Omar Bogle and Alfie May

[tyke1962]

Devante Cole also doing well at Barnsley

Only if a penalty's involved and he wants to go against the preferred penalty taker ok he got it in the back of the net on the rebound luckily

Really , that's the first penalty he's ever taken for the club yesterday .

[Goole Rover]

Gills have given him a lifetime ban.

Good on Gillingham. No place for scum like that at any football club.

Bet he wouldn’t have done it if it had been a one to one.

[ravenrover]

Barnsley fan spitting feathers on dee day saying Cole is after a move in Jan and wants to score as many as he can before then

[tyke1962]

Barnsley fan spitting feathers on dee day saying Cole is after a move in Jan and wants to score as many as he can before then

I think every player is after a move further up the pyramid if they play in league one raven .

Devante is playing the best football of his career both last season and the current one .

Personally I think it's because he's found a home at Oakwell , previously he seemed to move from club to club pretty regularly , a year here and a year there sort of thing .

I'm sceptical he can do it in the championship , Devante does have limitations and I think decent league one striker is about as far has his talent will take him .

If he was 20 years old I'd probably think differently but he's 28 now .

Personally I'd keep him and let him run his contract down at the end of the season .

He didn't cost us anything , came on a free and I think his value is with finding the net for us regularly and see if we can get promoted back to the championship rather than any great financial endorsement in January .

[Prez]

A brace already for May tonight after half an hour.

[Chris Black come back]

A brace already for May tonight after half an hour.

9 in 13 league games before tonight. Good on him.

[Chris Black come back]

A brace already for May tonight after half an hour.

9 in 13 league games before tonight. Good on him.

Now 11 in 14 league games.

Are the Dingles playing Watters in a different role? His scoring rate has dropped right off. 4 in 32 last season and 2 in 17 this season. He’s on exactly same rate of 1 in 8 these days.

[Goole Rover]

A brace already for May tonight after half an hour.

Again thank you Darren, a much better prospect than Golden Boy Marquis. It was very obvious that Alfie was gaining confidence and developing his game that is when given the opportunity.

[pib]

Well our Golden Boy Marquis did score 67 goals in 3 seasons for us, a feat rarely matched by many other Rovers strikers at any other point in our history. But I guess people always want more.

[Bentley Bullet]

That record would have been par for the course for most strikers given the virtual guarantee of never being dropped or subbed that Marquis enjoyed.

[turnbull for england]

Now come on , we were told we'd get bette than  Marquis , not worse than May when he left. Many folk loved May for his effort but we had different ideas at the time as to where he and we were going . Golden Boy ? Almost ever present 20 aseason for 3 seasons  what more do you want from a striker?

[Bentley Bullet]

We already had someone potentially better than Marquis when he left - Alfie May.

[pib]

That record would have been par for the course for most strikers given the virtual guarantee of never being dropped or subbed that Marquis enjoyed.

What a warped way of looking at it.

He was never dropped or subbed because he was our best striker, worked his knackers off and scored at a consistent rate, barely ever got injured or suspended, and clearly had the right attitude and mentality to play pretty much every game.

If it was so par for the course, why is it that you can count on virtually one hand the number of strikers in Rovers history who have scored goals at such a consistent rate?

[Bentley Bullet]

There's nothing warped about the fact that he was virtually guaranteed immunity from being dropped or subbed and that it is a massive advantage to be in that position.

On the other hand, it is a massive disadvantage to know that you're highly likely to be subbed in the games in which you have been sporadically selected.

There are far more than a handful of strikers in Rovers history that have scored goals at a more consistent rate than Marquis, Billy Sharp being the latest.

When May left us for Cheltenham, he was given a proper chance, unlike his time at Rovers, and although he wasn't given the same immunity from being dropped/subbed as Marquis was at Rovers, he scored the same amount of goals (67) for them as Marquis did for us.

[pib]

There's nothing warped about the fact that he was virtually guaranteed immunity from being dropped or subbed and that it is a massive advantage to be in that position.

On the other hand, it is a massive disadvantage to know that you're highly likely to be subbed in the games in which you have been sporadically selected.

There are far more than a handful of strikers in Rovers history that have scored goals at a more consistent rate than Marquis, Billy Sharp being the latest.

When May left us for Cheltenham, he was given a proper chance, unlike his time at Rovers, and although he wasn't given the same immunity from being dropped/subbed as Marquis was at Rovers, he scored the same amount of goals (67) for them as Marquis did for us.

I'm not going to keep going round in circles BB, but I'll say one last time that Marquis made himself undroppable because he was a fantastic player for us who contributed a lot to the side and scored a lot of goals. Why would any manager drop a player producing the numbers and performances that he did, regardless of whether that would've worked in favour of May, Williams, Mandeville or anyone else?

