Give Nik another go

[FFC Mariner]

When I see him play like that I actually get even crankier that he has taken the piss out of us for so long.

Great header and quality at the end of the game when he made sure he was alone when he walked over to the bay. A showman indeed.

By "taking the piss out of us for so long" I assume you mean he was malingering instead of being genuinely injured? Boy, how shit are our medical staff for not picking up on that?
They should all be sacked!

Very good - wonder where he got his nickname then?

 

[Forum Phoenix]

When I see him play like that I actually get even crankier that he has taken the piss out of us for so long.

Great header and quality at the end of the game when he made sure he was alone when he walked over to the bay. A showman indeed.

By "taking the piss out of us for so long" I assume you mean he was malingering instead of being genuinely injured? Boy, how shit are our medical staff for not picking up on that?
They should all be sacked!

Our medical staff are beyond excellent. There were no secrets kept hidden that Nik was not as devoted to his physio as he could have been.

But waht i care most about is NOW, and right now he looks hungry and in good touch. Without his header, we would have lost our 6th straight tonight... lets hope he can continue to finally repay the Club.

 

[MagpieMariner]

Also, the worst combination we have is Nik and Dmac - truly awful every time they play together.

Letting Judas go doesnt look a great decision in hindsight

Perhaps their combo is so bad because they've spent so little time on the paddock together. I don't believe you really get your combos working at training, it's when you're under the pump together.
Judas = Sasho? I don't know that we could have or should have given in to his demands, might have caused more trouble in the squad than he was worth. I think what we should have done was try to recruit someone like him, a cunning little goal-sneak who can pop up from nowhere.

 

[FFC Mariner]

I agree with that, he has a reputation of being a less than settling influence on clubs and 2 years would be too long but sometimes you have to bite the bullet if you have nothing better?

BTW, are these the same medical people who signed Doig? With his injury record he should qualify for a disabled permit and DSP

 

[MagpieMariner]

When I see him play like that I actually get even crankier that he has taken the piss out of us for so long.

Great header and quality at the end of the game when he made sure he was alone when he walked over to the bay. A showman indeed.

By "taking the piss out of us for so long" I assume you mean he was malingering instead of being genuinely injured? Boy, how shit are our medical staff for not picking up on that?
They should all be sacked!

Our medical staff are beyond excellent. There were no secrets kept hidden that Nik was not as devoted to his physio as he could have been.

But waht i care most about is NOW, and right now he looks hungry and in good touch. Without his header, we would have lost our 6th straight tonight... lets hope he can continue to finally repay the Club.

If they were aware that he wasn't as devoted to his rehab as he could have been, why didn't they piss him off then, why give him another 2-year contract? That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
However I agree with you, lets support him and the rest of the team, hoping for something better. Let's get rid of the negativity that I got a gutful of from the back of Bay 17 tonight (last night now ), last match abusing the guys for not shooting, this week abusing them when they did.

 

[FFC Mariner]

Was really positive from 23 all round tonight. Good effort IMHO

 

[Forum Phoenix]

When I see him play like that I actually get even crankier that he has taken the piss out of us for so long.

Great header and quality at the end of the game when he made sure he was alone when he walked over to the bay. A showman indeed.

By "taking the piss out of us for so long" I assume you mean he was malingering instead of being genuinely injured? Boy, how shit are our medical staff for not picking up on that?
They should all be sacked!

Our medical staff are beyond excellent. There were no secrets kept hidden that Nik was not as devoted to his physio as he could have been.

But waht i care most about is NOW, and right now he looks hungry and in good touch. Without his header, we would have lost our 6th straight tonight... lets hope he can continue to finally repay the Club.

If they were aware that he wasn't as devoted to his rehab as he could have been, why didn't they piss him off then, why give him another 2-year contract? That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
However I agree with you, lets support him and the rest of the team, hoping for something better. Let's get rid of the negativity that I got a gutful of from the back of Bay 17 tonight (last night now ), last match abusing the guys for not shooting, this week abusing them when they did.

I think man management is a difficult issue and rarely black and white, but also that "quality strikers" are not easy to come by.

Nik was like an investment that had suddenly dropped in value...  so do you decide to punt it and cut your losses? Or do you continue to top it up and be patient in the hope it will one day come good?

Before his two injury/opps Nik was undoubtedly one of the best to be found in our league,
so even despite some probably valid concerns, this was the option they chose.

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Was really positive from 23 all round tonight. Good effort IMHO

Bay was outstanding again.
The singing before the game and also shortly after Fury had just scored - right when the stadium was otherwise quiet and heads were dropping was just brilliant.

Quality 12th man to try to counter the continual 12th man we seem to be facing in blue each week.

spike, i hear you, just drives you spare after a while doesn't it. sucks all the joy out.

Read jimmy's post earlier...

Something like he didn't give a shit about the result he just had so much fun supporting.

