coalman Posted 20 November, 2024 Posted 20 November, 2024 5 minutes ago, spyinthesky said: Surprised to see that Dom is back fit again. Should have passed the ball to a fellow player. Not the RussBall way, I'm afraid If they'd cycled through ball back to their keeper they could have drawn out the Polish defence and then hit them by surprise. 1 2
david in sweden Posted 21 November, 2024 Posted 21 November, 2024 21 hours ago, disconnect said: Good to see. England under 19s? Wa surprised to see he was still 19, seems he's been on the scene about 4 years! Looks like he has only scored one goal on his loan, however, hopefully this will bring a few more as he gains more minutes. I think Dom had an injury after the start of this season after scoring that goal and it took time for him to get back to fitness. Ironically, he came up to our U18 side at age 15, (alongside Morgan and Dibling) and had a fantastic goal scoring record at both U18 and U21 level, and was clearly the best goalscorer of the three youngsters at that time. Morgan left and joined the myriad of young players in his age group at Chelsea and has scarcely been heard of since, but had Ballard not been injured on last season's loan at Reading, I'm sure he would have been in our first team and Dibling would likely be on the bench. Now Dom is getting some experience of " men's football " at Blackpool, but I hope we don't lose him in some future clear-out of young talents. I feel sorry for the likes of Sims and Vokins who had very good Academy careers, but sadly "slipped through the cracks" whilst shadowing our more experienced first team players and ended up getting very little game time after they passed 21, and then had unsatisfactory loan spells. 1
Dusic Posted January 27 Posted January 27 Off to Cambridge on loan. Probably a make or break one for him from a Saints perspective. Score goals and a good pre season puts him well in contention. If he doesn't do much then at risk of being another who cannot translate U21 form to mens football. Good luck to him because he can clearly finish when given opportunities. 3
trousers Posted January 27 Posted January 27 (edited) I've always thought that Ballard and Dibling were of a similar standard historically, so slightly surprised not to see Ballard in the frame for some first team experience for the remainder of the season, on a "nothing to lose" basis, given we're down and that he surely can't be any worse than our senior striker options.... That said, I can also see the pros of maximising his game time in a lower league, especially if he starting to fall behind Dibling's development curve... Edited January 27 by trousers
SuperSAINT Posted January 27 Posted January 27 27 minutes ago, Dusic said: Off to Cambridge on loan. Probably a make or break one for him from a Saints perspective. Score goals and a good pre season puts him well in contention. If he doesn't do much then at risk of being another who cannot translate U21 form to mens football. Good luck to him because he can clearly finish when given opportunities. Was off my radar that Garry Monk is the manager there. 1
ErwinK1961 Posted January 27 Posted January 27 35 minutes ago, trousers said: I've always thought that Ballard and Dibling were of a similar standard historically, so slightly surprised not to see Ballard in the frame for some first team experience for the remainder of the season, on a "nothing to lose" basis, given we're down and that he surely can't be any worse than our senior striker options.... That said, I can also see the pros of maximising his game time in a lower league, especially if he starting to fall behind Dibling's development curve... As bad as our options are currently, they are all proven goalscorer’s at a certain level. Armstrong / Archer Championship, TP foreign leagues. DB hasn’t proven himself prolific at anything other than u21 level. Not torn it up on loan in league one. Also not shown himself to necessarily be physically ready for full time men’s football (but unlucky with injuries too). Hopefully he turns into a brilliant player, but he’s also just as likely to be another Ryan Seager. As Dusic says, hopefully this loan does the business and he hits the ground running in pre-season, but nothing to suggest he should be chucked into the bear pit of the premier league. 4
trousers Posted January 27 Posted January 27 18 minutes ago, ErwinK1961 said: As bad as our options are currently, they are all proven goalscorer’s at a certain level. Armstrong / Archer Championship, TP foreign leagues. DB hasn’t proven himself prolific at anything other than u21 level. Not torn it up on loan in league one. Also not shown himself to necessarily be physically ready for full time men’s football (but unlucky with injuries too). Hopefully he turns into a brilliant player, but he’s also just as likely to be another Ryan Seager. As Dusic says, hopefully this loan does the business and he hits the ground running in pre-season, but nothing to suggest he should be chucked into the bear pit of the premier league. Fair points 👍 1
SNSUN Posted January 27 Posted January 27 2 hours ago, ErwinK1961 said: As bad as our options are currently, they are all proven goalscorer’s at a certain level. Armstrong / Archer Championship, TP foreign leagues. DB hasn’t proven himself prolific at anything other than u21 level. Not torn it up on loan in league one. Also not shown himself to necessarily be physically ready for full time men’s football (but unlucky with injuries too). Hopefully he turns into a brilliant player, but he’s also just as likely to be another Ryan Seager. As Dusic says, hopefully this loan does the business and he hits the ground running in pre-season, but nothing to suggest he should be chucked into the bear pit of the premier league. Not to mention we're only 2 weeks away from seeing the Loch Ness Drogba. 😁 Good luck Dom, ironically I think we're OK for Championship strikers next season in AA, Archer and BBD but depends if BBD comes back. Perhaps 4th choice?
