*** Glenn Roeder's "MISFITS XI" ***

[Josh 0]

Every now and again, a team has to change and often players get played out of position in a football team. But for our ex manager, Glenn Victor Roeder, this could often be a weekly occurrence. I remember I would wait with baited breath for the weekly team sheet and see what crazy team selections he had come up with next. So I have decided to compile a team of his greatest hits, players played in crazy positions which surely no other manager would try, or just plain crazy decisions full stop. This is mostly from memory, so if you don’t agree with any of them feel free to correct me, or add in some of your own suggestions. I am sure there are some crackers I have missed! So here goes….

 

GK - Joe Lewis – Well surely even Roeder wouldn’t be dumb enough to play an outfield player as a goalkeeper (well, he would have been licking his lips if he saw Cody McDonald’s goalkeeping performance against Sunderland, so you never know!). So I have given this to Joe Lewis, purely on the basis he sold a highly promising goalkeeping prospect to Peterborough for 400k. Weeks later Lewis was called up to the England squad by Fabio Capello. Clearly Joe Lewis is good enough to be in the England squad but not good enough for Norwich City. I guess I missed your tenure as England manager Mr Roeder, jolly good judgement!

 

RB – Mark Fotheringham (C) - I didn’t know whether to give this to Doherty or Russell, but Fozzy was without doubt our greatest ever player and captain and could even play at right back. I just wish Roeder played him at centre forward, he would have easily have scored over 20 a season with his incredible talents and we wouldn’t be where we are now. Shame Glenn didn’t spot that one!

 

CB – Adam Drury – Admittedly injuries and suspensions were a factor in our Adam getting moved to CB, but the move still surprised many. Had he ever played here before? Probably not. Would his height be an issue? Maybe. Still, Glenn the tinkerer put him there. Perhaps the Loan Ranger could have had adequate cover for the CB birth waiting in the wings. He had a whole summer to do so. Troy Archibald-Henville was loaned in and I guess was the intended “cover”, but he was deemed not ready to play, which begs the question if Roeder actually watched any of his “loan stars” before he acquired them. We paid Henville his wages, we had players like James Henry and Omar Koroma picking up wages and hardly playing during his tenure, and I dread to think what Antoine “the god” Sibierski was earning. Yet we had to play our Adam at CB. Ok, these crises do happen at football clubs, but we were wasting so much money on other non playing players, leaving CB exposed during a relegation scrap, fantastic Mr Roeder!

 

CB – Sammy Clingan – I love this one. I remember Roeder saying something along the lines of “someone has impressed me there in training.” Referring to our ever occurring CB shortage and need for someone to cover there. It just had to be Sammy Clingan, our midfield kingpin! Ok, he did ok there, but again why the hell didn’t we have adequate cover in the first place? Yet again I can’t help but blame Roeder for getting us in this mess in the first place. We had to put our best midfielder at CB, whilst leaving captain Fozzy to pull the strings in midfield in his absence. Oh glory days!

 

LB – Simon Lappin – Ok I’m not really sure what to do with the left back birth. Maybe someone could give me a better suggestion. Did Fatty Patty play there? Possibly. But I am going to give this to poor old Simon Lappin. I’m not 100% sure if Lappin was played his unfavoured position during his short playing time under Roeder, but I think he deserves a place in the tinkering 11 due to the disgraceful way Roeder expelled him from the team. It has since been shown by Gunn and Lambert that he is a more than adequate player when played correctly! Another fantastic managerial example by Roeder.

 

RM – Darren Huckerby – This is definitely one of my favourites! Quite possibly our best player from the last 20 years, Darren Huckerby, couldn’t get a game under Roeder, and if he did, it was on the RIGHT WING! A clearly established skilful left winger was being left out of the team in favour of another Roeder “I like to play players out of position” masterstroke in playing left back Ryan Bertrand on the left wing. To be fair to Bertrand he did a pretty good job there, but to leave Huckerby out, or put him on the right wing, was in my mind total insanity! Roeder subsequently failed to renew Huckerby’s contract, leaving many City fans bewildered.

 

CM – Kieran Gibbs – Another Roeder masterstroke. I can just imagine the phone call to Arsene Wenger……

 

Roeder: “Hey Arsene me old buddy! God, we are such great friends aren’t we (lick lick lick), I love to tell people about our close relationship! It makes me look like a REAL football manager! Anyhow, I was wondering if you could help, have you got any spare centre midfielders?”

 

Wenger: “(ffs not this guy again!) Ahem, no Glenn, all I have is this left back Kieran Gibbs, he’s a good prospect but he could do with some playing time.”

