Ismael Kenneth Kone

[Dominic94]

This will be great for him, probably the right level and he will thrive with time.

[Obinna]

1 minute ago, Dominic94 said:

This will be great for him, probably the right level and he will thrive with time.

Yeah, just yesterday I was suggesting that maybe a bigger move would have been better, like the Roma or West Ham potential moves, but somehow I feel much better about OM today than I did yesterday.

That said, they haven't made a major sale in at least 3 seasons, so perhaps we should brace ourselves for Kone to be with the club until he's 27. Or, maybe he'll be the first in several years to make a big move out of OM. Either way, it's a big club and it's a step up in league play, with European potential (they finished 8th this season).

Even if he plays the full contract out, it's a good club and level, not too dissimillar than Eustaquio being at Porto, for instance. 

[Joe MacCarthy]

9 minutes ago, Obinna said:

You've been drinking the @anthony7 kool-aid.

Speaking of the genius, kudos to you buddy you called it. You warned us repeatedly that if Osorio stepped on the field it would cost us, and you were right. We all should have listened to you, especially Coach Marsch. Now unfortunately, thanks to Osorio, we lost against Peru and our Copa America is basically over before it got started. We had a chance to make history and a first result in a major tournament, and we (well..Osorio) just BLEW IT FOR US

I will never doubt you again.

Can you say, sarcasm

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

10 minutes ago, kingvikingstad said:

I'm not entirely sure how much transfer pull De Zerbi had at Brighton given their model, but he seems to have an eye for talent. I love this move for Kone and it allows me to double down on Marseille as my Ligue 1 club

Never had one except not PSG before Lille.

Payet left me bitter to Marseille but (hopefully, surely) with David gone, I am willing to forgive and make a change.  

[InglewoodJack]

17 minutes ago, Obinna said:

You've been drinking the @anthony7 kool-aid.

Speaking of the genuius, kudos to you buddy you called it. You warned us repeatedly that if Osorio stepped on the field it would cost us, and you were right. We all should have listened to you, especially Coach Marsch. Now unfortuanately, thanks to Osorio, we lost against Peru and our Copa America is basically over before it got started. We had a chance to make history and a first result in a major tournament, and we (well..Osorio) just BLEW IT FOR US 

I will never doubt you again.

I certainly don’t think he’s the worst player in the world and deserves to be sent to the CPL or whatever that guy says, but Osorio doesn’t give us much, especially not enough to bench Kone, that’s for sure.

Also, re: your post, the guy already said that we played awful and will embarrass ourselves against Chile, Peru actually won the hypothetical game against us, we just got lucky, so again, that was Osorio’s fault. If he didn’t play, we still would’ve won, but more importantly, we would’ve won The Discourse. 

[Cheeta]

Congratulations to Mr Kone.  With the hard work, dedication, and study he'll bring with him to France I'm sure nothing but success awaits him at OM.   Still, a very brave move.  Again, congrats 

(Man, is he going to get a kick out of the OM supporters).

[Kadenge]

I'm as disappointed like everyone else about Kone's performances in our last 2 games and I expect Marsch and probably Staq to speak to him and settle him down. But unless there is an underlying issue with Kone we really don't have a replacement for him in a 2 man mid formation.  Re inconsistency, I have watched at least 10 Watford games this season where he has played as their most advanced mid and his play has generally been solid including some incredible long range strikes to average and being subbed out. Frankly I have never seen him play as poorly for Watford or Canada as he has over the last 2 games. Have to go back to his 2nd CMNT cap a start away to CR  I believe in WCQ where he was subbed at half. What's astounding is that he had his best performance ever,  for club and country immediately before vs France and another strong game vs the Netherlands. If it's the transfer stuff, hopefully he can settle down now.

[kingvikingstad]

I'm very much hoping his play in copa is a result of the transfer speculation and trying too hard. While it shows some immaturity, let's hope it's all but finalized before the next match and he can focus on his football

[InglewoodJack]

Wouldn’t be surprised if we find out in a few weeks he had a nagging injury. Can’t imagine the pressure of an eminent transfer suddenly got to him now in a way that it did not get to him against France and the Netherlands. He pretty much told the Watford crowd he was leaving in may, so whatever we’re hearing about today was probably in the works weeks ago. 
 

Not that he isn’t liable to put up stinkers for other reasons, but at least during the Argentina game, it didn’t really look like he was making decisions under pressure, it looked like he was just trying to get rid of the ball as fast as possible and extract himself from the play. 

