I think it's safe to say that since he left us his career hasn't exactly taken off like it looked like it would during his top scoring season for us. Not only has he suffered a number of injuries, he's not looked truly comfortable in any team since joining us. When he joined West Ham he looks surplus to requirements from the start. When we landed Baldock and they landed Maynard a lot of WHU fans seemed to believe they had got the raw end of the deal. He didn't even spend a year at West Ham, so it's safe to say that he wasn't wanted after their promotion. At Cardiff he's had a torrid time with injury, and it looks very unlikely that they'll consider a player like Maynard for their Premier League campaign. To my knowledge he had a run-out in the cup and scored a great goal, but other than that is still far from match fitness and isn't in the first-team plans. I can't see him wanting to stick around if he doesn't get a few starts, especially with their injuries. I imagine he's a bit peeved as being considered an "understudy" to a bunch of players that are younger than him. I reckon he could still find himself a team in the Championship, but I wonder if he would consider coming back to Bristol City if he doesn't find himself first-team football. Aside from when he ****ed around with signing the deal we offered him, and his comment about raising his kids in Bristol, the fans were in love with him. If the injury stories are true, he's probably not the player he was when he was scoring for fun for us in the Championship, but if he can regain his form and get some matches behind him he could be absolutely lethal in League 1. It's a shame to see a player that was, at one time, the best player in the Championship, sitting on a bench when he will soon be peaking. If you look at Maynard when he was with us, and a picture of him now at Cardiff he looks like an entirely different player. If I were SOD (if I were still at the club) I would consider a loan move for Maynard if he hasn't managed any first-team appearances.
Since he left us he has won 2 promotions to the premier league.... Not bad but he didn't contribute to either. Still though I bet he doesn't doubt ever leaving..
I'm not so sure. Going from the golden boy to effectively a reserve at two entirely different teams must play on his mind. To leave a team like West Ham so early, he must have either been told that he didn't have a chance of starting, or was upset that he wasn't playing as much as he wanted. Now that Cardiff are in the Premier League (as you rightly said, no thanks to him) he at least has the chance to sit on the bench, with one of their key players injured. He says he's happy for the competition, but is there really any competition? Their new Danish guy is much better (and much more expensive) and Frazier Campbell is starting to show some of the form that made Fergie want to offer him a contract. Deep down, I think that Maynard is unhappy. He's probably not been happy with his football since he played for us. As Pitman showed, going back can be a good thing. I think Maynard would go back to us if we were a Championship team, but it'd be a stretch for him to come back to us in League 1. If he did though, his ability to make goals from nothing, alongside JET, would probably steer us towards the higher end of the table.
Any regrets he may have will be about the injuries he has suffered. We do need someone with pace up front but our budget restrictions would make this highly unlikely
We only play one up front so hes struggling to get a game. He always makes the bench though. I doubt we would consider a loan move for him. We have other strikers like Mason and Gestede not getting a look in who are more likely to be loaned. I doubt a League 1 club could afford either though. With our promotion our players wages have risen so Maynard and any others are out of your reach. Our Development squad as some cracking players and Brentford have taken Harris who is a top prospect and Newport a highly rated centre back. Cant understand why Bristol City havent looked at our younger players. Though you did sign a keeper who ive never heard of and didnt feature even at Development level.
Far as I'm concerned he would be welcome back here with open arms and if it happens then pigs will fly out of my _rse
we cant afford him, he wouldnt come back after the nasty remarks and rumours when he left, he wouldnt drop back to L1 end of.....
A lot of people on this site said that they did not think he had the skills to be a success at the higher level and it has proven to be correct. His managers at the higher level he wanted have basically consigned him to a back up role at best. I think he was sold a bill of goods on his ability by his agent who essentially was just hoping for a bigger piece of his individual pie and it's why I would like to see clubs refuse to deal with the blood suckers. Regrettably Nick left Ashton Gate leaving a bad taste in supporters mouths after he claimed his family were racially abused (a sensitive area I know) and if you put the bad mouthing he bandied around on top of his long term injury, supposedly self inflicted, then I see no reason to offer him a return. He wouldn't take it anyway because in his opinion he was always too good for the like of us so end of story.
