ARTICLE: Hountondji makes loan move to Belgium

[ClaretTony]

And Hountondji also gone out on loan

See link
https://www.uptheclarets.com/hountondji ... to-belgium

[jdrobbo]

Hope he goes and bangs a few goals in.

[Woodleyclaret]

Never really given a chance to shine

[bfcjg]

Hopefully frees a wage up.

[beddie]

Never really given a chance to shine

Because he’s not good enough.

[ClaretTony]

Because he’s not good enough.

Has looked a long way from being good enough to me

[Alan Young]

Has looked a long way from being good enough to me

I’d second that. There was a clamour of sorts for him to start at Milwall despite looking nowhere near up to it in his cameos before that. I thought Parker got it wrong that day and rightfully played Rodriguez ahead of him after that.

Hope he shows some improvement in Belgium but I suspect he might be one we don’t see in action for us again.

[ClaretTony]

I’d second that. There was a clamour of sorts for him to start at Milwall despite looking nowhere near up to it in his cameos before that. I thought Parker got it wrong that day and rightfully played Rodriguez ahead of him after that.

Hope he shows some improvement in Belgium but I suspect he might be one we don’t see in action for us again.

He did get it wrong but he hasn’t started him since. His three starts have been at Sunderland, Wolves and Millwall.

[ISpeds00]

Has looked a long way from being good enough to me

And you can tell that can you from a few mins here and there?

[ClaretTony]

And you can tell that can you from a few mins here and there?

Yes - including his three starts

[fidelcastro]

And you can tell that can you from a few mins here and there?

It's been a lot more than a few minutes, but you have to take your opportunities when selected and he hasn't.

[Jakubs Tash]

Good luck to him….but a long way off the required standard. Hope he does well and engineers a permanent move for himself.

Was clearly a punt (and not a very good one) that didn’t work. Shake hands, move on.

[Rowls]

Good luck to the lad. He was chucked in at the deep end this season and really struggled.

Hoping that a lengthy playing spell does him some good and he can progress from there.

[warksclaret]

Good to see the club has moved quickly and got him a decent move. He was clearly short of the standard required at the top end of the Championship. Lets hope he gets game time and develop in Belgium. I am sure the door has been left open for him should this happen

[Newchurch Claret]

Best for all concerned. I hope he does well and they want him permanently at the end of the season.

[ISpeds00]

Yes - including his three starts

What a load of tosh
He's not had a full run out with us

[NewClaret]

Seems I’m alone in thinking he looked okay. Although agree he didn’t take his chances in the way CJ did, I thought he had the attributes to make it - big, strong, quite quick, shot on him. Always looked a handful to me without quite turning that in to goals.

I thought he needed coaching and with Parker’s record on forwards, I thought he might be able to do something with him.

Interesting we have included an option on Massengo but not Hountondji. Suggests to me the club haven’t completely concluded that he has no future here.

Hoping he does well in Belgium and gets another crack here.

[Big Vinny K]

What a load of tosh
He's not had a full run out with us

He played the full game against Wolves in the cup.
Played 88 minutes against Sunderland
Played 64 minutes against Millwall.
He started all these games.
Aren’t these the only games we have lost these season ?

Looked miles off being good enough to me. He’s only young though so hopefully he has good loan spell and develops.

Also need to bear in mind that Parker sees him every day in training too and he’s chosen to bring a 35 year old forward back to the club in preference to keeping him. Given the issues we have had this season with the availability of strikers says a lot about how he has struggled to make an impact.

[123EasyasBFC]

People blinded buy hountondji making a couple of runs off the ball, every other part of the game has looked extremely poor, looked incapable of controlling a ball and playing a pass, we have young lad playing well in attack for Dundee adewumi that I would rather be given a chance than hountondji

[Mattster]

He played the full game against Wolves in the cup.
Played 88 minutes against Sunderland
Played 64 minutes against Millwall.
He started all these games.
Aren’t these the only games we have lost these season ?

Played left midfield vs Sunderland. Right midfield vs Wolves. Only played in his actual position vs Millwall in an awful team performance that can't be put down solely to him (especially since the performance didn't improve once he was taken off).

How people can judge him as not being close to good enough off the back of 1 start in his actual position and 10 minutes here and there off the bench, and this only when the team is already looking completely out of ideas in the final third, is beyond me.

