Billy Kee and Eunan O'Kane

[drummergull90]

Is anyone else starting to worry about his form? I was very excited when we first signed him and he seems to score for fun in the reserves and in pre season, but I have seen him twice now this season and he looks worryingly non-league to me. No pace, little skill and he is too small to win high balls against big centre backs.

Any body get any suggestions of how we can get the best out of him?

Also, I still fail to see what Eunan brings to the team. Yes, he has skill, but it seems that neither him nor Buckle can work out what his best position is.

These two are both young and very talented, but we need them both to come good if we are going to mount a serious title challenge.

[Yellow4life]

Simple way of seeing if they are good enough would be to give them games- starting games. Kee didn't start yesterday as accu had a small defence in the hope that gritton would win things in the air. O'kane is light weight- the reason why he was released by everyone, he needs to play more games and I would play him instead of Stevens who looked poor yesterday. Kee for some part seemed to be playing on the wing which he is certainly uneffective

More Time on the pitch is the answer to their success.

[Colorado Gull]

O'Kane I think is a good player when he plays on the wing. It was ridiculous to see Bucks put O'Kane in CM! O'Kane (as said ubove) needs more games to grow strength and confidence.

Billy Kee I have been very, very disapointed!! For his build he is very weak, no pace, too small, and can't get pass a player (also said ubove). I believe he is not a League player! Proof given he has done well in the reserves and not in the league.

I would give O'Kane more of a run on the wing, and put Kee on (as a sub) 15 mins from time if were desperate, as I dont think Billy Kee is good enough!

[drummergull90]

Yeah I think Eunan is due a start. But what is his best position? I just don't see where he fits in to our structure. Danny was poor yesterday but he received no service, one of the things that impressed me most against Bradford was Danny and Nicho's link ups on the left, but there was none of that yesterday.

Billy started the Bradford game too, but he posed no threat whatsoever.

[Fonda]

I think they both need just a little more time before being written off. Kee is clearly keen to impress, and that adds it's own pressure. When he gets his first goal, he'll be a different player i'm sure of that. As for Eunan, he has real quality, but it's difficult to get him in the side. I think he's best off playing 'in the hole', but i'm not sure we can justify always using that formation just to accomodate him. I'd actually give him a go on the left-wing in place of Stevens. He doesn't have the same pace, but offers other attributes that could prove useful against certain defences.

[Plymouth Gull]

Billy Kee has been fairly disappointing so far - but to be fair, he's hasn't been given MUCH chance to find his feet in my opinion. He will come good, but he needs a run in the team, in my opinion. He doesn't fit into the hoofball game, so we need to start playing it on the floor more, a la Bradford.

O'Kane has obvious quality in my opinion. I think his best role is behind a lone striker, and I would have thought O'Kane working off of Tim Sills would have been a great combination - but obviously that can't happen. He has immense potential, and I think he also needs game time to prove his worth. Yes, people say that he's a bit weak, but he can only really improve that by having competitive gametime to actually realise what needs to be done. Benyon was weak for his first two/three seasons, but now he can hold off defenders and all that. Eunan is only young, and I think that with the right nurturing, he'll be a Championship player in the future.

[yellow]

I thought Billy Kee looked very promising in his cameo against Northampton.

Has he gone off the boil or is he not getting the service? I thought we were adopting a more on the floor pressing game during the PSF which should suit him, but not sure whether that has been superseded by a knock it up to Gritts strategy of late.

O Kane is talented but lightweight. So he needs a role that suits. That is probably in the hole away from home.

[JoeBarlow]

I like Billy. The thing to rememeber is that he is still 19 as well and has years to get better. He has presence in my opinion and with Eunan he is getting better every game, I like his touch and maybe we should push him up the pitch a bit more as he can pass. Billy hasnt been here aslong as Eunan has and remember his form for Accy last season suggests he is a league player.

Leicester City must have thought he was good to sign him as a youngster and loan him toAcy and think he`s one for the future. Give hm the same time as Eunan and he`ll come good.

[Warwickgull]

O'Kane I think is a good player when he plays on the wing. It was ridiculous to see Bucks put O'Kane in CM! O'Kane (as said ubove) needs more games to grow strength and confidence.

Billy Kee I have been very, very disapointed!! For his build he is very weak, no pace, too small, and can't get pass a player (also said ubove). I believe he is not a League player! Proof given he has done well in the reserves and not in the league.
I would give O'Kane more of a run on the wing, and put Kee on (as a sub) 15 mins from time if were desperate, as I dont think Billy Kee is good enough!

I dont believe some of the stick im reading about Billy so early into a campaign. Not good enough for the league!!!!! Everyone is ofcause entitled to their opinion but give the boy a chance, I think that statement is a little out of order.