I'd be interested to hear the other strikers who scored at a similar or more consistent rate than Marquis. You've named one there in Sharp. Paul Barnes would be another from the last 20 years, but he only scored at such a rate in one season. So basically we're on 2-3 names at the moment and in the last 20 years we must have had maybe at a guess 80 to 100 strikers play for us? That's an incredibly small proportion. Since JM left the club in 2019, why have none of our strikers since scored 20+ goals a season, if it's so par-for-the-course?

In all honesty I don't really know why Marquis always crops up in this debate about Alfie May. Is it that difficult to hold multiple ideas concurrently, that maybe both of them are good players, and that perhaps one of them was just unlucky to join the club at a time where we already had a main striker in fantastic form? Does one's achievements since leaving need to detract from the other's at DRFC?

May might have been capable of producing what Marquis did if he'd have started more regularly, but we'll never know. My opinion is that he wouldn't have done at the time JM was at the club, but it's something neither of us can prove either way.

May has clearly developed and gone on to have a fantastic career since leaving us. I'm confused as to why that always seems to become intertwined with Marquis's record at DRFC? I don't think it should detract from JM's achievements with us. I also think it would've been a bit mad to drop a striker with Marquis's record for May at the time he played for us. How many managers would drop their consistent 20+ per season striker for the sake of playing someone else?

The one point we would probably agree on is that May should've perhaps been given a run in the team up front when Marquis left, and maybe we would've seen the player that Cheltenham and Charlton have seen. But any comparison to Marquis, or any feeling that Marquis should've made way for May before he left the club, I really don't understand.

[Chris Black come back]

Anyone who claims that they saw from the limited opportunities that May was given, a player who would turn into what he has, is clearly deceiving themselves.

[Bentley Bullet]

Pib, why have you changed the goalposts regarding former players who have a better scoring rate than Marquis? You originally said in Rovers history, now you say in the last 20 years!

[Bentley Bullet]

Anyone who claims that they saw from the limited opportunities that May was given, a player who would turn into what he has, is clearly deceiving themselves.

I, along with others on this forum claimed that May had a special talent that wasn't exploited enough when he was with us. The fact that we were right proves we weren't the ones who were deceived.

[dickos1]

Anyone who claims that they saw from the limited opportunities that May was given, a player who would turn into what he has, is clearly deceiving themselves.

I think it was obvious that he deserved to be kept here rather than shipped out.

[pib]

Pib, why have you changed the goalposts regarding former players who have a better scoring rate than Marquis? You originally said in Rovers history, now you say in the last 20 years!

I haven't BB. You're welcome to name any you like. You named Billy Sharp. I threw Paul Barnes into the mix, that covers the last 20-21 years. Feel free to offer up the many others who have scored as consistently for us in our history. If there are as many as you say, then I'm sure you can change my mind to your reasoning that it is "par for the course" for strikers who start consistently to score at a rate of around 1 in 2 over multiple seasons for us.

All the while continue to ignore the other points I have made and questions I have asked.

[Bentley Bullet]

Pib, why have you changed the goalposts regarding former players who have a better scoring rate than Marquis? You originally said in Rovers history, now you say in the last 20 years!

I haven't BB. You're welcome to name any you like. You named Billy Sharp. I threw Paul Barnes into the mix, that covers the last 20-21 years. Feel free to offer up the many others who have scored as consistently for us in our history. If there are as many as you say, then I'm sure you can change my mind to your reasoning that it is "par for the course" for strikers who start consistently to score at a rate of around 1 in 2 over multiple seasons for us.

All the while continue to ignore the other points I have made and questions I have asked.

Tom Keetley
Colin Booth
Alick Jeffrey
Peter Doherty
Clarrie Jordan
Laurie Sheffield
Tony Leighton
Reg Baines
Paul Barnes
Billy Sharp

What other points have you asked? I must have missed them.

[pib]

OK BB, I stand corrected. You can count on two hands the number of strikers Rovers have had in their history that scored at a rate as consistent as Marquis, not one hand.

I would still say that 10 players in the last century is a long way away from it being "par for the course for most strikers" who started games consistently.

[pib]

Pib, why have you changed the goalposts regarding former players who have a better scoring rate than Marquis? You originally said in Rovers history, now you say in the last 20 years!

I haven't BB. You're welcome to name any you like. You named Billy Sharp. I threw Paul Barnes into the mix, that covers the last 20-21 years. Feel free to offer up the many others who have scored as consistently for us in our history. If there are as many as you say, then I'm sure you can change my mind to your reasoning that it is "par for the course" for strikers who start consistently to score at a rate of around 1 in 2 over multiple seasons for us.

All the while continue to ignore the other points I have made and questions I have asked.

