If you get close enough to a short arse like Foden or Silva you can knock them of the ball. Players like that have to not get into physical scraps and they have to bring more to the game with speed and technical skill than is lost by lack of physical presence.Their comments seem to change as the season develops and their fate becomes more evident. They can appreciate that he is technically very good; if he comes back to us, he will be surrounded by other technically excellent players.
As for the bit about being knocked off the ball easily, well that only improves once you have developed physically. Foden will be 24 later this month and is still knocked off the ball in the middle of the park, largely because he hasn't fully filled out in terms of his upper body.
I hope the club hierarchy look at how Palmer has shone and just press the pause button. Get McAtee back at the club for the Wembley trip, even sat in the stand, and impress upon him that we want him in over the summer working on his conditioning and that we have a development pathway mapped out.If you get close enough to a short arse like Foden or Silva you can knock them of the ball. Players like that have to not get into physical scraps and they have to bring more to the game with speed and technical skill than is lost by lack of physical presence.
My gut feel is mcatee has a future at the top level but he needs to do what Palmer has done. Find a club that will play him and will play the right style for him. It's easier said than done.
By all accounts we would have preferred him to go back down into the same Championship and play for Leicester City, but I think he made the right move. That would have been a retrograde move whereas he’s challenged himself to play at a higher level. He’s now physically much tougher and mentally sharper for the experience.
I’ll be surprised if Nunes remains and even if we do sign others, there will be game time to go around. I’d like to think that the club will have analysed the injuries we have sustained this season and determined that we simply need extra bodies upon whom we can depend. If we don’t adapt, then we risk meeting Real Madrid and failing at the same stage next season, with players who are already gassed.There’s just no way that we can avoid injuries to key players, especially in midfield, so it would be prudent to have an extra body.
The question is more whether McAtee has the sense and patience to stay at the club for the coming season and push for game time. If he does, he could have a long career at the very top. If, however, he listens to advisors who want an instant cut and chooses immediate game time, then I rather fear he’ll become a journeyman, shuttling between clubs and between tiers.
Although I’ve seen what Bobb can do in the middle, Bernardo is still here and the former can’t get enough game time on the right. I believe he can do it. Also works hard off the ball.It is short, but it can be ten years at the top or ten years at the bottom. For me, at his age, he just needs to be dependable in certain positions, nothing more. Even if we bring in Savio, we still have nobody on the right who can slow the game down in the way Grealish can on the left, and there's no reason why we cannot coach McAtee to perfect that role.
He’d already done that at Sheffield United the season before, so the only difference would have been the shirt colour and a new manager. We also don’t know if the club had an ulterior motive in wanting McAtee at Leicester with Doyle.It was the wrong choice for me if he wants to make it at City.
Loans should be to teams that dominate possession, play good football and often have to try and break down packed defences. He was never going to get any practice at that whatsoever at Sheff U. Leicester would have been perfect, and the natural next move would have been to come back and try and do the same at City.
Not sure what he will have learnt at Sheff U, other than not being suited to a struggling team. Possibly it may have toughened him up a bit I guess, maybe he'll come back with increased motivation.
The problem we have is Palmer’s success might encourage McAtee to try elsewhere. I think that would be a mistake for both parties.Although I’ve seen what Bobb can do in the middle, Bernardo is still here and the former can’t get enough game time on the right. I believe he can do it. Also works hard off the ball.
McAtee would have a lot to learn. Whether he has the patience to do that is another thing. It would be nice for the talented ones to stick around but you can’t begrudge them leaving. Unless an announcement is officially made, Bernardo’s presence doesn’t leave my mind when talking about the team despite the rumours every season.
It's also genuinely insane to go to a team, who in the championship, barely held possession, that isn't his game.Genuinely insane that after spending a season in the Championship and helping a team get promoted whilst eventually being one of their best players, people think he should have gone back to the Championship and done it all again.