Sask’s Opinion On Buckley

Will Buckley, our new on loan recruit from Sunderland, has had a lot of media attention recently. He has had a range of clubs from Rochdale, to Brighton, to Watford to Leeds.. But now he finds himself at the best club in the world, Birmingham City.

The six foot winger to me often looks very awkward in terms of how he runs. I often notice how a footballer runs as it may hinder their performance or make them more prone to injuries. However, I noticed that despite Buckley’s awkwardness, he covers the ground at a fairly fast pace for such a big man.

His talent is unquestionable, I don’t think anyone has doubted his playing ability at all because I believe he is a great player and a great signing. But the thing that does concern me is that he hasn’t played in so long and therefore won’t be match fit and ready to make an impact when we need him.

He only played 4 times for Leeds when he went on loan there in 2015 and so that’s a very long time to not be playing week in week out. Getting back into the game may be a slow process and it is whether we need that considering he is just a loan signing that is questionable in terms of the signing.

Having said this, if we can get him fit and plenty of games under his belt he can be a handful for us. He is very dangerous at crossing the ball which is a real asset. A completely different style of player to Gray. He is much stronger physically and doesn’t mind the odd shoulder barge to put a defender off. He also tracks back with great affect although this obviously depends on fitness levels.

Will is certainly a signing that shows that we want to be up there at the end of the season. I have my doubts whether he can score many and contribute in that way but as long as he is assisting, then I can’t really complain. I really believe that it is a good signing and personally will compliment Vaughan very well as they will have the pace to get up and support each other on counter attacks.

Will Rowett sign more players? Only time will tell but I do believe that if he doesn’t add now, he certainly will have to in the summer. Someone who can replace Toral will be a big ask.