[Obinna]

Against Peru:

I don't too much stock in how Kone or anyone else played in that heat. It was all about getting the result and moving on. We did that. 

Against Argentina:

he made mistakes but also showed he could hang against a side like Argentina. The mistakes were just wrong decisions and NOT an inability to play at this level...imo

Against France:

he was basically perfect.

Against Netherlands:

he was fine.

...........................................

Overall I think Kone is having a very good summer with Canada and I think he'll start on Saturday unless there is injury concern. I also think he'll have a great match. Just a gut feeling.

Edited Wednesday at 05:23 PM by Obinna

[costarg]

12 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Against Peru:

I don't too much stock in how Kone or anyone else played in that heat. It was all about getting the result and moving on. We did that. 

Against Argentina:

he made mistakes but also showed he could hang against a side like Argentina. The mistakes were just wrong decisions and NOT an inability to play at this level...imo

Against France:

he was basically perfect.

Against Netherlands:

he was fine.

...........................................

Overall I think Kone is having a very good summer with Canada and I think he'll start on Saturday unless there is injury concern. I also think he'll have a great match. Just a gut feeling.

Nailed it.

[Big_M]

dont like this...theres huge huge pressure in marseille from the fans who are really wild...maybe the wildest in france...one or two of those performances where he has plenty of giveaways in his half and theyll try to run him out of town...and with all that pressure comes coaching changes...seven permanent coaches and two interims in the last five years (or six and three if you count gasset as interim)...last league title was in 2010 and last cup was league cup in 2012 both under deschamps

[kingvikingstad]

1 hour ago, Obinna said:

Against Peru:

I don't too much stock in how Kone or anyone else played in that heat. It was all about getting the result and moving on. We did that. 

Against Argentina:

he made mistakes but also showed he could hang against a side like Argentina. The mistakes were just wrong decisions and NOT an inability to play at this level...imo

Against France:

he was basically perfect.

Against Netherlands:

he was fine.

...........................................

Overall I think Kone is having a very good summer with Canada and I think he'll start on Saturday unless there is injury concern. I also think he'll have a great match. Just a gut feeling.

I don't think the sky is falling career-wise, but I am concerned with how he's handling the pressure right now. Those first two matches you referenced were friendlies with nothing on the line, the latter were proper games.

At some point after a couple early mistakes in the Argentina game he started playing erratically like he was trying to undo errors or make up for them. And it carried into the Peru game where he almost seemed like he was forcing himself to slow down. At some point he was so rattled that he pressed on his own down the field in that heat trying to make up for losing the ball. 

In my opinion, it was the play of someone who was getting increasingly frustrated and and not playing and reacting to the game naturally. Maybe it was the pressure of the tourney, of a pending transfer, or just feeling like he needed to be better, but he was not playing at all loose and almost seemed like he had the yips, his reads were that bad and uncharacteristic for the player.

Anyway, hope you're right and I'm wrong, just my two cents

[jonovision]

My view is that Kone is still the player most likely to deliver a top performance out of that position by a wide margin. Whether the upside is outweighed by the downside risk is the decision Marsch has to make. 

Edited Wednesday at 06:56 PM by jonovision

[Obinna]

16 minutes ago, kingvikingstad said:

I don't think the sky is falling career-wise, but I am concerned with how he's handling the pressure right now. Those first two matches you referenced were friendlies with nothing on the line, the latter were proper games.

At some point after a couple early mistakes in the Argentina game he started playing erratically like he was trying to undo errors or make up for them. And it carried into the Peru game where he almost seemed like he was forcing himself to slow down. At some point he was so rattled that he pressed on his own down the field in that heat trying to make up for losing the ball. 

In my opinion, it was the play of someone who was getting increasingly frustrated and and not playing and reacting to the game naturally. Maybe it was the pressure of the tourney, of a pending transfer, or just feeling like he needed to be better, but he was not playing at all loose and almost seemed like he had the yips, his reads were that bad and uncharacteristic for the player.

Anyway, hope you're right and I'm wrong, just my two cents

Appreciate the insight. I never read the situation that way, but it's a fair assessment in my opinion. Thanks for sharing it.

I would sum up everything you said here with one word: inexperience.

And that's why I am not worried. The experience and maturity will come. If he's doing these things in his mid twenties, it's worrying for sure.