Quality ;D

 

[MagpieMariner]

Was really positive from 23 all round tonight. Good effort IMHO

And in mine. The interplay between the front & the back of the bay, and also a number in the bays beside, in the last two weeks has been brilliant. Some of us over in 17 joined in as well, but you wouldn't have noticed us, there was only a few.

 

[MagpieMariner]

[snip]
However I agree with you, lets support him and the rest of the team, hoping for something better. Let's get rid of the negativity that I got a gutful of from the back of Bay 17 tonight (last night now ), last match abusing the guys for not shooting, this week abusing them when they did.

I think man management is a difficult issue and rarely black and white, but also that "quality strikers" are not easy to come by.

Nik was like an investment that had suddenly dropped in value...  so do you decide to punt it and cut your losses? Or do you continue to top it up and be patient in the hope it will one day come good?

Before his two injury/opps Nik was undoubtedly one of the best to be found in our league,
so even despite some probably valid concerns, this was the option they chose.

Point taken.
Lets hope his form over the last few weeks is an indication he is heading back to where he was.

 

[MagpieMariner]

Was really positive from 23 all round tonight. Good effort IMHO

Bay was outstanding again.
The singing before the game and also shortly after Fury had just scored - right when the stadium was otherwise quiet and heads were dropping was just brilliant.

Quality 12th man to try to counter the continual 12th man we seem to be facing in blue each week.

spike, i hear you, just drives you spare after a while doesn't it. sucks all the joy out.

Read jimmy's post earlier...

Something like he didn't give a shit about the result he just had so much fun supporting.

Quality ;D

Yeah, I read that post with great pleasure.
I'd be very happy to have him sitting near me at any match.
I did give a shit about the result, but I still enjoyed being there.

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Was really positive from 23 all round tonight. Good effort IMHO

Bay was outstanding again.
The singing before the game and also shortly after Fury had just scored - right when the stadium was otherwise quiet and heads were dropping was just brilliant.

Quality 12th man to try to counter the continual 12th man we seem to be facing in blue each week.

spike, i hear you, just drives you spare after a while doesn't it. sucks all the joy out.

Read jimmy's post earlier...

Something like he didn't give a shit about the result he just had so much fun supporting.

Quality ;D

I did give a shit about the result, but I still enjoyed being there.

Likewise. kills me ;D But likewise.

 

[Jerem]

FP ill back him but dont want to see him in the "new signings"
page for a long time yet, not with the apparent bandits we have in the young'ns team

 

[MARSHP1]

Nik's done enough now to be resigned IMO. He's fit and scoring goals, what more can you ask? Also looks the only forward capable of scoring at the moment.If, as is looking likely, D-Mac is off and if Kwassie is considered more of a middy, then even with McBreen coming that still leaves at least 1 spot in the forward line to fill.

 

[dibo]

As with any other player, sign him *if* he's the best we can get for the money. We've got to judge him on what he delivers and compare like-for-like with others who we might otherwise sign.

I don't buy the whole 'he's done enough to re-sign' bit. If he's the best buy for the money, he's done enough. If he's not then he hasn't. In my view it's as simple as that.

 

[MagpieMariner]

Perhaps the phrase should read "Nik's done enough to be considered for resigning". This hasn't always been the case this year.
Certainly right now he's the form striker for the club, but as Dibo says, if there's someone available out there who's better value and who's willing to come to us, then it's got to be "see you later Nik, thanks for the memories".
Van Dijk comes to mind here, but I doubt we could afford him even if he was interested.

 

[bikinigirl]

. yep it all comes down to value for money

. it will be interesting see if nik still feels he 'owes' the club as he was quoted to say earlier in the season

 

[FFC Mariner]

If he had played for NQF on Saturday and his contract was up, would we want to sign him?

Based on that performance, we would be screaming out for him

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Thats true. And I think Dibo's right. It has to be relative.
But I'm sure everyone on here understands any reluctance such as Jeromes. Watching our Yoof strikers... while I'm very positive about them... I don't see any who could have produced a game like Nik did against Fury for quite a while yet.

I don't think Nik ever truly wanted to be bad or injured...  Who does?? Though he might have played on it in different ways for want of coping skills. I think his injuries were clearly a very tough mental journey for him... and he obviously struggled to overcome the whole process...
But he is finally looking like he is truly turning the corner and has grown and is finding form again.  Most importantly for mine... I feel his attitude has shifted. He is not screaming and looks positive. And I like it.

 

[Jaza_SFC]

The thing with Mrdja is $$$.

Remember that the contract Mrdja orginally signed in season one would still be a big contract here in season five. And that's despite the cap jump each year (more than the original 10% it was meant to go each year), meaning the average HAL wage has gone over $30kpa higher in that time.
I'm not sure what his pay situation is, but even if he's taken a paycut, I doubt he's playing for peanuts. Easily a six figure salary in the cap. You have to not just weigh up whether to keep him but you need to way up whether to keep him given the wedge he takes in the cap. Big difference.