Some of the earlier comments on this thread haven’t aged well……
I thought the same. I logged on again and I think the last page was around December last year. Amazing to see how out of sync some of those comments were compared to now.
I'd have him every time over the lump that is Jaiyesimi ... but Gilbey is clearly underperforming. And I see two things wrong, although there may, of course, be others.
First ... his role is not clear.
In Jackson's preferred 3-5-2, we play lop-sided wing backs. Typically, we have Blackett-Taylor on the left and he is only interested in going forward. On the right, we generally have Matthews ... and his main priority is defensive. Gilbey is supposed to compensate for the lack of attacking flair on the right. But we end up with Gilbey + Matthews effectively equating to one player.
We have suffered from this many times over the years. Think Semedo + Racon. There are countless examples. Pardew was exceptionally good at making three players do the work of two or two players doing the work of one.
Second ... Gilbey hides. It's a sure sign of a player who is not comfortable. He has mastered the art of being unavailable for a pass. So, he goes missing, he has little effect on the game ... he does nothing. This is a problem inside his head.
How do you deal with this? How does rookie Manager, Jackson, fix it?
You make his role clear. Gilbey is an intelligent man. You spell it out to him and tell him to play to his strengths. He is one of the few players in the current squad who can run at the opposition. I love this attribute as it is disappearing from the modern game. Gilbey is a Rolls-Royce when he gets up to speed. So, forget about trying to support Matthews. Get Gilbey on the ball (right-side generally) and get him running at players. Get Matthews close to him, by all means, but give Gilbey licence to do damage in the final third.
He also needs to work on his finishing. I suspect that he has missed more penalty-box chances than Washington. So, get Gilbey on a goal bonus. It doesn't have to be in his contract. Get inside his head, Jackson. Make it a one-to-one wager ... whatever works. You know him better than I do.
Now ... the hiding. What's the problem, Alex? Scared of making a mistake? Happy to cruise through games? I don't think so.
I think you are unsure what Jackson wants from you. Here's what you need to know ... you can be 'The Man'. You and Fraser can absolutely boss this League. So, do it.
Don't look back on a career of 'maybes'. MK Dons Player of the Year? Great. Now do it again for us. You're good enough.
Did I mention that Curbishley has faith in you? Take something from that. Get some honours under your belt. League 1 Championship is a decent start.
But don't leave it there. Curbs and I want more.
Admittedly I may not be the best judge since I can only base this on the games that have been legally streamable here this season, but I'm not convinced that it's a question of not knowing what Jackson wants from him, rather that he is scared of making a mistake because his ball control has gone to shit this season. I've lost count of the times I've typed "Gilbey miscues/loses possession/shoots wide" in the match thread this season, and I don't think it was anywhere near that bad last year. I'm wondering whether Covid has messed with his reaction times slightly.
You make a good point regarding the Covid. I admit I hadn’t been considering that in judging him since his return from the illness.
Again, transparent conversation with Alex and he is making absolutely no excuses, and in fact was overly apologetic, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable, as he is only one from a squad which underachieved collectively, but if you heard on his overall situation this year (and again, he did not want that to come across an excuse) a lot more on here would be able to put stuff into perspective. Hopefully the form he had at MK will be with us next season and we will benefit from it. He came across very articulately with high emotional intelligence too.
Again, transparent conversation with Alex and he is making absolutely no excuses, and in fact was overly apologetic, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable, as he is only one from a squad which underachieved collectively, but if you heard on his overall situation this year (and again, he did not want that to come across an excuse) a lot more on here would be able to put stuff into perspective. Hopefully the form he had at MK will be with us next season and we will benefit from it. He came across very articulately with high emotional intelligence too.
Pavoren, are you saying it could be Long Covid, another health scare, or an injury that the fans are unaware of? Perhaps a personal issue? I appreciate you maybe can't say anything, but we'd like to be more sympathetic, if we knew there was a reason for why he appears to be hiding/not performing.