"Though you did sign a keeper who ive never heard of and didnt feature even at Development level." Well it couldn't be Richards as he did play at there U-19 level regularly so it could have only been Parish. Unless this guy doesn't know much about his youngsters
The reception Maynard got when he played against us for West Ham, was more hostile than for any other ex player/manager etc than I have ever heard in 45 years. The manner in which he treated the club, was not good I have taken little interest in him ever since- Normally, anyone that has done a good job for us, (Caulker for example) I tend to follow with some element of pride when they go on to better things, like play and score for England. We have even done this with Ricky Lambert at Rovers. Sorry, for me, Maynard made his own bed, and I wouldn't want him back even if he offered to play for free
Take ourselves back a few years when Nicky was banging in goals for fun and it makes me wonder whether if he had stayed fit when he got his long term injury where would we be today? I know you can't turn the clock back but if he had decided this was where he wanted to be and put his heart and soul out there for our shirt would we be in League One? Unfortunately he decided, like a lot of his contemporaries, that the grass was greener on the other side and has found out that sometimes you are better off to be a big fish in a little pond than the reverse. Sink or swim by your own decisions I suppose!
I said it back then and I will say it again Maynard was a scorer of great goals, not a great goal scorer. In L1 he would probably score a lot, especially with a player like JET in the side, however I think it is very very unlikely he would return to the Gate, even on loan.
Despite him pretty much keeping us up single handed one season (much like JET is now, which baffles me completely that people are calling for him to be dropped) I agree with gdnak and redandy, wouldn't want him back for free even he wanted to, which he wouldnt as he would never drop down to this level at his age as its a death sentence.
I wouldn't want him back either especially if he brought his agent with him?? I agree with Supcon, Maynard's goals to chances ratio was not good although some of the goals he scored were fantastic. Anyway he he doesn't want his kids to speak gert proper then he can p*** orf.
The goals he scored in his last effective season were of the highest quality. The one he scored at Loftus Road was so good it nearly caused a riot when the QPR fans started yelling "why cant we do that ?" at their board of directors With Maynard its soooo not a skills thing. It may be an attitude thing - I dont know. At Cardiff he is an understudy for Odemwingy (?) and Frazer Cambell, and the competition for a place is ferocious. If he gets his chance, Maynard has the ability to claim a run in the team which is what he needs. If it doesnt happen I can see him moving back to the Championship next summer So much of what players and teams do in football is fueled by confidence, a fact which will be illuminated at next summer's World Cup. If England start to play and believe in themselves like they did in 1990 we can go a long way. If Bristol City string a series of wins together they may start to become the players in reality that they are in our daydreams. With so much riding on confidence, you would think we would spend more time getting behind our lads and building them up rather than slagging them off. The players of Liverpool and Arsenal are walking tall at the moment and everyone loves them With Maynard its totally about confidence
It's been said a few times that he wanted out of West Ham because he wasn't playing regularly. Bearing in mind that he was only there for a year, do you think that lightning might strike twice? If Cardiff struggle in the Premier League I think it is far more likely that Tan will dip into the transfer market to bolster their attacking options instead of giving an untested player at this level a chance. Not permanently, but a loan deal could be good, and if Maynard could get Bristol City into the playoffs and back into the Championship he wouldn't be too expensive. Given the situation with your owner, if you guys don't stay in the Premier League (a real possibility) then I can see your owner walking, and the club needing to sell off everyone it possibly can to stay afloat. While Maynard might not come now, given the volatile nature of Cardiff City I reckon he could be available fairly soon. Heaton did pretty well for us. Perhaps we thought lightning would strike twice.
