All I said was organisational skills!! We probably have the most disorganised defence in the league, someone's got to get hold of it or we are going down. Shackell was the last player of note to hold the same position, there's the comparison. It's nothing to do with emotion or loyalty, it's about defending the goal. Shackell could organise the back four, the records are there. Sorry if it's not what folk want to hear, but I'm not about to re-write history to please the crowd.
All I really know about Cranie is that he has spent nearly all his playing career at teams that are at the bottom end of the Championship, at Coventry he finished 19th, 18th and 23rd with them, with us he finished again at the arse end of this division. Yes I know he started out with Southampton and then Pompey, but never really cut it with them did he ?If he really is that good why has he spent all his career so low down this league? I think he is a decent player, but not nearly as good as made out to be. Then again if he was so good he would not be at Barnsley would he? That is the crux of the problem, we get the players we can afford and they are not the fantastic players we all would love to have, so we have to take the players that are not quite top quality !
There's this myth that he was some kind of immense centre half. I don't subscribe to it. We finished 17th on 56 points in his only season here with us. We still had a -11 goal difference, conceded 66 goals. Bobby Hassell played 39 times that season, Stephen Foster 31. I'd suggest they were influential. We also played two holding midfielders, it was negative football, especially once Adam Hammill left. He was our top scorer with 8 goals. I believe the division now is a lot stronger than it was then. However, I concede Mr C has a point regarding Shackell's ability to marshall his back four etc. He was a right arrogant, bossy lovely person. So he certainly has a presence. He's captained most of his clubs, so he's got summat about him. But I still don't believe he's any better than Cranie. They're probably on a par, in my opinion (others are available). Their respective careers aren't too dissimilar either. As for Stupendous Man, I don't understand your remark regarding O'Brien. I changed my little tagline to "Jim's only fan" the other day, because all I read was criticism of him, disparaging remarks. Ok, he's not Hignett or owt. He's not even Butterfield or Paddy. But he's not the useless twát often suggested on here by a lot of folk. From what I heard, and from what I've been told, Jim changed the game today. I know my ****. Except when I don't.
Could've sworn we still had a disorganised defence, conceding plenty of goals, when Shackell was here, too. But then again, I'm probably wrong.
no slight intended pal, just a joke I don't rate him like but everyone is entitled to an opinion and I know plenty more who do like him. If he did change the game today then lovely, I don't care who does it as long as someone does.
I don't think he's playing for himself or doing anything against the club however I think the fact that it says a lot that he has gone from being one of our worse defenders to our best. Flitcroft getting shut of Foster and ruining Bobby hassell was criminal
He only played a supporting role in the Hassell saga but did play him, maybees not as much as we would have liked. Hill seemed to want to take his fans favourite mantle of him immediately, slagging him off in training in a jovial? way.
We desperately need Bobby back in the side for his organising and leadership. We look at our most solid with him in it.
The problem I had with Shackell is that it always seemed to be everyone else's fault but his. Also, (I can't be arsed to bring up the statistics) he was also part of a defence that leaked goals at an alarming rate.
Chris Ogrady didn't say he was premiership quality he just said it was his dream and aspiration to play there, what's wrong with that if he never tries to better himself he will never get any better.
I'm with you all the way on that, pal. He's renowned for it. The same "I'm waving my arms about so it doesn't look my fault" syndrome that Perkins suffered from.