Would not be surprising if he is struggling with long covid, I suggested in January that we should worry he might come back with long covid, it seems to strike fit people in particular. maybe just more noticeable in those who where fit than those who are unfit,
Again, transparent conversation with Alex and he is making absolutely no excuses, and in fact was overly apologetic, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable, as he is only one from a squad which underachieved collectively, but if you heard on his overall situation this year (and again, he did not want that to come across an excuse) a lot more on here would be able to put stuff into perspective. Hopefully the form he had at MK will be with us next season and we will benefit from it. He came across very articulately with high emotional intelligence too.
Thanks for the insight, always good to understand what’s happening with a person before resorting to hating them
Only Albie and Gilbey seem to have such vastly opposed opinions on here it is remarkable how we have such different opinions. I personally still think Gilbey has a role to play with us and wouldnt be at all surprised if he had a great season with us next year. Yes he has been bad this season but I can see that he has the ability to turn that around and I think he will or atleast be given the chance
Again, transparent conversation with Alex and he is making absolutely no excuses, and in fact was overly apologetic, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable, as he is only one from a squad which underachieved collectively, but if you heard on his overall situation this year (and again, he did not want that to come across an excuse) a lot more on here would be able to put stuff into perspective. Hopefully the form he had at MK will be with us next season and we will benefit from it. He came across very articulately with high emotional intelligence too.
Pavoren, are you saying it could be Long Covid, another health scare, or an injury that the fans are unaware of? Perhaps a personal issue? I appreciate you maybe can't say anything, but we'd like to be more sympathetic, if we knew there was a reason for why he appears to be hiding/not performing.
I am sure the club etc are only too well aware of everything/anything, but in case not, I would not wish to compromise. All I will say is that I was far more sympathetic to him and our need to be patient for a full return to health + form…
I always seem to be out of sync with the hive mind with Gilbey. I clearly remember dozens of posts from early last season "once Gilbey and Maddison are fit the goals will come" and thinking why he was pony in his first few games. I thought he was largely poor under Bowyer tbh but there were more than a few glimpses when Adkins brought he back in the team towards the fag end of last season.
I thought he was a breath (probably not a good choice of words) of fresh air when he came back from Covid early on this season.
I can't deny the criticism he is getting, I think it's pretty fair tbh, but I do feel there is a better player in there than we have seen for most of the last 2 years.
I would shrug if he leaves but it really won't surprise me if in the next few years he is part of a team that get promoted out this league. It probably won't be us though.
No look I'm sure he has some sort of Terrible Thing going on, but as Chunes says he reported fit for duty for a very large number of games, in almost all of which he hid from the ball and did close to nothing effective. That is the bare truth of it. If something truly awful that would affect his game had been amiss, would he not have been given some sort of compassionate leave? Yeah, we fans can only go on what we can see but suddenly this outpouring of 'oh right I see, well next season time for the Real Gilbey' is just...have you sat through his body of work?
No look I'm sure he has some sort of Terrible Thing going on, but as Chunes says he reported fit for duty for a very large number of games, in almost all of which he hid from the ball and did close to nothing effective. That is the bare truth of it. If something truly awful that would affect his game had been amiss, would he not have been given some sort of compassionate leave? Yeah, we fans can only go on what we can see but suddenly this outpouring of 'oh right I see, well next season time for the Real Gilbey' is just...have you sat through his body of work?
He had a handful of good games in the middle of the season but utterly dire since . He’s been playing due to the fact that Lee was even worse .
His most important goal for us - the one at Sunderland under Adkins - came as the result of him taking a shot so badly it turned into a through-ball to himself. He has energy, drive and zero ball skill - very, very occasionally the ball runs for him instead of bouncing off to the opposition
No look I'm sure he has some sort of Terrible Thing going on, but as Chunes says he reported fit for duty for a very large number of games, in almost all of which he hid from the ball and did close to nothing effective. That is the bare truth of it. If something truly awful that would affect his game had been amiss, would he not have been given some sort of compassionate leave? Yeah, we fans can only go on what we can see but suddenly this outpouring of 'oh right I see, well next season time for the Real Gilbey' is just...have you sat through his body of work?