Matthew Le God Posted January 27 Posted January 27 3 hours ago, trousers said: I've always thought that Ballard and Dibling were of a similar standard historically, so slightly surprised not to see Ballard in the frame for some first team experience for the remainder of the season, on a "nothing to lose" basis, given we're down and that he surely can't be any worse than our senior striker options.... That said, I can also see the pros of maximising his game time in a lower league, especially if he starting to fall behind Dibling's development curve... Scoring only 1 goal in 18 League One matches this season suggests Ballard has a long way to go before being given a PL chance. 1
Whitey Grandad Posted January 27 Posted January 27 4 hours ago, Dusic said: Off to Cambridge on loan. Probably a make or break one for him from a Saints perspective. Score goals and a good pre season puts him well in contention. If he doesn't do much then at risk of being another who cannot translate U21 form to mens football. Good luck to him because he can clearly finish when given opportunities. He scored against them back in 2022. 1
benjii Posted January 27 Posted January 27 4 hours ago, SuperSAINT said: Was off my radar that Garry Monk is the manager there. He can show him Hotshots after the match. 2
Chez Posted January 27 Posted January 27 (edited) 6 hours ago, trousers said: I've always thought that Ballard and Dibling were of a similar standard historically, so slightly surprised not to see Ballard in the frame for some first team experience for the remainder of the season, on a "nothing to lose" basis, given we're down and that he surely can't be any worse than our senior striker options.... That said, I can also see the pros of maximising his game time in a lower league, especially if he starting to fall behind Dibling's development curve... Dibling already has the physique to allow him to do what he wants to do. Ballard doesn't, yet. He is actually pretty small and I'm, not sure he has great pace to compensate. In the meantime he's going to be reliant on movement, positioning and chances being created for him. We will need to be more patient. Edited January 27 by Chez 3
S-Clarke Posted January 28 Posted January 28 On 27/01/2025 at 13:29, trousers said: I've always thought that Ballard and Dibling were of a similar standard historically, so slightly surprised not to see Ballard in the frame for some first team experience for the remainder of the season, on a "nothing to lose" basis, given we're down and that he surely can't be any worse than our senior striker options.... That said, I can also see the pros of maximising his game time in a lower league, especially if he starting to fall behind Dibling's development curve... I don't think so, Dibling is a one of a kind really. Ballard was just there in the kids teams to finish off all the chances! Sadly the injury didn't help him, bit of a bummer really as it was a bad one. If I'm totally honest with you I see another Josh Sims/Jamie White type career with him, some promise, bags and bags of goals at underage, fans clamouring for him to play, but never quite good enough to make the step up to pro football consistently. 1 1
Dusic Posted February 24 Posted February 24 We seem to be so bad at selecting L1/2 loans for our better academy players. Both of Ballard's loans this season have seen the manager fired just a few weeks after he joined and he looks set for a 2nd season in a row of barely playing unfortunately. Shame for him as he definitely has something but in danger of just being good in age group football... 1
SuperSAINT Posted February 24 Posted February 24 14 minutes ago, Dusic said: We seem to be so bad at selecting L1/2 loans for our better academy players. Both of Ballard's loans this season have seen the manager fired just a few weeks after he joined and he looks set for a 2nd season in a row of barely playing unfortunately. Shame for him as he definitely has something but in danger of just being good in age group football... Annoying that they signed another striker on loan on the same day.