Tom Keetley
Colin Booth
Alick Jeffrey
Peter Doherty
Clarrie Jordan
Laurie Sheffield
Tony Leighton
Reg Baines
Paul Barnes
Billy Sharp

What other points have you asked? I must have missed them.

I'll copy them below for you BB.

Why would any manager drop a player producing the numbers and performances that he (JM) did, regardless of whether that would've worked in favour of May, Williams, Mandeville or anyone else?

Since JM left the club in 2019, why have none of our strikers since scored 20+ goals a season, if it's so par-for-the-course?

Is it that difficult to hold multiple ideas concurrently, that maybe both of them are good players, and that perhaps one of them was just unlucky to join the club at a time where we already had a main striker in fantastic form? Does one's achievements since leaving need to detract from the other's at DRFC?

[drfchound]

Anyone who claims that they saw from the limited opportunities that May was given, a player who would turn into what he has, is clearly deceiving themselves.

I, along with others on this forum claimed that May had a special talent that wasn't exploited enough when he was with us. The fact that we were right proves we weren't the ones who were deceived.

I was another who rated Alfie very highly.

[RoversInSpain]

I may be wrong here, but didn’t we go something like 30 years without a striker getting 20+ league goals in a season, from Peter Kitchen in the mid seventies to Barnes or Blundell in 2004/5 ish?

[Chris Black come back]

I may be wrong here, but didn’t we go something like 30 years without a striker getting 20+ league goals in a season, from Peter Kitchen in the mid seventies to Barnes or Blundell in 2004/5 ish?

I think Colin Cramb in 96/97 was first player for 20 years to score 20 goals (18 were league) in a season. It was very slim pickings for a very long time.

[pib]

I may be wrong here, but didn’t we go something like 30 years without a striker getting 20+ league goals in a season, from Peter Kitchen in the mid seventies to Barnes or Blundell in 2004/5 ish?

Paul Barnes scored 25 league goals in 2002/3.

Blundell scored 18 league goals in 2003/4, and 2 in the League Cup (47 appearances in all competitions). His overall record with us was 32 goals from 96 appearances (1 in 3).

[Bentley Bullet]

Pib, why have you changed the goalposts regarding former players who have a better scoring rate than Marquis? You originally said in Rovers history, now you say in the last 20 years!

I haven't BB. You're welcome to name any you like. You named Billy Sharp. I threw Paul Barnes into the mix, that covers the last 20-21 years. Feel free to offer up the many others who have scored as consistently for us in our history. If there are as many as you say, then I'm sure you can change my mind to your reasoning that it is "par for the course" for strikers who start consistently to score at a rate of around 1 in 2 over multiple seasons for us.

All the while continue to ignore the other points I have made and questions I have asked.

Tom Keetley
Colin Booth
Alick Jeffrey
Peter Doherty
Clarrie Jordan
Laurie Sheffield
Tony Leighton
Reg Baines
Paul Barnes
Billy Sharp

What other points have you asked? I must have missed them.

I'll copy them below for you BB.

Why would any manager drop a player producing the numbers and performances that he (JM) did, regardless of whether that would've worked in favour of May, Williams, Mandeville or anyone else?

Since JM left the club in 2019, why have none of our strikers since scored 20+ goals a season, if it's so par-for-the-course?

Is it that difficult to hold multiple ideas concurrently, that maybe both of them are good players, and that perhaps one of them was just unlucky to join the club at a time where we already had a main striker in fantastic form? Does one's achievements since leaving need to detract from the other's at DRFC?

I never suggested he should be dropped. I stated the fact that he had a massive advantage over the other strikers because he was virtually immune to being dropped or subbed. No other player playing alongside him was allowed such privilege.

Marquis played in a side with a midfield with a mindset of creating chances, and they did so by the bucket load. Marquis could afford to miss many a sitter and still score enough to make him prolific. We haven't had a side capable of creating so many chances since.

I've never said Marquis wasn't a good player. I didn't particularly like his attitude towards other fringe players like May, because he appeared to be a bit of a bully, and I don't think he went out of his way to help them either. 

[ravenrover]

I bumped into Alfie in a bar after the Grimsby game when we had clinched promotion, we chatted for a while and I told him then "you're going to be a good un" he was very polite and friendly shook my hand and sat down with his lady friend. As I was leaving he stood and waved, a very likeable young man.
I stand by what I said to him then.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Anyone who claims that they saw from the limited opportunities that May was given, a player who would turn into what he has, is clearly deceiving themselves.

I think it was obvious that he deserved to be kept here rather than shipped out.

After he was "shipped out" we went on to have one of the very best 12 month runs of league results in our entire history, at the top end of L1. A 12 months in which May scored a grand total of 9 League goals in L2.

Fascinating how many folk on here ignore plain facts when jumping to conclusions.

He was a grand lad and I'm chuffed to bits for him that he turned into such a good un. Isn't that enough?