[123EasyasBFC]

Played left midfield vs Sunderland. Right midfield vs Wolves. Only played in his actual position vs Millwall in an awful team performance that can't be put down solely to him (especially since the performance didn't improve once he was taken off).

How people can judge him as not being close to good enough off the back of 1 start in his actual position and 10 minutes here and there off the bench, and this only when the team is already looking completely out of ideas in the final third, is beyond me.

In the games he played left and right wing he didn’t look able to control a ball in tight spaces, win headers, play simple passes or anything. Foster is a striker but he has played both left and right wing and still looks like a footballer. Hannibal yet to play his natural position which is deeper like he did at Birmingham but has been playing wide left and still looks like a footballer.

It’s fine to accept we got it wrong and he’s not good enough

[Burnley1989]

If ever we needed evidence that some folk love to argue anything, the usual posters come along to defend the performances of someone who has looked way off the level whenever hes played, yet spend their time on here moaning about Parker and his football....

[Burnley1989]

In the games he played left and right wing he didn’t look able to control a ball in tight spaces, win headers, play simple passes or anything. Foster is a striker but he has played both left and right wing and still looks like a footballer. Hannibal yet to play his natural position which is deeper like he did at Birmingham but has been playing wide left and still looks like a footballer.

It’s fine to accept we got it wrong and he’s not good enough

I was sat at the front at Wolves and youre correct, he didnt get anything right. It looked like when your goal keeper plays out of the net

[Mattster]

In the games he played left and right wing he didn’t look able to control a ball in tight spaces, win headers, play simple passes or anything. Foster is a striker but he has played both left and right wing and still looks like a footballer. Hannibal yet to play his natural position which is deeper like he did at Birmingham but has been playing wide left and still looks like a footballer.

It’s fine to accept we got it wrong and he’s not good enough

Foster has been played as a wide forward, he's not been asked to play as a wide midfielder like Hountondji has in two of his starts (and when we're at the absolute bare bones). Hell, he was practically deployed as a left back vs. Sunderland.

Parker is given a pass for the Sunderland and Wolves games and rightfully so. How come a player making his first starts at a higher level (one against a Premier League side deploying a practically full strength lineup) isn't given the same?

[Big Vinny K]

Played left midfield vs Sunderland. Right midfield vs Wolves. Only played in his actual position vs Millwall in an awful team performance that can't be put down solely to him (especially since the performance didn't improve once he was taken off).

How people can judge him as not being close to good enough off the back of 1 start in his actual position and 10 minutes here and there off the bench, and this only when the team is already looking completely out of ideas in the final third, is beyond me.

How long did Dane Richards play for Burnley - 20 minutes ?
It was pretty obvious to every single person who saw him that night that he was not good enough.

Is it really beyond you to see how people can judge Houtondji ? They see a man in a football shirt trying to do stuff with a round leathery thing on a big green grassy thing and form an opinion on whether he is good enough.

Of course context, position, team mates etc all need to be taken into account but you can only form an opinion from what you see. Does not mean he is being written off for ever or that he does not have any potential - it’s simply a judgement based on what people have seen.

It’s really not that difficult to comprehend

[123EasyasBFC]

Foster has been played as a wide forward, he's not been asked to play as a wide midfielder like Hountondji has in two of his starts (and when we're at the absolute bare bones). Hell, he was practically deployed as a left back vs. Sunderland.

Parker is given a pass for the Sunderland and Wolves games and rightfully so. How come a player making his first starts at a higher level (one against a Premier League side deploying a practically full strength lineup) isn't given the same?

You need to get out your head that he played left back against Sunderland, he really didn’t Pires played left back.

Foster had 10 minutes left midfield and practically left back in your mind against rovers at weekend and did more than hountondji has in his 2 starts wide.

He is just not good enough

[Mattster]

You need to get out your head that he played left back against Sunderland, he really didn’t Pires played left back.

Foster had 10 minutes left midfield and practically left back in your mind against rovers at weekend and did more than hountondji has in his 2 starts wide.

