It’s going to be a long few weeks, so I’ll probably do the odd thread to keep things ticking over. Anyway, the first is to list past players who you thought weren’t good enough, but then turned out to prove you wrong. I’ll start with a few: Damien Delaney Paul McShane Alex Bruce
Really? I feel like I saw this one early but I was likely influenced by what was said about him from one of the scouts (I think) when he first arrived. I remember telling my mates (premier league plastics) that we had a player on our hands!
Op is correct....Alex Bruce really stepped up for us (and nearly won it for us too). Macca is a Leg End! I would add Meyler too! Really grew on me, proper grafter.
Big Billie Whitehurst - with Chillo's guidance changed from a thug to a thug who scored goals Lewis Coyle - much maligned but my god talk about captain fantastic, dare I say, the best since Ashbee
100%. My appraisal for one of my Liverpool supporting mates when he left was that he was decent going forward so not a bad wing back if that was the way you set up to play (and best case might end up like Gareth Bale before him ending up as a winger), but not good enough defensively to really be a full back, but that it wouldn't really matter to him because he'd only ever be a back-up for them in either position anyway. You live and learn... Edit - just to clarify I thought he was decent for us, but we were probably about his level and I didn't think he'd make the step-up at all
Chris Simpkin, the first time I saw him play for City we christened him the sugar plumb fairy, as he pranced about and was weak in the tackle. Cliff Britton turned him into a very good combative midfielder.
Yes I remember the flak Simpkin got when he first played The other one was Mally Lord. Got to know Mally towards the end of his career was City through and through, he never drank whilst playing. Where I sat on West Stand there was group sat in front who always criticised him, in a particular this young girl, and when he scored the hatrick against Burnley I tapped her on the shoulder and said should they take him off now? She told me to piss off. !if you’re reading this all good banter hoping you are good and still supporting. Final story re Mally, me and my mate were members of supporters club back of North Stand.Mally had just retired, he was with us and the old guy on the door wasn’t going to let him in because he didn’t have a membership card.We persuaded the guy to let him in.Mally just laughed.
He seemed to adapt to each level he played at and become a solid, unspectacular player, who would get skinned by better players in the league, but over the season do a decent job. I remember a Home game against Norwich around 2007, where he was torn a new hole by Darren Huckerby, but then a few years later was a regular starter in the Premier League... So it goes to show that I know f all about player development in football..