He had a handful of good games in the middle of the season but utterly dire since . He’s been playing due to the fact that Lee was even worse .
At least Lee has close control, even if his signature move is the run into traffic
Would not be surprising if he is struggling with long covid, I suggested in January that we should worry he might come back with long covid, it seems to strike fit people in particular. maybe just more noticeable in those who where fit than those who are unfit,
There are suggestions that Covid may affect the ability of your cells to generate energy, and if you're a very active person then you're going to burn through your energy reserves a lot more quickly than if you're a couch potato. That's why they recommend that you don't try to power your way through it, but get plenty of rest, and return to your usual activity levels slowly afterwards. (I'm not sure what the causal mechanism is for the cognitive stuff though).
Again, transparent conversation with Alex and he is making absolutely no excuses, and in fact was overly apologetic, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable, as he is only one from a squad which underachieved collectively, but if you heard on his overall situation this year (and again, he did not want that to come across an excuse) a lot more on here would be able to put stuff into perspective. Hopefully the form he had at MK will be with us next season and we will benefit from it. He came across very articulately with high emotional intelligence too.
Pavoren, are you saying it could be Long Covid, another health scare, or an injury that the fans are unaware of? Perhaps a personal issue? I appreciate you maybe can't say anything, but we'd like to be more sympathetic, if we knew there was a reason for why he appears to be hiding/not performing.
I am sure the club etc are only too well aware of everything/anything, but in case not, I would not wish to compromise. All I will say is that I was far more sympathetic to him and our need to be patient for a full return to health + form…
I'm in two minds. I fully understand and agree that there can be a lot of things that we never know about that can affect a player's form and quality and that perhaps more sympathy is due to certain players if we knew full circumstances.
On the other hand, there being good, understandable reasons for Gilbey being absolutely awful does not mean he suddenly stops being awful. Its not even the case that his presence does not improve the squad, you could make a fair argument that he actually makes us play worse as his ineffectiveness makes it harder for other players.
Surely if this is something that has kept him from performing or is making him play below his capacity, the better and kinder thing to do would be to not play him and perpetuate the vicious circle.
Again, transparent conversation with Alex and he is making absolutely no excuses, and in fact was overly apologetic, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable, as he is only one from a squad which underachieved collectively, but if you heard on his overall situation this year (and again, he did not want that to come across an excuse) a lot more on here would be able to put stuff into perspective. Hopefully the form he had at MK will be with us next season and we will benefit from it. He came across very articulately with high emotional intelligence too.
Pavoren, are you saying it could be Long Covid, another health scare, or an injury that the fans are unaware of? Perhaps a personal issue? I appreciate you maybe can't say anything, but we'd like to be more sympathetic, if we knew there was a reason for why he appears to be hiding/not performing.
I am sure the club etc are only too well aware of everything/anything, but in case not, I would not wish to compromise. All I will say is that I was far more sympathetic to him and our need to be patient for a full return to health + form…
I'm in two minds. I fully understand and agree that there can be a lot of things that we never know about that can affect a player's form and quality and that perhaps more sympathy is due to certain players if we knew full circumstances.
On the other hand, there being good, understandable reasons for Gilbey being absolutely awful does not mean he suddenly stops being awful. Its not even the case that his presence does not improve the squad, you could make a fair argument that he actually makes us play worse as his ineffectiveness makes it harder for other players.
Surely if this is something that has kept him from performing or is making him play below his capacity, the better and kinder thing to do would be to not play him and perpetuate the vicious circle.
Yep, I appreciate all of that. It may down to viable options available to JJ and knowing that Gilbey is staying… Lee out of form and more a CAM, Watson (nope), JFC (not rushing him back or on his way), Fraser (injured) etc 🤷♂️
No look I'm sure he has some sort of Terrible Thing going on, but as Chunes says he reported fit for duty for a very large number of games, in almost all of which he hid from the ball and did close to nothing effective. That is the bare truth of it. If something truly awful that would affect his game had been amiss, would he not have been given some sort of compassionate leave? Yeah, we fans can only go on what we can see but suddenly this outpouring of 'oh right I see, well next season time for the Real Gilbey' is just...have you sat through his body of work?
