Francis Amartey

[Reading Rebel]

Is back!!

Francis Amartey has signed on loan for the rest of the season.

Certainly has a lot of pace and knows where the net is.

Welcome back to the rebels Francis!

 

 

[Curtis]

I was disappointed to see him leave three years ago, and if he has improved since then he will be a great signing & a prolific goal scorer for us.

[GlenSTFC]

A welcome signing and hopefully he can score a few to move us away from the relegation places. I feel he’s quite similar to Ogo so it’ll be interesting to see if they play as a 2 up front or as in different roles. I know Aldershot have recently changed managers but it doesn’t appear Francis has been given much of a run in their first team as this  his 3rd loan spell this season. You would think this loan is massive for him to either allow himself another chance with Aldershot or earn a deal with us/another club.

[Irishadrian]

It was only on 29th Dec that he returned to Aldershot so they clearly had no plans for him although a number of their fans wanted him back in the side  but not on the wing where he was being played.

[glyn]

The signing of Francis really gives us hope now.

Everyone in our squad is fully Slough now

We must all cheer and urge them on

At the matches or at home

[Agu the Rebel]

Good news to have Francis back. 

[3spirit]

3 hours ago, Curtis said:

I was disappointed to see him leave three years ago, and if he has improved since then he will be a great signing & a prolific goal scorer for us.

I felt the same when he left Slough back then.

 

3 hours ago, GlenSTFC said:

A welcome signing and hopefully he can score a few to move us away from the relegation places. I feel he’s quite similar to Ogo so it’ll be interesting to see if they play as a 2 up front or as in different roles. I know Aldershot have recently changed managers but it doesn’t appear Francis has been given much of a run in their first team as this  his 3rd loan spell this season. You would think this loan is massive for him to either allow himself another chance with Aldershot or earn a deal with us/another club.

I agree with you, GlenSTFC, that Ogo and Francis are similar in the way they play and it is going to be interesting to see if they will work well together up front. Having both players at our club is a big plus in my view. Whether they are the right blend at this particular time is a hard one to call but Scott getting Francis back to the club feels like a coup and in theory should enhance our firepower and bring our team some much needed goals.  

[GlenSTFC]

7 minutes ago, 3spirit said:

I felt the same when he left Slough back then.

 

I agree with you, GlenSTFC, that Ogo and Francis are similar in the way they play and it is going to be interesting to see if they will work well together up front. Having both players at our club is a big plus in my view. Whether they are the right blend at this particular time is a hard one to call but Scott getting Francis back to the club feels like a coup and in theory should enhance our firepower and bring our team some much needed goals.  

Definitely prefer to have 2 strong, quick forwards in our side rather than facing them! If Walsh, Obi and Amartey can hit top form we’ll have 3 very exciting attacking players at our disposal. I’m sure Scott is on it, but I feel we still need another 1 or 2 to give us options and a bit more depth.

[Reading Rebel]

On the surface it seems a very good move to get Amartey back.

But just to play devils advocate, I remember at the time that it seemed a strange decision for Bakes and Unders to let him go and then for him to drop down a level to play for Hendon and H&Y.

A lot of supporters questioned it at the time but never really found out the real reason why he left.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Reading Rebel

[Irishadrian]

Its clear that Scotty deserves a gold star for this triumph Armety had a number of options when he knew he would be loaned out again and chose the deal with Slough  that Scotty and his team offered⭐

[Curtis]

9 hours ago, Reading Rebel said:

On the surface it seems a very good move to get Amartey back.

But just to play devils advocate, I remember at the time that it seemed a strange decision for Bakes and Unders to let him go and then for him to drop down a level to play for Hendon and H&Y.

A lot of supporters questioned it at the time but never really found out the real reason why he left.

I looked back at postings on here to see what the reasons were.

At the time we were playing a 4-5-1 & Amartey was behind both Roberts & Harris in the pecking order so he had been out on a very successful loan at Hendon, and attracted the interest of Hayes.

For us, although he had made 14 appearances that season he had only started in three matches, and at the age of 20 really needed playing time in order to continue his development. Some had hoped he would have been kept and loaned out for a longer period, but there was some talk that a transfer fee from Hayes was a factor.

 

[Curtis]

And here is the clubs official release at the time:-

‘We have today come to an agreement for the permanent transfer of Francis Amartey to Hayes & Yeading United, writes Neil Baker.

With the change in our formation this season, and the form of Dan Roberts and Ben Harris in particular, his game time has been limited and as a young striker he needs to be playing more regularly.

As people are aware we do not take any decisions lightly, and therefore feel that this is in the best interests of both parties.

With him moving on it allows us to look at rejigging the squad a little, as we have been a bit ‘top-heavy’ on strikers in respect of the formation we have been playing, and with Ben, Robbo, Manny and even Birdy we are well covered.

This should see the addition of one, and potentially two players over the next week or so.

We wish Francis the best of luck with his career and thank him for his time at the Rebels.’

[Reading Rebel]

15 minutes ago, Curtis said:

I looked back at postings on here to see what the reasons were.

At the time we were playing a 4-5-1 & Amartey was behind both Roberts & Harris in the pecking order so he had been out on a very successful loan at Hendon, and attracted the interest of Hayes.

For us, although he had made 14 appearances that season he had only started in three matches, and at the age of 20 really needed playing time in order to continue his development. Some had hoped he would have been kept and loaned out for a longer period, but there was some talk that a transfer fee from Hayes was a factor.

 

I suppose at the time it looked the right decision but in hindsight I'd say definitely not.

Hopefully Amartey is still improving and on an upward curve whilst Ben Harris is on his way down and Roberts is struggling to get to that next level.