He is just not good enough

Nope

Screenshot_20250108_080809_Sofascore.jpg (68.41 KiB) Viewed 2073 times

Hountondji vs Sunderland

Screenshot_20250108_080746_Sofascore.jpg (68.53 KiB) Viewed 2073 times

Foster vs Rovers

[quoonbeatz]

He’s got some decent attributes: big lad, decent turn of pace, has a shot on him. But he’s looked way short of this level for now, in particular his movement isn’t very good, needs to be more intelligent. He’s obvs still young so more football will do him good but I doubt he’ll be back to trouble our first team.

[Blyclaret]

Not trying to run the player down here but when it was rumoured we were interested in him i googled the usual u tube video highlights of his best moments and it was perfectly clear that the chap was of a lower standard then even the championship.Dont know what they saw to pay £3m for him.

[ElectroClaret]

Seems I’m alone in thinking he looked okay.

There's probably a reason for that.
And the reason is probably that to most observers, he's looked like he's never kicked a football
before in his life.

[woody]

I’m going to be honest here. I spoke to my nephew after the pre season game and he asked how Hountondji had played, I said that he looked as though he’d walked straight of lower Townley and been given a chance. I’ve seen nothing since to change my mind. It’s a toss up who’s worse, him or the big dolloper up front for that lot last Saturday.

[warksclaret]

If ever we needed evidence that some folk love to argue anything, the usual posters come along to defend the performances of someone who has looked way off the level whenever hes played, yet spend their time on here moaning about Parker and his football....

Absolutely true-unbelievable Jeff

[123EasyasBFC]

If ever we needed evidence that some folk love to argue anything, the usual posters come along to defend the performances of someone who has looked way off the level whenever hes played, yet spend their time on here moaning about Parker and his football....

Said poster is dying for Parker to fail so they can post on X and here about how Parker’s team don’t create any big chances and have low XG

[Mattster]

Said poster is dying for Parker to fail so they can post on X and here about how Parker’s team don’t create any big chances and have low XG

I'm really not but you keep telling yourself that.

[dibraidio]

I get the impression that someone has over estimated the level of the French second division. It's a bit like us saying let's put Mellon in the first team because he did well last year at Morecambe.

Let's hope that he finds his feet in that division, someone must have seen something to think that he was a 5 million euro star of the future. If I remember rightly that's about the same as we paid for Scott Twine who'd played nearly 120 EFL games scoring 34 goals.

[daveisaclaret]

Think we have seen a pattern this season and two seasons ago that signings arranged before an incoming manager can have a say aren't the likeliest to succeed. Not sure if we could have pulled out of this one but maybe something for the club to learn from.

[ClaretTony]

What a load of tosh
He's not had a full run out with us

He’s started three games and had a number of sub appearances. Why on earth would he get more games when he’s not good enough?

[ClaretLoup]

He has a very low bar for success at Standard Liege in the Belgian Jupiler League, they are mid table and have scored 12 goals in 20 league games.

So he should be able to accumulate plenty of game time at a higher level than he has ever played previously, which was mainly the French Second Tier.

Let's hope he does well.

[Mattster]

He’s started three games and had a number of sub appearances. Why on earth would he get more games when he’s not good enough?

2 of those starts were out of position when the team was an absolute state and everyone unanimously gives Parker a pass for those games/losses. The sub appearances are mostly in the 5-10 minute range, most often in games where we've been clueless and toothless in the proceeding 80+ minutes (QPR, Hull, Derby, Oxford)

Worth noting during his 7 sub appearances (totalling 75 minutes) the team has scored 4 goals which is some going if we were effectively playing with 10 men (especially when our usual scoring rate is 1.2 goals per 90). Doesn't mean much, but further up the thread someone has made a link between his 3 starts being our 3 losses - this is as valid/invalid an observation.

I'm not saying he's good enough, just that he's not had enough time to show whether he is or not. That so many have made their minds up definitively from such a small amount of playing time is disappointing.

[CoolClaret]

I think Houtondji has something - he's just incredibly raw and hasn't played much football... A good loan move for him this - let's hope he gets a run of games and scores a few at a higher level.

[louieollie]

God knows why the likes of West Ham/Leicester/Wolves etc didn't look on here first to scoop up all of these bloody brilliant out of work managers we are blessed with 🫣

[NottsClaret]

Yeah, he's got all the attributes, other than being good at football for now. Hopefully he gets loads of game time, some confidence and bangs a few in. Nobody wants him to fail.