And the press high up the field specifically, I saw that as a player just trying to step up and do something, anything, to change the flow of the game. It did seem erratic, but the entire first half was chaotic and we had no control, so I didn't mind the desperate one-man press, personally. If he were doing those things off script in a more normal game, I would be concerned. 

[masster]

The reported transfer fee seems high to me...but I guess they are paying for potential.

I think the last few Canada performances have shown us why he had a sporadic season at Watford.

[masster]

Good article from before the Peru match...

Inside Jesse Marsch’s vision for Ismael Kone: Canada’s next star

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5588058/2024/06/25/ismael-kone-canada-copa-america/

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

56 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Appreciate the insight. I never read the situation that way, but it's a fair assessment in my opinion. Thanks for sharing it.

I would sum up everything you said here with one word: inexperience.

And that's why I am not worried. The experience and maturity will come. If he's doing these things in his mid twenties, it's worrying for sure.

And the press high up the field specifically, I saw that as a player just trying to step up and do something, anything, to change the flow of the game. It did seem erratic, but the entire first half was chaotic and we had no control, so I didn't mind the desperate one-man press, personally. If he were doing those things off script in a more normal game, I would be concerned. 

With honestly all due respect ( I watched some their Voyageur Cup games) to Saint-Laurent and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce,) he has been at a fully professional club for 3 years. 

Decent clubs don't try to throw away transfer funds.

You can't predict much 100% in football but it should come - a manager with a plan will help.

[kacbru]

5 hours ago, Obinna said:

Yeah, just yesterday I was suggesting that maybe a bigger move would have been better, like the Roma or West Ham potential moves, but somehow I feel much better about OM today than I did yesterday.

That said, they haven't made a major sale in at least 3 seasons, so perhaps we should brace ourselves for Kone to be with the club until he's 27. Or, maybe he'll be the first in several years to make a big move out of OM. Either way, it's a big club and it's a step up in league play, with European potential (they finished 8th this season).

Even if he plays the full contract out, it's a good club and level, not too dissimillar than Eustaquio being at Porto, for instance. 

Jeez - it's not even official and already talking about where to next.

[CanadaFan123]

Let’s not pretend the last two matches have been easy. Add in the fact that Kone is generally inconsistent AND agreeing terms on a life changing move and I think we can cut him some slack. Oh and he’s 22.

8 pm game and contract negotiations behind him - I think he’s set to shine Saturday, even if it’s off the bench. 

[Bigandy]

Some of these takes are wild to me. 
 

kone played somewhat poor based on his ceiling but off the ball he was part of the shape that nullified Argentina for the most part and kept Peru from scoring.  
 

arguably choiniere is the only other guy who could do that…. (Which is soooo unproven but people like to turn him into this hero type because he runs a lot) 

On the ball, only maybe oso can compare. But not in build up. Mostly just at through balls.  
 

kone playing poorly is still much better than any alternative. 

[InglewoodJack]

6 hours ago, Obinna said:

 

That said, they haven't made a major sale in at least 3 seasons, so perhaps we should brace ourselves for Kone to be with the club until he's 27. Or, maybe he'll be the first in several years to make a big move out of OM. Either way, it's a big club and it's a step up in league play, with European potential (they finished 8th this season).

I think it’s less about them wanting to keep players throughout their prime, even though they’re not a selling club, and more about the fact that Marseille typically spend on players who are already in their prime. They also typically don’t spend on just about any player. If the £15M fee is accurate, that’s about €17.7M which would make him their 8th most expensive signing of all time, and of those more expensive, only one player was younger than Kone at signing. 

I don’t think he’ll leave the club in the same way that David is leaving Lille- then trying to salvage their investment and taking a loss because he’ll leave on a free, but I also think that if Kone is the guy we think he is, he’ll be a €50M+ player by 24 or 25. And in that case, it would be very hard not to sell him. I don’t think Marseille have held on to any player with that type of value.

 

Anyways, all very premature as he’s yet to actually sign with Marseille. I’m pretty excited about the move. I think that watching them is gonna be a lot more fun than watching Lille, and I’m glad we get to keep an eye on Ligue 1 still, assuming David really is gone. 

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, kacbru said:

Jeez - it's not even official and already talking about where to next.

Such is life as a Canadian supporter 

[jhoops__]

 

[Borjans Sweatpants]

1 hour ago, jhoops__ said:

 

Love it. Hope he can put it beside him now and focus on the games at hand.