If his attitude is right and he is played in the correct formation then he will be a great asset for us. Just as an aside I am not sure why we are chasing Kane when we have Hitchcock, Mo Sharif and Scarpetti coming through.
If his attitude is right and he is played in the correct formation then he will be a great asset for us. Just as an aside I am not sure why we are chasing Kane when we have Hitchcock, Mo Sharif and Scarpetti coming through.
If his attitude is right and he is played in the correct formation then he will be a great asset for us. Just as an aside I am not sure why we are chasing Kane when we have Hitchcock, Mo Sharif and Scarpetti coming through.
I wouldn't say he was our best player. Even if he was, what good is that to us now two years on? If his injury has messed him up then he should be shipped out. We're not a rehab center. The bloke's been earning, I don't know, 30-odd grand a week for two years now whilst doing very little. Its the same old story on here. Reason is cast aside and sentimentality rules. As I said, its time he steps up on the pitch and stops waffling. Granero gave us the most mouth-watering soundbites too yet he turned out to be a miserable fraudster.
Happy to differ on what to do with Ale now, but your claim that he choked in the PL is wrong. Withdraw it, you bounder!
Up until Colin played Ale at MK Dons because Barton was suspended he was by far our best player that season. You may not be interested in statistics, but at that time he was top of the index for winning tackles & near the top for pass completion. However, more importantly, he has featured in four league games this season & we have been a better side when he has been on the pitch. That is not sentimentality. That is looking at the here & now.
I still believe he choked because 25% of two seasons is no good to anyone. I was let down by him as were others who staked their name on his being able for that level. And the fact is, when given the chance, he fu*ked up and made that small group of posters, including myself, look like a bunch of wallies. Terry B, what good are statistics on a player from two years ago? I've got Stats that say Bobby Zamora had a good season a decade ago, does that mean he should be in the starting line up? I think he can do it this season and might still turn out to be our best player. But can we not just let him prove it to us rather than listen to him guffawing about how he's going to do this and how he's going to do that? After being somewhat taken in by Granero's seductive hyperbole and clever turn of phrase last year, I never again want to hear players telling us about all the magnificent things they're going to do. He turned out to be a sham and made a fool out of the lot of us. Its a case of once bitten, twice shy for me I'm afraid.
Exactly. Top of the tackles made chart I believe until that awful injury (I was there). Swords...........you really do know so little about the game!
I'm not denying he had a good start to the season. What I'm saying is, that was nearly two years ago and he's done nothing since. Certainly not deserving of the devotion he's getting on here at least. Sentimentality is rife on this Board and its a cancer that eats into unbiased assessment and creates an illusion about how valuable a player currently is to the team. And at the end of the day, its how beneficial an asset is in the present moment that's important to a company, not 10 years ago nor two years ago. Football is no different. There were blokes on here saying Akos Buzsaky is great FOUR YEARS after he had a decent season for Christ's sake! Now you can't tell me that that sh*t ain't warped pal.
Hope he stays and can deliver. Granted didnt do well in the Prem but can do it at this level...or "could" Up to him now to show his worth. Good luck Ale
I really don't see why you're mouthing off about him 'He should do less talking more performing?' What has he said that is so irritating? Oh yes. 'I want to play for this club and I want to persuade my doubting manager to keep me by fighting to be first choice on the team sheet.' What's wrong with that? 'He did play well. Two years ago.' Since when he's been out for a year with an injury and six months on loan and the few games he got he was poor in a dreadfully underperforming side.
I really don't see why you're mouthing off about him. 'He should do less talking more performing?' What has he said that is so irritating? Oh yes. 'I want to play for this club and I want to persuade my doubting manager to keep me by fighting to be first choice on the team sheet.' What's wrong with that? 'He did play well. Two years ago.' Since when he's been out for a year with an injury and six months on loan and the few games he got he was poor in a dreadfully underperforming side.
We've had this discussion on sentimentality before and you've agreed that you are a weirdo. But lets break down this 2 years of choking for Ale. I think you now admit for the first six months he was as good or better than anyone else we had. Next six months injured. 3rd six months brought back too soon in my opinion, one truly great game v Spurs, one disastrous game v West Ham, change of manager, essentially dropped. Next six months disappeared in Palermo on loan. So far this year has been ok, or more than ok, when on the pitch. I have no problem with you not wanting him to have endless chances because of 'sentimentality', its the re-writing of history that concerns me.
I think he could possibly be our best player this season if he gets himself a good run in the team. Its not so much irritating to hear what he himself said (although like I said above RE Granero, I don't want to listen to player's waffle ever again), its more the OTT reaction he's receiving on here. You'd swear he was the returning Messiah or something, rather than a bloke who played well for us two years ago. "He was poor in a dreadfully underperforming side." He was sh*t mate and you're attempting to excuse his awful performances because the rest of the side was sh*t. That didn't stop Ryan Nelsen or Clint Hill from doing what was required of them. Any player who ducks his responsibilities just because he's got crap players around him is a choker and he should have a lot of ground to make up to win back the trust of the fans instead of the almost universal backing he's receiving. Once again though, I think its possible he could still turn out to be our best player this year, particularly now that we're back at Championship level.
For all our differences about he who shall not be named, you and I are quite similar in that respect. The one thing that drives me to distraction is the way some posters seem to go overboard one way or the other. I am incredibly irritated when I see comments such as ....................ooh let me think. "In Harry we trust" Really? "Barton is the best midfielder in this League." "I don't want Barton anywhere near my team" "Henry is a donkey" "Henry is the best defensive midfielder in this League" "I fear for my club that we'll go straight down to League 1" changes within 2-3 games to "We'll walk away with this league" Rob Green is a liability Get rid of him now" to "Fabulous goalie, safest pair of hands in this league, Should be recalled to the England set up" It's particularly noticeable when you go to a game and inevitably you are sitting next to someone who seems to have a split personality. At Huddersfield a fan behind me kept slagging the whole team off until we equalised and then we were brilliant. Same at Bolton. The truth always fails to touch those dizzy heights or despairing lows. The same with players. Except for Sean Wright Phillips. He just makes me to despair and always has since he missed a goal from about a foot away against Stoke. He hit the post. Fortunately, we still had Helguson in those days and he tucked away the rebound. My god. What does manager after manager see in him? Has he been kept on for spare parts for Hoilett? Or has the rest of the football world seen through the fog which seems to envelope every manager who ever signs a contract for us?
