20 Goals Bakayoko... (1 Viewer)

BornSlippySkyBlue

Well-Known Member
Article about Baka’s route to the pinnacle of global football that is Coventry City. Excuse google translation, was originally in Dutch:

During the conversation with Voetbalzone, the thoughts of Amadou Bakayoko go back to the Sportpark Stadspark, where he was in the green-white shirt of Velocitas at the age of six. 1897 took its first steps on the football field. "Sometimes I still visit Velocitas to see the fields where I started. It is always somewhere in my mind. Always, always, always. I hope that one day I can see all people from Velocitas again, that would be be great ", the 23-year-old striker muses. Bakayoko left the Netherlands at a young age, managed to get professional football in England and has just completed his first season with Coventry City. By Chris Meijer Although Bakayoko speaks unmistakably as an Englishman, the Netherlands is very deep in his heart. "I can still hear Dutch, no problem. I have forgotten a little, but I can", Bakayoko laughs at the start of the conversation. Soon he switches to English, as he effortlessly finds the right words in that language. It is hardly surprising that the Dutch language has somewhat disappeared at Bakayoko. After five years in the Netherlands, he ended up in England at the age of eleven, where he has now been living for twelve years. Bakayoko escaped in 2002 with his mother and brothers the Sierra Leone, ravaged by a civil war, and ended up in Groningen. "The first time in the Netherlands was difficult, but due to my young age I actually found my place quickly. I went to school and therefore met many people, as a child everything is not that serious." "The neighbor, Tina Terpstra Maarten, and Liesbeth, a friend of the family, took me to Velocitas every weekend, where I took my first steps on the football field. Every time I come to the Netherlands, I go and see Velocitas It's been a while now, the people there may have already forgotten about me, I still have contact with one of the friends of that time and he knows I got the professional football, but I don't think my trainers are out knowing that time, "it sounds sad. In the Netherlands it did not go unnoticed that Bakayoko was talented, because FC Groningen took him away from Velocitas when he was ten. He finally spent a year in the youth training of the Pride of the North. "I came in very nervous and shy, but as soon as I started playing football, it was over. They saw potential in me, I learned a lot and enjoyed that time. Dutch football is very different from English football, that I only realized it later. In the Netherlands there is much more flair. "

After five years, mother Bakayoko decided to choose to leave the Netherlands. She went to England with her children and initially told them it was a vacation. "The fact that we finally stayed in England was a massive shock. I couldn't say goodbye to anyone in the Netherlands, it all went so fast. I didn't know what life in England was like at that time and I had to learn a new language. Netherlands is so different from England, some people do not realize that I have had very different experiences in the Netherlands, people are different, I feel more at ease there, perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I was quite young when I was in If you lived in the Netherlands, you will experience everything differently. " It took a while for Bakayoko to find his place in England, so he only started playing football again after a year. "My mother eventually encouraged me to start again. It was difficult because I didn't know anyone here. We didn't really have a home yet and lived in hotels. In the Netherlands people are playing football on the street and people invite you to join us "It's much more complicated here, with playing styles and tactics," he explains. In the end, Bakayoko picked up football again with a Sunday League team. His talent was also noticeable in England and both Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa invited him for a trial period. Via the Wolves, an internship followed at Walsall, together with seven others. The Saddlers were looking for a striker at the time and Bakayoko was actually playing as a midfielder. Of the seven test players, only one was allowed to stay and for that reason he did not start the stage very optimistically. "They finally put me in the lead and I scored twice in every game. I was very lucky, to be honest."

Bakayoko earned a so-called scholarship at Walsall. "At that time I had just finished high school and I wasn't sure what to do. At Wallsall I really realized that I could get the professional football and that I could achieve what I wanted to achieve." After playing for a year, Bakayoko got his chance in the Under-18 of Walsall. In six months he found the net almost twenty times, which led the club to offer the striker the first player in his age category to offer a contract. Manager Dean Smith (who currently works at Aston Villa) was in Bakayoko and let him debut in the League One in the same season at the age of eighteen. Because Walsall subsequently attracted Tom Bradshaw (nowadays employed by Millwall), Bakayoko had to make his move. Rental periods followed at Southport FC, Telford United and Worcester City, before becoming the base player for the Saddlers in the 2016/17 season. "Those rental periods were very difficult, because I really didn't want to be rented out. Afterwards it helped me, it's important to gain experience. Sometimes you don't have to think about yourself, then you start realizing things. I'm more there When I came back from those rental periods, I thought: I have to find another way to get this done and I have to do this myself. I started to approach it a little differently and that resulted, "says Bakayoko. "For example, at Wallsall we did not have a pointed trainer. There were no trainers who could teach you specific aspects. As a result, I actually had to teach myself. At larger clubs, there are a lot of trainers around who can help or guide you. At Wallsall, I looked for things out, which is difficult. "