If you remember Billy Key has done it at this level already, look at his stats for last season. We are 5 games into the season, top of the league, and a 19 year old kid who has not hit the ground running is not good enough??? Maybe he is guilty of trying a little to hard and things have not quite gone for him yet, im sure once he has stuck one in the back of the net he will relax and we will see some better form.

[ferrarilover]

Well, first things first, EoK is a super player. He can pick a pass like nobodies business, ne has the beating if a man, enough pace to hold his own in L2 and plenty more besides. He came on fir 20 mins at Port Vale and was excellent, should really have scored (good save none-the-less.) We were much improved when he came on on Saturday (we were still awful, but a better shade of awful.) His rightful place is in the 1st XI, in place of the unutterably useless Nicky Wroe. 
As for Big Billy 'the bully' Kee, he needs the ball very specifically to his feet. Those who saw him for the reserves last week and in the 8-0 drubbing of (name escapes me, but you know who I mean) will recall that he is incredibly nimble and has marvelous close control when faced up against a defender or six. 
Regards his  weakness, he does exactly what Tim used to do and that is go down every time he is touched in an attempt to win a free kick. This was always my only gripe with Sillsy and it will probably be my only gripe with Billy once he finds a place in the team.

Matt.

[happytorq]

For what it's worth, I seem to remember people saying that Benyon was too lightweight, or "just a non-league player". I say give both of these players a chance; assuming Benyon is out of the next game, it woulds seem a good place to give Kee another start...Gritton was by most account pretty awful the other day, and away fixtures are easier for new players to play in. At Plainmoor you get a right barracking as soon as you make one mistake.

[Gulliball]

I think they are both unlucky that despite being good players they don't fit naturally into a lower league 4-4-2. Kee isn't a target man or a man to play off a target man, so it's hard to find a good partner for him. At present, Zebs and Benyon would be my first choice front 2.

O'Kane is very lightweight to play in the middle, but could become a decent winger with time. He's going to have to impress in training and in cameo appearences, because we have a lot of options there.

On the whole I think they're both great players to have in the squad and will prove their worth over the season.

[tommyg]

I dont believe some of the stick im reading about Billy so early into a campaign. Not good enough for the league!!!!! Everyone is ofcause entitled to their opinion but give the boy a chance, I think that statement is a little out of order.

If you remember Billy Key has done it at this level already, look at his stats for last season. We are 5 games into the season, top of the league, and a 19 year old kid who has not hit the ground running is not good enough??? Maybe he is guilty of trying a little to hard and things have not quite gone for him yet, im sure once he has stuck one in the back of the net he will relax and we will see some better form.

Good post.

People need to remember that Kee is a 19-year-old kid. He's three years younger than Benners and a just a year older than the three young musketeers Halpin, Yeoman and Palmer. It's important not too expect too much so soon. He had an excellent pre-season, but his five-goal haul came against Tiverton. The likes of Richard Bouton and Carl Motteram have looked liked Rooney and Ronaldo in past pre-season fixtures against them. He clearly has potential, has come highly recommended and was sought after over the summer. Give the boy time to settle and I'm sure we'll be rewarded down the line.

As for O'Kane, I'm a huge fan. I personally think he'll end up at a higher level and go on to become a full international in the Northern Ireland team. As others have highlighted, it's difficult to fit him into our line-up. I think it was Fonda who previously compared his position to that of Joe Cole's. Not strong enough to play central midfield, and not enough width to be considered a winger. His best position is in the hole, but I'm not sure we have a striker who can lead the attack alone.

I guess you could do something like this:

------------------------Bevan-------------------------

----------Ellis-------Branston------Charnock--------

--Carlisle-------------------------------------Nico---

----------------Manse---------Wroe-----------------

------------------------O'Kane------------------------

----------------Benyon---------Zebs------------------

That would bring the best out of O'Kane, but I'm not suggesting for one minute we should change the formation to accomodate any one single player!

[Jeff]

I guess you could do something like this:

------------------------Bevan-------------------------

----------Ellis-------Branston------Charnock--------

--Carlisle-------------------------------------Nico---

----------------Manse---------Wroe-----------------

------------------------O'Kane------------------------

----------------Benyon---------Zebs------------------

That would bring the best out of O'Kane, but I'm not suggesting for one minute we should change the formation to accomodate any one single player!

I'd go as far to say that replace Carlisle with a fully fit and back to his best Danny Senda (if the HE is true and he signs) and that side would be more than a match for any in the division. The area that would generate for improvement would be ironically Nicky Wroe's slot, as to me you would want more of a ballwinner playing deep in midfield to acompany Mansell.

[yellowmonkey]

My ten pence worth is that the game completely changed when they came on Saturday against Accrington. We all have our opinions and a little more game time would be nice , before you start slating them.