SaintJackoInHurworth Posted March 4 Posted March 4 For those that are saying that Dibling was way ahead of Ballard, I would actually disagree somewhat - the truth is actually slightly more mixed! There was certainly a time a few years ago that Dibling was ahead of Ballard and that was when he was poached by Chelsea. However, that obviously didn't work out and while Dibling was gone, Ballard and Jimmy-Jay Morgan alongside him came to the fore. Then, of course, JJM went to Chelsea and Dibling returned to Saints. On his return to Saints, though, Dibling was initially a shadow of his former self and he was regularly being outshone by Ballard who was scoring shedloads of goals. I was at a match against Middlesbrough at their training ground in January 2023, for example, and such was Dibling's demise at that time that he was only a substitute, while Ballard was proving a major threat in front of goal supported by Sam Amo-Ameyaw and he bagged a couple of goals. Dibling, by contrast, only came on for the last 20 minutes and did nothing much of note. I remember being rather disappointed in what I saw of him! He seemed lazy, disinterested and low on confidence. In the last couple of seasons though things have switched around. Dibling has not been loaned out and has regained his confidence and form, while Ballard has had two injury ravaged seasons that have affected his fitness and confidence. The key points to note in all this are these: Loaning players to other clubs does not always help players (though it can do) Injuries can also have a major impact on player's progress - as is the case with Ballard Fitness and confidence also plays a major part Ballard is a quality player and given his chance (and if he get up to full match fitness) I hope he will again show the promise he has previously shown. 1
Fitzhugh Fella Posted March 4 Posted March 4 29 minutes ago, SaintJackoInHurworth said: For those that are saying that Dibling was way ahead of Ballard, I would actually disagree somewhat - the truth is actually slightly more mixed! There was certainly a time a few years ago that Dibling was ahead of Ballard and that was when he was poached by Chelsea. However, that obviously didn't work out and while Dibling was gone, Ballard and Jimmy-Jay Morgan alongside him came to the fore. Then, of course, JJM went to Chelsea and Dibling returned to Saints. On his return to Saints, though, Dibling was initially a shadow of his former self and he was regularly being outshone by Ballard who was scoring shedloads of goals. I was at a match against Middlesbrough at their training ground in January 2023, for example, and such was Dibling's demise at that time that he was only a substitute, while Ballard was proving a major threat in front of goal supported by Sam Amo-Ameyaw and he bagged a couple of goals. Dibling, by contrast, only came on for the last 20 minutes and did nothing much of note. I remember being rather disappointed in what I saw of him! He seemed lazy, disinterested and low on confidence. In the last couple of seasons though things have switched around. Dibling has not been loaned out and has regained his confidence and form, while Ballard has had two injury ravaged seasons that have affected his fitness and confidence. The key points to note in all this are these: Loaning players to other clubs does not always help players (though it can do) Injuries can also have a major impact on player's progress - as is the case with Ballard Fitness and confidence also plays a major part Ballard is a quality player and given his chance (and if he get up to full match fitness) I hope he will again show the promise he has previously shown. Cambridge not giving him much game time at the moment
Football Special Posted March 4 Posted March 4 49 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said: Cambridge not giving him much game time at the moment He's down the pecking order behind another ex-Saints legend Dan Nlundulu
trousers Posted March 4 Posted March 4 I'm getting Josh Sims and Ryan Seager vibes with Ballard. Loads of promise and touted for first team regularity, only to fade away when on the cusp of making it. Hope I'm wrong, obviously, but just a hunch.
SuperSAINT Posted March 4 Posted March 4 14 minutes ago, trousers said: I'm getting Josh Sims and Ryan Seager vibes with Ballard. Loads of promise and touted for first team regularity, only to fade away when on the cusp of making it. Hope I'm wrong, obviously, but just a hunch. The Sims comparison is a good one in that they are way too good for PL2 but struggling on loan.
Jeremy Corbyn Posted March 5 Posted March 5 13 hours ago, Football Special said: He's down the pecking order behind another ex-Saints legend Dan Nlundulu Can't believe he's 26! At least he's starting to get some decent minutes into his career.
SaintJackoInHurworth Posted Thursday at 20:52 Posted Thursday at 20:52 (edited) It makes you wonder why this always happens. Obviously in Ballard's case he has had issues with injuries that have impacted his fitness and potentially his confidence, but it does seem that far too many players that we have expected to make the grade have fallen short. Is it a problem with what Saints do? Selecting the wrong clubs for loans - clubs that are not going to give our players the opportunities they need - selected more for their outlook than opportunities? Not giving our players the right fitness regimes to ready them for competitive football? Not establishing good diets for our players? Putting short-term loan payments before selecting what is best for the players? Selecting clubs that are likely to struggle in their division, so that they end up changing their managers? Not establishing rigorous contracts with loan clubs to ensure that players are given opportunities to play? Assuming that it is always best to send a player on loan rather than keeping them at Saints and using them in cup competitions? Failure to select them in cup competitions while at Saints and getting eliminated early from these? Failure to train players with potential to a high enough standard to ready them for competitive football? Or is it just bad luck or just a case of Saints not getting enough players of a high enough standard? Edited Thursday at 21:16 by SaintJackoInHurworth
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now