Mark Flekken (Closed Thread)

[ruislip bee]

IMHO he’s doing very well for 97.

View attachment 42088

He needs a good belt to keep those trousers up!

 

[Lionel Bart-At]

He needs a good belt to keep those trousers up!

Harsh! He’s only doing a little dance routine with some animated penguins.

 

[Isleworth_Bee]

I would say that was a match to learn from. But hes old enough to do better.

I cant make my mind up on him. He looks so good in the couple of home games, but there are worrying signs about how he commands his box.

He f*****g loves to punch (which is fine) but jesus christ punch with some conviction. Very weak at moments today,

 

[James30]

Punches the ball way to much, very good with his feet granted but did flap a few times and we got let off with the disallowed goal.

 

[magicbees]

Punches the ball way to much, very good with his feet granted but did flap a few times and we got let off with the disallowed goal.

Massive worry for me, hopefully Thomas starts in the cup.

 

[Mark H]

Punches the ball way to much, very good with his feet granted but did flap a few times and we got let off with the disallowed goal.

Agree. The one learning point he should be focusing on is catching the ball. Raya was the same I seem to remember.

He had a shocker today, but I still think he will be ok in the long term.

 

[Banana]

Very odd today. No distribution and some very very very strange decisions to punch. One was when it was a dolly catch and no-one within 300 miles of him. I mean ACTUAL MILES.

 

[Isleworth_Bee]

Punches the ball way to much, very good with his feet granted but did flap a few times and we got let off with the disallowed goal.

The goal was rightly chalked off. Wilson had hold of his arm.

Looked weak, but 100% a foul.

 

[Owlsmoor_Bee]

The penalty decision is b***ocks but the disallowed goal was criminally poor goalkeeping. Be much stronger than that please Mark.

 

[Isleworth_Bee]

Very odd today. No distribution and some very very very strange decisions to punch. One was when it was a dolly catch and no-one within 300 miles of him. I mean ACTUAL MILES.

If its the one im thinking of he could of let it sail out of play for a GK.

 

[BFC1997]

One save kept us in the game.

Their penalty

a - wasn’t a foul
b - came from a hospital pass from Hickey

It wasn’t a convincing performance with some strange punches, but equally I don’t feel like today’s defeat can be pinned on him at all.

I’ve seen enough so far to know that sticking with him is the right call. Only concern will be if his confidence takes a knock, and as long as we are behind him then that won’t be a problem.

 

[tlbee]

Not good enough imo will cost us points throughout the season

 

[Mark H]

The penalty decision is b***ocks but the disallowed goal was criminally poor goalkeeping. Be much stronger than that please Mark.

I felt the disallowed goal should have stood, it was weak keeping. Although I need to see it again to be sure. The pen was Gordon being a cheating scouse and should not have stood. The Bryan pen was a complete joke and showed that the ref had lost the plot and was being totally influenced by the crowd.

 

[cromerbee]

Not good enough imo will cost us points throughout the season

Leave it there ffs! We all get what you think of him. Let’s hope you’re wrong!

 

[BEEcool]

I’m worried.

 

[A Real Mysteron]

I’m worried.

He looks the part.
But then there are high balls and crosses.

 

[Isleworth_Bee]

Not good enough imo will cost us points throughout the season

Raya also had his moments............................................ And cost us promotion.

Give MF a chance, hes had what half a dozen games.

 

[Gee Bee]

Not as bad as Raya performance there last season ?

 

[davewfilms]

He isnt great on crosses and then tries punch as won't catch his punching is awful.Big worry as other teams will play on this weakness.
A recruitment on goalies dont seem good as we need a keeper who can deal with crosses and dominate the box and like 3 previous goalies wont come of his line, if he does he just flaps.

 

[tlbee]

Raya also had his moments............................................ And cost us promotion.

Give MF a chance, hes had what half a dozen games.

