Steven Craig
It's reported in Scottish media today that he is heading for Brechin "after his player coach role with Wycombe Wanderers fell through". Interesting if that was being considered - GA certainly rated him as a positive asset in the dressing room and it's odds on that player's wouldn't argue too much with his instructions! Always thought his team ethos, workrate and drawing defenders out of position was first class, but the goal touch was missing - but then that's a problem affecting all our strikers at the moment. Here's hoping for goals to return tomorrow.
0
Comments
Very interesting. I would certainly have welcomed him back
Agreed, Craigee added some steel to the squad, must have been all that Iron Brew.
I like Craig, and was sad to see him go. I'm not sure he'd add much to the current team though. As always, it would depend on his wages.
The last thing we need right now is another striker who doesn't score enough goals,haven't we got enough of those already?
A lot of what we did last season was about the squad being more than the sum of parts and Craig was that sort of player.
Hopefully he will return as I've got a box of Stevie says BONUS t-shirts to shift
No way do we need him back, very average player and NOT a goal scorer as long as he has a hole in is ****.
Boat?
Shoe.............
Bucket
Training bib ?
Payslip - a bonus shaped hole?
Billy Bonus will never live those unguarded remarks to the BFP down!
Like a few I heard a whisper he might be on his way back.
I'm glad I don't seem to be alone in seemingly letting a decent run of form over a handful of games at the end of last season, somehow override months of not doing very much!
The idea that bringing him in might be good for morale alone makes me chuckle in this time of minimal budgets. Was it Danny Foster (memory fails me, even on his first name!) who was meant to be "good for banter"
@ReadingMarginalista
He richly deserved the ire he got for those comments. Who the bloody hell talks about "bonuses" which most take as being something you get for very good performance, when we were rock bottom of the league and playing rubbish!
Let alone them being the "only thing that matters", with the club on the brink of collapse.
bringbackcraig
why?
Haven't we got enough non scoring forwards as it is?
I wouldn't be against a return for Craig. It's not like we've upgraded the striking options since he left. I enjoyed watching him play and to mark him down for a lack of goals forgets how many strikers we've had who've hit the 'required heights' in recent years. We're not renowned for 20 goal strikers
I don't see it being such a big issue. He was only using a voice for the whole squad in those comments. If Ingram had said them would he have had the same backlash? Hopefully you realise I'm not a billy bullshitter so I will tell you fact he was not breaking ranks by what he said. Back to the post in general, I would love him back in that sort of coaching capacity.
Also (for the 100th) time, it wasn't a bonus as in s reward for doing well. The paycwss structured so that they received a very small basic wage and received "bonuses" for things such as playing.
Essentially the issue was they had not been paid. Bit of an issue when you've got kids to feed and stuff.
It beggars belief that two years on some fans are still stupid enough to get wound up by this. Like M3G said, good on him for standing up for his mates
It'd probably cheer Sammy Wood up, who has clearly been off it this year, but I just don't see the benefit, even on £250 a week.
Holloway would be further marginalised, and doesn't seem to be off, so it's more problems than it solves really.
The striker situation has really got to a critical stage now. Thompson won't score many, Hayes is getting less reliable in fitness, and was never the biggest out and out scorer anyway. Ugwu I can't see scoring any.
Bit worring really.
When Ainsworth says out front 2 have 100 goals each. Yes, but that's probably over nearly 20 years combined football!
Can't see him ever returning as a coach.
As @M3G and @eric_plant say, it's blindingly obvious that Craig had been sanctioned by Ainsworth to make the comments, in a necessary bid to put pressure on the board and help team morale. I've often wondered how much a role that incident played in Woodward stepping down as chairman soon after. @ReadingMarginalista - weren't you on the board at the time? Instead on sniping at Craig, perhaps you could shed some light on what was really happening?
To me the most intriguing thing about this rumour is the idea that Ainsworth is in the market for a new coach. I wonder what deficiencies he is looking to address and whether he's got any other options lined up instead of Craig.
If he were earning a seven figure salary it might be different. But who on earth can blame a league 2 player for speaking out that he hadn't been paid in accordance with his contract?!??
As for on the field attributes, if we could get rid of Holloway and bring back Craig I would be very pleased.
@aloysius What board was I meant to be on? I think you may be confusing me with someone else entirely different!
My understanding was that the bonuses were performance related, though if it's more mundane things like appearance and bench top-ups to a meagre basic wage, then that puts that in a different light. The timing of Craig's statements when the club was struggling against relegation and the failure to clarify that the bonuses weren't performance ones made it sound like he was indifferent to the plight of the club and unaware of just how much we were underperforming. Not quite the savvy you'd want from the shop steward of your union.
With regards to his contribution on the field, I never really saw him as being particularly effectual at this level until the tremendous shifts he put in at the end of last season whilst niggled by injuries. I could understand the decision to release him, though I understand his season has been plagued by injuries so far, it might be that he's not fit enough at the moment to do the hard yards pressing high up the pitch like he did last season.
I would rather have Craig than a miserable, lazy and limited ability Holloway any day.
Sorry @ReadingMarginalista - I was under the impression from the discussion about the trust elections a few months back that you were the guy who had resigned from the board because you didn't like the direction the club was moving in but had then placed yourself back up for election. Appreciate it's a different board but one assumes the Trust does have some understanding of the operational activity and financial constraints of the WWFC board.
Not sure who this Holloway you're talking about is, but the one that plays for Wycombe certainly doesn't have limited ability (especially compared to the likes of Steven Craig) and I would argue isn't lazy - just that the way he moves and his demeanour are rather languid, so may give off the impression that he isn't trying as hard as some others.
I'll give you the miserable though, as he doesn't appear to be a happy bunny at the moment. Whether that's because he's frustrated that this season hasn't turned out the way he hoped - like those of us hoping that he'd be terrorising defences and being our brightest star - or because he was hoping for a 'big move', or because he's got stuff going on in his personal life, nobody knows.
What I do know though is that he has the ability and potential - and I for one hope he can sort out whatever's going on behind the scenes and fight his way to being one of the first names on the team sheet.
As for Steven Craig, I'm sure that the last few weeks of last season have given some people a rather rose-tinted memory of his overall contribution. I'm not sure that before that there was a great deal to get excited about that would have led to people clamouring for his return this season.
Whilst I partly accept what you say Fidget, Morgan had ability (and even you would probably agree more ability than Holloway), but does he really fit in with the style and ethos of a Ainsworth team?