Daryl Dike at West Bromwich Albion

The heat's already on the new manager. That was a dire game and Dike looks a shell of himself. Barely got a touch on the ball.

 

YAY!!!


West Brom News match review and player ratings
BOOO!!!

Dike played a little more than an hour and, according to the above link, did f*ck all and was the worst-rated player on the field. That's a disappointment.

 

Fake news

 

on the bunch today vs. the Brummies

 

Subbed in in the 61st minute. No idea how it went.

 

meh-to-not great, based on the stats: 9 touches, lost possession 3 times, 3/9 on aerial duels, committed 3 fouls.

 

Thanks. I don't like where this is going for Dike. I'm still clinging to the fading hope that he'll get it going again.

 

Contract's up in the summer and West Brom are battling relegation. The summer clearout is going to be brutal and rebuilds can go either way, though they mostly go nowhere. Even if they do offer a renewal, he probably shouldn't take it.

It's impossible not to root for the guy so I share your hope that he'll get it going again but all I want between now and May 2nd is for him to stay fit. If he manages that, he will get a deal somewhere to work his way back up, most likely.in MLS.

 

He probably won't ever get back to the guy he was with lil ol' Barnsley... that beast could over come his technical limitations and just dominate defenders at this level at will. But this is the first real minutes he's seen in about a year so as long as he stays healthy like you said maybe he can still be a difference maker the more he gets back into game shape.

 

on the bench today vs. Norwich City

 

He stayed on the bench in a 3-1 loss. Not looking good for West Brom.

 

I just hate what injuries did to him. I'd love to see him have a long 2nd half of his career wherever but I can understand if he's lost some passion.

 

has he "lost it" physically?

or is he just rusty?

 

He's their 5th-highest paid player. What club keeps that kind of player off the pitch if they can help it?

Since joining them 4.5 seasons ago, he's missed 133 league games/spent 1,015 days on the injured list with 4 different injuries. That includes 2 straight years with Achilles surgery and recovery.
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/daryl-dike/verletzungen/spieler/638741

This is a guy who's never made 30 appearances in a season (all comps) in his entire career and whose best season - way back in 2022023 - had just 27 appearances, only of them 14 starts.

Of course he's lost it physically. What other reason could there possibly be?

 

You paint such a delicate and positive picture. Have you considered a career in trauma counseling?

 

No.

 

I'm not surprised.

 

Nothing would make me happier than for Daryl to make a full recovery and go on to play 30+ games a season for another 6-8/10 years. It's just that delusionally idiotic questions irritate me no end.

The good news is that he's earning minutes and even got a start against Stoke on the 7th and the "let's celebrate that" instinct is understandable.

Unfortunately Father Time waits for no-one and Daryl turns 26 in June. His peak years (28-31) are just around the corner already. He was a literal beast and a very smart one at that. He just isn't going to have that now, which is why he's shed weight, but his injuries have prevented him doing anything serious to work on his weaknesses. Video work can only go so far

 

"What's the point in being Irish unless you learn that the world is going to break your heart from time to time."
Daniel Patrick Moynihan

"Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy."
W.B. Yeats (apochrycal)

 

That Yeats quote is f*cking hilarious.

 

But you are - I hope - relieved.

 

When he was pinballing he was over defenders with Barnsley, he was a magnet and the ball inevitably came his way and he usually won it convincingly.

Now he hardly sees the ball. It's probably a mix of tactics and him, but much more him than tactics. He doesn't really look up for the fight and isn't licking his chops when sizing up defenders like he did in his Barnsley pomp

 

That seems to register with what I've seen (in the few minutes I've actually watched him in a couple of games). He is just kind of aimless out there. Why that is is unclear, because it could be that he's afraid of getting in the thick of things (a mental block) or it could be that he's just not got the physical ability to get to where he needs to be anymore.

 

youre an idiot

#1 if hes always never played more than 30 games a season then it isnt injuries stopping him from doing so

#2 - he could still be "recovering" OR he could be at full recovery already (and thus permanently diminished)

#3 your dismissive, arrogant tone is low brow low intelligence even though you seem to think you are so smart

#4 the latest new coach daryl has could simply not rate him....pretty sure sargent isnt injured for example, ...theres a lot of reasona a player may not be playing aside from having lost it physically...hes only 25 years old. so stfu