Zippers Left Foot

Was he seen in ASDA with Carl Cort?

I agree he has been overlooked a little, and feel this is a legacy of him swapping roles at the end of last season. With Worthy likely to stick to a 4-4-2 and,in my view, very unlikely to play Hux wide left in the Prem (Hux is a potent striker - he would be wasted being asked to do a defensive wide left role) this leaves us with 2 players who can play the left midfield role. I think WLY will play a key role but not a many games as last year. I think we will see quite a bit of swapping between Brennan and WLY depending on the opposition, strength of their right wing and whether we are winning or losing the game. Brennan is far more defensively minded although can go forward well, however he is pretty one diminsional. Mcveigh has learnt to work hard defensively but its not a natural thing for him - however he is 10 times the player going forward and was the only midfielder we saw last year to offer any sort of passing ability or creative flair/vision - particularly when picking up Hux movement - that was an effective pairing. I dont see this as an area to strengthen - we have two reliable players competing for one spot - and suspect most people feel the same - hence little or no discussion about it - the same could be said about Drury for exactly the same reason. OTBC

I see Worthy feels that one of the three new players he needs is a 3rd keeper in case both Greeno and Gallacher gets injured. To me this seems an odd option. The player is very unlikely to get a game, although may appear on the subs bench a couple of times. I accept that if Greeno, god forbid, gets an injury in Sept that keeps him out for the season then we cant buy or loan another until Jan. However if this was an issue wouldnt keeping The Admiral one his cheaper wages beena sensible option than looking for someone who would expect more because they are now joining a premier club? I would rather the cash is spent on 3 outfield players - what is everyone elses view? OTBC

I''m in - predictable Hux, Francis and Greeno from City - gone for a more balanced approach than all the cash up front - first mistake I expect!

The bloke has talent (bizzarely played out of position at Liverpool) but doesn''t currently fit in with the gaps in our team. He is a striker but quite similiar to Hux and Leon - if we are to get another striker I would want someone who can hold the ball up - that isnt his strength. OTBC

Anyone but everton (1985 relegation - Coventry 4 Everton 0 still sticks in my throat!) or Manure (arrogant manager who has underperformed as much as Houllier over the last two years). I wouldnt mind Bolton - smallish club, charismatic manager, some superb players (JJ) with a great team spirit - as an alternative to Charlton. OTBC

No problem DDiM - we will just have to agree to disagree; I just have the comfort of knowing Iam right :-) !! Mind you humble pie appears to be my speciality this week - more than happy to eat again if he signs and proves to be a star come April! OTBC

I agree with the view that we need a wide right player (an unproven 19 year old loanee and a 19 year old striker looking out of position in Div 1 aint good enough) and another central defender is needed - we still have no pace in the middle. However while we have a lot of central midfielders they are all of the same type - ie hard working gut busting ball winners. I have long held the view that a partnership of Leon & Hux with a passing midfielder (Mullers may be able to do this but isnt consistent enough in Div 1) would create havoc with most premiership defences - a modern day Ian Crook would be awesome. A creative midfielder gives us more options to turn games around and unlock some of the more stubborn premier defences. With support from Jarvis/Bentley/Svensson/Abbey I do think we have a variety of attacking options that means, given a limited budget, we would be better buying a creative central midfielder rather than a further striker. Which is my priority? Central defence (Primus), then wide right (Helveg?), then creative play maker (?Parlour/Joe Cole/ideas - cant think of many!). In my Roman Ambramovich world I woul obviously want all three AND Johannsen and still keep the club financially secure! OTBC

Lucky with injuries is an understatement! Where would we have been had we not had our only serious injury of the season? Had Abbey not been injured we would have persevered with Abbey/Roberts/McVeigh strike force that we had seen for the two previous seasons making for a miserable season instead of the dreamland that we have all suffered since the arrival of Hux et al! How fairly fate has shined on us this season! OTB(Lucky)C

A1 - excellent idea for a Iwan send off at CR against Preston - more of the faithful to recognise his contribution than at Gresty Road and hopefully promotion will have been sealed by then so there should be an excellent carnival atmosphere.

