Was pretty happy we signed him. Played very well in the world cup and a tough tackling box-to-box midfielder was exactly what we needed.But he had a poor debut at City and never really got another chance after that. With thre cost cutting we were never going to spend 4m on an unproven midfielder.Him, Makoun and Delph should've been our new midfield to replace Petrov but for one reason or another, it dosen't look like to me it's going to happen for the other two either here.
I'm in the minority then, I thought he was awful against Man City and couldn't string a pass from 2 yards.
I love how people feel they can make a full judgement on a player from four appearances of which I think one was a cameo, another against Blackpool when we had only ten men on account of Makoun being sent off, a game where we played a shadow side and one other I've forgotten.
Quote from: SoccerHQ on March 07, 2012, 06:20:00 PMWas pretty happy we signed him. Played very well in the world cup and a tough tackling box-to-box midfielder was exactly what we needed.But he had a poor debut at City and never really got another chance after that. With thre cost cutting we were never going to spend 4m on an unproven midfielder.Him, Makoun and Delph should've been our new midfield to replace Petrov but for one reason or another, it dosen't look like to me it's going to happen for the other two either here.I thought he looked really good in the WC,played well against England which isnt saying much i suppose. Needed more time to bed in,he couldve adapted in time,just like the Jean the second. It could all be ifs and buts,truth is though,weve been struggling all season in midfield and these two could have helped.
You don't necessarily need pace to play CM in England. Barry has never been overly blessed in that department. But Bradley did look lightening slow, and didn't have enough quality on the ball to compensate for it. I accept he only had a limited time with us, but things like pace and technique can usually be clocked fairly quickly.
Quote from: TheZogman on March 07, 2012, 07:13:01 PMI love how people feel they can make a full judgement on a player from four appearances of which I think one was a cameo, another against Blackpool when we had only ten men on account of Makoun being sent off, a game where we played a shadow side and one other I've forgotten.Indeed. He played less than 20 mins at Blackpool after Makoun went off, the Man City cup debacle, 10 minutes at the Emirates and a couple of minutes against the dippers last match of the season. He just about managed 100 minutes in a Villa shirt. Which apparently is enough for some on here to write him off. It really is a joke. Meanwhile months or years into their Villa careera Zog needs more time, as does Ireland. And Bannan. And Albrighton. And Fonz etc.
Quote from: KevinGage on March 07, 2012, 10:07:14 PMYou don't necessarily need pace to play CM in England. Barry has never been overly blessed in that department. But Bradley did look lightening slow, and didn't have enough quality on the ball to compensate for it. I accept he only had a limited time with us, but things like pace and technique can usually be clocked fairly quickly. Except he was really unfit, and his technique was proven from a couple of years previously of very good performances. I believe it was unfair to write him off.
Quote from: Rip Van Bentfletch on March 07, 2012, 03:45:13 PMI'm in the minority then, I thought he was awful against Man City and couldn't string a pass from 2 yards.He didn't impress me either.
Quote from: Legion on March 07, 2012, 07:31:31 PMQuote from: Rip Van Bentfletch on March 07, 2012, 03:45:13 PMI'm in the minority then, I thought he was awful against Man City and couldn't string a pass from 2 yards.He didn't impress me either.Until reading this thread, I'd completely forgotten he played for us. Not sure whether that's a reflection on my memory or his contribution to the cause.
Quote from: Monty on March 07, 2012, 10:12:27 PMQuote from: KevinGage on March 07, 2012, 10:07:14 PMYou don't necessarily need pace to play CM in England. Barry has never been overly blessed in that department. But Bradley did look lightening slow, and didn't have enough quality on the ball to compensate for it. I accept he only had a limited time with us, but things like pace and technique can usually be clocked fairly quickly. Except he was really unfit, and his technique was proven from a couple of years previously of very good performances. I believe it was unfair to write him off.He played for Monchengladbach and Heerenveen before he came to us, so probably fair to say he was one of the better players at struggling or small clubs. Also, he was such an asset and his technique was so good that even a team like Monchengladbach decided to let him leave on loan, despite battling relegation at the time. Being unfit might mean that the quality of his performance would dip after 50/60 minutes. But he looked like he was running through treacle and misplacing passes all over the shop from the get go. This was even into March/ April, and he joined us in January. So it's not exactly as if we threw him in at the deep end, after months out of the game.