Clearly you claim Coutts gave up, and to some degree he may have done. As did Freeman when faced with a manager who had no idea what he was doing day in day out. Asking you to perform a roll that doesn’t suit your talents, to work as second fiddle to Dean fucking Hammond, and surrounded by players lacking his ability it’s little wonder, especially with the atmosphere and pressure that came with it.
Sharp scored goals. Whoever we had up front would have scored goals, maybe more than 20, but probably less. But goals would have been scored nonetheless.
But stating Sharp single handedly kept us up scoring 20 goals is bollocks. We don’t owe him an immense gratitude for doing that job, he was getting paid to do it for a start. He had a good season, led the line superbly and showed he cared.
But be real, he was brought in at a big cost, and if he had chosen not to come we may well have found someone else that matched his efforts over the season. It’s all conjecture.
What cannot be denied is this.
Wilders team struggled at first. Several players came in both new and old, and Coutts being one was transformed under a manager getting the best of his talent. He has grown in confidence, matured, gained an unprecedented fitness for the first time here and this has been the difference to him being a hell of a player. He has shown why Clough wanted him in the first place. As I often say, games are won and lost in midfield and so he is instrumental in the rise of Wilders team, and now completely committed to this club.
We have managed so far without Sharp, without Moore, Without Freeman for a few games. It will be interesting to see the effect missing Coutts and eventually fleck will have on the sides results and style of play.
I’m betting that Wilder won’t try and replace Coutts, we have no other player like him. He may just change the system and style for one game....that might be the clever thing to do.