 

Roeder: “Ah rubbish, that’s no use to me, I already have Drury, Camara and Bertrand! And I have plans to covert up and coming youngster Declan Rudd to that position too. Ummm, don’t suppose he can actually play CM?”

 

Wenger: “I don’t know, he’s a left back! But he’s good at passing the ball…”

 

Roeder: “PERFECT!!!!!!! Just what I’m looking for! Send him over…!”

 

I’m not sure I need to expand on this much further! Roeder showed his fantastic managerial skills by playing future Arsenal left back and England prospect Kieran Gibbs out of position. Enough said….!

 

AM: Antoine Sibierski. I’m not really sure what this guys actual position is, I know he has played here before in his career, but he sure is worthy of a place in Roeder’s tinkering team. Predominately purchased as our answer to the much needed “target man” upfront, Sibierski also graced us with his presence in attacking midfield. Fantastic!! (or not). In short, not good enough in any position! And another bunch of money wasted….

 

LM: Jamie Cureton. Ok, this one is probably my favourite! Jamie lad found himself on the left wing a few times whilst Roeder was in charge, with often proper alternatives ignored. I’m not sure why Roeder put him here, maybe it was his blistering pace, Ronaldo esque dribbling abilities, and Beckham style crosses. Ah! I think I get it now….

 

CF: Gary Doherty: Ok I couldn’t resist this one. Surely every manager knows that Gary’s days as a hot shot striker are past him?  To be fair though, The Doc started out as a striker, so if anyone can think of a better player for this position then I’d love to know!

 

CF: Darel Russell: I think this crazy decision is up there with the Huckerby and Jamie lad one. Russell was put upfront in pre-season, and probably much to his regret, scored a few goals. He has recently said that being played out of position the following season was the worst season of his career. This decision was even crazier as we had a proper striker in Arturo Lupoli warming the bench. Lupoli left the club a frustrated man in Feb 2009 after scoring 5 goals during his spell, leaving people like myself to wonder how many he’d have got if he actually started the majority of his games instead of coming on as a sub. Take a bow Roeder!

 

 

So here we have it…..

 

-----------------------Lewis------------------------

------------------------------------------------------

Fozzy (c)-------Drury-----Clingan-------Lappin

------------------------------------------------------

Huckerby-----Sibierski----Gibbs------Cureton

------------------------------------------------------

---------------Russell-------Doherty-------------

 

Is it any wonder that the team was a total mess when Gunn took charge and we got relegated?

 

I hope everyone is grateful we have Paul Lambert now! ;)

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

[quote user="Josh"]

Every now and again, a team has to change and often players get played out of position in a football team. But for our ex manager, Glenn Victor Roeder, this could often be a weekly occurrence. I remember I would wait with baited breath for the weekly team sheet and see what crazy team selections he had come up with next. So I have decided to compile a team of his greatest hits, players played in crazy positions which surely no other manager would try, or just plain crazy decisions full stop. This is mostly from memory, so if you don’t agree with any of them feel free to correct me, or add in some of your own suggestions. I am sure there are some crackers I have missed! So here goes….

 

GK - Joe Lewis – Well surely even Roeder wouldn’t be dumb enough to play an outfield player as a goalkeeper (well, he would have been licking his lips if he saw Cody McDonald’s goalkeeping performance against Sunderland, so you never know!). So I have given this to Joe Lewis, purely on the basis he sold a highly promising goalkeeping prospect to Peterborough for 400k. Weeks later Lewis was called up to the England squad by Fabio Capello. Clearly Joe Lewis is good enough to be in the England squad but not good enough for Norwich City. I guess I missed your tenure as England manager Mr Roeder, jolly good judgement!

 

RB – Mark Fotheringham (C) - I didn’t know whether to give this to Doherty or Russell, but Fozzy was without doubt our greatest ever player and captain and could even play at right back. I just wish Roeder played him at centre forward, he would have easily have scored over 20 a season with his incredible talents and we wouldn’t be where we are now. Shame Glenn didn’t spot that one!

 

CB – Adam Drury – Admittedly injuries and suspensions were a factor in our Adam getting moved to CB, but the move still surprised many. Had he ever played here before? Probably not. Would his height be an issue? Maybe. Still, Glenn the tinkerer put him there. Perhaps the Loan Ranger could have had adequate cover for the CB birth waiting in the wings. He had a whole summer to do so. Troy Archibald-Henville was loaned in and I guess was the intended “cover”, but he was deemed not ready to play, which begs the question if Roeder actually watched any of his “loan stars” before he acquired them. We paid Henville his wages, we had players like James Henry and Omar Koroma picking up wages and hardly playing during his tenure, and I dread to think what Antoine “the god” Sibierski was earning. Yet we had to play our Adam at CB. Ok, these crises do happen at football clubs, but we were wasting so much money on other non playing players, leaving CB exposed during a relegation scrap, fantastic Mr Roeder!

