Bobby Doyle - a veteran player. Started really badly and couldn't make a simple pass, and nothing went right for him, and the fans got on his back. Then suddenly seemed to turn into Glenn Hoddle overnight! Started spraying the ball all over the pitch and became a fans favourite. His career was cruelly ended in a pre-season game at Doncaster from what I seem to recall was a horrendous challenge that broke his leg.
Michael Turner had a poor start for us, before going on to be our player of the season in the Premier League promotion season.
Was going to say Doyle - for anyone not aware of who he is, he played for us when Brian Horton was manager mid-1980's. Also from around that time period Alex Dyer. A striker who seemed so laid back that me and my mates nicknamed him Dozy Dyer. Starting poorly but then seemed to discover a turn of speed and started scoring goals
Good to bad Darryl Duffy - I was nearly wetting myself with excitement when we signed him, he was rubbish. Bad to good Lewie Coyle - Thought he was way too limited to be a top half Championship player and now he's probably the first name on the team sheet. He has been excellent this season.
At the time we were told we should have signed his centre back partner can’t remember his name but I think his career went slowly down whilst Turners went up with us
Matt Ingram All joking aside.... Ash always went above what almost everyone thought he would do, same with Andy Dawson I think. Alex Bruce and turner again went above what I thought they would. Stuart Elliot is another who stands out for me Obviously ATM you have to say coyle Special mention to jay jay okocha, I knew he was good, but Jesus in the flesh he was so much better
I know he's already been mentioned but I can't think of a better example than Alex Bruce. When he signed there really was a lot of discontent. That summer had been weird with Barmby being sacked and replaced by Steve Bruce whose stock was pretty low then (in hindsight, unfairly). He came in and signed his son, who'd just been released by a bang average Leeds side with a much worse defensive record than us. On the face of it we had plenty of good CBs and no real need to sign him as well. I think he was initially given a trial in pre-season and people weren't even particularly keen on that, never mind when it became a permanent contract. There were jokes about SB signing other members of his immediate family to be backup goalie etc. From what I recall he didn't play immediately but gradually broke into the team and became the first choice for that middle CB role ahead of Faye who everyone had expected to nail the position down. Incidentally the back 3 system made SB's apparent stockpiling of centre backs make sense. He later also played more in midfield, doing a decent job and helping us grind out results in the second half of the season. Later of course he ended up doing well in the PL too, and the FA Cup final. I think it's easy to forget quite how low the expectations were of him, and how comprehensively he over-achieved them.
Alex Bruce did a decent job for us but it was still a mistake to sign him, no manager should sign his own son, it's asking for trouble.
Who was that centre back from I think Bristol City. Started okay, then went backwards fairly rapidly. Culminating in a $hit show versus... Ipswich 2-5, though featured again for Phil Brown in the promotion season once or twice at the start, before Turner came back in and the player in question hardly played for us again. Edit...Go it Danny Coles..
It was a disgusting foul by Dave Cusack, you could hear Doyle's leg break in the crowd. The views expressed in my posts are not necessarily mine.
True, but decent in the 2-1 win at SJP.....Got brought down for the pen...converted by the big fella.
Never fully understood the Okocha being older thing. How old do people think he was? He was playing centre mid for us in the Championship and managing fine. If the accusation is that he was really in his 40s or something then I think his performances make that hard to believe. If it's that he was actually 36 or something then how would his appearance particularly give that away? Don't get it.
Same here. I suppose it you take the longer view, we were finally relieved of the Needlers' moribund grip and on the road to Pearson via the Sheffield mob. Used to see Belton in Stakis occasionally around that time too. On the 25p roulette table mainly.