[3spirit]

6 hours ago, Reading Rebel said:

I suppose at the time it looked the right decision but in hindsight I'd say definitely not.

Hopefully Amartey is still improving and on an upward curve whilst Ben Harris is on his way down and Roberts is struggling to get to that next level.

I didn't think it was the right decision at the time, as I thought Francis had bags of potential and had shown how good he could be in the previous season. I thought Francis was hard done by being omitted from our starting line up, as I thought Slough should have been playing Dan Roberts and Francis Amartey together but I think they only paired together upfront once, from my recollection.  I get what Bakes and Unders were saying about playing 4-5-1,as that was working for the team back then but when Francis was let go suddenly, it seemed more to do with Francis's temperament fitting in with what Bakes and Unders notions were than much else. They seemed to cover that up by saying that Hayes paid a transfer fee for him.

It's all water under the bridge now whatever. Past actions can't be changed. Let's hope Francis hasn't lost his enthusiasm to be the fast paced goal threat he once was. He was a raw talent back then but hopefully his game hasn't suffered from his various stints at other clubs and he's wised up a lot off field and on.     

[Scott Davies]

Just on this, Francis was never a bad egg or poison as some like to call it. I think Bakes and Unders would agree on that. At the time Francis sat next to me in the changing room but didn’t really fit into the culture at the time.

He was never rude, fiery or anything of the sort, he was just a very quiet lad who didn’t mix. That doesn’t make someone a bad person in my book! 
 

The changing room has changed a lot, even over the past 6 weeks, not for the better or for the worse, as it was brilliant with Bakes and Unders and it’s brilliant now. 
 

Even last night at training, on arrival he knew a few of our newer players so I’m hoping he feels at home and that allows us to see the best of him! 
 

But yeah, by no means is he a problem. 

[3spirit]

1 hour ago, Scott Davies said:

Just on this, Francis was never a bad egg or poison as some like to call it. I think Bakes and Unders would agree on that. At the time Francis sat next to me in the changing room but didn’t really fit into the culture at the time.

He was never rude, fiery or anything of the sort, he was just a very quiet lad who didn’t mix. That doesn’t make someone a bad person in my book! 
 

The changing room has changed a lot, even over the past 6 weeks, not for the better or for the worse, as it was brilliant with Bakes and Unders and it’s brilliant now. 
 

Even last night at training, on arrival he knew a few of our newer players so I’m hoping he feels at home and that allows us to see the best of him! 
 

But yeah, by no means is he a problem. 

Thanks for your response, Scott.  Glad you're open minded.

Bakes and Unders did plenty of things right for our club, and like every manager in the land had their own ideas on what worked for them and their squads. I always admired their ethos on team spirit and togetherness in their teams but as a football fan watching matches I don't have to worry about such things. I just go by what I think of the player in action on the pitch. To me it takes all sorts to make this world but we all have ideas on what makes a good environment in a team setting, to work and have fun in.

Quiet in my book shouldn't be a problem but nor should being 'jack the lad' . Honing camaraderie is important but not necessarily the best way of getting the best from every player. A competent efficient manager, to a good man manager are completely different in my mind. Some people find it hard to handle 'character'. I thought Steve Bateman[our previous manager before Bakes and Unders] handled character players better than Bakes and Unders but his teams would go off the rails/suffer disciplinary problems far easily than Bakes/Unders teams,so it's finding a happy medium between them, really, I suppose.

     

Edited January 6, 2023 by 3spirit

[Guest Wycombe Rebel]

15 hours ago, 3spirit said:

Thanks for your response, Scott.  Glad you're open minded.

Bakes and Unders did plenty of things right for our club, and like every manager in the land had their own ideas on what worked for them and their squads. I always admired their ethos on team spirit and togetherness in their teams but as a football fan watching matches I don't have to worry about such things. I just go by what I think of the player in action on the pitch. To me it takes all sorts to make this world but we all have ideas on what makes a good environment in a team setting, to work and have fun in.

Quiet in my book shouldn't be a problem but nor should being 'jack the lad' . Honing camaraderie is important but not necessarily the best way of getting the best from every player. A competent efficient manager, to a good man manager are completely different in my mind. Some people find it hard to handle 'character'. I thought Steve Bateman[our previous manager before Bakes and Unders] handled character players better than Bakes and Unders but his teams would go off the rails/suffer disciplinary problems far easily than Bakes/Unders teams,so it's finding a happy medium between them, really, I suppose.

     

Handled character players better?

Hmmm I’m not sure about that at all, if anything they were given to much leniency whereas Bakes and Unders stamped on it immediately which is exactly what should happen or rot sets in

[3spirit]

26 minutes ago, Wycombe Rebel said:

Handled character players better?

Hmmm I’m not sure about that at all, if anything they were given to much leniency whereas Bakes and Unders stamped on it immediately which is exactly what should happen or rot sets in

Wycombe Rebel, I think you have interpreted my post in a different way to how I was meaning. 

I admired Bakes and Unders ethos and their no nonsense approach, and couldn't stand Steve Bateman's lack of keeping order when he let his players become an unorganised rabble. His teams were not always like that,though. He took chances on very talented players deemed disruptive. Sometimes that paid off. To me having 1 or 2 characters in a team can be rewarding, if channelled in the right way. 

Nobody wants 'bad eggs' in set-up's and I'm not advocating that. I just don't write off a player because he is 'different' to the others.

 

Edited January 7, 2023 by 3spirit

[Stan]

He was always full of potential. And 
from his time at Hayes and his performance today I’d say he is now realising that potential . 
great work from Scotty to get him till the end of the season .