In the summer of 2018, the "perfect moment", as Bakayoko describes it, came to take a step higher. Manager Dean Keates already had a number of specific reinforcements in mind, only to be sold before Walsall could get players. Bakayoko was actually the only player who could make a profit, while he himself saw the next step. Coventry City was eventually chosen, while Accrington Stanley and Bristol Rovers were also interested. "Coventry has a clear playing style, which is also trained during the week. That is important, because it helps to enable the strikers to score goals. My move to Coventry was a kind of reality check. At Walsall, I had a fixed rhythm, I led myself through the season At Coventry it was very different, I had never experienced this before I had heard that you experience football very differently when you leave Wallsall How the coaches approach it here is very different. It is more structured. " It turned out to be a good choice, because where Coventry finished eighth in the League One, Walsall relegated number 22 to the League Two. With seven goals and four assists, Bakayoko had a strong first season with the Sky Blues. The club, still active in the Premier League between 1993 and 2001, hopes to do a promotion to the Championship next season. The second level of English football is the next stop before the striker. "In the short term yes, yes. I want to win or achieve something as quickly as possible, such as promotion. In the long term: everyone wants to play in the Premier League. That is the main goal, no doubt. In this time it is absolutely possible , if you have one or two good seasons. I would love to play in the Netherlands one day, I always said that. Becoming international is also a dream. "

Bakayoko could have made that dream come true recently, but he ignored an invitation from his native Sierra Leone. "At the time in my career that was not something I wanted. They invited me at the wrong time, I think. There was corruption in Sierra Leone at the time, so it was not the right time to go there. Somewhere Orange was also in my mind when I made that decision, but if I am realistic, I know that someone in the League One will not be called for Orange, I just wanted to wait, because you never know what can happen in a few years "Bakayoko admits. "I hope Ronald Koeman will call one day, that would definitely be a dream. To achieve that, you have to have a good season in the Premier League. I have a Dutch passport, so I would like the Netherlands to be my home country The relationship with the Netherlands is still very close and more special than with England. Pff, I would definitely like to live in the Netherlands again, when I am older or later in my career. "



Source:
‘Ik hoop dat Ronald Koeman op een dag belt, dat zou absoluut een droom zijn’
 

SkyBlueDom26

Well-Known Member
Article about Baka’s route to the pinnacle of global football that is Coventry City. Excuse google translation, was originally in Dutch:

During the conversation with Voetbalzone, the thoughts of Amadou Bakayoko go back to the Sportpark Stadspark, where he was in the green-white shirt of Velocitas at the age of six. 1897 took its first steps on the football field. "Sometimes I still visit Velocitas to see the fields where I started. It is always somewhere in my mind. Always, always, always. I hope that one day I can see all people from Velocitas again, that would be be great ", the 23-year-old striker muses. Bakayoko left the Netherlands at a young age, managed to get professional football in England and has just completed his first season with Coventry City. By Chris Meijer Although Bakayoko speaks unmistakably as an Englishman, the Netherlands is very deep in his heart. "I can still hear Dutch, no problem. I have forgotten a little, but I can", Bakayoko laughs at the start of the conversation. Soon he switches to English, as he effortlessly finds the right words in that language. It is hardly surprising that the Dutch language has somewhat disappeared at Bakayoko. After five years in the Netherlands, he ended up in England at the age of eleven, where he has now been living for twelve years. Bakayoko escaped in 2002 with his mother and brothers the Sierra Leone, ravaged by a civil war, and ended up in Groningen. "The first time in the Netherlands was difficult, but due to my young age I actually found my place quickly. I went to school and therefore met many people, as a child everything is not that serious." "The neighbor, Tina Terpstra Maarten, and Liesbeth, a friend of the family, took me to Velocitas every weekend, where I took my first steps on the football field. Every time I come to the Netherlands, I go and see Velocitas It's been a while now, the people there may have already forgotten about me, I still have contact with one of the friends of that time and he knows I got the professional football, but I don't think my trainers are out knowing that time, "it sounds sad. In the Netherlands it did not go unnoticed that Bakayoko was talented, because FC Groningen took him away from Velocitas when he was ten. He finally spent a year in the youth training of the Pride of the North. "I came in very nervous and shy, but as soon as I started playing football, it was over. They saw potential in me, I learned a lot and enjoyed that time. Dutch football is very different from English football, that I only realized it later. In the Netherlands there is much more flair. "

After five years, mother Bakayoko decided to choose to leave the Netherlands. She went to England with her children and initially told them it was a vacation. "The fact that we finally stayed in England was a massive shock. I couldn't say goodbye to anyone in the Netherlands, it all went so fast. I didn't know what life in England was like at that time and I had to learn a new language. Netherlands is so different from England, some people do not realize that I have had very different experiences in the Netherlands, people are different, I feel more at ease there, perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I was quite young when I was in If you lived in the Netherlands, you will experience everything differently. " It took a while for Bakayoko to find his place in England, so he only started playing football again after a year. "My mother eventually encouraged me to start again. It was difficult because I didn't know anyone here. We didn't really have a home yet and lived in hotels. In the Netherlands people are playing football on the street and people invite you to join us "It's much more complicated here, with playing styles and tactics," he explains. In the end, Bakayoko picked up football again with a Sunday League team. His talent was also noticeable in England and both Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa invited him for a trial period. Via the Wolves, an internship followed at Walsall, together with seven others. The Saddlers were looking for a striker at the time and Bakayoko was actually playing as a midfielder. Of the seven test players, only one was allowed to stay and for that reason he did not start the stage very optimistically. "They finally put me in the lead and I scored twice in every game. I was very lucky, to be honest."