I agree with this. I recall being absolutely clueless about the personal situation that affected Andy Gray when we signed him in 07 and having found out about it, could absolutely understand the impact it had on his performances, so if there is/was an issue for Gilbey then of course, we have to take this into account.
I’m not 100% convinced of the impact of long Covid on his game. Again, if it’s a legitimate problem, he would be in the treatment room or being managed in the same way Ledley King was at Spurs.
As per the post from Pavoren re:his conversation at the POTY award, and him apologising for his lack of performance this season then that goes to show he’s a decent bloke and I get the feeling he’s well respected by his teammates.
However, as Leuth says, his body of work in no way suggests we’ve got someone who’s spearheading us to promotion next season, even with better players around him. I would even go so far as to say had he only signed a 2 year deal, rather than 3, a number of us would be saying ‘do not offer a new deal’
I could be wrong and this post could be pinned as one that could come back to make me look very stupid at the end of next season, but I think it will be a miracle if he contributes anything more to next season than he did this.
Again, transparent conversation with Alex and he is making absolutely no excuses, and in fact was overly apologetic, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable, as he is only one from a squad which underachieved collectively, but if you heard on his overall situation this year (and again, he did not want that to come across an excuse) a lot more on here would be able to put stuff into perspective. Hopefully the form he had at MK will be with us next season and we will benefit from it. He came across very articulately with high emotional intelligence too.
Pavoren, are you saying it could be Long Covid, another health scare, or an injury that the fans are unaware of? Perhaps a personal issue? I appreciate you maybe can't say anything, but we'd like to be more sympathetic, if we knew there was a reason for why he appears to be hiding/not performing.
I am sure the club etc are only too well aware of everything/anything, but in case not, I would not wish to compromise. All I will say is that I was far more sympathetic to him and our need to be patient for a full return to health + form…
I'm in two minds. I fully understand and agree that there can be a lot of things that we never know about that can affect a player's form and quality and that perhaps more sympathy is due to certain players if we knew full circumstances.
On the other hand, there being good, understandable reasons for Gilbey being absolutely awful does not mean he suddenly stops being awful. Its not even the case that his presence does not improve the squad, you could make a fair argument that he actually makes us play worse as his ineffectiveness makes it harder for other players.
Surely if this is something that has kept him from performing or is making him play below his capacity, the better and kinder thing to do would be to not play him and perpetuate the vicious circle.
Yep, I appreciate all of that. It may down to viable options available to JJ and knowing that Gilbey is staying… Lee out of form and more a CAM, Watson (nope), JFC (not rushing him back or on his way), Fraser (injured) etc 🤷♂️
A fair point.
Plus while I do think that he has not remotely played at all well outside of maybe 2 or 3 games I do still think that if he was to find that elusive spark he'd at least be a viable squad option, though I would hope no more than that.
Thought it would be worth moving the Gilbey discussion into here and out of the Garner thread.
masicat has heard Gilbey and Purrington have been told they can leave.
For me he’s been disappointing and I can’t see him fitting a possession style. He’s not a playmaker or ball winner, if he ends up staying he needs to be scoring goals to get a regular place in the team. Not convinced he’ll ever get to that level despite various circumstances not helping him in the last two years.
Just a quick heads up on Purrington. I had it on pretty good authority yesterday that both Purrington and Gilbey had been told they can leave. Source is normally reliable which is why I posted the Purrington rumour. Was a bit more concerned about the Gilbey rumour as it didn’t make much sense at this stage. Anyway, that’s what I was told. Time will tell.
Agree. He's played 65 games for us, under three different managers, in 3 different systems. That's a lot of opportunity to do well and he's never done it consistently. It's enough chances to give a player before thanking them and moving them on.
After what we've had to watch over the past two seasons, if we are keeping this type of player around in the middle of the park then we will get what we deserve. The club has been crying out for a big reset and this is the type of player that needs to go. Sounds like the club have made a good call.
