I agree with the Shouting Man - Grumpy your analysis is based on Martin Allen hoofball tactics. For me Whelps has to stay - he is quality, and will shine under PT's playing style, assuming he stays fit. Plus with Keds and/or Akinfenwa in the team, the long throw is a big weapon. Lee... I've always liked him, but realistically he has to take a pay cut to stay, and probably only on a 1 year contract to see how it goes.
As a team we have a win ratio of 35% this season. Games involving Whelpdale the ratio is 26%. Sorry but we have done better without him than with him.
grumpygit I'm not actually entering this debate - I just need to get some nonsense out of my system. ( my neighbour wound me up today - and I didn't want to hit her ! ) Recently Barcelona had to do without Messi for 2 months whilst he was injured. Statistics will show that a number of other players 'helped themselves' to plenty of goals in his absence. Since Messi's return the goals of the same players have suddenly dried up - Now what should Barcelona do - drop Messi ?
Alwaysright, I started by trying to compare Whelpdale with Messi, forget it. The fact is Messi was scoring goals before his injury and is still scoring goals after his injury, for Whelpdale's goals to dry up, they first need to flow. Now go and slap your neighbour and leave the football to us grumpy old gits.
These are my thoughts. Whelpdale is better suited to PT's style of play. If he gets back in we could see a whole different Whelpdale to the one we saw at the beginning of the season. All though I don't think he was as bad as some are making out.
I think the Brentford match was a vast improvement in our form, I don't however see how that helps your case as Whelps and Lee were both absent. It's what I've been saying, for the money we pay them we're better when they aren't in the team.
The problem with so many players this season (and last as well) in the inconsistency in the level of performance. OK, I don't go every week, or even every 4th week, but keep an eye on comments from those who have gone to matches and of course form an opinion from those matches that I do see. I would have hoped that if Mssrs Whelpdale and Lee are on better salaries than others in the squad then they would be able to give performances that were more consistent, and consistently better, than others in order to justify their pay cheques, but that does not appear to have been the case. One very vivid example of this was the way that Charlie Lee almost single handedly ran and commanded the midfield against Crewe, and then disappeared into anonymity 4 weeks later against Port Vale. In answer to the title of the thread the simple answer is no. I think we saw the best of them when they were on loan before they signed full time. However I think that they could have a part to play in the future as squad players in view of their experience not only of this league but also of the club. Whether their expectations of salary match those of their paymasters is doubtful though.