 

CB – Sammy Clingan – I love this one. I remember Roeder saying something along the lines of “someone has impressed me there in training.” Referring to our ever occurring CB shortage and need for someone to cover there. It just had to be Sammy Clingan, our midfield kingpin! Ok, he did ok there, but again why the hell didn’t we have adequate cover in the first place? Yet again I can’t help but blame Roeder for getting us in this mess in the first place. We had to put our best midfielder at CB, whilst leaving captain Fozzy to pull the strings in midfield in his absence. Oh glory days!

 

LB – Simon Lappin – Ok I’m not really sure what to do with the left back birth. Maybe someone could give me a better suggestion. Did Fatty Patty play there? Possibly. But I am going to give this to poor old Simon Lappin. I’m not 100% sure if Lappin was played his unfavoured position during his short playing time under Roeder, but I think he deserves a place in the tinkering 11 due to the disgraceful way Roeder expelled him from the team. It has since been shown by Gunn and Lambert that he is a more than adequate player when played correctly! Another fantastic managerial example by Roeder.

 

RM – Darren Huckerby – This is definitely one of my favourites! Quite possibly our best player from the last 20 years, Darren Huckerby, couldn’t get a game under Roeder, and if he did, it was on the RIGHT WING! A clearly established skilful left winger was being left out of the team in favour of another Roeder “I like to play players out of position” masterstroke in playing left back Ryan Bertrand on the left wing. To be fair to Bertrand he did a pretty good job there, but to leave Huckerby out, or put him on the right wing, was in my mind total insanity! Roeder subsequently failed to renew Huckerby’s contract, leaving many City fans bewildered.

 

CM – Kieran Gibbs – Another Roeder masterstroke. I can just imagine the phone call to Arsene Wenger……

 

Roeder: “Hey Arsene me old buddy! God, we are such great friends aren’t we (lick lick lick), I love to tell people about our close relationship! It makes me look like a REAL football manager! Anyhow, I was wondering if you could help, have you got any spare centre midfielders?”

 

Wenger: “(ffs not this guy again!) Ahem, no Glenn, all I have is this left back Kieran Gibbs, he’s a good prospect but he could do with some playing time.”

 

Roeder: “Ah rubbish, that’s no use to me, I already have Drury, Camara and Bertrand! And I have plans to covert up and coming youngster Declan Rudd to that position too. Ummm, don’t suppose he can actually play CM?”

 

Wenger: “I don’t know, he’s a left back! But he’s good at passing the ball…”

 

Roeder: “PERFECT!!!!!!! Just what I’m looking for! Send him over…!”

 

I’m not sure I need to expand on this much further! Roeder showed his fantastic managerial skills by playing future Arsenal left back and England prospect Kieran Gibbs out of position. Enough said….!

 

AM: Antoine Sibierski. I’m not really sure what this guys actual position is, I know he has played here before in his career, but he sure is worthy of a place in Roeder’s tinkering team. Predominately purchased as our answer to the much needed “target man” upfront, Sibierski also graced us with his presence in attacking midfield. Fantastic!! (or not). In short, not good enough in any position! And another bunch of money wasted….

 

LM: Jamie Cureton. Ok, this one is probably my favourite! Jamie lad found himself on the left wing a few times whilst Roeder was in charge, with often proper alternatives ignored. I’m not sure why Roeder put him here, maybe it was his blistering pace, Ronaldo esque dribbling abilities, and Beckham style crosses. Ah! I think I get it now….

 

CF: Gary Doherty: Ok I couldn’t resist this one. Surely every manager knows that Gary’s days as a hot shot striker are past him?  To be fair though, The Doc started out as a striker, so if anyone can think of a better player for this position then I’d love to know!

 

CF: Darel Russell: I think this crazy decision is up there with the Huckerby and Jamie lad one. Russell was put upfront in pre-season, and probably much to his regret, scored a few goals. He has recently said that being played out of position the following season was the worst season of his career. This decision was even crazier as we had a proper striker in Arturo Lupoli warming the bench. Lupoli left the club a frustrated man in Feb 2009 after scoring 5 goals during his spell, leaving people like myself to wonder how many he’d have got if he actually started the majority of his games instead of coming on as a sub. Take a bow Roeder!

 

 

So here we have it…..

