We've had a lot of 'technically good' players that don't work out.
I do however see promise in Coventry... Only thing really lacking appears to be his fitness. When he is on it, he's been very good. When he's not he is average - That is something where other 'Technical' players have failed, when they're not on it they have been woeful.
I agree, but I am sure a full pre season under Jones, fitness won't be an issue.
Terry Westley's - Head Coach assessment from 2021:
“Stephen Kenny managed Conor in the Irish under 21s and knows all about him – that he’s upgraded him tells me everything – Conor is ready.
He has a bit of everything you need in a midfielder. He can defend, attack, pass, tackle, is cool on the ball and reliable. I believe he is a first team player.
He will need games in order to bed himself down but once he gets that opportunity he will be on his way.
West Ham are fortunate to have players like him at a time such as this when money is so tight because of covid – Conor can save them millions.”
Think he was overtaken by Keenan Appiah-Forson as top prospect as CDM in 2022.
Reading the Knees Up Mother Brown forum here were some views when he joined:
I think this will be a really good move for Conor and the perfect club to start playing regularly and to see if his career can progress further.
Personally, I don’t think he’ll be anything more than Championship level at best, but that’s nothing to be ashamed about as there’s millions of players out there who can only dream of even making it that far, let alone to the Premier League.
I wish nothing but the best for Conor. He’s been a great pro for the club and has never once caused any trouble. Must be a dream for any manager to work with.
Thought he was a decent player on the few occasions I saw him in the first team. Probably not quite up there at PL standard but certainly good enough to enjoy a decent career in League One or the Championship.
Apologies for the duplicate post as I said similar in the ‘kids are alright’ thread:
Sorry to see Conor go, although I completely understand why he’s gone given he needs game time. I liked what I saw in pre season this and last, but others clearly didn’t. Shame, but they know more than me.
I read somewhere no fee involved, in fact loan until out of contract, so definitely no sell on clause which might be another shame.
Prove us wrong Conor and have a great career.
Wish Conor all the best at Charlton, good that he's going to play for a manager that already knows what he can do & will trust him to do it. Hopefully a run of games will get him his first senior Ireland cap & many more afterwards, we're crying out for some creativity in midfield & I like the fact that he plays with his head up & his first instinct is to pass the ball forwards. Do us proud lad.
Hope he is successful, his dedication speaks volumes. I think he was unlucky in as much as there were other 'staples' in front of him, better or worse. I'll never forget the 30 yard half volley worldie he scored against Palace recently and acted as if it was nothing when his team mates were raving. Class. I have no doubt he'll be playing for a better club in time.
and here's a great goal against Palace u23's (5 mins in)
He was also a mainstay in the Rotherham squad at the back end of last season, losing his spot to a bout of tonsilitis for the final two games.
Let's hope he can find some form with us next season as he is likely to be in the first 11.
Let’s see how he starts next season. He’s looked solid in a pretty poor team which is no mean feat.
Hmm. One of the criticisms levelled at Dobbo was that yes he has looked good, but in a poor team.
Coventry’s had three and a bit months here, Dobson’s had coming up on three years. If we’re in the summer of 2026, still mid table League One and CC is part of that then people will be having similar reservations then.
The only question next season is if we play this system we need to new attacking goalscoring mid to play with Coventry … we are not a promotion team with Anderson and Dobson trying to play attacking mid .
Only two games in but looks like he's doing a bit better in a slightly different role so far this season. He's certainly not a dynamic match winning type of player but he's done well at keeping things ticking over and keeping hold of the ball, which is exactly what Jones needs him to do.
Not sure how people have been slating him. Every time the ball has been in danger within our box and a tackle has been won he’s been there to collect it and get rid of the danger calmly. He’s playing the ball well and is definitely looking a lot better this season.
He also tackles better than people give credit for, he just doesn't do big crunching ones.
He absolutely eliminated one of theirs near the end. Didn't have to go to ground to do it. I know we all want the juvenile satisfaction of a Dobbo special
I thought he played well on Saturday and even better last night. Yeah, I agree he's not gungho, but what he did in both games was protect our defence, his distribution was also very good. As the season progresses I think he'll become an important part of the team.
He's been doing well. He's capable of those great balls into the channels, probably needs to happen more often in games but against lesser opposition he should get more opportunities.
Still not sure on him, I think I'm going to actually spend my time watching him vs Orient cause I tend to ball watch a lot.
I think he does the simple stuff very well, but I don't see a top league 1 player in him yet. I also think he might be a bit of a luxury player, I don't think he has the engine to play in a two, so he needs to be part of a 3 man midfield, and even then, I'm not sure if he does enough.
