A plea re Russell

[Jim Smith 2,314]

I for one am pleased to see Russell is going to be given a shot tonight as I think he could be a really useful addition to our midfield this season and form a good partnership with Hughes. If, as it now appears, he is going to be here then we may as well play a player who would be one of the best central midfielders in the division if he can recapture his form of the season before last. yes he wasn''t great last year but i think he was hindered through being in and out of the team and playting at RB and CF rather than through the middle.

My plea is that our fans give him a fair chance to show he is up for it. There have been many on here I have seen already who have said "if he doesn''t want to play for us then good riddance" but to be honest we have no evidence that is the case. I believe had he really wanted to engineer a move then he would have done so this summer and am inclined to believe the stories that Rusty and Clingan (and Hoolahan) were not particularly set on leaving but have been told they have to go if we get an offer in order to reduce the wage bill.

If Russell plays tonight please, please, please can we therefore not boo him on the basis that we think he might have said he wants to leave when we have no proof that is the case. If however he plays as if he doesn''t give a toss over the next few weeks then he''s fair game!

[Jim Smith 2,314]

Doh! Should say a plea re Russell!!

[beasto 0]

it does

[nutty nigel 7,509]

I get what you''re saying Jim and we should really give all our players support during games. I won''t be booing Russell but I dare say some will. I am not a great Russell fan though. In both his spells with us we have struggled both going forward and defensively. He will always remind me of Hucks comments as we replaced the likes of Etuhu with him, Earnshaw with Curo etc etc.

If he would be one of the best central midfielders in the division then that''s a signal of just how far we have fallen since Worthy got rid all those years ago. Did you believe the Burnley interest Jim? Players like Francis and Etuhu were signed by promoted teams. Rusty was way off that list.

 

[Jim Smith 2,314]

But that is how far we have fallen i''m afraid. Russell is a decent enough championship midfielder and when he had a proper run in the team the season before last he showed that. At league 1 level I think he would be more than decent and in my view more reliable that having the kids in there every week. Would enable us to bring through Smith and Adeyemi more gradually.

[Stephen Hawkings Football Boots 0]

What are the odds on him being sent off?

[Time to go Delia 0]

Russell does not want to play for City and is still only here because nobody else wants him (hardly surprising as he is utter crap) so why should anybody support him .

[Jim Smith 2,314]

[quote user="Freebie City F.C."]Russell does not want to play for City and is still only here because nobody else wants him (hardly surprising as he is utter crap) so why should anybody support him .
[/quote]

 

How do you know that Russell does not want to play for City?

[Viva_Marc_Libbra 0]

It''s well known he expressed a desire to Gunny to move onward and upward.

[Binky 0]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]

I for one am pleased to see Russell is going to be given a shot tonight as I think he could be a really useful addition to our midfield this season and form a good partnership with Hughes. If, as it now appears, he is going to be here then we may as well play a player who would be one of the best central midfielders in the division if he can recapture his form of the season before last. yes he wasn''t great last year but i think he was hindered through being in and out of the team and playting at RB and CF rather than through the middle.

My plea is that our fans give him a fair chance to show he is up for it. There have been many on here I have seen already who have said "if he doesn''t want to play for us then good riddance" but to be honest we have no evidence that is the case. I believe had he really wanted to engineer a move then he would have done so this summer and am inclined to believe the stories that Rusty and Clingan (and Hoolahan) were not particularly set on leaving but have been told they have to go if we get an offer in order to reduce the wage bill.

If Russell plays tonight please, please, please can we therefore not boo him on the basis that we think he might have said he wants to leave when we have no proof that is the case. If however he plays as if he doesn''t give a toss over the next few weeks then he''s fair game!

[/quote]I can''t remember ever booing a City player - I''m not saying it could never be justified but nothing Russell has said or done or not done would merit that IMO. On the other hand, for all his terrier like qualities there is usually very little end product. He makes a nuisance of himself but seldom gets the opposition worried - but does collect yellow cards. At least Pattison had a bit of physical strength to push his way into the area. As regards leaving I suspect the feeling is mutual - it would surely be helpful to get his wages off the bill. I somehow feel that the new signings and the rediscovery of Lappin, McVeigh and Martin makes Russell a bit of a luxury. But I would love him to be MoM tonight.

[nutty nigel 7,509]

When Hughes has been on the pitch along side Adeyemi or Smith we have scored 11 and conceded 2. But when Hughes hasn''t played we only scored 4 but conceded 14. Gunn and Butterworth didn''t seem to see this. For me Hughes is the first name on the team sheet this season and I would prefer Smith and Adeyemi shared the responsibility along side him. Russell at Charlton is still fresh in my mind I''m afraid.

 

[O.T.B.C 0]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]

[quote user="Freebie City F.C."]Russell does not want to play for City and is still only here because nobody else wants him (hardly surprising as he is utter crap) so why should anybody support him .
[/quote]

 

How do you know that Russell does not want to play for City?

[/quote]

Because the moaning barsteward knows everything. Unless he comes out or Lambert does and say''s he won''t play, then I won''t believe it. And he is not shiite.

[Jim Smith 2,314]

[quote user="Viva_Marc_Libbra"]It''s well known he expressed a desire to Gunny to move onward and upward.[/quote]

 

Well known by who?

Whose word do we have for this?

Even Gunn did not come out and say outright that Russell had told him he wanted to leave - they merely implied it and at the time it suited them to do that as it softened the fans up for the possible departures of Clingan and Russell. Frankly neither of those players seem to me to be the types to throw their toys out of the pram and refuse to play for us just because we went down.

I don''t know what has been said and maybe he did express a desire to move away but we don''t know that and i would treat with caution any quotes from Gunn and Co who may well have been told they had to offload 2 or 3 of the bigger earners and were preparing the ground and the fans for that process by giving the impression the players wanted out. Same with that Hoolahan interview Gunn did - clearly preparing the ground for a possible sale.

[0 0]

russell is crap and doesn''t want to be here. i wish he''d just f*** off.

[AndyJR 0]

[quote user="olej"]What are the odds on him being sent off?[/quote]He seems to get sent off out of frustration when we''re losing more than anything else.  With (hopefully) a winning side he''s certainly good enough to be playing and if we have to pay his wages......May as well give him a game.