If he stays he needs to sign a new contract that doesn't change anything about his terms except that he's legally not allowed to wear the number 11 shirt anymore. This out of position numbers bullshit stops now.
Jacko gave him such an easy ride since his red card. A free pass more or less.
If Fraser had been match fit and didn't get an injury and JFC was quite rightly eased back after two ACL's then Alex Gilbey wouldn't have got back in the team after two of the daftest yellow cards I have seen when Cafc were far advanced in Lincoln's half. Did he hide ? How do you hide in midfield unless the opposition are playing around you. I saw him making runs and making challenges, it was just the final ball and his touch disappeared the longer the season went on. I guess that's why I wondered the reason. If it was long Covid he wouldn't have been able to do the runs in the first place and under the caretaker Jackson he looked the fittest player on the field and the 3-5-2 was no problem for him.
I have no idea if JJ was too matey with the players but once they transgressed, if my job was on the line then both Alex Gilbey and Ryan Inniss would've spent the rest of the season on the bench and I would've played a couple of youngsters like Deji and name your 18 year old of choice for the midfield role over the last month of the season as we couldn't go up or down.
If the top 8 or top 10 was the target written down it wasn't a free hit for JJ to play some Youngsters and that may explain why Johnnie saw the Job he desired slipping away.
Complexities of life and how we are all affected by decisions from other people.
I'd have him every time over the lump that is Jaiyesimi ... but Gilbey is clearly underperforming. And I see two things wrong, although there may, of course, be others.
First ... his role is not clear.
In Jackson's preferred 3-5-2, we play lop-sided wing backs. Typically, we have Blackett-Taylor on the left and he is only interested in going forward. On the right, we generally have Matthews ... and his main priority is defensive. Gilbey is supposed to compensate for the lack of attacking flair on the right. But we end up with Gilbey + Matthews effectively equating to one player.
We have suffered from this many times over the years. Think Semedo + Racon. There are countless examples. Pardew was exceptionally good at making three players do the work of two or two players doing the work of one.
Second ... Gilbey hides. It's a sure sign of a player who is not comfortable. He has mastered the art of being unavailable for a pass. So, he goes missing, he has little effect on the game ... he does nothing. This is a problem inside his head.
How do you deal with this? How does rookie Manager, Jackson, fix it?
You make his role clear. Gilbey is an intelligent man. You spell it out to him and tell him to play to his strengths. He is one of the few players in the current squad who can run at the opposition. I love this attribute as it is disappearing from the modern game. Gilbey is a Rolls-Royce when he gets up to speed. So, forget about trying to support Matthews. Get Gilbey on the ball (right-side generally) and get him running at players. Get Matthews close to him, by all means, but give Gilbey licence to do damage in the final third.
He also needs to work on his finishing. I suspect that he has missed more penalty-box chances than Washington. So, get Gilbey on a goal bonus. It doesn't have to be in his contract. Get inside his head, Jackson. Make it a one-to-one wager ... whatever works. You know him better than I do.
Now ... the hiding. What's the problem, Alex? Scared of making a mistake? Happy to cruise through games? I don't think so.
I think you are unsure what Jackson wants from you. Here's what you need to know ... you can be 'The Man'. You and Fraser can absolutely boss this League. So, do it.
Don't look back on a career of 'maybes'. MK Dons Player of the Year? Great. Now do it again for us. You're good enough.
Did I mention that Curbishley has faith in you? Take something from that. Get some honours under your belt. League 1 Championship is a decent start.
But don't leave it there. Curbs and I want more.
A mistake if Gilbey goes. I'd like to think that Garner will appreciate what Gilbey is capable of, rather than dwell on his woeful 'previous'.
Agree. He's played 65 games for us, under three different managers, in 3 different systems. That's a lot of opportunity to do well and he's never done it consistently. It's enough chances to give a player before thanking them and moving them on.
After what we've had to watch over the past two seasons, if we are keeping this type of player around in the middle of the park then we will get what we deserve. The club has been crying out for a big reset and this is the type of player that needs to go. Sounds like the club have made a good call.
