The New Pogba: Ntcham

Here is the place to talk about all things city and football!

The New Pogba: Ntcham

Postby bigblue » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:29 pm

Interesting to see our youth hyped up in the papers (by Jamie Jackson of all people?!), maybe it's a sign of things to come!

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blo ... oa-serie-a

After only four games of a two-year loan at Genoa, Manchester City’s Olivier Ntcham is already beginning to sparkle. The 19-year-old has swapped performing before the modest crowds watching Patrick Vieira’s elite development squad last season for the 36,000-capacity Stadio Luigi Ferraris and a starting berth in Gian Piero Gasperini’s XI.

Despite having never made a first-team appearance in City colours, Ntcham is now mixing it with the aristocrats of Serie A, as he did in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to a Juventus led by Paul Pogba, the high-class midfielder Ntcham is drawing comparisons with in Italy.

Ntcham, who like Pogba is French, arrived at the Etihad Stadium from Le Havre in 2012. Ntcham was a vital part of Vieira’s under-21 side that claimed last term’s inaugural Premier League International Cup. He played every minute en route to the 1-0 defeat of Porto in May’s final, which was staged at the City Football Academy and settled by Kelechi Iheanacho’s fifth-minute finish.

Ntcham, who wore the No8 shirt for City, is a natural in Steven Gerrard’s old position at Liverpool. Despite still being a teenager he already appears a powerhouse, a quality that is balanced sweetly by mobility, the ability to play the simple or clever ball, and a natural instinct to ghost into the penalty area at the right time to score.

He is also a flexible footballer, and is proving so for Genoa. In the loss to Juve at the Stadio Luigi, Ntcham again showed how his talent is being honed by competing in Serie A. Genoa, who finished sixth last season, went down to 10 men when the defender Armando Izzo was sent off before the break. At this stage a Juve XI that featured Pogba, Mario Mandzukic, Álvaro Morata, Gianluigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini were winning 1-0. A second-half Pogba penalty confirmed victory for the visitors yet Ntcham was Genoa’s finest performer, operating in the No10 role.

This has been his position for three of the club’s four matches this campaign. In the opening game Ntcham played wide right when Genoa lost 1-0 at Palermo, and that display also drew plaudits. Ntcham was similarly impressive in the 2-0 win over Verona and the 1-0 defeat at Fiorentina, when the former France Under-16 captain was stationed in the hole behind the strikers, Goran Pandev and Diego Capel.

Following the victory over Verona, Ntcham tweeted: “Merci a tous pour votre soutien et vos messages. Thanks all for your support. Work hard play hard.”

This message was to fans and the wider calcio cognoscenti, who believe a genuine talent has landed in their game. Gasperini, who has a penchant for harnessing promising young footballers, is a keen admirer. He says: “Ntcham is an unbelievable player. He’s a surprise for me – Olivier is only 19, but plays like a leader. He will become a top player.”

Genoa’s president, Enrico Preziosi, adds: “I’ve been in the world of football 26 years and I’ve never seen a similar player at his age. He has an unlimited potential, and is really a fantastic talent.”

The view at Genoa is Ntcham could fly as high as Pogba, who was also formerly at Le Havre before he arrived at Juventus via Manchester United. Pogba’s club are now keeping tabs on Ntcham, as are Internazionale, whom he came close to joining before City.

Ntcham chose east Manchester ahead of Milan after City persuaded his family of the attractions of the club, paying Le Havre just over €1m (£730,000). Genoa have an option to buy Ntcham, who signed a fresh five-year contract in the summer and whose loan expires in June 2017, though City have safeguarded their investment by inserting a clause which effectively allows veto over any prospective permanent deal.

Following the loss to Juve, on Tuesday Ntcham tweeted: “Every game is a fight... Forza @GenoaCFC.”

It sums up his attitude well and it sums up why he has been able to move effortlessly from under-21 football to the big time of Serie A. And, it points to why City are observing him closely at his new home.

During the last transfer window they had been intent on signing Pogba before dropping their interest. City could yet revive this. Yet as they continue to watch Ntcham’s stellar rise they may not need to. The French schemer would cost City nothing more, and save them spending around the €100m that is currently Pogba’s price.


