Midfielders you never really liked?

[Cerberus Blade]

Doesn't mean they weren't decent players, but for whatever reasons, you never really appreciated them?

I raise you...



Ray Lewington.

For all his tireless running around, he never seemed to do owt. I was once asked by an ex-Blades player at the time, what I thought of Lewington. And I gave my opinion, "for all his tireless running around he never seems to do owt". And he responded, "that's what I've heard as well. He'll cover every blade of grass for you, but there's no end product with him".

Ray only stayed with us for one season. He joined us from Fulham in 1985 and went back to them in 1986. He made 36 appearances for us and scored 0 goals. But he did run around a lot, I'll give him that.

In some ways, I'm surprised I even remember him at all. It is only probably because he stood out for being so ineffective, that I do. But when we played Palace this season I recognised him immediately, stood next to Roy Hodgson in the dugouts. That deep scowling face staring right into our front living room it was. I immediately pointed at the telly and shouted, "Bloody hell! It's Ray Lewington!". Which brought a puzzled look from my kids. "He used to play for us!". And the kids said, "was he any good Dad?" - and I said, "no".

But maybe you have a different opinion? Or maybe you can think of worse examples than this?

 

[Houston_Blade]

Doyle - for some reason he’s held in high regard by some fans despite never actually putting a tackle in during his time with us and being part of the reason we spent so long in League 1. He was good at directing traffic though, I’ll give him that.

 

[Trafford]

Think it was Richardson, who stuck 2 fingers up at the kop for cheering when he was subbed?

 

[Digs blade]

Seemed to have a few that fitted the “ Lewington” “ category.

Ray McHale. Had a good career but just not with us

 

[VLYDONIMIR]

When Mam & Dad came home from the night out, if he was acting the goat with her, she used to always used to say,
"that's it now, i'm going to find Stevie Neville and make a home with him" ... she knew from all his tales that Stevie N
was a player that always riled Father LYDON nerves. You should have seen the look on her face when he came home
one night with a loose perm hairdo. Another name, Johnny Gannon - The Pantomime Horse, both ends, but at different times.

His all time favourite footballer was a midfielder, "The Maestro". Or was it a goalkeeper?

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Kevin McDonald was pants.

Went hiding every time the shit hit the fan.

 

[DPH1979]

Phil Starbuck- no particular reason why but he just used to wind me up. He never particularly seemed to do anything.

 

[metalblade]

Kevin McDonald was pants.

Went hiding every time the shit hit the fan.

I hated that money grabbing cnut

 

[benn5712]

Leon Britton.
Lee Williamson. Injured/sent off/ long term injured/returned/sent off/ owed us a performance or two/sent off/ ----ed off.

 

[Jan Age]

Rankine... close the thread now.

 

[Punk Blade]

Nick Henry and Paul Thirlwell, but I don’t think they had any redeeming qualities.

 

[CrookesBlade]

Ian Hamilton - a puzzling end of season addition to a talented squad (albeit ravaged by Charles Green). West Brom player of the year the season before, couldn’t pass water so wasn’t a playmaker but was too nesh/immobile to put a tackle in either.

Dean Hammond - no explanation required.

Mark Yeats - struggled to beat a man and no end product when he did.

Brian Howard - this signing felt like a real let down at the time. Looked like a fish out of water and never seemed to want the ball.....though in hindsight all the midfielders of the Blackwell era get something of a free pass to a certain extent.

Mikel Leighterwood - Old “legs of wood”. A championship level midfield enforcer signed to play in a bank of 5 to sneak the odd point away from home in the Prem.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

Jonathan Hunt.

 

[snb69]

Bobby Ford

 

[Bert]

 

[Sheff de party]

I know he’s popular and always put the effort in, but Monty for me.

I always want to watch players who can do things with a football that I could never do and he was just so average. Can’t fault his effort, but I’d rather pay money to watch Coutts in League One than Monty in the championship.

