Sky_Blue_Dreamer
Well-Known Member
The Harry Kane thing was about how he can be slow to get going at the start of a season. The point was if you judged Harry Kane most season after the first half dozen games you'd have dropped him because he hadn't scored and missed some gilt edged chances. One he's up to speed though.....
The last time JP was prolific was the last time he was fit. This season is less than a month old and he's featured in 2 games. He was injured for the whole of last season for all intents and purposes. Year before that he scored a goal a game in the U23 as a first year pro and year before that hit over 30 in his academy year. That was more than Sambou managed in his final year and he's now playing Eredivise. It's also way more than George Thomas managed (who went through the academy as a striker) and players like Callum Wilson (or anyone else I can remember). He played in one U23 pre-season friendly and scored a hat trick (and I don't think he played the entire game) although it wasn't the highest standard of opponent.
I think Ponticelli suffers from having been talked about for so long and people forget he hasn't yet turned 21. Meanwhile when Wilson broke through he'd largely gone under the radar so felt like a very young player, but it was his fourth year under contract. Ponticelli is currently just starting his third and spent his second year injured.
Callum Wilson didn't break into the first team until he was 22. At the same age Ponticelli is now he'd played 2 first team games for us and not scored. He'd played 20 games at Conference level and scored 2. In the equivalent season to this one for Ponti, he played 11 times for us in L1 and scored 1. I imagine most were only a few minutes here and there though.
Ponti scored 6 goals in 26 games (most as a sub with limited time on the pitch) at 18/19 in L2.
I agree he needs to be able to prove himself and he's been unlucky in his chances to do so. When he started the odd cup game at 18 he wasn't exactly setting the place on fire but he was a few months into becoming a professional and playing as a lone striker. Even then he was putting himself about and getting into scoring positions. He's not the tallest or the quickest so he's going to rely on getting into good positions and putting the ball in the net. From what I've seen of him he can do that, and is willing to work and chase things when he has been put on, even if he does need to learn to do it in a more disciplined manner. That's why I think he'd do well to be watching and learning from Godden.
And speaking of Godden at the same age as Ponti he'd played 8 games for a league team and not scored (albeit at Champ and L1 level, but even by the age of 23 he was only featuring in 5 games for a league 2 team and still had yet to score a league goal). He'd been on loan to the conference twice played 13 games and scored 3 goals. So that's the same strike rate as Ponti but a league lower (half the number of appearances but probably more minutes on the pitch in those games).
To have people on here suggest we should just get rid of him at this stage is just incredibly short-sighted and people need to remember he's only 20. He may not make it but he's yet to be given the chance to show it.