Like I said, not writing him off, just had very high expectations of him and haven't seen them met yet other than a few brief minutes here and there.
Still not sure on him, I think I'm going to actually spend my time watching him vs Orient cause I tend to ball watch a lot.
I think he does the simple stuff very well, but I don't see a top league 1 player in him yet. I also think he might be a bit of a luxury player, I don't think he has the engine to play in a two, so he needs to be part of a 3 man midfield, and even then, I'm not sure if he does enough.
Like I said, not writing him off, just had very high expectations of him and haven't seen them met yet other than a few brief minutes here and there.
I think he mostly does simple stuff because that's exactly what is needed. A proper thundering slide tackle looks brilliant and does take skill (as Ramsay showed on Saturday) but if you can get the same effect by just stepping in at exactly the right moment then its more efficient.
He doesn't really impose himself on games and dictate play, and I'd want to see how he holds up in adversity against teams who like to niggle and annoy and irritate but I think calling him a luxury player is harsh. He does the simple stuff so that Docherty and Berry etc have the freedom to play a bit more expensively.
Still not sure on him, I think I'm going to actually spend my time watching him vs Orient cause I tend to ball watch a lot.
I think he does the simple stuff very well, but I don't see a top league 1 player in him yet. I also think he might be a bit of a luxury player, I don't think he has the engine to play in a two, so he needs to be part of a 3 man midfield, and even then, I'm not sure if he does enough.
Like I said, not writing him off, just had very high expectations of him and haven't seen them met yet other than a few brief minutes here and there.
Still not sure on him, I think I'm going to actually spend my time watching him vs Orient cause I tend to ball watch a lot.
I think he does the simple stuff very well, but I don't see a top league 1 player in him yet. I also think he might be a bit of a luxury player, I don't think he has the engine to play in a two, so he needs to be part of a 3 man midfield, and even then, I'm not sure if he does enough.
Like I said, not writing him off, just had very high expectations of him and haven't seen them met yet other than a few brief minutes here and there.
I think he mostly does simple stuff because that's exactly what is needed. A proper thundering slide tackle looks brilliant and does take skill (as Ramsay showed on Saturday) but if you can get the same effect by just stepping in at exactly the right moment then its more efficient.
He doesn't really impose himself on games and dictate play, and I'd want to see how he holds up in adversity against teams who like to niggle and annoy and irritate but I think calling him a luxury player is harsh. He does the simple stuff so that Docherty and Berry etc have the freedom to play a bit more expensively.
Fully agree that if your anticipation is good enough, you don't always need to put in a tackle. It might sound harsh calling him luxury, but it's mainly as I don't think he can play in any formation which is why I'm using the word. Could be wrong. I also curious to see how he fairs against those types with a full season. It seems clear we are expecting him to play a big part, so let's see how he gets on.
Still not sure on him, I think I'm going to actually spend my time watching him vs Orient cause I tend to ball watch a lot.
I think he does the simple stuff very well, but I don't see a top league 1 player in him yet. I also think he might be a bit of a luxury player, I don't think he has the engine to play in a two, so he needs to be part of a 3 man midfield, and even then, I'm not sure if he does enough.
Like I said, not writing him off, just had very high expectations of him and haven't seen them met yet other than a few brief minutes here and there.
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Are you still doing the videos?
Yeah I'll start again from Leyton Orient onwards, want me to record Coventry the whole game? 😂
He was poor last season imo, but credit to him I think he has been better than solid first two games. Must be depressing for him playing alongside Anderson.
Positionally he is superior to Dobson, hence the lack of all or nothing tackles and his high interception rate.
Him and Docherty is 2/3 of a great midfield trio. I'm waiting to see who the third member of it is, I'm unconvinced by Anderson and I haven't seen enough of Berry yet
Still not sure on him, I think I'm going to actually spend my time watching him vs Orient cause I tend to ball watch a lot.
I think he does the simple stuff very well, but I don't see a top league 1 player in him yet. I also think he might be a bit of a luxury player, I don't think he has the engine to play in a two, so he needs to be part of a 3 man midfield, and even then, I'm not sure if he does enough.
Like I said, not writing him off, just had very high expectations of him and haven't seen them met yet other than a few brief minutes here and there.
I think he mostly does simple stuff because that's exactly what is needed. A proper thundering slide tackle looks brilliant and does take skill (as Ramsay showed on Saturday) but if you can get the same effect by just stepping in at exactly the right moment then its more efficient.