 

[niktheblade]

Ian Hamilton - a puzzling end of season addition to a talented squad (albeit ravaged by Charles Green). West Brom player of the year the season before, couldn’t pass water so wasn’t a playmaker but was too nesh/immobile to put a tackle in either.

Dean Hammond - no explanation required.

Mark Yeats - struggled to beat a man and no end product when he did.

Brian Howard - this signing felt like a real let down at the time. Looked like a fish out of water and never seemed to want the ball.....though in hindsight all the midfielders of the Blackwell era get something of a free pass to a certain extent.

Mikel Leighterwood - Old “legs of wood”. A championship level midfield enforcer signed to play in a bank of 5 to sneak the odd point away from home in the Prem.

I remember Ian Hamilton getting booed off after a particularly woeful performance, I think against Grimsby, he never played for us again.

He's near the top of my list for sure!

 

[benn5712]

Terry Garbett. Unfortunate chap, bigged up, thrown in but didn't pass muster. Non of it his fault.

 

[Grecian2000]

18 posts and no mention of Dennis Longhorn!
Presuming the over 50's are having a lie in. Astonishing oversight if not.

 

[Zipwire]

I never seems to get Graham Stuart. Came in on a big fee, never seemed do anything other than being neat and tidy. Was more disappointed when we moved on David Holdsworth when they both moved on the same day.

Didn’t get what all the fuss was about with Don Hutchison either

 

[Balham Blade]

Michael Doyle. I get that he was committed and that he was passionate about playing for us, I just don't think he was very good.

EDIT: except for the Cockney walk. Chapeau for that.

 

[United Aren't Back.]

Doyle - for some reason he’s held in high regard by some fans despite never actually putting a tackle in during his time with us and being part of the reason we spent so long in League 1. He was good at directing traffic though, I’ll give him that.

He was a bruiser.
Plenty fouls, tackle free otherwise.

 

[SW12 to S12 to S18]

Terry Garbett. Unfortunate chap, bigged up, thrown in but didn't pass muster. Non of it his fault.

A useless nobody, unfit to wear the Blades shirt, one of the worst.

 

[Maidenhead]

18 posts and no mention of Dennis Longhorn!
Presuming the over 50's are having a lie in. Astonishing oversight if not.

I'm over 50 and I can confirm that Longhorn was a class above the previously mentioned duo of Lewington and McHale.

In fact when I'd read both of their names I gave up thinking about it as it became an impossible task.

 

[Houston_Blade]

I know he’s popular and always put the effort in, but Monty for me.

I always want to watch players who can do things with a football that I could never do and he was just so average. Can’t fault his effort, but I’d rather pay money to watch Coutts in League One than Monty in the championship.

Who else do you know who without fail could miscontrol a ball so well that without fail his second touch was a 30:70 tackle every time? That's a skill in itself.

 

[SW12 to S12 to S18]

18 posts and no mention of Dennis Longhorn!
Presuming the over 50's are having a lie in. Astonishing oversight if not.

Oh hell, thanks for bringing that up, I’d just about managed to forget him after all these years and now you go and dig him up again!

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

Michael Tonge. Never understood the fuss and thought he was wildly inconsistent and only played for 10-15mins when he fancied it, yet fans seemed to think he was the second coming of Whitehouse.
Plus he ran like his knee caps had been put on backwards.

 

[Badger Blade]

Might have to jump on the Doyle bandwagon for this one, he was passionate but the same could be said for any of us if we were out there, doesn't mean we'd be any good either!

I'm at a loss as to how he ended up playing over 200 games for us, just goes to show how utterly shite we were at the time he was playing for us and was our captain despite contributing virtually nothing except for a bloody cockney walk.

I know a Notts fan who thinks the sun shines out of his arse but it shows where Michael Doyle's level really is

 

[Caveblade]

James Harper - end of thread. Came from a great Reading team and was useless. Stood in the middle waving his arms around and did fook all!

One of my all time most disliked Blades players.

 

[SteveBlade]

Stephen fucking Quinn