Players who were useless for us to begin with but became key players for us

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1973Blade

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Reading comments by some on here saying certain players in our team will come good in the end, got me thinking of when this happened to our players in the past.
The best example I can think of is Paul Coutts. When Adkins was manager, he was one the main concerns during that season. He seemed slow, lazy and uninterested. Yet he became a legend, and dominated games for us under Wilder, being one of the main reasons for our success in League One and the Championship.
 

Basham, coutts, Freeman, Sharp, Evans and Lundstram just in recent years.
 
Chris Basham.

Let's not be all revisionist here, nobody was singing his praises under Clough or Adkins, in fact he was quite the liability most often.
It even took me until 2017 to see his true worth.

Basham is the one I was going to mention. Utter liability under Clough and Adkins especially when being played in midfield.

The role he has in our squad now suits him perfectly.
 
Basham is the one I was going to mention. Utter liability under Clough and Adkins especially when being played in midfield.

The role he has in our squad now suits him perfectly.

It's true, and it took ages to find his best position and there was a lot of moving around back and forth.
For a long time, the best anyone could say about him was, "good squad player" which is always a dubious label.
When Wilder's system eventually took shape he was completely transformed.
 
Basham is the one I was going to mention. Utter liability under Clough and Adkins especially when being played in midfield.

The role he has in our squad now suits him perfectly.
Bash is the stuff of legend. I hate it when he plays in midfield too...but...Leeds away in promotion season.
He wasn’t exactly great then, but he scored an iconic, season-defining winner. He can repeat that any old time he likes...
 
I can remember my dad commenting about Tony Currie when he first arrived at the Lane. "Never make a footballer, he's always on his arse"
Wasn't often wrong my dad, but that wasn't his greatest appraisal, and it didn't take him long to change his mind.
 
Echoing the shouts for Bash in this thread. He's got a mistake in him still (all players have to be fair) but he is hands down my favourite player of the Wilder era. Come all the way up with us, still one of the first names on the team sheet, and in his proper position looks in no way out of place among the elite.

I will be very, VERY sad when the time comes for him to leave. To me he epitomises the Wilder era.
 

1. Chris Basham. When he came from Blackpool, I saw home playing in a pre season friendly and he looked outstandingly shit. A real 'what the fuck have you signed?' signing. I however, still like him as a midfielder, because he has a sweet touch and goes past opposition players

2. K Freeman. Until his goal spree (usually ghosting into the box to provide the 'where the fuck has he come from?' extra man, he was just a makeweight

3. Paul Coutts. Saw him playing in a five man midfield at Crawley and he looked fucking useless. Mind you, the rest of the team were freshly snipped bobbar too, with whisps of steam coming off it, on a cold winter morning, in a gennel behind sombody's house, in Walkley.

pommpey
 
Weren't people hounding out JOC when he first arrived? Turned out ok....
I don’t remember him being hounded, as he proved himself early enough.

But the initial appraisal was that he was a bit crap.
 
I can remember my dad commenting about Tony Currie when he first arrived at the Lane. "Never make a footballer, he's always on his arse"
Wasn't often wrong my dad, but that wasn't his greatest appraisal, and it didn't take him long to change his mind.
Well TC was only 18/19 when he came and in the first few games he looked slower than the my Granny but boy he blossomed into one of the best we ever had.
 
Well TC was only 18/19 when he came and in the first few games he looked slower than the my Granny but boy he blossomed into one of the best we ever had.

It was his deceptive 'turn of speed' whilst not appearing to be making much effort which did it for me. He'd drop his shoulder and merely by wrongfooting an opponent be past him and heading forward with other player from their team panicking because there was clear space in front of him. Eat up forty yards like that in the centre third and you are in range for a pop on goal or a killer pass. It is something we are so lacking today, and summat I think Berge is capable of, if other players help him with their off the ball running.

pommpey
 
Used to go to the reserve games yonks ago. We had signed a new keeper as backup. Faced three shots that he failed to stop, he looked awful, me and the missus looked at each other and said hope we never need him!!
His name, Allan Kelly. What a legend.
 
It was his deceptive 'turn of speed' whilst not appearing to be making much effort which did it for me. He'd drop his shoulder and merely by wrongfooting an opponent be past him and heading forward with other player from their team panicking because there was clear space in front of him. Eat up forty yards like that in the centre third and you are in range for a pop on goal or a killer pass. It is something we are so lacking today, and summat I think Berge is capable of, if other players help him with their off the ball running.

pommpey
I hope you are right about Berge, I haven't seen enough of him to convince me of his potential but lets get him fit and see how he does.
 
Very few ever hit the ground running and we all love to go “he’s no better than what we’ve got”. Steve Basham has to be the top one, but 90% of the team that took us up the divisions improved from a less than great start. Egan and McGoldrick might be the only two that didn’t have at least 3-4 ropey games to begin.
 
Very few ever hit the ground running and we all love to go “he’s no better than what we’ve got”. Steve Basham has to be the top one, but 90% of the team that took us up the divisions improved from a less than great start. Egan and McGoldrick might be the only two that didn’t have at least 3-4 ropey games to begin.

Steve was shit. His brother improved though.

:)

pommpey
 
Rhian Brewster, oh hang on, I should really read the whole opening title!!
 
Does in my mind count. If so,in my mind Bruce Dyer was a complete waste of snap when we had Horsfield and Akinbyi in squad. But then we did pigs 2 v1 and was a hero for the following 3 games of my memory is working rate.
 

Mitch Ward was useless in midfield until Kendall turned him into an international class fullback.

Ched Evans couldn't hit Shipperley's arse with a howitzer until Danny Wilson came along.
 

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