Alexandar Mitrovic

[ewerk 30249]

So it was Rafa’s failure to motivate him?

Edited September 23, 2018 by ewerk

[Kid Dynamite 6986]

Potentially. Because he scored goals for fun at club and international level for Serbia, Fulham and Anderlecht.

 

Certain managers work better with certain players. Mitro not sticking rigidly to the game plan nearly gave Rafa a coronary every week. Other managers let him play more freely and they are seeing the benefit. 

[TheGingerQuiff 2412]

3 points ahead of us after an easier set of 6 games. 

[PaddockLad 17079]

Some forget that the radged  blood feud Balkan cunt couldn’t get any trust from Rafa because he was sent off three times the season we got relegated. He was suspended for a total of seven games. Things seem to have improved for him on that front, fair play to him.  I think a manager from the same part of the world who understands him and can play to his strengths helps enormously. He’s gone, we finished tenth largely without him last season. 

 

 

[Anorthernsoul 1221]

On 23/09/2018 at 12:33, PaddockLad said:

Some forget that the radged  blood feud Balkan cunt couldn’t get any trust from Rafa because he was sent off three times the season we got relegated. He was suspended for a total of seven games. Things seem to have improved for him on that front, fair play to him.  I think a manager from the same part of the world who understands him and can play to his strengths helps enormously. He’s gone, we finished tenth largely without him last season. 

 

 

 

Pretty sound analysis there.

[Kid Dynamite 6986]

Same could be said of Shelvey tbf

[TheGingerQuiff 2412]

Shelvey lost a stone on Rafa's orders and his positional discipline is spot on, despite the tired "doesn't track back" cliché that lingered around in lazy parts of the media for some time.

[Kid Dynamite 6986]

20 minutes ago, TheGingerQuiff said:

Shelvey lost a stone on Rafa's orders and his positional discipline is spot on, despite the tired "doesn't track back" cliché that lingered around in lazy parts of the media for some time.

 

True. But the "Mitrovic a red card magnet" cliche is as bad as the one trotted out in the media about Shelvey being a liability if he got picked for England.

 

Mitrovic has had 1 red card since May 2016

 

[TheGingerQuiff 2412]

8 minutes ago, Kid Dynamite said:

 

True. But the "Mitrovic a red card magnet" cliche is as bad as the one trotted out in the media about Shelvey being a liability if he got picked for England.

 

Mitrovic has had 1 red card since May 2016

 

 

A stat garnished by the fact that most of the time since has been spent on the bench for being a hot headed shit

 

Sure there was a retrospective ban in that period too iirc

Edited September 24, 2018 by TheGingerQuiff

[Kid Dynamite 6986]

He's played 49 games for us, Fulham and Serbia since then.

 

1 red card 

31 goals

 

It's lunacy to suggest we are better off without him I reiterate my original post, Rafa is a good manager, he dropped a bollock not giving Mitrovic more of a chance. Particularly as he's exactly the type of player he's trying to mould Joselu and Rondon into 

Edited September 24, 2018 by Kid Dynamite

[Rayvin 5176]

Mitrovic is the first player we have sold in ages who has actually gone on to be decent following his departure.

 

There are enough Sissoko's behind us for the odd Mitrovic to get through. Generally we sell people and they are shite going forward, which is all we could ask  

 

And if we'd bought someone decent this summer, I doubt we'd even be talking about Mitro beyond the occasional "pleased for the lad" etc.

[TheGingerQuiff 2412]

6 minutes ago, Kid Dynamite said:

He's played 49 games for us, Fulham and Serbia since then.

 

1 red card 

31 goals

 

It's lunacy to suggest we are better off without him I reiterate my original post, Rafa is a good manager, he dropped a bollock not giving Mitrovic more of a chance. Particularly as he's exactly the type of player he's trying to mould Joselu and Rondon into 

 

So you think Benitez should have persisted player that has openly admitted in the media he didn't want to follow tactical instructions?  I'm fucking sure mate

[Kid Dynamite 6986]

1 hour ago, Rayvin said:

 

 

And if we'd bought someone decent this summer, I doubt we'd even be talking about Mitro beyond the occasional "pleased for the lad" etc.

 

True, although it's madness that we sold him before we had sourced a replacement 

Edited September 24, 2018 by Kid Dynamite

[Alex 34822]

Not Rafa’s fault (I know you didn’t say it was) 

[PaddockLad 17079]

Is it fair to say its perfectly legitimate to criticise Rafa but it's a bit like being diagnosed with cancer then having a go at the consultant about  a certain  part of your treatment? 

 

 

[Dr Gloom 21812]

i'd rather mitro was still here ahead of joselu. i get that mitro doesn't work in rafa's system, but neither does that useless cunt. he's worthless. what's even more galling is he's keeping rondon out of the team. tbf to rondon, he had a canny goal scoring record prior to joining west brom. give him and the cokehead a gan up front because perez and joselu are making me want to hurt myself. 

 

 

[Anorthernsoul 1221]

The only system Joselu should be working in is the fucking Metro, as a cleaner.

[Kid Dynamite 6986]

2 more for Serbia tonight ;D

[Noelie 103]

On ‎9‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 08:32, TheGingerQuiff said:

 

So you think Benitez should have persisted player that has openly admitted in the media he didn't want to follow tactical instructions?  I'm fucking sure mate

 

 

But didn't Nitro make those comments after he was gone?

[RobinRobin 11122]

29 minutes ago, Noelie said:

 

 

But didn't Nitro make those comments after he was gone?

Not sure when he made them matters, just that he was unwilling to follow instructions.  The fact he may have kept quiet beforehand, and just showed by his actions, is more relevant.