 

-----------------------Lewis------------------------

------------------------------------------------------

Fozzy (c)-------Drury-----Clingan-------Lappin

------------------------------------------------------

Huckerby-----Sibierski----Gibbs------Cureton

------------------------------------------------------

---------------Russell-------Doherty-------------

 

Is it any wonder that the team was a total mess when Gunn took charge and we got relegated?

 

I hope everyone is grateful we have Paul Lambert now! ;)

[/quote]

In fairness, Wenger said Gibbs was a centre mid when he came on loan to us and has also recently said he thinks he might end up there in the future. Wenger likes to put CMs in the full back positions to teach them how much work is envolved and it is seen as a good start to first team football. Eboue started life in central midfield, and Fabregas played his first few games at right back and of course Flamini established himself in the Arsenal team as a left back. Gibbs is doing a good job at left back so many never make the move back to the centre but I wouldn''t be surprised if he did.

[Taxing 0]

What an excellent piece Josh, thanks for lighting up my afternoon ! You used wit and humour making a point that many including me have tediously tried to make.

[blahblahblah 2]

When a manager puts Doherty or Russell up front, it''s a cry for help, isn''t it ?  It''s like saying to the fans "Sorry lads, we haven''t got the cash for a proper forward, but we''ve got this big lump who can run around a bit and head the ball if we can get it in the middle"...

[a1canary 0]

Thanks for bringing in to sharp focus what a clueless idiotic w**ker that man was.

I said after us he''d never work in football management again outside of league 2, and so far, that''s still the case thank god!

I wouldn''t wish him on the scummers. Well, maybe just them!

[DOGGER 0]

Good post Josh, it really puts Glenns team selection skills into the spotlight!!

[a1canary 0]

I''m sorry, you''ve got me going now, every time i think about that man it gets me going.

He left our club in ruins, no less so than Chase in my view, and we are still counting the cost now, even if we appear to be starting a slow recovery at the moment. Who knows when we will be on the same financial footing we were on when he arrived. It wasn''t great then but i believe we will be paying for his clueless dabblings in the transfer loan market for years to come.

Barricades should be erected around the fine city with his picture plastered on the walls to prevent him ever darkening it again.

Rant over.

[Inch High aka Inchy.. 405]

I''d like to say I look back and laugh, but I can''t/don''t.

The man was a complete tosser.[:|]

[nutty nigel 7,533]

He was Inchy.

Who selected him though? I could have a guess but it would only be a guess. But Roeder was so different to any other manager this club has had in recent years. People try to say Dave Stringer was consulted but I don''t believe that for one minute. Peter Grant maybe but not Roeder. The cleverer than the rest loan policy must have been sanctioned if not instigated elsewhere too.

Will we ever find out though[:^)]

 

[norfolkchance1 0]

Did he have the Doc in central midfield at some point as well?

[a1canary 0]

The loan policy was sanctioned somewhere Nutty, but Roeder could be very persuasive bordering on bullying and had a lot of people fooled that he knew what he was doing (me included i''m afraid to say.) Such was everyone''s desperation to change the club''s fortunes and direction, that we thought he was the right medicine. As you said, we''d never had anyone/thing like him before and thought he was what we needed. As it happens, we needed him like a fish needs a tea pot.

[nutty nigel 7,533]

[quote user="norfolkchance1"]Did he have the Doc in central midfield at some point as well?[/quote]

And right back[:|]

 

[norfolkchance1 0]

I remember my reaction the day he was appointed, it should still be archived on this messageboard somewhere, a mixture of nausea twinned with massive deflation after the names we were linked with.

I didn''t think he was what we needed and time proved it.

[Herman 9,759]

[quote user="norfolkchance1"]I remember my reaction the day he was appointed, it should still be archived on this messageboard somewhere, a mixture of nausea twinned with massive deflation after the names we were linked with. I didn''t think he was what we needed and time proved it.[/quote]

A very loud ''For **** sake!!!'' was my reaction. He proved me wrong (fooled me) for a while!!! 

[Captain Controversy 0]

What a pointless thread....

[Evil Monkey 52]

Great post this, really sums up the mystery of Roeder.  Like many, I believed he was the brush needed to sweep away the dead wood (though I never saw him as a long-term prospect) but was proved utterly wrong...Wasn''t Doherty''s evening as a holding midfielder also under Roeder, or was that the equally clueless Grant?At least if we did one for Worthy''s players, it would just be every single striker at the club playing at right wing....

[Herman 9,759]

Josh, r.e Lappin. I am sure he was played there in Roeders second game,had a bad one,and then,well you know the history!.Roeder didn''t seem to know the difference between being a hard task-master and a complete ****.