Yes times have changed James but at that stage inthe season we did only look mid table fodder. As the original poster noted we were going nowhere until we strengthened our squad - this post was just after the Forest defeat, we had 7 pts from 15 and had lost again in the worthington cup, Abbey was injured and neilsen was on his way back to denmark. And we were conceeding goals far too quickly to sustain any type of promotion push. Just after this we signed Harper, Crouch and Hux and we all know what has happened since then! Oh - we didnt sign a defender? I agreed with this post at the time as Malkay was looking very ropey but as I posted in late Oct/Nov Hux turned out to be the best defensive signing the club has ever made - his pace meant that our midfield no longer sat 5 yards from our own 18 yard box and that the opponents were less likely to attack in numbers as they tried to nullify Huxs'' threat - only Chambers has really had any success.. Our goals per game conceeded is the best for years - and it all ties in to the big three signings. Finally I would like to thank Neilsen for following his wife home, and give a very big thank you to Colin and the blades for injuring Abbey - without those (for Zema in particular) disasterous events I am sure we would have had a far less enjoyable few months! E I E I E I O...

I agree with most of your comments however Connolly was never going to be a city player. Citys accepted bid for him was £450k, more than what he went to the ''appy ''ammers for. He had consistently turned down non-London clubs - including Reading - as he did not want to move house or commute to train. It is frustrating that many suitable target men have been missed - two of the prospects left on the shelf are Ashton of Crewe and Beckett of Stockport but City need an experienced target man now and that will cost us hard cash in wages if not transfer fee. The goals become secondary to the style of play NW adopts which means a front man who can hold up the ball and releive the pressure form the central defenders, who are looking the shakiest they have for years. A target man who can consistently hold up the ball, has some pace and bring the midfield into play would also make us muchmore threatening away from home. Having lost Russell, Kents, Izzy, Steeno, Heckingbottam & Neilsen this summer & only brought in three players we must have some wages spare to sign a decent front man, and thats before the sponsor money is added. As we could sign 2 players before Neilsen went we must be able to push the boat out on one target man without upsetting the financial balance of the club? The likes of Dublin would be perfect even on loan - and there must be someone else like him but of lesser ability who could also do us a holding job? What is worse is that this season the division seems mediocre at best and the addition of a target man should move us from play off hopefuls to promotion candidates. So come on Nige & the board, surprise me - the next 7 days are crucial. OTBC

The club are suffering from a PR disaster. We have made realistic bids for SOME (but not all) players but they have chosen for other reasons to go to other clubs. I know first hand that we offerred £425k for Connolly which was accepted by the Dons - however the player simply wanted to stay in London having spent most of his career moving around Europe - a logistical issue that Worthy or the board could do nothing about (likewise with Hulse) Before I knew what the offer was I assumed that we simply missed out by offering less than the £285k the hammers got him for and damned the club for lack of ambition... What I cant understand is why werent the fans told this?? People in football would have known what we offered anyway - this sort of thing usually comes out - so why not do some positive PR with your own fans to DEMONSTRATE that the board are trying to get the right players but it sometimes simply does not come off. On the otherside of the coin it seems that NW did fancy Taylor - a big target man that the team desperately needs, not another shorty - yet we never followed up an interest once he suffered a short term injury pre season and he is now playing for another club. We must be able to match Forest for financial clout? There is an apparent inconsistency in the clubs actions but is the way the media is being handled making them appear less ambitious than they really are? And why do they seem to be treating the city faithful with such contempt? OTBC

I agree that a target man is the prime object for the club and someone should be found quickly. As an earlier poster noted this year the 1st division is full of average teams making it an open year. As such we need to take advantage whilst we can & they need to be found now. The addition of a target man who can hold the ball up, have a little pace and last a full 90 minutes all season is a key facet of the Worthy game plan - it is almost irrelevant whether they get the 20 goals a season that Worthy also craves as the hold up of the ball creates space for our defence and enables the midfield to get forward - and when the do as we have seen they can score. It is that outlet that will win us games - not a predator who can not help ease pressure when Malky feels the need to hoof it again. Some one like (& I am not recommending him) like Ipoua who will put themselves about is perfect for our needs right now.

The only trouble with this forum is I cant see who Yellas note is responding too - if its me then sorry, I''m afraid not - Barclay season ticket & standing proud and loud. However if there is an ongoing issue that could affect the club then I am sure we can find a way around the laws to keep everyone, police, fans, club etc happy. My point was that there is a real issue here, not an imagined one, that can affect the club where it hurts - ie in the pocket and so eventually on the pitch - and none of us want that. Y''Army