Raya even when he made mistakes had more presence and ability than this guy

 

[Alex]

I felt the disallowed goal should have stood, it was weak keeping. Although I need to see it again to be sure. The pen was Gordon being a cheating scouse and should not have stood. The Bryan pen was a complete joke and showed that the ref had lost the plot and was being totally influenced by the crowd.

No it shouldn’t Wilson has pulled his arm down. Foul all day long.

 

[cromerbee]

Raya even when he made mistakes had more presence and ability than this guy

Please stop!!!

 

[Beefletch]

He certainly seems like a downgrade on Raya at this point. It was never a penalty but why was he out there anyway ? He certainly doesn’t fill me with confidence in dealing with balls into the box , not helped by his preference for punching ,or flapping, instead of catching .Needs to improve !

 

[Indian Bee]

The comparison to Raya is tedious IMO. Whilst Raya was excellent for us overall he had his flaws and was liable to the odd mistake. The result today was not down to Flekken and some on here seem to have forgotten his first half save.

 

[cheshirebee]

Raya even when he made mistakes had more presence and ability than this guy

Ooh, there you are again.
I came off the matchday thread to avoid your one-eyed mission to destroy our first choice GK but here you are again.
Yes, he had a poor game tonight. State that and step down. Carping on serves no purpose that I can think of.

 

[Kingston Bee]

If I was a PL manager watching that I would be telling my team to bombard Flekken with high balls when they play Brentford, seems an obvious one to me after tonight's game. Flekkens decision making went out the window tonight, hopefully it's a one off.

We got away with one tonight imo with the disallowed goal but Flekken needed to be more commanding in his own 6 yard box, instead he looked weak.

He was not the sole reason for our defeat but he had a poor game. Hopefully it's a one off.

 

[mundee4england]

I think he’ll be alright, he’s been commanding (ish) at home and his general saves and distribution has been very good. He obviously struggled with the away atmosphere and commanding his area which he is going to need to work on as he’ll be targeted now!

There’s enough good there not to rip him apart, but also work to be done fairly swiftly!

 

[Alan D]

He certainly seems like a downgrade on Raya at this point. It was never a penalty but why was he out there anyway ? He certainly doesn’t fill me with confidence in dealing with balls into the box , not helped by his preference for punching ,or flapping, instead of catching .Needs to improve !

Put this way he doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. But it's early days and far too soon to write him off.

 

[TOXIC BEE]

He certainly seems like a downgrade on Raya at this point.

I think anyone expecting him to be on the level of Raya was setting themselves up for disappointment really, keepers of David’s quality don’t come cheap

 

[Houghton Bee]

Raya even when he made mistakes had more presence and ability than this guy

Raya was bullied on crosses, corners and set pieces by opponents for years with us.

 

[Lionel Bart-At]

Raya was bullied on crosses, corners and set pieces by opponents for years with us.

First I’ve heard of this.

 

[randello]

He has not played in front of the same defence yet. 5 games. 5 different set ups. The goal by Palace and the pen today are down to knowing your defender and that communication. He lost confidence after the pen and his distribution went a bit but they need to work with him at the mo. This was always going to be a tough transition.

 

[James30]

The goal was rightly chalked off. Wilson had hold of his arm.

Looked weak, but 100% a foul.

Not sure about 100 percent it was 50 50 for me he needed to be a tad stronger there, the penalty however was very soft

 

[Mark H]

First I’ve heard of this.

Maybe not for years but at the beginning he wasn’t great on crosses iirc correctly.

 

[Ruislip_Rich]

The usual suspects on here. Obviously not great but judge the bloke after Christmas.

 

[Untouchable]

Getting some horrible abuse on Twitter.

Some parts of our fan base really are vile at times.

 

[aawharris]

Not good enough imo will cost us points throughout the season

Guess you will go strangely quiet when he wins us points though....

 

[magicbees]

Sorry but worries the life out of me, I think it's time to give Thomas a game.