Anyway,another ''where are they now''; Omar Koroma and Arturo Lupoli??

[Guest]

[quote user="Evil Monkey"]Wasn''t Doherty''s evening as a holding midfielder also under Roeder, or was that the equally clueless Grant?[/quote]That was Grant''s doing I think - at Stoke where we lost 5-0. It was only something like his 3rd game as manager.

[ron obvious 1,502]

[quote user="Herman "]

Anyway,another ''where are they now''; Omar Koroma and Arturo Lupoli??

[/quote]Arturo''s playing for Ascoli & Omar''s back at Portsmouth.

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

He was Inchy.

Who selected him though? I could have a guess but it would only be a guess. But Roeder was so different to any other manager this club has had in recent years. People try to say Dave Stringer was consulted but I don''t believe that for one minute. Peter Grant maybe but not Roeder. The cleverer than the rest loan policy must have been sanctioned if not instigated elsewhere too.

Will we ever find out though[:^)]

[/quote]

So why don''t you have a guess, although it will only be a guess?

Or are we going to have to await Delias''s memoirs?

I mean, guesses are free.

OTBC

[ZLF 274]

I think it was grant who gave Doc his midfield "debut" in the 5-0 mauling away at Stoke if memory serves me correct - nothing will ever beat that  misplacement of a player.

As for the appointment of Roeder, as with the appointment (and dismissals where applicable) of gunn, grant worthy, McNally and lambert etc etc that responsibility is one for the board and they are all jointly, individually and severally liable for the brickbats and bouquets for those decisions.  Whose initial idea it may have been is another thing but pretty much irrelevant given a joint agreed decision is needed.

[Joanna Grey 0]

Weeks later Lewis was called up to the England squad by Fabio Capello.

Weeks? Just how many weeks between selling Lewis on Jan 8th 2008 and his call up to the England Squad on 24th May 2008? And just how many games has Lewis played for the English Senior Team?

[nutty nigel 7,533]

[quote user="ZippersLeftFoot"]

As for the appointment of Roeder, as with the appointment (and dismissals where applicable) of gunn, grant worthy, McNally and lambert etc etc that responsibility is one for the board and they are all jointly, individually and severally liable for the brickbats and bouquets for those decisions.  Whose initial idea it may have been is another thing but pretty much irrelevant given a joint agreed decision is needed.

[/quote]

There you go Bly. Zippers post is better than any guess I could ever make.

 

[Green and Yellow 0]

[quote user="Josh"]

Every now and again, a team has to change and often players get played out of position in a football team. But for our ex manager, Glenn Victor Roeder, this could often be a weekly occurrence. I remember I would wait with baited breath for the weekly team sheet and see what crazy team selections he had come up with next. So I have decided to compile a team of his greatest hits, players played in crazy positions which surely no other manager would try, or just plain crazy decisions full stop. This is mostly from memory, so if you don’t agree with any of them feel free to correct me, or add in some of your own suggestions. I am sure there are some crackers I have missed! So here goes….

 

GK - Joe Lewis – Well surely even Roeder wouldn’t be dumb enough to play an outfield player as a goalkeeper (well, he would have been licking his lips if he saw Cody McDonald’s goalkeeping performance against Sunderland, so you never know!). So I have given this to Joe Lewis, purely on the basis he sold a highly promising goalkeeping prospect to Peterborough for 400k. Weeks later Lewis was called up to the England squad by Fabio Capello. Clearly Joe Lewis is good enough to be in the England squad but not good enough for Norwich City. I guess I missed your tenure as England manager Mr Roeder, jolly good judgement!

 

RB – Mark Fotheringham (C) - I didn’t know whether to give this to Doherty or Russell, but Fozzy was without doubt our greatest ever player and captain and could even play at right back. I just wish Roeder played him at centre forward, he would have easily have scored over 20 a season with his incredible talents and we wouldn’t be where we are now. Shame Glenn didn’t spot that one!

 

CB – Adam Drury – Admittedly injuries and suspensions were a factor in our Adam getting moved to CB, but the move still surprised many. Had he ever played here before? Probably not. Would his height be an issue? Maybe. Still, Glenn the tinkerer put him there. Perhaps the Loan Ranger could have had adequate cover for the CB birth waiting in the wings. He had a whole summer to do so. Troy Archibald-Henville was loaned in and I guess was the intended “cover”, but he was deemed not ready to play, which begs the question if Roeder actually watched any of his “loan stars” before he acquired them. We paid Henville his wages, we had players like James Henry and Omar Koroma picking up wages and hardly playing during his tenure, and I dread to think what Antoine “the god” Sibierski was earning. Yet we had to play our Adam at CB. Ok, these crises do happen at football clubs, but we were wasting so much money on other non playing players, leaving CB exposed during a relegation scrap, fantastic Mr Roeder!

