As Published in the HDM... CRAIG ***an believes he fell victim to Nigel Pearson's thirst for change when shown the door by Hull City over the summer. ***an saw a three-year stay with the Tigers come to an end when told his contract at the KC Stadium would not be extended beyond its expiry in June. A long search for new employers ended when the 28-year-old joined League Two side Bradford City last week but his exit from East Yorkshire has left a bitter taste. "The way things panned out, the manager changed his views on a lot of people at the club," said ***an. "You look back now and I think there's only Andy Dawson, Nick Barmby, the kit man and one of the physios left. That tells you the story of his views on past people at the club. Obviously he wanted a clean slate." ***an played just five games under Pearson after missing the majority of last season when undergoing surgery on his hip last December. That remains a contentious issue for the former Tigers forward, who regrets initially postponing an operation and he believes that delay may have cost him a new deal. He said: "It was frustrating. I did it in pre-season and I had an injection. "In hindsight, seeing that I didn't get a contract, I should have had the operation straight away. "I should have thought of myself and then I could have been playing again at the end of the season to further my chances of another deal either at Hull or one somewhere else. "But because it was agreed I would have an injection, I paid the price myself at the end." In two spells with the Tigers, ***an made 151 appearances and scored 20 goals. The highlight came when he was a used substitute in the Championship play-off final win over Bristol City in 2008 and he has been reunited with another veteran of the Wembley success after joining Matt Duke at Bradford. Unsuccessful trials with Huddersfield, Cardiff and Crystal Palace came and went before joining Phil Parkinson's side at Valley Parade. A debut came in last weekend's 3-1 defeat to Crawley and a first start today against AFC Wimbledon would mark an overdue return. "In your down days after the operation when you're at home, it wasn't the best going into a negative environment to get treatment. But you have to get yourself going. "Football is all a game of opinions. I'm sure everyone's got a vast opinion of the game. You've got to get your head down and get on with it."
I d suggest the one thing that is missing from this article is the wages he was earning. At the end of the day, it has to be about the value he would have added for the money he was being paid. Sentiment is a hard thing to overcome in football, but at the end of the day all (real, as opposed to the fantasy league of the Prem) clubs have to be run on business terms, and unfortunately Gordon Taylor and the PFA have ensured that footballers are no more than a commodity and thus are treated as such on the balance sheet. I hope ***an does well at Bradford and it works out for him till he retires.
"You've got to get your head down and get on with it." Yup, that's exactly what you should be doing, you whining twat.
The fact he had trials at a few Championship clubs and also League 1 and never got offered a contract until ending up in League 2 would suggest that Nigel Pearson wanted rid due to footballing ability and nothing else.
i think there is still a fitness issue as well and the rumours are that his Bradford deal is based on pay as you play?
Chill out fella, just reporting what HDM have printed, thought some people might be interested and if your not, dont bother posting.
***an of course but he aint that bad and surely he is entitled to have his say on where he thought things went wrong at City?
He was injured a lot last season, he's on a high wage, he's not as good as he used to be, and we are looking for a clean slate. Simple as that. ***an now has said that the club forced him to have an injection instead of surgery to get him back playing, that didn't go to plan and has forced him out which means he couldn't prove his worth. One of those things. He's at Bradford now, get over it, move on.
Not a big ***an fan but I wish him well, he did some good things for us. Often inconsistent though. There were times though when I thought that "it was his boots that didn't fit" !
***an's best years were around 2006/7, he's an "in yer face" sort but not the sort of character NP would choose & anyway the quality we've got now is better, then there are the wages and I wouldn't pay ***an more than I'd pay Pusic. I'll always remember his goal at Bolton with fondness and he put in some good shifts for City. If he's too good for L2 then it's up to him to prove it now and not depend on past glories.
We paid him £1m a year, we made him a wealthy man, yet he still feels the need to take a swipe at us after he's left. It doesn't surprise me at all, he's an obnoxious little herbert.
