Pre-season 2026

Have you seen his smile?

But seriously, he's scored some really crucial goals. Everyone still talks about the Arsenal goal.

And it came in a run where his goals were crucial in keeping us up. And he nearly killed himself trying to get us into the champions league.

Quite. He scored our first goal back in the Premier League after 23 years outside looking in. Yes, it was a shit goal off his shin but nobody cared. He also grabbed six in four at the back end of that season to play a huge part in our survival, including scoring the Arsenal goal to mathematically secure safety.

He collided with a post and nearly killed himself a couple of years later, then came back and scored a few more goals (particularly enjoyed the ones away at Wolves and Brentford). Yes, he wasn't great technically but that contribution, allied to the fact he's clearly a very popular teammate and decent human being, I'm not sure it's that hard to understand why everyone loves him.

I'm not arguing that he shouldn't be well liked. I'm asking if he's really the most special player we've had at the club in the last two decades, and if not why he's getting treatment that others haven't?

If Awoniyi gets a guard of honour, Chris Wood should get a statue.

I think you've lost touch with football.

I'm definitely not in touch with the OTT histrionics and player worship that seems to be all too common. They're hired guns who are paid exceptionally well to wear my preferred laundry, occasionally they become legends. Taiwo Awoniyi is laughably far from that status imo.

He makes me smile every time I see him tbh. Maybe not seeing him/players in person regularly has made you a bit more detached.

As someone in one of my chat groups just said, should have a guard of honour for whoever managed to get 17M for a guy who's started 6 games in 2 years.

For me it's the fact he wasn't the most talented but still scored some really significant goals across his time. And nearly died that give him the cult hero status.

Someone is missing the pills and thrills and is having a belly ache.

Stats have their place.
Stories more so.

He also seems to have been important when it came to welcoming Jesus into our camp.

I heard a stat earlier that if you look at his goals to minute ratio for us he has scored something close to a goal every 180 mins, which if true is very good for the premier league. Of course that can't be divorced from him having started 6 games in 2 years if that stat is also true, but you can only play well if you are on the pitch.

For me the fuss is justified, and he goes down as one of most important signings since we got promoted. Certainly in the top 25.

Whether or not it was 'deserved' it was a nice bit of...lets say 'fluff'. And a nice bit of fluff for the fans who paid 20 quid to watch the B team against a chronically poor Brest side. And the players clearly enjoyed it. Surely we're all for the players enjoying their workplace? We struggle to compete on things like wages so lets at least try nice fluffy stuff to make players feel appreciated.

It’s just the way things have gone. See Toffolos montage when he left.

Alan Rogers would probably get a polite applause nowadays rather than a Boost bar attack.

Maybe he got the treatment because there was an opportunity to give it to him.. which there usually isn’t when a player leaves.

That's what I thought - the timing worked, he's well liked, may as well make something of it.