Having said that, I saw him live for half an hour I think in Spain in that friendly. My word, he didn't look like he'd played the sport before. Like he literally didn't know how to head it or anything. For balance, it's less than 6 months since I was saying Egan-Riley was a liability so it'd be nice to be wrong again.

[Big Vinny K]

2 of those starts were out of position when the team was an absolute state and everyone unanimously gives Parker a pass for those games/losses. The sub appearances are mostly in the 5-10 minute range, most often in games where we've been clueless and toothless in the proceeding 80+ minutes (QPR, Hull, Derby, Oxford)

Worth noting during his 7 sub appearances (totalling 75 minutes) the team has scored 4 goals which is some going if we were effectively playing with 10 men (especially when our usual scoring rate is 1.2 goals per 90). Doesn't mean much, but further up the thread someone has made a link between his 3 starts being our 3 losses - this is as valid/invalid an observation.

I'm not saying he's good enough, just that he's not had enough time to show whether he is or not. That so many have made their minds up definitively from such a small amount of playing time is disappointing.

Who exactly has made their mind up definitively ?

What point are you even trying to make on this thread ?
If you think he should be playing and you have seen things that suggest he is good enough then by all means share it with us.

You do realise that irrespective of whether you play left back, left wing, centre forward or anywhere on the pitch there are some things you need to be able to do irrespective of where you play ? What is it have you seen to think we should have not loaned him out ?

Do you think that Parker and the rest of the coaching team make him play left back in training every week ?

[Mattster]

Who exactly has made their mind up definitively ?

What point are you even trying to make on this thread ?
If you think he should be playing and you have seen things that suggest he is good enough then by all means share it with us.

You do realise that irrespective of whether you play left back, left wing, centre forward or anywhere on the pitch there are some things you need to be able to do irrespective of where you play ? What is it have you seen to think we should have not loaned him out ?

Do you think that Parker and the rest of the coaching team make him play left back in training every week ?

Have you even read the thread? There's plenty of posts which are definitive in saying he's not good enough.

My point is, again, pretty clearly stated in the thread. Specifically in the post you just quoted, in the last paragraph.

Have another go and get back to me if you want to ask me something I haven't already stated

[dvalley69]

2 of those starts were out of position when the team was an absolute state and everyone unanimously gives Parker a pass for those games/losses. The sub appearances are mostly in the 5-10 minute range, most often in games where we've been clueless and toothless in the proceeding 80+ minutes (QPR, Hull, Derby, Oxford)

Worth noting during his 7 sub appearances (totalling 75 minutes) the team has scored 4 goals which is some going if we were effectively playing with 10 men (especially when our usual scoring rate is 1.2 goals per 90). Doesn't mean much, but further up the thread someone has made a link between his 3 starts being our 3 losses - this is as valid/invalid an observation.

I'm not saying he's good enough, just that he's not had enough time to show whether he is or not. That so many have made their minds up definitively from such a small amount of playing time is disappointing.

He's had enough time to prove the player he is! Because who matters most, who sees him every day in training and in the brief appearances on the pitch, has clearly come to the conclusion he isn't ready for us and not good enough at this present time. So, those fans saying he probably isn't good enough are probably right at this moment in time.

[claretspice]

Good luck to the lad. He clearly needs first team football and hopefully he'll be getting it at a standard not dissimilar to the Championship in the Belgian top flight.

I'm slightly surprised at some of the definitive "he's not good enough" statements from people who have at other times rightly pleaded for patience with young players.The idea that we've seen enough of him (one start in his favoured position - on a day when the team as a whole was dreadful and the service and support to him was non-existent - plus a couple of games out of position on the wing, both in makeshift teams, and a handful of short substitute appearances) to make strident judgements, feels to me at odds with the principle that you should give new signings, particularly young new signings, time.

My own view is that he's shown glimpses of quality - he's quick when he gets moving, he's a strong and imposing unit, and he's shown flashes of good movement and a reasonable touch to get into goalscoring positions. The problem is that he hasn't done that consistently and he's not looked extremely raw. However, he's a young player who was asked to make a huge step up his season, whilst also adapting to a new country and a much more physical style of football in the Championship. That might have been feasible in a mid-table team without expectations and who could invest a few games in getting him up to speed. But we haven't been in that position and so he's only had scraps of game time. Egan Riley is proof that a young player who hasn't necessarily suggested high quality in limited and sporadic appearances can suddenly blossom with a run of games.

