In addition to this, Bruce consistently had him as last choice at City, picking Ben Amos, David Stockdale, McGregor and Steve Harper ahead of him. Phelan always picked Marshall ahead of him and it was only Silva for 4 months that ever picked him as a first choice. That aside, he's never been favoured by a manager or had much game time since he came to England. He's popular, and when he was here fans often called for him to start ahead of other keepers, but there's a very clear trend that managers don't rate him so highly.
Now the dust has settled a bit its obvious the team had run out of energy. We really are weak and again. A piss poor preseason. Larsson was carrying a knock. Stewart was too after only just coming back. Dicko isn't fit enough for a full game. Neither is Campbell. Bowen just back from injury. There's only Irvine whose kept going and going, said it a few times, he has a preseason with a club who have worked on fitness. On a positive note. We've drawn with the form team and could have won it. We've drawn with a bloody good Fulham team after running out of steam again. The well was dry unfortunately against Bolton but it was only an excellent free kick that beat us. Plus Bowen should have scored a tap in. The constant injuries to members of the squad are a real worry. Again is this a lack of fitness and fatigue?? Two weeks, nearly, to get ready for the next league match, with niges back ground this is when he's really going to earn his money.
I'd agree with most of that, but I'm not sure I buy the bit about Dicko not being fit enough to play ninety minutes. He's twenty five and has played in our last ten games, playing 70 minutes in most of them, if he's not fit enough now, he never will be.
Fair enough with Campbell, buy I don't buy it with Dicko, even if Nige said it was the case. Anyone who's played as regularly as him over the past month and a half should be fully fit.
It sounds like Nigel is making excuses and trying to blame things on those before him, when really since he took over we have gone backwards. We have stopped scoring, but still concede stupid goals and make the same amount of individual errors. We need new signings, end of story. This team isn't good enough, this squad isn't a squad it is a bunch of individuals. When we go behind our Plan B is to bring on four players who play the exact same position and put everyone into the middle of the pitch to pass it between themselves.
Happy New Year Lee, I am afraid you are right, all the hard work between 2003 and now has been lost, there was a great opportunity to build the club to be at least a regular team in the EPL, but sadly it was not taken through greed, sheer bloody mindedness and mismanagement.