 

CB – Sammy Clingan – I love this one. I remember Roeder saying something along the lines of “someone has impressed me there in training.” Referring to our ever occurring CB shortage and need for someone to cover there. It just had to be Sammy Clingan, our midfield kingpin! Ok, he did ok there, but again why the hell didn’t we have adequate cover in the first place? Yet again I can’t help but blame Roeder for getting us in this mess in the first place. We had to put our best midfielder at CB, whilst leaving captain Fozzy to pull the strings in midfield in his absence. Oh glory days!

 

LB – Simon Lappin – Ok I’m not really sure what to do with the left back birth. Maybe someone could give me a better suggestion. Did Fatty Patty play there? Possibly. But I am going to give this to poor old Simon Lappin. I’m not 100% sure if Lappin was played his unfavoured position during his short playing time under Roeder, but I think he deserves a place in the tinkering 11 due to the disgraceful way Roeder expelled him from the team. It has since been shown by Gunn and Lambert that he is a more than adequate player when played correctly! Another fantastic managerial example by Roeder.

 

RM – Darren Huckerby – This is definitely one of my favourites! Quite possibly our best player from the last 20 years, Darren Huckerby, couldn’t get a game under Roeder, and if he did, it was on the RIGHT WING! A clearly established skilful left winger was being left out of the team in favour of another Roeder “I like to play players out of position” masterstroke in playing left back Ryan Bertrand on the left wing. To be fair to Bertrand he did a pretty good job there, but to leave Huckerby out, or put him on the right wing, was in my mind total insanity! Roeder subsequently failed to renew Huckerby’s contract, leaving many City fans bewildered.

 

CM – Kieran Gibbs – Another Roeder masterstroke. I can just imagine the phone call to Arsene Wenger……

 

Roeder: “Hey Arsene me old buddy! God, we are such great friends aren’t we (lick lick lick), I love to tell people about our close relationship! It makes me look like a REAL football manager! Anyhow, I was wondering if you could help, have you got any spare centre midfielders?”

 

Wenger: “(ffs not this guy again!) Ahem, no Glenn, all I have is this left back Kieran Gibbs, he’s a good prospect but he could do with some playing time.”

 

Roeder: “Ah rubbish, that’s no use to me, I already have Drury, Camara and Bertrand! And I have plans to covert up and coming youngster Declan Rudd to that position too. Ummm, don’t suppose he can actually play CM?”

 

Wenger: “I don’t know, he’s a left back! But he’s good at passing the ball…”

 

Roeder: “PERFECT!!!!!!! Just what I’m looking for! Send him over…!”

 

I’m not sure I need to expand on this much further! Roeder showed his fantastic managerial skills by playing future Arsenal left back and England prospect Kieran Gibbs out of position. Enough said….!

 

AM: Antoine Sibierski. I’m not really sure what this guys actual position is, I know he has played here before in his career, but he sure is worthy of a place in Roeder’s tinkering team. Predominately purchased as our answer to the much needed “target man” upfront, Sibierski also graced us with his presence in attacking midfield. Fantastic!! (or not). In short, not good enough in any position! And another bunch of money wasted….

 

LM: Jamie Cureton. Ok, this one is probably my favourite! Jamie lad found himself on the left wing a few times whilst Roeder was in charge, with often proper alternatives ignored. I’m not sure why Roeder put him here, maybe it was his blistering pace, Ronaldo esque dribbling abilities, and Beckham style crosses. Ah! I think I get it now….

 

CF: Gary Doherty: Ok I couldn’t resist this one. Surely every manager knows that Gary’s days as a hot shot striker are past him?  To be fair though, The Doc started out as a striker, so if anyone can think of a better player for this position then I’d love to know!

 

CF: Darel Russell: I think this crazy decision is up there with the Huckerby and Jamie lad one. Russell was put upfront in pre-season, and probably much to his regret, scored a few goals. He has recently said that being played out of position the following season was the worst season of his career. This decision was even crazier as we had a proper striker in Arturo Lupoli warming the bench. Lupoli left the club a frustrated man in Feb 2009 after scoring 5 goals during his spell, leaving people like myself to wonder how many he’d have got if he actually started the majority of his games instead of coming on as a sub. Take a bow Roeder!

 

 

So here we have it…..

