & stamp his authority on it, but I get the sense he has bit of a deer in the headlights approach.

There are some strong & vocal characters in the first team as televised in the Treble doc & its inevitable the EDS/youth lads are reluctant to take them on, regardless how talented they are on the field. Perhaps taking a leaf out of Palmer's book & play with a bit more freedom & demand the ball more often could benefit McAtee as he did quite frequently in the EDS.
 
There is video from the tour of Callum, Ben Knight and James on a driving range. When asked who is idol was, he didn't hesitate saying it was David and I think he bases his game on what he watched with David, but he is slightly different imho, being more comfortable playing slightly further forward.

One thing that did come across was that he appeared slightly under confident and maybe doesn't believe in himself enough.

He won't be trusted to play inside when he gets game time and there is way to much competition out wide. Hope I'm wrong and Pep really wants to leave us another 'legacy' player and that it's him.
 
Asa's left peg said:
There is video from the tour of Callum, Ben Knight and James on a driving range. When asked who is idol was, he didn't hesitate saying it was David and I think he bases his game on what he watched with David, but he is slightly different imho, being more comfortable playing slightly further forward.

One thing that did come across was that he appeared slightly under confident and maybe doesn't believe in himself enough.

He won't be trusted to play inside when he gets game time and there is way to much competition out wide. Hope I'm wrong and Pep really wants to leave us another 'legacy' player and that it's him.
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Inside we have Kevin, Phil, Nunes, Bernie?
Kevin may only haver a year or two left with us. Nunes still has to prove himself. McAtee might have an opportunity there if he can convince Pep. It's not like we don't need another of our youngsters to be able to play that position. It's up to James. Does he have the talent, resilience, patience and discipline to get some Carabou cup and substitute performances this year. Personally I would support playing a second team in the CC with all the fixtures we have this season.
 
Saddleworth2 said:
Inside we have Kevin, Phil, Nunes, Bernie?
Kevin may only haver a year or two left with us. Nunes still has to prove himself. McAtee might have an opportunity there if he can convince Pep. It's not like we don't need another of our youngsters to be able to play that position. It's up to James. Does he have the talent, resilience, patience and discipline to get some Carabou cup and substitute performances this year. Personally I would support playing a second team in the CC with all the fixtures we have this season.
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Yeah, I would support a second team too. Competition wise I was also thinking about Phil, Bobb, Echeveri in Jan, too. As much as I like Eze and Olmo, it would get very crowded.

I think that our fringe type players should be used in the last 15/20 mins of games going forward to rest our regulars like Rodri and Bernie and Kev, more often.
 
I really liked his size. Shocked me even. Good goal. Confidence not totally there and his touch isn't as smooth as Bobb. But he looks like a kid with some talent
 
skillman said:
Ha.

That’s not what the mistake was. The mistake was (and commonly known to be) that he insisted on SU as a comfort zone move rather than elsewhere.
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I don't know if its comfort. A move away from a club brings a lot of risks.Lots of loans go pear shaped and players sit out without gametime. Sometimes the stability of club and coach is the better call. While the club results were not great I think he got a lot out of SU time.
 
ozcityfan said:
Foden is a generational talent. A very high bar to compare. I think he has progressed well but jury is still out about exactly the height of where he ends up
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Would like to see more. But on what I've seen so far, I'm not convinced he is ready.
 
Do we reckon he's staying?

I really like his game, but I can't see when he'll play. At times last season, Kovacic and Nunes both struggled to get minutes, and that was with KDB and Haaland missing half of the season.
 
Jonas.shaffer said:
Do we reckon he's staying?

I really like his game, but I can't see when he'll play. At times last season, Kovacic and Nunes both struggled to get minutes, and that was with KDB and Haaland missing half of the season.
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I agree. Pep may need to make a call between these players. Some need to get a loan move otherwise it will not be enough game time for them all.
 
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