Under Rated – Paul Green
Here’s a bold shout; if Paul Green hadn’t been injured, he could have played in the Championship.
That is my firmly held belief. The Aston Villa full back had a bit of everything, a sharp tackle, an eye to get forward and a work rate that deserved so much more than it got. He joined in the January window of 2007, the one usually attributed as the beginning of the ned, but impressed in the next two seasons. He won Player of the Year, Players’ Player and Website Player of the Year awards during Jackson’s first season, then played 36 games in his only full season as manager.
After that, it all went wrong for Green. He managed just 16 games in 2009/10 and just 20 in 2010/11. His injury hell only made our plight worse, he cut a forlorn figure on the sidelines as a clueless group of players fought hard to relegate us. It wasn’t at all fitting that his final Imps game came on the fateful day against Aldershot, in fact it was a travesty such a gifted player suffered as badly as he did.
On the plus side he was part of the Tamworth team that beat us 4-0 and ended Tilson’s reign as manager. Every cloud and all that.
Personally i hate oakes.Pulled a sicky but was fine walking around Burton Waters alittle while later.
I agree with you on all these, except on Patulea. Yes, he missed as many chances as he scored, but he still managed to be our top scorer with 11 goals in his 31 league appearances (14 of which he was only a sub). The best strikers usually miss as many as they score, but at least they get into the right place to do so. Interestingly, we took 47 points from the 31 games he played, and only 12 from the 15 games he didn’t play.
Hmm
Players I’d forgotten, some remembered with a shudder, but take issue with some of the ratings. Aaron Brown? Meh, average at best. Agree Rob Burch was a good keeper, let down by a deteriorating defence under Sutton. Paul Green (Schoey signing) was a good and versatile player blighted by injury.
Kovacs I liked, no McAuley but he ‘laid it on the line’ as they say.
Patulea ‘missed as many as he scored’ but that was John Ward’s modus operandi, the point is they both had the instinctive awareness to get in position to miss, dust themselves down and bury the next one, two very similar players. Patulea’s problem wasn’t lack of talent, it was prima donna tendencies.
Jacko was ‘a good manager’ when Neil McDonald was his assistant. When McDonald left, it all went Pete Tong. Doesn’t take much to suss out why.
No ‘Turbo’ Robinson, he of the open goal miss at Stockport??