 

-----------------------Lewis------------------------

------------------------------------------------------

Fozzy (c)-------Drury-----Clingan-------Lappin

------------------------------------------------------

Huckerby-----Sibierski----Gibbs------Cureton

------------------------------------------------------

---------------Russell-------Doherty-------------

 

Is it any wonder that the team was a total mess when Gunn took charge and we got relegated?

 

I hope everyone is grateful we have Paul Lambert now! ;)

[/quote]

Having had the misfortune watching him play I''d say mostly on his back. 

[hardley 0]

In fairness to Roeder do not forget that the man underwent surgery for a brain tumor. How well do you think some of you Roeder critics could function if it had happened to you. Maybe the City Directors should have more astute when making the appointment

[king canary 7,605]

[quote user="Evil Monkey"]Great post this, really sums up the mystery of Roeder.  Like many, I believed he was the brush needed to sweep away the dead wood (though I never saw him as a long-term prospect) but was proved utterly wrong...Wasn''t Doherty''s evening as a holding midfielder also under Roeder, or was that the equally clueless Grant?At least if we did one for Worthy''s players, it would just be every single striker at the club playing at right wing....[/quote]That was an awful day we tried to play 4-3-3 with Hughes as the left wing forward, Doc holding and I think Brown upfront on his own. Jamie Ashdown got sent off as well I think.

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,431]

Brilliant Josh. And who could forget the admission on Troy Archibald-Henville when Rodent admitted he had never seen him play but had gone on the advice of Spurs who said they thought "he was ready" for the Championship.

Another fine afternoons work for th eLoan Ranger, before locking his office door at Colney and settling down in front of the racing.

[Huddy 0]

Henville was Good, but Lupoli better...

 his reasoning for not playing Arturo Lupoli was "he''s not big enough", suggesting, that miraculously he''d actually shrunk since Roeder signed him ona season long loan 3 months earlier!

[RustysRevenge 0]

[quote user="Josh"]

Every now and again, a team has to change and often players get played out of position in a football team. But for our ex manager, Glenn Victor Roeder, this could often be a weekly occurrence. I remember I would wait with baited breath for the weekly team sheet and see what crazy team selections he had come up with next. So I have decided to compile a team of his greatest hits, players played in crazy positions which surely no other manager would try, or just plain crazy decisions full stop. This is mostly from memory, so if you don’t agree with any of them feel free to correct me, or add in some of your own suggestions. I am sure there are some crackers I have missed! So here goes….

 

GK - Joe Lewis – Well surely even Roeder wouldn’t be dumb enough to play an outfield player as a goalkeeper (well, he would have been licking his lips if he saw Cody McDonald’s goalkeeping performance against Sunderland, so you never know!). So I have given this to Joe Lewis, purely on the basis he sold a highly promising goalkeeping prospect to Peterborough for 400k. Weeks later Lewis was called up to the England squad by Fabio Capello. Clearly Joe Lewis is good enough to be in the England squad but not good enough for Norwich City. I guess I missed your tenure as England manager Mr Roeder, jolly good judgement!

 

RB – Mark Fotheringham (C) - I didn’t know whether to give this to Doherty or Russell, but Fozzy was without doubt our greatest ever player and captain and could even play at right back. I just wish Roeder played him at centre forward, he would have easily have scored over 20 a season with his incredible talents and we wouldn’t be where we are now. Shame Glenn didn’t spot that one!

 

CB – Adam Drury – Admittedly injuries and suspensions were a factor in our Adam getting moved to CB, but the move still surprised many. Had he ever played here before? Probably not. Would his height be an issue? Maybe. Still, Glenn the tinkerer put him there. Perhaps the Loan Ranger could have had adequate cover for the CB birth waiting in the wings. He had a whole summer to do so. Troy Archibald-Henville was loaned in and I guess was the intended “cover”, but he was deemed not ready to play, which begs the question if Roeder actually watched any of his “loan stars” before he acquired them. We paid Henville his wages, we had players like James Henry and Omar Koroma picking up wages and hardly playing during his tenure, and I dread to think what Antoine “the god” Sibierski was earning. Yet we had to play our Adam at CB. Ok, these crises do happen at football clubs, but we were wasting so much money on other non playing players, leaving CB exposed during a relegation scrap, fantastic Mr Roeder!

 

CB – Sammy Clingan – I love this one. I remember Roeder saying something along the lines of “someone has impressed me there in training.” Referring to our ever occurring CB shortage and need for someone to cover there. It just had to be Sammy Clingan, our midfield kingpin! Ok, he did ok there, but again why the hell didn’t we have adequate cover in the first place? Yet again I can’t help but blame Roeder for getting us in this mess in the first place. We had to put our best midfielder at CB, whilst leaving captain Fozzy to pull the strings in midfield in his absence. Oh glory days!