He doesn't really impose himself on games and dictate play, and I'd want to see how he holds up in adversity against teams who like to niggle and annoy and irritate but I think calling him a luxury player is harsh. He does the simple stuff so that Docherty and Berry etc have the freedom to play a bit more expensively.
Fully agree that if your anticipation is good enough, you don't always need to put in a tackle. It might sound harsh calling him luxury, but it's mainly as I don't think he can play in any formation which is why I'm using the word. Could be wrong. I also curious to see how he fairs against those types with a full season. It seems clear we are expecting him to play a big part, so let's see how he gets on.
Still not sure on him, I think I'm going to actually spend my time watching him vs Orient cause I tend to ball watch a lot.
I think he does the simple stuff very well, but I don't see a top league 1 player in him yet. I also think he might be a bit of a luxury player, I don't think he has the engine to play in a two, so he needs to be part of a 3 man midfield, and even then, I'm not sure if he does enough.
Like I said, not writing him off, just had very high expectations of him and haven't seen them met yet other than a few brief minutes here and there.
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Are you still doing the videos?
Yeah I'll start again from Leyton Orient onwards, want me to record Coventry the whole game? 😂
Haha that might just put him off too much
Glad you're resuming the videos, it's nice to have a feel for the game from a fan who's there.
If it doesn't spoil your 90 mins and isn't too much of a pain to do, might be good to have some little cameo clips of CC in your footage somewhere.........?
Comments
“Stephen Kenny managed Conor in the Irish under 21s and knows all about him – that he’s upgraded him tells me everything – Conor is ready.
He has a bit of everything you need in a midfielder. He can defend, attack, pass, tackle, is cool on the ball and reliable. I believe he is a first team player.
He will need games in order to bed himself down but once he gets that opportunity he will be on his way.
West Ham are fortunate to have players like him at a time such as this when money is so tight because of covid – Conor can save them millions.”
Reading the Knees Up Mother Brown forum here were some views when he joined:
Personally, I don’t think he’ll be anything more than Championship level at best, but that’s nothing to be ashamed about as there’s millions of players out there who can only dream of even making it that far, let alone to the Premier League.
I wish nothing but the best for Conor. He’s been a great pro for the club and has never once caused any trouble. Must be a dream for any manager to work with.
Sorry to see Conor go, although I completely understand why he’s gone given he needs game time. I liked what I saw in pre season this and last, but others clearly didn’t. Shame, but they know more than me.
I read somewhere no fee involved, in fact loan until out of contract, so definitely no sell on clause which might be another shame.
Prove us wrong Conor and have a great career.
Hopefully a run of games will get him his first senior Ireland cap & many more afterwards, we're crying out for some creativity in midfield & I like the fact that he plays with his head up & his first instinct is to pass the ball forwards.
Do us proud lad.
Hope he is successful, his dedication speaks volumes. I think he was unlucky in as much as there were other 'staples' in front of him, better or worse. I'll never forget the 30 yard half volley worldie he scored against Palace recently and acted as if it was nothing when his team mates were raving. Class. I have no doubt he'll be playing for a better club in time.
He was also a mainstay in the Rotherham squad at the back end of last season, losing his spot to a bout of tonsilitis for the final two games.
Let's hope he can find some form with us next season as he is likely to be in the first 11.
Nathan Jones needs to have a word here
Awful, wouldn't have George Dobbo Dobson dressing like that.
As the season progresses I think he'll become an important part of the team.
I think he does the simple stuff very well, but I don't see a top league 1 player in him yet. I also think he might be a bit of a luxury player, I don't think he has the engine to play in a two, so he needs to be part of a 3 man midfield, and even then, I'm not sure if he does enough.
Like I said, not writing him off, just had very high expectations of him and haven't seen them met yet other than a few brief minutes here and there.
He doesn't really impose himself on games and dictate play, and I'd want to see how he holds up in adversity against teams who like to niggle and annoy and irritate but I think calling him a luxury player is harsh. He does the simple stuff so that Docherty and Berry etc have the freedom to play a bit more expensively.
Are you still doing the videos?
Yeah I'll start again from Leyton Orient onwards, want me to record Coventry the whole game? 😂
Him and Docherty is 2/3 of a great midfield trio. I'm waiting to see who the third member of it is, I'm unconvinced by Anderson and I haven't seen enough of Berry yet
Glad you're resuming the videos, it's nice to have a feel for the game from a fan who's there.
If it doesn't spoil your 90 mins and isn't too much of a pain to do, might be good to have some little cameo clips of CC in your footage somewhere.........?