TyldesleyLatic

Swindon – I’m not saying that Latics/Bobby/whoever didn’t have to work hard to get Moses & McCarthy to come to Latics. What I’m saying is that to compare bringing those 2 to the club compared to bringing someone like Stephen Ireland (especially when he commands the sort of wages that he’s on at Villa) is somewhat way off the mark

On the subject of McCarthy however, he does seem to have a very sensible head on his shoulders. From what I’ve read he spent time on trial at Liverpool when he was 16 & they offered a deal for him to join them which Hamilton accepted but which he turned down because he realised that he would be better off playing 1st team football at Hamilton than youth/reserve team football at Liverpool for 4 or 5 years. So looked at in that respect, yes it was a bit of a coup. When looked at in terms of when his club said “reet its time to move on”, the reality is that only Wolves & ourselves put in bids for him so its not that much of a coup

Whether or not Moses is regarded as one of “Britain’s most promising talents” is a matter of debate when even the manager who signs him was not prepared to give him a start the best part of 12 months after signing him (nor does he start every game for the England U21’s). However even if you do regard him as one of the most promising talents in the country it doesn’t escape the fact that Latics were the only top flight team to bid for him – other clubs no doubt had a look at him & decided he wasn’t ready or worth the gamble & Bobby thought otherwise. That may well go on to prove to be an absolute masterstroke on Bobby’s part but only time will tell.

Yes both players could have said they would wait for better offers to come along but both players were pretty much told they were going to be sold in the respective transfer windows, both players wanted to move at that time & Latics were the best offer on the table at that time

Completely different kettle of fish to if Ireland is on the market

Having seen the incident in slow mo on sky sports new this morning, like LMB I’m at a loss to see how Kirkland managed to get knocked out from that coming together

he does eventually knock his head into Elmander’s chest but by this time the impact should have been absorbed by the clash of the legs, midrift etc..

That isn’t to say though that somet happened with his noggin that the TV cameras didn’t pick up

No we won’t!!! ;)

didn’t he pick up a bit of a lengthy injury last week?

[/i][/size]Cause and effect, maybe?

Ian Rush couldn’t settle in Turin and was gash. Or was he gash anyway, didn’t get picked and therefore couldn’t settle?

Mark Hughes wasn’t a particular success at Barcelona. Was it because he was suddenlty rubbish? Or struggled to motivate himself because he couldn’t settle?

Gary Lineker did very well abroad. But he loved the lifestyle.

On Boselli, I never said he had spat his dummy out, which implies some level of discontent with his playing lot. I just said he may not have settled very well into the area. Beech Hill ain’t Buenos Aires, after all.[/quote]

I get what you’re saying Griff but I personally think that its players who aren’t a success/don’t get picked who struggle to adapt
I know Ian Rush came out with the classic line of “I couldn’t settle – it was like living in a foreign country” but I don’t think his type of game suited the man marking style of Italian football at the time. Therefore he struggled for form from the off, got dropped & life suddenly doesn’t look quite as good when you aint hero worshipped like he was at Liverpool & he starts pining for home
Same with Mark Hughes at Barcelona i.e. I don’t think his style suited the spanish game. He certainly had no trouble settling when he spent time on loan at Bayern Munich where there was a much much more British style of football in Germany. he got picked regularly, started scoring goals, was worshipped by the Bayern fans & enjoyed his time there

The only player i can recall who has been getting picked, playing well & scoring but is rumoured to be unsettled is Carlos Tevez but these rumours have only really surfaced in the last 12 months at City where he is rumoured not to like the manager

i don’t think there are many, if any, Latics fans who think that we have a god given right to be challenging for a european spot – financial constraints or not

I also don’t think that there are many Latics fans who don’t accept that sooner or later we will get relegated

Just speaking from a personal prespective – I fall into both categories yet I want Martinez out because he is hopelessly out of his depth & has a complete inability to learn from his mistakes
I can accept that if you shop in the bargain basement for most of your signings you may well uncover a few gems but most of the time what you’ll discover is sub-standard & is in the bargain basment coz no-one else wanted it
If & when Latics get relegated I want it to be inspite of the players & managers doing their damnedest to keep us up not on the stubborness & pig headedness of a manager who insists that the only way to play football is his way & who will persist in making the same mistakes over & over again in order to try & prove it

What I struggle with is the “so what, it had to happen sometime” attitude of some of those who defend/support him – that to me isn’t about seeing the bigger picture

i think its more a case of the system he is being asked to play in – The Argentinian league may not be played at the pace the premier league is but it can be very physical
At times (very brief ones) I think he’s looked like he could be a decent player but its painfully obvious that he doesn’t have the attributes to play as a lone striker. That should be clear to anyone who has even a smidgin of footballing knowledge

But it wasn’t to Martinez when he made his stand over the player & who he ultimately spent a massive chunk of Latics very small transfer budget on him