Are we going to be able to move Gilbey on, with the numbers posted they’ve not been great, poor management / handling or it just hasn’t worked out for whatever reason?
Knowing our luck he’ll stay here, have a blinding season with our new coach, win player of the year, and as a sympathy vote to get him to stay on, and then bugger off on a free transfer, it’s what we do well at.
We appear to pick up some players who have worldly moments at other clubs only for them to underperform for us. I actually put that more down to coaching and management than the players themselves. If you buy players who are good or comfortable in a position and then choose to ask them to play in a range of positions alien to them what results do we expect. There aren’t many Steve Gritt type players out there nowadays… Hope he stays and has us purring!
Comments
I admit I hadn’t been considering that in judging him since his return from the illness.
Perhaps a personal issue?
I appreciate you maybe can't say anything, but we'd like to be more sympathetic, if we knew there was a reason for why he appears to be hiding/not performing.
We were told personal issues were his reason for poor performance last season as well.
Why keep playing him?
I personally still think Gilbey has a role to play with us and wouldnt be at all surprised if he had a great season with us next year. Yes he has been bad this season but I can see that he has the ability to turn that around and I think he will or atleast be given the chance
I thought he was a breath (probably not a good choice of words) of fresh air when he came back from Covid early on this season.
I can't deny the criticism he is getting, I think it's pretty fair tbh, but I do feel there is a better player in there than we have seen for most of the last 2 years.
I would shrug if he leaves but it really won't surprise me if in the next few years he is part of a team that get promoted out this league. It probably won't be us though.
On the other hand, there being good, understandable reasons for Gilbey being absolutely awful does not mean he suddenly stops being awful. Its not even the case that his presence does not improve the squad, you could make a fair argument that he actually makes us play worse as his ineffectiveness makes it harder for other players.
Surely if this is something that has kept him from performing or is making him play below his capacity, the better and kinder thing to do would be to not play him and perpetuate the vicious circle.
I’m not 100% convinced of the impact of long Covid on his game. Again, if it’s a legitimate problem, he would be in the treatment room or being managed in the same way Ledley King was at Spurs.
I could be wrong and this post could be pinned as one that could come back to make me look very stupid at the end of next season, but I think it will be a miracle if he contributes anything more to next season than he did this.
Plus while I do think that he has not remotely played at all well outside of maybe 2 or 3 games I do still think that if he was to find that elusive spark he'd at least be a viable squad option, though I would hope no more than that.
masicat has heard Gilbey and Purrington have been told they can leave.
For me he’s been disappointing and I can’t see him fitting a possession style. He’s not a playmaker or ball winner, if he ends up staying he needs to be scoring goals to get a regular place in the team. Not convinced he’ll ever get to that level despite various circumstances not helping him in the last two years.
After what we've had to watch over the past two seasons, if we are keeping this type of player around in the middle of the park then we will get what we deserve. The club has been crying out for a big reset and this is the type of player that needs to go. Sounds like the club have made a good call.
If Fraser had been match fit and didn't get an injury and JFC was quite rightly eased back after two ACL's then Alex Gilbey wouldn't have got back in the team after two of the daftest yellow cards I have seen when Cafc were far advanced in Lincoln's half. Did he hide ? How do you hide in midfield unless the opposition are playing around you. I saw him making runs and making challenges, it was just the final ball and his touch disappeared the longer the season went on. I guess that's why I wondered the reason. If it was long Covid he wouldn't have been able to do the runs in the first place and under the caretaker Jackson he looked the fittest player on the field and the 3-5-2 was no problem for him.
I have no idea if JJ was too matey with the players but once they transgressed, if my job was on the line then both Alex Gilbey and Ryan Inniss would've spent the rest of the season on the bench and I would've played a couple of youngsters like Deji and name your 18 year old of choice for the midfield role over the last month of the season as we couldn't go up or down.
If the top 8 or top 10 was the target written down it wasn't a free hit for JJ to play some Youngsters and that may explain why Johnnie saw the Job he desired slipping away.
Complexities of life and how we are all affected by decisions from other people.
Gilbey has been rubbish, move him on.