Quote Originally Posted by the other bob wilson View Post
My recollection is different to yours. I agree about his early years with the club and his time when Dave Jones was manager, but I can remember thinking that he was a real contender for best player in the Championship during Malky Mackay's first season here when he was converted into a central midfielder - in particular, he was very good in the latter rounds of our run to the League Cup Final.

Whitts was also playing to his usual standard for much of the Championship winning season, but his form fell away in the last couple of months or so of 12/13 and he was never quite the same player after that.

Still, there was an awful lot to admire in his final seasons with us. For example, I can remember a goal against Forest in Russell Slade's first home game in charge and another when we beat Brighton 4-1 which people would have been raving about if they were scored by anyone else, but, because it was Whitts, they were just accepted with the same sort of shrug of the shoulders he'd show after he scored a stunner - a true City great who, even in the most miserable games, would come up with something to get you purring with admiration.
I think we're singing from a similar hymn sheet. Agreed about his first season with Malky.

Yes, he had moments in his final seasons, but he wasn't the player we had before promotion. Those moments that we'd almost begun to expect had significantly dried up. The spark that made him stand out wasn't quite there. It was that spark that was the difference between good midfielder and legend.