Howard Now Confirmed

[Royalee]

TB...you started it. Although I retract my post and apologise for what appears to have been a misplaced retort which was intended as a throwaway comment. I will not retract any of my other posts though as they are absolutely correct and I possess the ability to judge players on performance unlike some.

[Terminal Boardom]

TB...you started it. Although I retract my post and apologise for what appears to have been a misplaced retort which was intended as a throwaway comment. I will not retract any of my other posts though as they are absolutely correct and I possess the ability to judge players on performance unlike some.

And I unreservedly apologise as well. There is no excuse or justification.

But have you checked those pics out???

[Pseud O'Nym]

I possess the ability to judge players on performance

But not managers.

[Royalee]

TB...you started it. Although I retract my post and apologise for what appears to have been a misplaced retort which was intended as a throwaway comment. I will not retract any of my other posts though as they are absolutely correct and I possess the ability to judge players on performance unlike some.

And I unreservedly apologise as well. There is no excuse or justification.

But have you checked those pics out???

Yes - I assumed it would be something along those lines and had seen the thread in AE, very good.

[Royalee]

I possess the ability to judge players on performance

But not managers.

Time will tell as it did with Coppell.

[Terminal Boardom]

TB...you started it. Although I retract my post and apologise for what appears to have been a misplaced retort which was intended as a throwaway comment. I will not retract any of my other posts though as they are absolutely correct and I possess the ability to judge players on performance unlike some.

And I unreservedly apologise as well. There is no excuse or justification.

But have you checked those pics out???

Yes - I assumed it would be something along those lines and had seen the thread in AE, very good.

But you are still wrong about Harps amongst other things.

[Royalee]

Sidwell carried him - the real proof will be this season when I believe he will struggle in a Sheffield United team based around the very opposite game of Harper. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him without a club in May.

[Terminal Boardom]

Like Sidwell has played brilliantly since he left. The problem with the two of them was that they complimented each other perfectly. One without the other just does not work. And has been said on a thousand threads not a million miles for here, Sidwell has not been adequately replaced.

[Royalee]

Sidwell was superb if you saw him play against Fulham last week, he was arguably Villa's best player - he just hasn't had much of a chance given he was behind the best central midfield in the world at Chelsea and England's third best midfielder last season.

Whilst I agree that Sidwell hasn't been properly replaced, Harper still underperformed big time once he left to a large extent which can't be excused purely because the former had left. Gunnarsson, Cisse and Karacan are better in the holding role, Karacan, Tabb, Davies and Sigurdsson are better in the box-to-box role and you can add Marek and Howard to the second list when talking about attacking midfield. Harper was of absolutely no use anymore and showed just how poor he was against Barnsley in the cup last week - he was utterly atrocious. He lacks the physical attributes to defend properly and the mental attributes to attack to a decent Championship standard consistently.

[Millsy]

Sidders definitely carried Harps.

Infact the whole team carried Harps.

He can only play well in a team that's playing well.

He's never been able to lift a badly performing team.

I'm really looking forward to Howard.

[Quagmire]

Sidwell carried him - the real proof will be this season when I believe he will struggle in a Sheffield United team based around the very opposite game of Harper. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him without a club in May.

I would love to know how many points we would have got the year we got promoted if Sidwell wasn't having to "carry" Harper - not to mention if we had a manager like Rodgers in charge rather than Coppell. 138?

Laughable to say we were carrying a player in 45 of the 46 games that we played that season considering we managed 106 points.

[Royalee]

Sidwell carried him - the real proof will be this season when I believe he will struggle in a Sheffield United team based around the very opposite game of Harper. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him without a club in May.

I would love to know how many points we would have got the year we got promoted if Sidwell wasn't having to "carry" Harper - not to mention if we had a manager like Rodgers in charge rather than Coppell. 138?

Laughable to say we were carrying a player in 45 of the 46 games that we played that season considering we managed 106 points.

We'd have assembled a million points, hth.

[Millsy]

Sidwell carried him - the real proof will be this season when I believe he will struggle in a Sheffield United team based around the very opposite game of Harper. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him without a club in May.

I would love to know how many points we would have got the year we got promoted if Sidwell wasn't having to "carry" Harper - not to mention if we had a manager like Rodgers in charge rather than Coppell. 138?

Laughable to say we were carrying a player in 45 of the 46 games that we played that season considering we managed 106 points.

Let's leave the Coppell out of this: even Royalee isn't bringing him into it so let's not encourage it please.

I do definitely agree with Royalee about Sidders carrying Harps though. The way I see it Sidders didn't "carry" Harps in the sense that Harps was rubbish and Sidders eclipsed that. It's more a case of Harps being a genuinely good player... but only if he had good players around him.

So playing Harps and Sidders was a good combination, and no we mightn't have managed the English record of 106 points without either of them, but the point is Harps could only blossom with a player like Sidders beside him. Since Sidders went he's notbeen able to shine. Hence, Sidders effectively "carried" him. As I say that's not to ay that Harps is rubbish: just that he's not the man help us battle relegation this season

[Royalee]

So you are not at all entertaining the possibility that Harper has in fact carried a shit midfield for the last few seasons??

Not when he's been the worst midfielder we've had, no.

[Millsy]

So you are not at all entertaining the possibility that Harper has in fact carried a shit midfield for the last few seasons??

It's possible I guess. I just don't think he was ever capable of carrying a team: just someone who could shine when supported by strong players.

Mine is only an opinion, which might well be wrong at the end of the day.

[Royalee]

Consistently named in the team of the season? I suppose for those lists journalists save time by looking at teams finishing higher up and randomly pick players to fit based on if they've heard of them. I'll take my own opinion thanks - it's usually the correct one when it comes to RFC.

[leon]

So you are not at all entertaining the possibility that Harper has in fact carried a shit midfield for the last few seasons??

Not when he's been the worst midfielder we've had, no.

jesus - you like your scapegoats don't you? What would you have made of Bullivant's quite frankly sub-sub-football side? You know in the past?

[winchester_royal]

Royalee is very, very good at what he does.

[leon]

Royalee is very, very good at what he does.

what be Brendan Rogers catamite?

[winchester_royal]

No to both.

He's an excellent WUM, end of. Anyone who takes his comments on Coppell and Harper seriously is just being reeled in.