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Reasons to be slightly less gloomy? About 12 of them, in all fairness.

18th July 2007 By Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

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Truth be told, Stan began his trip to the seaside in a bit of a foul mood.

Hucks, Dickson and Doncaster had combined to burst the bubble of pre-season optimism that had briefly floated up above Carrow Road with the arrival of six new faces.

It was not so much the fact of Etuhu – as a player – leaving. Stan had always rated the big man's potential and thought he was beginning to show signs of that all-important consistency in the latter half of the season; on his day he looked the top boy: big, strong and quick.

But he could also leave you wondering just how such a big man could appear so invisible on a football pitch. He looked the part, but didn't always play it.

Indeed, Stan always felt the big fella' was only here because Everton passed on him and he needed to get out of Preston. He was, as with so many, just passing through on his way to playing a bit part in a Premiership relegation battle.

He didn't love us and we didn't love him – we wanted to, but there you go. Unrequited.

No, what upset Stan was the fact that he left just after Earnie (and possibly before Saf), at a time when you want to feel that you are building a rounded squad of depth rather than simply providing substitutes for others.

Hucks is upset at losing a good mate and a good player – fair enough. His 'dig' at the board was spot on, too, with Doncaster's retort that we are not a selling club being blatantly untrue and historically inaccurate.

We always have been and probably always will be.

Indeed, Stan was half expecting to return home and see the EDP telling us that 'Club sell season ticket holders to Wigan for ?2.5 million: small-print clause activated…'.

But there are times when you need to at least try – or appear – to buck the trend; to show yourself to be one step ahead of the game and have replacements in, lined up, or people in amongst the club to make the high-profile players think: 'I'll give this six more months…'

As it was, the situation – a departure, a tantrum and a bit of spin straight out of The Thick Of It (but, to Stan's mind, sadly characteristic of the Doncaster years) – was all so typical.

Not only was it one step forward-one step back, but it means we now have another gaping hole in the squad.

We are responding to events rather than initiating them. Stan just hopes Granty has a man in his sights – and the backing of the board – to act quickly in order to get a Ben Watson or another combative Etuhu-type into Colney by season's start. And then there's still the No.5?

As it was, Stan's mood was lifted somewhat by a goal-fest and a nice bag of fish and chips.

Of course, the game was mainly men against boys – luckily the boys were fitter, better and quicker than the men, although the lads did have their dad playing at centre back. This, then, was a 12-0 in which the City youngsters and wannabes took centre-stage.

The star-turn came from Chris Martin, who bagged four of them, although Otsemobor ran him close in the first-half for the 'most exciting prospect next season' award.

The new man was virtually a right-winger, linking up well with the clever Chadwick to be involved in a good proportion of the early goals.

Elsewhere, Bally Smart suggested we may have the next in the Barham-Donowa-Gordon-Fox-Eadie-Hucks line of quick and tricky wingers coming through, and Spillane looked full of it at centre-back.

Quite what this all tells us, Stan cannot say. But goals bring confidence and it was refreshing to see City hit double-figures in a friendly for the first time since Fleck-knows when.

Stan just hopes that when the serious stuff starts, and when the bigger guns are rolled out, that the bad-air caused by Dickson's departure is cleared and we'll have in place a tight-knit squad of players who are up for it and at it.

On the ball, City?


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