Most liked posts in thread: Clayton Donaldson

If he had any significant potential he'd still be at Barnsley. The people there who know a million times more than me and you about football and young players in particular as they do have a good youth setup, decided they could afford to part with him. Why would you sell a young prospect to a local and later divisional rival if he was any good?

Finally, name me one young player at city who we've developed over a 3 year period into a first team footballer successfully. Yupp, never. We don't have the infrastructure, we don't have the coaches and we don't have the money. But here's the caveat. Yet.

Further up the pyramid with proper investment then its probably our best way to survive. But as we dont have poshes non league contacts or charltons academy for example we'd be building from scratch. This means its gonna cost a shitload of money that I simply dont think is viable for us until we are in the championship.

 

And yet they signed Miller? And before that, took the young winger from us that had the double-barrelled name? All clubs make some poor decisions at some point, whether that’s giving a contract to a ‘talent’ or binning off one because they didn’t think a player would make it.

The point you make about developing players is all well and good. There are no examples as you say. But name me the last players we signed and retained for 3yrs.

 

Or the 3rd option of giving them a 1yr deal and then for whatever reason, not extending it and allowing them to walk away because we didn’t see them develop enough in 12mths.

 

McBurnie was a different case. Think he was highly rated in the Scottish youth set up and in the under 21's while with us and not really playing so us giving him a 3 year contract makes sense. The network of coaches working with him will improve him and he was worth a punt by Swansea.

Not every youth player is the same. We have had Danny Devine for so long and he's utter shi@e. We offered Patrick a 3 year deal and he's an utter disappointment.

Bradford City have had players like Wisdom that have left before kicking a ball for us but a lot does depend on if they can brake into their national youth sides for them to get a move.

We can't be throwing long term contact offers about.

 

Managers need to prove themselves at a club. I don't mind sacking for managers.

What I do mind is getting the wrong managers and it was crystal clear that Collins and Hopkin were wrong for the club.

 

Hopkin was right man wrong time imo. The problem with sacking managers like that is it throws any kind of long term thinking out the window. We did it and its completely cost us our identity as a club and gotten us relegated.

 

I stand corrected on that but i think both my points still stand as valid.

 

Hopkin was without doubt the wrong manager in my opinion, After the disaster of Collins and with the club in a mess it needed an older experienced manager who may not have been the future as regards progressing the club over the next couple of seasons but would have enough knowledge and experience to pull the club round in the right direction and avoid relegation and start to rebuild the club.

 

I see the T&A are making foolish errors again. Apparently the 35yr old, left us 17yrs ago as a 16yr old. What happened to the other couple of yrs of his career? Or is he really only 33, and why he believes he still has another 3-4yrs left?

 

Don’t know dude can’t read it. Need to pay for such great writing!

 

Didnt pick up on that, but he did leave in 2000 as a 16 year old

 

Think they have to get permission from their previous club?

 

Hope he can end this goal drought soon, starting to get worried.

 

It is pre-season ... give him a chance!

 

Great seeing him leave, poor excuse for a footballer, missed far too many sitters.. good riddance!!

 

While a tad cutting I dont see alot wrong with this. Pretty much pinched a living for two seasons. Bradford born so folk give him a pass but was never interested in coming here during his pomp. We just got averageness, injuries, and a little purple patch towards the end of his contract.....

Cant use his age to defend him because he only came here for that very reason. If he was 26 we had no chance.

Same folk fuming at this were probably the ones who booed James Hanson.

 

It's football, managers get pelters for bringing players on to play 5 minutes slightly out of position.

Clayton playing in an attacking midfield was conceptually ridiculous compared to Wood playing left wing back (where he was awful).

Why would you try it in fairness?

 

He might end up at Harrogate to replace Stead

 

Can't fault his effort, but physically he wasn't up to playing regularly anymore and Stuart flogged him this season.

Ready for retirement I think.

 

Cougar/Waynus, is that you?