Do once decent players ever return to top level form..

[riffraff]

Chris Waddle at a push? Did nowt after big money move to Spurs then rejuvenated at Marseille and Sheffield Wed. Gary McAllister? Well rated coming into the game then disappeared and reappeared. Struggling to think of others.

WTF?

 

[Perseus]

Definitely a right back only and quite useful.

Quality doesn't disappear although some players are hyped up to be better than they really are/were e.g Darren Bent

 

[Niblet61]

Me.
I was brilliant, then I was shit and now I'm brilliant again.
I used to miss by feet, then I started missing by yards, last night I only missed by inches.

 

[Macho]

Anelka?

 

[Treehugger]

WTF?

I thought he did shite considering his fee. Maybe not then.

 

[Royal 8er]

Good question; I think not. SWP, Sterling, Rodwell and 'he who can't be named' are recent examples of Fallen players (all ruined by City's smash and grab money men as it happens). Richards is another. Once the mojo's gone its game over. Imho.

I recall the great kenny burns who played under clough.
Was a journeyman until clough got him and made him one of the best cb's around at the time

 

[123SunTan]

After a long period of being shit. I used to really rate Richards but can we safely assume a different manager will be able to get him back to his previous best. Are there many examples of this happening?

Defoe played exceptionally well last year in comparison to his previous years etc.

 

[bluesman]

Yes but in rare patches.

 

[fastas]

Kévin Gameiro

 

[CollingwoodFTM]

Did nowt at spurs? He was outstanding for them.

I know, I think I've dislocated my jaw it dropped so fast reading that post

I think PVA died, rose again, died, rose again about 6 times since he signed.

 

[Lord Alfred]

Defoe played exceptionally well last year in comparison to his previous years etc.

Nah, he's always been quality.....there was just a perception that he couldn't play the lone striker role.....once somebody showed faith in him (out of desperation probably) they were rewarded. He's never been shit for several seasons though like Richards has.

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

The answer is:

Yes.

And you need look no further than kaberl in second half of season last year. He finally shook off repeated injury woes that had plagued him in recent seasons and re-found top form.

That said, he is an exception rather than the rule... and Rodwell illustrates that point.

I'll be very interested to see how Rodwell responds to having Moyes as his manager again. If he can get Rodwell playing anything like he did in his Everton days, it'll be like anew signing.

 

[123SunTan]

Nah, he's always been quality.....there was just a perception that he couldn't play the lone striker role.....once somebody showed faith in him (out of desperation probably) they were rewarded. He's never been shit for several seasons though like Richards has.

True. Was commenting about relative levels not absolutes.

 

[Lord Alfred]

True. Was commenting about relative levels not absolutes.

I think this thread shows that once a player starts declining they don't often return to previous levels of form.....if we sign Richards we'll have two ex-City players picking up decent wedge without showing any real form for years.

Don't getme wrong, i'd love the Richards of a few years ago playing for us......same as id love the N'Zogbia of a few years ago.....but maybe they just aren't the players they once were.