The legendary Tom Finney was nicknamed the Preston Plumber for a reason: his father, who'd known periods on unemployment during the Depression, had insisted he learn a trade before signing his Preston apprenticeship forms. Since his ability was the only thing that kept Preston in D1, he was a beloved figure in Preston town and he set up a plumbing & heating business with a partner while still playing. He made more money from that business than he ever did as a footballer
It's an awful lot of pressure on someone that young and doubly so in a position where your every move and mistake is under a microscope and on an endless playback loop. That said, he seems absolutely nerveless and that's a quality that simply cannot be taught. It'd be a massive judgement call, but a big coach knows when to make those calls.
I think he's probably under more pressure playing in League One that for the NT, with 500 people watching on the Paracock Sports Plus 3 Network.
Due to the international break, the Prem and the Championship are not playing this weekend, but League One is so Slonina will be in action tomorrow. Barnsley are playing Bristol Rovers who are level on points with them, just 1 point outside the playoff slots
Of course he does! He wasn't called up because it was felt by Chelsea and the USSF that disrupting the Barnsley defence this early in the season could hinder their chances of making the playoffs and experiencing the pressure to make, not to mention win them, is much more important to his development
It was a bit of a bad half for him. I liked his ability to pass out of the back (including long passes) but his judgement (and toughness) seems questionable at times when coming out for contested balls. His co-patriot CB Pines is not helping the situation as I think he takes poor angles when trying to deal w/ balls while facing goal. AAR... Slonina got just enough to stop what I would consider mostly a gaff from Pines but he came out weak and missed another to lead to the lone Rover goal of the half. Commentator put all the blame on Slonina but again, I think Pines could have done a lot better.
Finished 2-1 good guys. However … Slonina: Culpable in a dreadful moment on 37 minutes. His save to deny Omochere early in the second half presented him in a better light. 5 Pines: Toiled against Omochere and part of an awful miscommunication for the leveller. Brought off at half-time. 4
So I kinda think Slonina was the victim of Pines stupidity. The yanking of Pines is suggestive of that. Otoh, I'm a Slonina-stan so not exactly unbiased when it comes to interpreting that idiotic goal.
I'm in "Not yet" camp for the last three years, but that's 90% on Pines. And Pines is always good for a stupid play.
Can't really see how Slonina is at fault there unless he called "mine!" as he came off the line. That's the CB's ball first and foremost and his job is to wrap his foot around the ball and blooter it into Row Z for a throw. If he gets his feet a bit off, put it out for a corner, apologize and win the header or the second ball. The GK comes off the line on a just-in-case basis because the attacker might get there first or get away with a foul. That Pines was hooked at the half more than suggests the coach saw it that way
If the idea behind leaving Slonina out of the MNT roster was for him to train with his team mates ahead of tonight's Carabao Cup game, let's just say that it didn't wok. 7-0 to United. He doesn't seem to have bee particularly bad. It's just that United had a point to prove tonight and went a long way towards proving it
Just too much of a mismatch between Man U (who played a solid lineup that included Rashford, Garnacho, and Ugarte) versus a League One team. It was bad but not much you can take from it.
Bummer. Games like these are a real opportunity for a young GK to turn heads at the highest levels with a good display.
Match report doesn't make it seem like a great personal game - 1 conceded on 0.35 xGOT, with two saves and terrible distribution stats - but a hell of a lot more fun than getting blown out 7-0. 2-1 win over Burton Albion with a 90th minute game-winner after conceding in the 88th.