Amazing Bradford City goals graph over last 20 years

Everyone should be open to criticism. The fact that Chris Wilder signed him to seal their promotion says a lot. My gripe is that Hanson continually comes up in a negative light. He was one of the players that stood out in a roller coaster time of a ride of the club. I just don't always think he gets the respect he deserves to be honest. It will come with time, no doubt.

 

Again though, Wilder signing him means literally nothing. Alex Ferguson signed Djemba Djemba and other poor players but he also signed plenty of great ones. You can't put them all in the same bracket and attach invisible attributes to them just because they were all signed by Man United.

 

It's strange, sometimes I feel the angst against him somewhat bizarre for what he achieved during his time at City. But then I also agree with your view point and sometimes any criticism of Hanson was and still is to some extent met with ridicule. At best he was a physical league 1 striker, quite why Wilder felt the need for him will always remain a mystery to me.

 

Tax dodge? EU grant?

 

Hanson made the most of the attributes he had. I don't really understand what more people expected him to do. Always felt that he was more respected by our opponents than some of our supporters. Helped to give us all some special times though.

 

That’s not what I said.

If Hanson was as bad as his critics made out he wouldnt have moved to another L1 side and certainly not THE best team in the league that year.

They were already strong but bringing in a unit like him enabled them to rotate and play direct when needed. He gave them another option.

That they turned to Hanson to play that role shows you he was respected in the game and L1 quality.

They, like us, knew he wouldnt cut it in the Champ but it didnt matter. It was job done. For a small fee, get up, coin in the increased revenues in the Champ and his fee pales into insignificance.

Upon leaving City, if he was a carthorse crock as many suggested, he’d have moved to League Two, if not non league, given some said he was a pub player.

Of course, his critics went way OTT. The reality was he was a decent L1 target man at the time.

 

Ah, so you're using 15 games as your example rather than the next 43 goalless appearances?

It's as bad as park pretending that we're averaging 2 goals a game purely on a 4 game extract.

 

It isnt that he shouldn’t be criticised because the Blades bought him.

His critics said he was League Two and pub league quality. Total bollocks, as his transfer to the Champions elect showed.

His critics either a) know nothing and are thick in ignoring facts presented to them or b) went OTT in their criticisms of him.

Suspect its more the latter.

 

Not a valid point I’m afraid.

At the point he left City you need to assess his ability. Was he good enough to stay at City, move to a better club or to a worse club?

The market would tell you how good he was and his destination club validates the argument.

He moved upwards from City, bagging us a fee, and boosting his own wages.

What happened after Sheff Utd matters not. We are discussing what fans said about him in his final months at City. That was that he wasn’t good enough for League one anymore in the year he departed. That was bollocks.

Even when he left the Blades he got another few years at a League 1 club, rubbishing claims he was L2/pub league player!

 

I remember the same argument with Park when Joe Colbeck got a move, for a fee, to a club in a higher division.

He wasn't good enough either and sure enough fell down the leagues just as I said he would.

History proved me right then and history also proved me right that Hanson was past his shelf life for city.

 

What was your assessment of him? Legend, top L1 target man? L2 class? Pub league?

The time was right for him to move on but he moved up from us, not down, and held his own in L1 after he left. He had the last laugh at the fans who got stuck in. Still don’t understand it now. He delivered on the big stage in big games.....not like Ashley ward, andy cooke, Conlon etc - just battering rams

 

My assessment was that he wasn't delivering for us anymore.

I was right, the sentimental majority like you, seemingly refused to move on.

 

Incorrect. He was a legend for us but I said at the time the time was right for him to move on.

 

So you're championing his move to a club higher up the league than us as a sign he was the best target man in the division and at the same time saying we were right to get shut?

How does that work?

 

Never said he was best target man in the division.

I said those that said he was League 2 quality, pub league quality or a carthorse etc were all wrong. The facts prove that those critics were wrong - he played in League One (dunno if he got a game in the champ) after leaving City for several years. How can he be L2 class or worse when the market shows he had L1 takers!

As I said at the time, for all he’d been brilliant for us, the time had come for him to move on. Things can get stale after a while and the criticism he got was ridiculous. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t good enough for the club or the division anymore. Clearly he was.

But a move suited all parties. Hanson bettered his wages and provided security for his young family. City got a transfer fee. Blades got another striker to rotate in their promotion push and City got chance to take a new approach with Wyke coming in and offering good link up play and goals.

Cba arguing any further on the matter now though tbh as its like being stuck in a time warp.

Bore-yer out etc is more pertinent now!