I hope so; Mejbri should go a long way to affecting that with his ability.
Get the feeling he's in for a very tasty time in the Championship as his temperament is surely something that precedes him and will be tested routinely.
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Get the feeling he's in for a very tasty time in the Championship as his temperament is surely something that precedes him and will be tested routinely.
Agreed, and it’s probably what he needs most at this stage too so I’m quite happy about it (I also know a few Birmingham fans so will no doubt ask about him regularly)
I'll be tuning in for his games as I believe he's a very good player who has the talent to make it here. But he definitely needs that trial by fire of his temperament before he's even worth considering.
Seems to be more preoccupied with getting into it with the opposition than he is in influencing the game for his own team, so needs that tuning out of him otherwise he's a liability irrespective of what he can contribute - no good if you're not on the pitch or head's so far gone you can't focus!
Just out of interest mate....do you follow the non professional /semi pro leagues?
Looking forward to tracking his career. I think he has lots of potential.
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Both the shirt number (if it's a true indication of a deep position) and Eustace's preferred playing style are good early indications of this being a good fit for a loan move.
Yeah, really hope this is the case.
I hope he has a good loan spell and comes gives us another quality option for our midfield next season.
Pogba was an attacking midfielder and he wore a #6. I wouldnt read too much into it.
Hannibal in his interview with Birmingham City said he prefers playing in the #8 or #10 position. I think the #8 role is probably where I think his skillset/influence will be best utilised. In that role he will still be involved in the deeper build up phase. And it's why I always refer to that role as the '#6 and #8 role' .
I don't follow the non pro leagues, but when Hannibal was rumoured to be joining Birmingham City, I did a bit of research on their current manager Eustace, to learn more about his methods of play.
Haha got to love that video...I hope Birmingham use him almost like a first team signing, but that would also be down to Hannibal.
Interesting loan. I just hope if he does well the midfield is less cluttered on his return.
Interesting loan. I just hope if he does well the midfield is less cluttered on his return.
Not the best debut
He lacks the pace to be effective in an attacking role with his direct play, particularly against physical opposition. Would do better in a deeper role, similar to what Eriksen is doing.
I can't recall a youth product ever being this overrated. He's a younger Donny/nothing player.
Kiddy weren't known as the Barcelona of the national League!
It was one manager who said they were like the non league Barcelona with the way they played against his team.
Eustace won't last the season at Birmingham, if I was a gambler I would put money on that.
The new prospective owners I don't think have fully backed Eustace to remain, so I would imagine if results stay the same and the new owners buy the bigger stake, he'll be gone before too long.
Thanks.Lovely edit
Have you seen a lot of him then?
Yes, I regularly watch the reserves, which Mejbri fans always seem to doubt when I say I don't rate him.
I think his movement and passes are just pleasant on the eyes to a lot of people. If you look closer at his gait and awareness (head movement), you'll find he's a slow thinker and not very athletic.
Coincidentally, he's been crap every time he's put on a United shirt.
Above is you on Garner.
Above is you on Mejbri.
Not to rehash the discussion we had about this in the Garner thread but its so incredibly harsh to bring up a performance rating based on so little football. Especially for a young player. No idea what you expect from them at the very beginning.
Not great but not terrible either. Fairly routine performance for a young player trying to adjust to a new team.
Whether 'Kiddy' were known as the Barcelona of the national league isn't the point. Eustace implements positional play which is the point.
Kiddy weren't known as the Barcelona of the national League!
It was one manager who said they were like the non league Barcelona with the way they played against his team.
Eustace won't last the season at Birmingham, if I was a gambler I would put money on that.
The new prospective owners I don't think have fully backed Eustace to remain, so I would imagine if results stay the same and the new owners buy the bigger stake, he'll be gone before too long.
And whether Eustace remains in his role for the remainder of the season is also irrelevant to how Hannibal does. But Birmingham did win their last game against Preston.
One of the new owners is former Argentina International Maxi Lopez, and if Eustace sacked, I can see Maxi Lopez bringing in a coach from the continent that would potentially suit Hannibal Mejbri even more.
I'd say as little managerial upheaval as possible would be better for Hannibal during his loan deal surely?!
You were trying to make out that Eustace was some magician getting Kiddy to play like Barca, he didn't.
He done well with them, but to claim some of what you did is slightly hyperbolic.
Hannibal needs this loan to go well, it could make it break him as a United player. I fear that Birmingham at this time have to many off field issues to contend with to be the right place to go.
Of course stability is always important and having Eustace still in charge would be great.
I never said Eustace was some magician but rather highlighted his ideas on how he sets out to implement a way of playing the game which was described by one individual in the national league as being like watching Barcelona. And that idea is attempting to exert zonal and positional control in both the offensive and defensive transitions which isn't just unique to Barcelona but is very common in the game at all levels. It's what I would call the basics of positional play.
Hannibal needs to have the attitude and application which is what he should focus on imo. The rest of the stuff is out of his control.
It could go horribly wrong but I think he’ll do okay there and will come back and make it here.
I know he has a long way to go, and this is just an old romantic saying this, but I think he looks bloody brilliant.
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Starting right now for Birmingham.
Looking very tidy in a double pivot. Some great reading of the game and excellent free-kicks and corners.
He just provided a perfect crossed free kick that was headed onto the post and then turned in for Birmingham's 2nd.
Followed it up with a booking though.
He just provided a perfect crossed free kick that was headed onto the post and then turned in for Birmingham's 2nd.
Followed it up with a booking though.
He was amazing against Hull city as well as against Burnley. Starting to show where the hype comes from. I don’t think we need to buy any more midfielders with him.. zidane and Kobbie Mainoo. I believe they will all be top level quite honestly.
Hows he been this season? I don't follow him but thought he'd be a nailed on started for Tunisia?
Just came on.
So close to conceding a penalty with an absolutely brainless challenge. Every time I watch him he just seems so… rash.
He got extremely lucky with that challenge. VAR could've easily got involved.
I think he might have been ok because the contact happened when both players were off the pitch. What was he thinking though, going to ground so early in his own box?! Madness.
The contact was outside as he was sliding to stop the cross. Would say pretty common stuff
He went to ground far too early. A more nimble attacker could have manufactured a penalty. Reminded me of the one Pogba conceded. You just can’t go sliding across the ground like that in your own box unless you’re 100% certain of winning the ball.
To be fair, it was a big occasion for him and he was obviously just wanting to impress. Almost trying too hard. It’s a running theme with him though. Lacking composure.
But contact outside while being right next to the box is probably still a penalty or is it not? I would assume that the foul would be deemed to have happened on the nearest position inside the pitch, which would then be in the box. But I'm truly just guessing.
He's been a squad player for them outside of the Arab Cup fixtures.
Yep, he seems to really try to impress when he comes on, as if trying to convince the manage he should be a starter possibly, but as he plays more senior games he will learn to ease back on some of those challenges.
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