So theres some nice quotes in there about him, but is Olivier that good?
User avatar
bigblue
Paul Power's Tash
 
Posts: 10993
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 7:11 pm
Supporter of: Manchester's Only
My favourite player is: Yaya

Re: The New Pogba: Ntcham

Postby Dameerto » Wed Sep 23, 2015 3:35 pm

Thanks for posting that. Nice to hear one of our youngsters is getting some plaudits.
VIVA EL CITIES

"The adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee ... has banned Mr Joseph S. Blatter ... for eight years and Mr Michel Platini ... for eight years from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) on a national and international level. The bans come into force immediately." - 21/12/2015
User avatar
Dameerto
Donated to the site
Donated to the site
Allison's Big Fat Cigar
 
Posts: 18703
Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2009 7:08 pm
Supporter of: El City
My favourite player is: Sergio Forwardo

Re: The New Pogba: Ntcham

Postby nottsblue » Wed Sep 23, 2015 3:55 pm

Did we have a thread last year to keep abreast of the guys on loan or am I misremembering? Would be a good idea
nottsblue
Anna Connell's Vision
 
Posts: 32504
Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 5:17 pm
Location: Nottingham
Supporter of: manchester city
My favourite player is: niall Quinn & Kun

Re: The New Pogba: Ntcham

Postby iwasthere2012 » Wed Sep 23, 2015 4:21 pm

Where's Twosips when you need him......
Over on Bluemoon discussing this with Neville Kneville.
Image
iwasthere2012
Denis Law's Backheel
 
Posts: 9845
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2014 4:14 pm
Location: Dublin
Supporter of: Manchester City
My favourite player is: David Silva (was PabZab)

Re: The New Pogba: Ntcham

Postby mr_nool » Wed Sep 23, 2015 4:27 pm

iwasthere2012 wrote:Where's Twosips when you need him......
Over on Bluemoon discussing this with Neville Kneville.


He's too busy creating content for his +1500 twitter followers.
His twitter account got really popular over the summer.

And rightly so, I should add.
Intelligent Vigilant Person
User avatar
mr_nool
Donated to the site
Donated to the site
Colin Bell's Football Brain
 
Posts: 26354
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2006 8:48 am
Location: Utrecht

Re: The New Pogba: Ntcham

Postby twosips » Wed Sep 23, 2015 5:20 pm

He's good. Surprised/not surprised in equal measure really. At times he was unplayable for the EDS - powerful, skilful, capable of long rangers and a proper hard working, likeable box to box midfielder...and at other times he was Joey Barton. Frustrating and wayward. That up and down, but it was never through a lack of effort and the ability was clearly there. He's always had an excellent attitude and i'm really not surprised that he's excelling in professional football as he most certainly has the skill set required for it. I was actually pretty positive about him moving to Italy as i thought he'd impress with his direct approach in that league, and he seemingly loves it. Caught about a game and a half of his at Genoa so far and was a very positive attacking presence in each.

I actually was really impressed with his (very) brief cameo in that post season friendly v Toronto. He wasn't nervous and passive like most kids and was demanding the ball of Aguero, and he's tough. Very. Fingers crossed this is the start of a very good thing.
twosips
Kinky's Mazy Dribbles
 
Posts: 2974
Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:58 am
Supporter of: mcfc

Re: The New Pogba: Ntcham

Postby Douglas Higginbottom » Wed Sep 23, 2015 5:28 pm

twosips wrote:He's good. Surprised/not surprised in equal measure really. At times he was unplayable for the EDS - powerful, skilful, capable of long rangers and a proper hard working, likeable box to box midfielder...and at other times he was Joey Barton. Frustrating and wayward. That up and down, but it was never through a lack of effort and the ability was clearly there. He's always had an excellent attitude and i'm really not surprised that he's excelling in professional football as he most certainly has the skill set required for it. I was actually pretty positive about him moving to Italy as i thought he'd impress with his direct approach in that league, and he seemingly loves it. Caught about a game and a half of his at Genoa so far and was a very positive attacking presence in each.

I actually was really impressed with his (very) brief cameo in that post season friendly v Toronto. He wasn't nervous and passive like most kids and was demanding the ball of Aguero, and he's tough. Very. Fingers crossed this is the start of a very good thing.


I would have to think playing under Vieira would have been great for Ntcham's development and it's looking like Genoa and the Italian league has been a good choice. No doubt at all consistency was a problem for him as he would be a powerhouse leader in midfield one game and then somehow go missing in the next.