 

LB – Simon Lappin – Ok I’m not really sure what to do with the left back birth. Maybe someone could give me a better suggestion. Did Fatty Patty play there? Possibly. But I am going to give this to poor old Simon Lappin. I’m not 100% sure if Lappin was played his unfavoured position during his short playing time under Roeder, but I think he deserves a place in the tinkering 11 due to the disgraceful way Roeder expelled him from the team. It has since been shown by Gunn and Lambert that he is a more than adequate player when played correctly! Another fantastic managerial example by Roeder.

 

RM – Darren Huckerby – This is definitely one of my favourites! Quite possibly our best player from the last 20 years, Darren Huckerby, couldn’t get a game under Roeder, and if he did, it was on the RIGHT WING! A clearly established skilful left winger was being left out of the team in favour of another Roeder “I like to play players out of position” masterstroke in playing left back Ryan Bertrand on the left wing. To be fair to Bertrand he did a pretty good job there, but to leave Huckerby out, or put him on the right wing, was in my mind total insanity! Roeder subsequently failed to renew Huckerby’s contract, leaving many City fans bewildered.

 

CM – Kieran Gibbs – Another Roeder masterstroke. I can just imagine the phone call to Arsene Wenger……

 

Roeder: “Hey Arsene me old buddy! God, we are such great friends aren’t we (lick lick lick), I love to tell people about our close relationship! It makes me look like a REAL football manager! Anyhow, I was wondering if you could help, have you got any spare centre midfielders?”

 

Wenger: “(ffs not this guy again!) Ahem, no Glenn, all I have is this left back Kieran Gibbs, he’s a good prospect but he could do with some playing time.”

 

Roeder: “Ah rubbish, that’s no use to me, I already have Drury, Camara and Bertrand! And I have plans to covert up and coming youngster Declan Rudd to that position too. Ummm, don’t suppose he can actually play CM?”

 

Wenger: “I don’t know, he’s a left back! But he’s good at passing the ball…”

 

Roeder: “PERFECT!!!!!!! Just what I’m looking for! Send him over…!”

 

I’m not sure I need to expand on this much further! Roeder showed his fantastic managerial skills by playing future Arsenal left back and England prospect Kieran Gibbs out of position. Enough said….!

 

AM: Antoine Sibierski. I’m not really sure what this guys actual position is, I know he has played here before in his career, but he sure is worthy of a place in Roeder’s tinkering team. Predominately purchased as our answer to the much needed “target man” upfront, Sibierski also graced us with his presence in attacking midfield. Fantastic!! (or not). In short, not good enough in any position! And another bunch of money wasted….

 

LM: Jamie Cureton. Ok, this one is probably my favourite! Jamie lad found himself on the left wing a few times whilst Roeder was in charge, with often proper alternatives ignored. I’m not sure why Roeder put him here, maybe it was his blistering pace, Ronaldo esque dribbling abilities, and Beckham style crosses. Ah! I think I get it now….

 

CF: Gary Doherty: Ok I couldn’t resist this one. Surely every manager knows that Gary’s days as a hot shot striker are past him?  To be fair though, The Doc started out as a striker, so if anyone can think of a better player for this position then I’d love to know!

 

CF: Darel Russell: I think this crazy decision is up there with the Huckerby and Jamie lad one. Russell was put upfront in pre-season, and probably much to his regret, scored a few goals. He has recently said that being played out of position the following season was the worst season of his career. This decision was even crazier as we had a proper striker in Arturo Lupoli warming the bench. Lupoli left the club a frustrated man in Feb 2009 after scoring 5 goals during his spell, leaving people like myself to wonder how many he’d have got if he actually started the majority of his games instead of coming on as a sub. Take a bow Roeder!

 

 

So here we have it…..

 

-----------------------Lewis------------------------

------------------------------------------------------

Fozzy (c)-------Drury-----Clingan-------Lappin

------------------------------------------------------

Huckerby-----Sibierski----Gibbs------Cureton

------------------------------------------------------

---------------Russell-------Doherty-------------

 

Is it any wonder that the team was a total mess when Gunn took charge and we got relegated?

 

I hope everyone is grateful we have Paul Lambert now! ;)

[/quote]

Seeing the strikers you listed above I take it you''ve forgotten Reading away last season when we had Rusty & Matty Patty up front together.  Surely that''s the strangest attacking combination of anyone''s managerial career.

[Romantic 0]

Lovely post Josh. God it awakened some frustrations though!