Good players who City have 'kicked out'

Leigh Palin,
Charlie Wyke

 

Loved Leigh Palin. My brother was his assigned YTS lad at the time and cleaned his boots etc... he was also the biggest tipper at the club come Christmas bonus time, which my brother loved obviously!!!

 

I think because of our situation at the moment some city fans have a misty view of some of the players mentioned in this thread.

 

Billy Clarke.

 

What I wouldn’t give for the return of the ‘midfield general’ Darren Morgan

 

Almost certain that we wouldn't be in this position if we had held on to Luke Hendrie.

 

Fecking legend that lad!

 

Nicky Law and Tim Dieng are two that would improve the current side.

 

Id have Henry or the OBs over dieng anyway. And Id have Ball or Payne over law. Not a chance they would improve this squad, let alone team

 

I don't think Billy Topp was given enough time. We were waiting for him longer than he actually played.

 

Yet the team they played in were successful and this one is defiantly not.

Tim Dieng would 100% start in this team. Granted Payne is better than Law but he would still get a game. Payne is the only player we have that would have improved the side of the last 2/3 years.

 

I initially wanted to agree with Charlie Wyke because we got a fee and he went to a better team, but we were touting him left, right and centre. We couldn't wait to sell, and fans were babbing themselves about not recouping his fee and reinvesting it.

I didn't want us to do that at the time, I'd rather have had 12 good months from a good forward, but, err...

... saving grace for people supporting that sale is his injury record since.

Maybe he would have been equally injury prone at City.

 

Digressing a bit, but another former ‘legend’ from the same team as Morgan was on the cup draw tonight - Alan Dowson now managing Woking (apologies if I’ve missed this and it’s been mentioned in the cup thread).

 

Yes fair point. I think he would have been equally injury prone here but that is down to our failure to properly look after players in terms of fitness and injuries over a long period of time. I suspect Sunderland are currently feeling the effects of that.

In the end there is a context to us letting players go. Sometimes it is that we have failed to accomodate them properly in the team. Palin and Goodman are examples. They end up being luxuries to carry. Goodman needed to be in a team alongside a trad 20 goal a season striker to share the load. Other times it is because we dont have the money to pay wages or impatience. Sometimes it is because we did not look after them well enough.

I think the view in the summer was that if the players we bought were able to perform as they should on paper, atay injury free and we had brought Doyle in to complement Wyke, not to replace him then we coild quote "rip the division up"
Lack of a fitness coach meant players were out of puff on day one and the team was depleted by injuries. Lack of a fit Wyke alongside Doyle means he hasnt been able to do his job. Result instrad of ripping up the league, we have frequently been ripped up

 

Simon Francis.

 

Actually, I think it was the administration that forced us to sell Francis. Was a quality player in the making back then, and here I am now watching him play as captain for a top ten Premiership side.

 

Josh Morris

 

Oh dear...

 

Jon McLaughlin, Best keeper outside of the premier league and we gave him away, Not replaced going from keeper to keeper trying to find a good one

 

Wasn’t the issue that he was going to be number two to Pickford so he didn’t accept the offer?