H1987 wrote:
Aye, but i'm not saying it's about the fans.
Gray worked with them in training, and made decisions about their development. He let both go, thinking they weren't good enough for us. He's supposed to help develop players, but can't see obvious talent under his nose.
Yes, it's a bit of an 'I told you so' at Gray, but sod him.
Wing has started tonight for Boro by the way.
So after four days, you've decided to simply restate your argument, and ignore all the counter-points I've made. Come on, I expected more from you - you're usually one of the better posters on here.
But your argument is nonsense for a number of reasons.
1. It assumes these players were demonstrating obvious talent at the time. There is nothing to say that Wing was doing that - he was a teenage Northern League Division Two player at the time. He genuinely could have just been below the standard required. Neither you or I saw him in training, so there's no way you can say he was demonstrating "obvious" talent. That's just bullshit and you know it.
As for Edwards, well we've already established he split opinions in terms of ability, and if loan_Star is correct, Gray released him more for psychological reasons (i.e. Edwards struggled to deal with the criticism/abuse from certain supporters). In other words, there's nothing to suggest he didn't rate him as a footballer. It could simply be a recognition that things weren't working out. It happens.
So your argument that they were demonstrating obvious talent, and MG was too stupid to realise that, already doesn't hold any weight, and is simply reductionist thinking.
2. Our priority in 2013/14 (the season Edwards and Wing played for us) was promotion to NPL. This is undisputed. Given the lack of infrastructure around the club, were we able to risk letting young players make mistakes in our first team? I'd say no, and Gray would have been hammered if he'd done so.
3. You admit you're motivated by having a pop at Gray - which immediately undermines your entire argument. If it was TW who'd done this, you'd have been saying he made the correct decision, because Saint Tommy can't do any wrong in the eyes of some fans.
4. Potential is a subjective concept. One person may think someone can develop, others may think not. For instance, some Darlo fans think TW is an exciting, young, developing manager. I think he's a useless sack of chuckling hot air. So long as we can justify them, both viewpoints are valid. Without a time machine, we cannot tell who's right.
5. MG left 10 months ago. Why do you feel the need to keep bringing it back up all the time?
6. If their talent was so obvious, why didn't you say anything on here at the time? Don't hide behind the "I'm a fan, he's a coach" argument - that's just plain cowardly.
You're saying it was obvious. Something must have made you think it was obvious at the time. What was it with Wing in his brief spell here that made you think "this boy will be a star one day"?