Go missing is probably a bit OTT as I don't think he ever gave less than 100% but there were just times where his ball control , passing and attempts to drive forward just didn't come off. Sounds to me that some of the comments in the article are also OTT but it's great that he is getting that kind of reaction and maybe he is a player we will see at the Etihad when others (Yaya) have gone.
Douglas Higginbottom
Paul Power's Tash
 
Posts: 10685
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 10:42 pm

Re: The New Pogba: Ntcham

Postby iwasthere2012 » Wed Sep 23, 2015 6:07 pm

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:
twosips wrote:He's good. Surprised/not surprised in equal measure really. At times he was unplayable for the EDS - powerful, skilful, capable of long rangers and a proper hard working, likeable box to box midfielder...and at other times he was Joey Barton. Frustrating and wayward. That up and down, but it was never through a lack of effort and the ability was clearly there. He's always had an excellent attitude and i'm really not surprised that he's excelling in professional football as he most certainly has the skill set required for it. I was actually pretty positive about him moving to Italy as i thought he'd impress with his direct approach in that league, and he seemingly loves it. Caught about a game and a half of his at Genoa so far and was a very positive attacking presence in each.

I actually was really impressed with his (very) brief cameo in that post season friendly v Toronto. He wasn't nervous and passive like most kids and was demanding the ball of Aguero, and he's tough. Very. Fingers crossed this is the start of a very good thing.


I would have to think playing under Vieira would have been great for Ntcham's development and it's looking like Genoa and the Italian league has been a good choice. No doubt at all consistency was a problem for him as he would be a powerhouse leader in midfield one game and then somehow go missing in the next.

Go missing is probably a bit OTT as I don't think he ever gave less than 100% but there were just times where his ball control , passing and attempts to drive forward just didn't come off. Sounds to me that some of the comments in the article are also OTT but it's great that he is getting that kind of reaction and maybe he is a player we will see at the Etihad when others (Yaya) have gone.


Do either of you see anything in him that would suggest saving money on putting him in the team over the next two years as opposed to forking out €100 mil on Pogba, is something we may have considered over this summer, or is that some of the OTT stuff you are referring to. Doug.
Image
iwasthere2012
Denis Law's Backheel
 
Posts: 9845
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2014 4:14 pm
Location: Dublin
Supporter of: Manchester City
My favourite player is: David Silva (was PabZab)

Re: The New Pogba: Ntcham

Postby South Stand Balti » Wed Sep 23, 2015 6:36 pm

nottsblue wrote:Did we have a thread last year to keep abreast of the guys on loan or am I misremembering? Would be a good idea

Phips could probably find that thread for you.
South Stand Balti
Dickov's Injury Time Equaliser
 
Posts: 4005
Joined: Tue Nov 26, 2013 3:25 pm
Supporter of: Manchester City FC
My favourite player is: Yaya

Re: The New Pogba: Ntcham

Postby Wonderwall » Wed Sep 23, 2015 7:15 pm

I think I must have attended the wrong games as I certainly didn't see the sort of praise given in the article or by Doug and twosips. He was solid but nothing spectacular. I read the article and thought he was doing a good job of putting extra ££££ on his selling price
User avatar
Wonderwall
Colin Bell's Football Brain
 
Posts: 28928
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 2:58 pm
Location: Sale
Supporter of: Gods own team

Re: The New Pogba: Ntcham

Postby twosips » Wed Sep 23, 2015 7:22 pm

Wonderwall wrote:I think I must have attended the wrong games as I certainly didn't see the sort of praise given in the article or by Doug and twosips. He was solid but nothing spectacular. I read the article and thought he was doing a good job of putting extra ££££ on his selling price


The last two games of the season were good examples for me. He was great against United with some strong powerful running, also he scored a belter (and has done a few times too) against Southampton too. He was never really the best player, I agree, but he showed moments often that hinted at great ability, as all our kids do. I agree he was often usually just steady, but every now and then he'd score a long ranger, power past a challenge or two or spray a great pass across the pitch and he always give 100%. So, logic dictates that if he found consistency he'd be very interesting, and that appears to be the case. Pogba level? Obviously not anywhere not that level but he's 19 and making his debut appearances for a team that finished sixth last year in a very good division, and doing well apparently. That's encouraging.
twosips
Kinky's Mazy Dribbles
 
Posts: 2974
Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:58 am
Supporter of: mcfc

Re: The New Pogba: Ntcham

Postby CTID Hants » Wed Sep 23, 2015 7:25 pm

South Stand Balti wrote:
nottsblue wrote:Did we have a thread last year to keep abreast of the guys on loan or am I misremembering? Would be a good idea

Phips could probably find that thread for you.


I think it was John Cornwall that started? I popped the odd link in it but gave up when Bruno wasn't doing so well and Micah too....
Born A Blue

Image
User avatar
CTID Hants
Donated to the site
Donated to the site
Kaptain Kompany's Komposure
 
Posts: 14787
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2005 1:33 pm
Location: Farnborough, Hampshire


Return to The Maine Football forum

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 154 guests