 

[Rob-BEE]

Mmm comfortably his worst performance so far for us. We're 5 games in, though, so we should also remember that he played a lot better in the other 4!

I imagine they'll be working on a lot of balls into the box in training this week. Nothing wrong with punching under pressure but that flap in the second half wasn't good, and the palm away in the first half when he seemed to go down in stages also looked a bit weak.

Not sure what to make of the disallowed goal...obviously he was fouled but it's hard to judge if he was already struggling and Wilson did him a favour in the end.

Hoping for better next week!

 

[Simon W]

Sorry but worries the life out of me, I think it's time to give Thomas a game.

Have you ever seen him play?

 

[Holysmit]

Raya was bullied on crosses, corners and set pieces by opponents for years with us.

The one I remember was the goal he let in for Blackburn against us at GP.

As for Flekken. He's improved from pre season. He's got a good command of his area on low balls and his shot stopping is decent. His distribution was great but seems to have gone downhill a lot since the start of the season.

His weaknesses are his communication and dealing with high balls. He needs to be more commanding in the area and needs to communicate better with his defenders. These are things that he can learn. When De Gea first arrived he had similar issues. Then for the next few season he was the best keeper in the prem (even if he lost it towards the end of his time at united). There are plenty of other Keepers who have had similar starts to life in England and got better. It's a bit of a culture shock for some.

It will take some time and it maybe that he needs sometime out of the spot light to work on his game. However I can see why he was signed and ultimately I think the mental side of his game and a desire to be stronger are going to define whether he makes it. These are probably the easiest things to work with, as we don't sign players who aren't willing to do this.

 

[keefor]

A lot of work on the training ground regarding ball catching & decision making beckons.

 

[Idaho Bee]

Very odd today. No distribution and some very very very strange decisions to punch. One was when it was a dolly catch and no-one within 300 miles of him. I mean ACTUAL MILES.

I've told you a million times, don't exaggerate
.

 

[Banana]

I've told you a million times, don't exaggerate
.

I'm not. I am using American units of measurement.

 

[magicbees]

Have you ever seen him play?

Who Thomas only West Ham in the cup and clips of the US tour. I'm just saying he scares the life out of me. For an International GK I was expecting him to be decent.

 

[homerbees]

At the moment, I don't have a lot of confidence in his ability to deal with the high ball. But that will be/is being worked on. There was the disallowed goal, when a goalkeeper is required to be strong and claim the ball out of the air. It was frustrating to see how he dealt with it; he didn't.

The knock down from Hickey I wanted to see him react decisively and clear the ball. He looked to shepherd it out and was caught out dithering.

In the UK goalkeepers aren't protected from any physical contact, as they are on the continent. He will have to learn quickly & expecting to get the benefit of the doubt from officials won't work in England, like it does in the bundesliga. He looked like he expected a free kick for the disallowed goal - he got lucky.

No doubt he will just need a little time, which is frustrating when it costs us points, but just have to be patient, support him and know he will come good. Despite his age, he's less experienced of English football than Raya was, when he joined.

 

[aawharris]

Who Thomas only West Ham in the cup and clips of the US tour. I'm just saying he scares the life out of me. For an International GK I was expecting him to be decent.

So you are saying he isnt decent? Are we talking League 1 or league 2 standard, or not decent for an international, or Prem?

 

[josht]

Not going to have a go at him for the penalty - Raya gave away several, Leeds at home was it? That was far worse.

The rest of Flekken's game should hopefully start coming together as he plays more (and punches less), but he's looking a bit uncertain at the moment.

 

[gordonbankole]

Too much punching today and not necessarily effectively.

Raya’s handling and claiming of the ball in the area were outstanding in the Premier League.

Inevitably there will be comparisons between the two,

Currently, he looks like a downgrade but he was really highly rated in the Bundesliga and there should be no reason why he can’t replicate that with us.

However, he has a bit to prove.

 

[Mike]

Very worried, just seems half committed a lot if the time. We are going to miss Raya big time this year