Hopefully he'll go to Liege, get football at a good standard and prove that he was worth the relatively modest price tag we paid for him. But when we're looking for under the radar value that we can develop and sell on there is always risk - we had plenty of hits from Kompany's first season, but you are always going to have some misses as well. I hope dislike of the bloke who seemingly signed him isn't colouring perspectives on both what Hountondji might yet offer, and irrespective of that, the strategy of looking for rough diamonds.

[claretspice]

He's had enough time to prove the player he is! Because who matters most, who sees him every day in training and in the brief appearances on the pitch, has clearly come to the conclusion he isn't ready for us and not good enough at this present time. So, those fans saying he probably isn't good enough are probably right at this moment in time.

Saying he's not good enough now and needs games is one thing. Writing him off as not being good enough per se is a different thing. The latter seems to me premature. It took Egan Riley two seasons to establish himself, and in fact Parker has acknowledged that he could very easily have been allowed to leave as not being good enough at the end of August. And now look at him.

[Big Vinny K]

Good luck to the lad. He clearly needs first team football and hopefully he'll be getting it at a standard not dissimilar to the Championship in the Belgian top flight.

I'm slightly surprised at some of the definitive "he's not good enough" statements from people who have at other times rightly pleaded for patience with young players.The idea that we've seen enough of him (one start in his favoured position - on a day when the team as a whole was dreadful and the service and support to him was non-existent - plus a couple of games out of position on the wing, both in makeshift teams, and a handful of short substitute appearances) to make strident judgements, feels to me at odds with the principle that you should give new signings, particularly young new signings, time.

My own view is that he's shown glimpses of quality - he's quick when he gets moving, his a strong and imposing unit, and he's shown flashes of good movement and a reasonable touch to get into goalscoring positions. The problem is that he hasn't done that consistently and he's not looked extremely raw. However, he's a young player who was asked to make a huge step up his season, whilst also adapting to a new country and a much more physical style of football in the Championship. That might have been feasible in a mid-table team without expectations and who could invest a few games in getting him up to speed. But we haven't been in that position and so he's only had scraps of game time. Egan Riley is proof that a young player who hasn't necessarily suggested high quality in limited and sporadic appearances can suddenly blossom with a run of games.

Hopefully he'll go to Liege, get football at a good standard and prove that he was worth the relatively modest price tag we paid for him. But when we're looking for under the radar value that we can develop and sell on there is always risk - we had plenty of hits from Kompany's first season, but you are always going to have some misses as well. I hope dislike of the bloke who seemingly signed him isn't colouring perspectives on both what Hountondji might yet offer, and irrespective of that, the strategy of looking for rough diamonds.

People can only form an opinion from what they have seen so far and just like you that’s what they have done.
Does not mean he will not develop or at some point be good enough in the future.

In his appearances for us I cannot recall the fans not being supportive of him.
Like you say at this low price and given his age and background of where he had played this was always going to be a risky signing. It will be great if it works out and we end up with a decent player back at the club at a bargain price. But it will also not be a surprise if we never see him again in a claret shirt.

We all have different opinions on players but guess the only ones that matter are the managers as to what opportunities a player gets. Six months at the club is no time I agree but the manager and the coaches have seen a hell of a lot more of the player than any of us to decide and right now they do not think he is what we need on the pitch (or even the bench)

[boatshed bill]

I'm not sure what people expect from our 4th/5th choice striker. if he was as good as the first choice he wouldn't be with us.
Hopefully a loan with plenty of game time will give AH a chance to find his level.

[ISpeds00]

Played left midfield vs Sunderland. Right midfield vs Wolves. Only played in his actual position vs Millwall in an awful team performance that can't be put down solely to him (especially since the performance didn't improve once he was taken off).

How people can judge him as not being close to good enough off the back of 1 start in his actual position and 10 minutes here and there off the bench, and this only when the team is already looking completely out of ideas in the final third, is beyond me.

People way too quick to judge - a proper run is a run of 10 games playing 70 in each
Not bit parts
Some people on here havent a clue in the slightest