[Alex 34822]

He was still on loan when he made them I think 

[ewerk 30249]

He'll be lifting the Ballon d'Or next year and you'll all still be banging on how he couldn't follow instructions.

[Kevin Carr's Gloves 3809]

I am utterly bored with hearing people witter on about him now like.

[Dr Gloom 21812]

Muto should start up front until Rondon is fit. At least he adds some energy and movement up there. Took his goal well against the mancs.

[ewerk 30249]

Quote

Aleksandar Mitrovic had questions to answer when he left Newcastle United for Fulham. Would he always be the untamed talent who struggled on Tyneside or was there more to the Serbia striker than met the eye?

Mitrovic has gone a long way towards delivering the answers at Craven Cottage after spearheading the west London side's return to the Premier League with 12 goals in 20 games on loan last term - then starting this season in fine style following his permanent £22m switch in the summer.

He harbours no ill feelings towards the Magpies, where he scored 14 goals in 65 league games in the Championship and Premier League. It was just a case of the wrong club at the wrong time.

"It was really hard in Newcastle," he says. "It was one city, one club. Everybody there was really crazy about Newcastle.

"Sometimes it is nice, but sometimes you want to be quiet and go out with your family. When you are not happy on the field, you just don't want to think about football, [you want to] have your space.

"In Newcastle, there is no chance."

He is equally diplomatic about former boss Rafael Benitez, who inherited the striker after predecessor Steve McClaren brought him to St James' Park from Anderlecht for £13m in July 2015.

"We just didn't suit each other," says Mitrovic. "I didn't suit his tactics and I didn't really feel comfortable to play, so he couldn't get the best out of me. But it is nothing personal - just business.

"We had a good relationship and he is a good guy. Defensively he is one of the best managers that I have worked with."

Now Mitrovic can mix business with pleasure in the capital.

"I can go to the city," he says. "I am right on the river so it is always nice to have real space and time with your family. Nobody can disturb you. I enjoy it.

"Away from football it is just family. I try to spend time with my kids - I have to spend a lot of time away so every time I am at home I like to spend time with them. I am a really nice, quiet guy."

A visit to Fulham's secluded Surrey training HQ proves the 24-year-old is a more rounded character than the hothead many labelled him.

Mitrovic's early disciplinary problems at Newcastle - he was booked 22 seconds into his debut and sent off in his fourth game - have led to a somewhat undeserved reputation. Two red cards and 13 yellow in 101 games in England is hardly outrageous for a striker at the sharp end of the game's physicality.

And in person, Mitrovic is a quietly spoken figure whose off-field presence is nowhere near as intimidating as his matchday persona within Slavisa Jokanovic's side.

He comes straight out of his beloved gym, where he can often be found on his days off, sits back in a chair sipping a bottle of water and reflects on his career in England.

"I am still the same guy but maybe in the past I spent time fighting with people," says Mitrovic. "Now I put my focus on my game, my goals - but I'm still the same way.

"When I play football I try to win the game. That is part of me. That is who I am. If you ask any player they will always say the same. They play to win."

Having sampled the goldfish bowl existence and fanaticism of Newcastle, Mitrovic seems to be thriving in the space that life in London offers, living on the banks of the Thames with his partner Kristina and children aged two and nine months.

Mitrovic was considering a move from Newcastle to Middlesbrough when contact from Fulham manager Jokanovic redirected him to London.

And the pair go back a long way, with Mitrovic a ball boy at Partizan Belgrade when Jokanovic was coach between 2007 and 2009.

"Thank God we kept in touch and he was one of the reasons I chose Fulham," says the striker.

"The manager is a big influence on me. It is always something special when you can talk with people from your country. It is always nice to hear advice in your own language.

"He's a great guy, a good manager and I really enjoy working with him. He is calm, honest - he knows what to do and get the best out of me."

A brief flirtation with karate was not enough to stop Mitrovic - brought up in the town of Smederevo, 28 miles down the Danube from the capital Belgrade - pursuing his dream to play in the Premier League, where his striking idols were Newcastle's own icon Alan Shearer and Chelsea's Didier Drogba.

"These are the two players I wanted to watch, work like and play like," says Mitrovic. "It is hard but I try to learn, to improve and to train hard to try and reach the top level."

There was another player the young Mitrovic idolised.

He says: "As a Serb of course you looked at Nemanja Vidic at Manchester United, Branislav Ivanovic at Chelsea, Aleksandar Kolarov at Manchester City - but obviously the biggest man who played in England was Vidic. He was one of the best defenders who ever played in the Premier League.

"All the dreams I wanted when I was young have come true and I feel I have a lot of space to improve.

"I hope if I can keep working everything will be better and better."

Fulham arrived in the Premier League on a wave of optimism after beating Aston Villa in a Wembley play-off final in May, following that up with a £100m outlay as they confirmed Mitrovic's permanent signing, captured the coveted Jean Michael Seri from Nice for about £25m and brought in Germany World Cup winner Andre Schurrle on loan.

However, things have not gone to plan so far, with Fulham in the relegation places after one win and five points from their first nine games.

"We didn't expect this but we are here in this position and we need to try to get out really fast," says Mitrovic. "We have five points but if you can get one or two wins you can be in the top 10.

"Last year, when we made mistakes, teams couldn't punish us but now every mistake we make is punished with a goal - so we have to play smarter. This is life in the Championship compared to life in the Premier League.

"Some might say [Fulham] is a smaller club in the Premier League - but it is a club with big ambition, with a big future.

"I'm happy to be part of this."