Bakayoko earned a so-called scholarship at Walsall. "At that time I had just finished high school and I wasn't sure what to do. At Wallsall I really realized that I could get the professional football and that I could achieve what I wanted to achieve." After playing for a year, Bakayoko got his chance in the Under-18 of Walsall. In six months he found the net almost twenty times, which led the club to offer the striker the first player in his age category to offer a contract. Manager Dean Smith (who currently works at Aston Villa) was in Bakayoko and let him debut in the League One in the same season at the age of eighteen. Because Walsall subsequently attracted Tom Bradshaw (nowadays employed by Millwall), Bakayoko had to make his move. Rental periods followed at Southport FC, Telford United and Worcester City, before becoming the base player for the Saddlers in the 2016/17 season. "Those rental periods were very difficult, because I really didn't want to be rented out. Afterwards it helped me, it's important to gain experience. Sometimes you don't have to think about yourself, then you start realizing things. I'm more there When I came back from those rental periods, I thought: I have to find another way to get this done and I have to do this myself. I started to approach it a little differently and that resulted, "says Bakayoko. "For example, at Wallsall we did not have a pointed trainer. There were no trainers who could teach you specific aspects. As a result, I actually had to teach myself. At larger clubs, there are a lot of trainers around who can help or guide you. At Wallsall, I looked for things out, which is difficult. "

In the summer of 2018, the "perfect moment", as Bakayoko describes it, came to take a step higher. Manager Dean Keates already had a number of specific reinforcements in mind, only to be sold before Walsall could get players. Bakayoko was actually the only player who could make a profit, while he himself saw the next step. Coventry City was eventually chosen, while Accrington Stanley and Bristol Rovers were also interested. "Coventry has a clear playing style, which is also trained during the week. That is important, because it helps to enable the strikers to score goals. My move to Coventry was a kind of reality check. At Walsall, I had a fixed rhythm, I led myself through the season At Coventry it was very different, I had never experienced this before I had heard that you experience football very differently when you leave Wallsall How the coaches approach it here is very different. It is more structured. " It turned out to be a good choice, because where Coventry finished eighth in the League One, Walsall relegated number 22 to the League Two. With seven goals and four assists, Bakayoko had a strong first season with the Sky Blues. The club, still active in the Premier League between 1993 and 2001, hopes to do a promotion to the Championship next season. The second level of English football is the next stop before the striker. "In the short term yes, yes. I want to win or achieve something as quickly as possible, such as promotion. In the long term: everyone wants to play in the Premier League. That is the main goal, no doubt. In this time it is absolutely possible , if you have one or two good seasons. I would love to play in the Netherlands one day, I always said that. Becoming international is also a dream. "

Bakayoko could have made that dream come true recently, but he ignored an invitation from his native Sierra Leone. "At the time in my career that was not something I wanted. They invited me at the wrong time, I think. There was corruption in Sierra Leone at the time, so it was not the right time to go there. Somewhere Orange was also in my mind when I made that decision, but if I am realistic, I know that someone in the League One will not be called for Orange, I just wanted to wait, because you never know what can happen in a few years "Bakayoko admits. "I hope Ronald Koeman will call one day, that would definitely be a dream. To achieve that, you have to have a good season in the Premier League. I have a Dutch passport, so I would like the Netherlands to be my home country The relationship with the Netherlands is still very close and more special than with England. Pff, I would definitely like to live in the Netherlands again, when I am older or later in my career. "



Source:
‘Ik hoop dat Ronald Koeman op een dag belt, dat zou absoluut een droom zijn’
Come on then Baka lad, 20 goals this season
 

BornSlippySkyBlue

Well-Known Member
Got the impression that Walsall’s setup is a little less well run than ours. Thought his comment about Coventry playing in a certain way was interesting and augurs well for the loan market if that’s what players / coaches think.
 

pusbccfc

Well-Known Member
Love the bloke.
 

fatso

Well-Known Member
So far in his career he's averaged 1 goal in every 7 games in the lower leagues.
Says it all really.
 

Sky Blue Harry H

Well-Known Member
I'm hopeful that a few of our strikers will improve after a solid pre season. First pre-season with us for some of them, and a bit of time for bonding. Plus a couple of 6ft plus wingers in there as well. Will be funny watching a 6'2" winger crossing it in for a Chaplin header!!
 

Grendel

Well-Known Member

SkyBlueDom26

Well-Known Member
I really want to see baka do well this season! Only concern is if we do get another forward either him or max will probably have to go and that deffo won't be max leaving
 

Liquid Gold

Well-Known Member
I think if a decent offer comes in MR would be open to letting Baka go. I don't think he's desperate for him to go or anything like he was for Ogogo and might still be for Brown but it's a player I can see him being open to moving on if he thinks he can secure an improvement.
 

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