Quote Originally Posted by Eric the Half a Bee View Post
We'll agree to disagree on Blackpool. Our tactics that day hindered us by not having a plan B for Bothroyd. In the same way as we'll never know what would have happened against Portsmouth had Ramsey started, we'll never know what would have happened had Jones not thought Kelvin Etuhu was a target man. What is certain is that Etuhu was dreadful in the position he was asked to play.

How many first team players did Jones leave Malky? Imagine had we kept Bothroyd and Chopra (though by the end of that season Chopra was a busted flush).

Anyway, I can't be arsed debating all of this yet again. We have different views. I disagree with yours.
Hey, you’re the one bringing up previous managers and asking the questions, Eric.

If you don’t want to debate it fine, I’m happy to agree to disagree, but why ask questions and then say you can’t be arsed to debate it?

I’m going to answer the questions anyway.

He left him 8 senior pros I believe, 6 or 7 of whom were regular first team starters, certainly the back bone of defence and midfield, and the other a reserve keeper, although calling Tom Heaton a reserve is harsh. Sadly Tan didn’t give Jones the funds to buy players that he gave Malky and he had to DJ therefore had to rely on a lot of loans.

3 of these 8 players - Marshall, Hudson and Whitts - were some of the best players in the championship in their position. Therefore I don’t buy into this poor Malky he only had 8 players. In some ways that’s a new managers dream. Most of those 8 were starters and he can add his players to the squad. A lot of the crap and dead wood that a new manager inevitably wants to get rid of had been removed from the club. He was given adequate funds to bring his own players in, be it through transfers or signing on fee by signing up decent players who had let their contracts run down.

It would have been nice if Bothroyd or Chopra were still at the club. Well, Bothroyd maybe, I don’t think Malky would have put up with Chopras antics. That was one of DJs downfalls, gave the players too much rope to hang themselves.

Besides, Bothroyd and Chopra were both successful Jones signings that he had to wheel and deal (something he was very good at in his time here, that is undeniable) and so it was up to Malky to do the same for positions he needed to fill.