ledley

Give Ledley the captaincy, he deserves it being the only true City lad in the team, i think he'll stay then

No..... hes not a leader, infact hes over rated in my opinion

He wont be a city player much longer

he's better than f*cking hudson, worst player this season

Liverpool fan, poweder puff ! BYE BYE

he's better than f*cking hudson, worst player this season

Oh yes, and Hudson is on more wages than he was last season no wonder ledleys not happy

i want to see anthony gerrard captain next season!

i want to see anthony gerrard captain next season!

I am with you on this one

hudson is not good enough for a promotion chasing team,perhaps why he was in a relegated team last year,so was marshall,ledley had a shit season by his own standards probably down 2 injury,if the dream of bellamy signing dont happen then gerrard should be captain

Bothroyd for me.

Bellamy for captaincy!

You all slate Hudson, yes he is by the best player on our team, but look at leicster away in the play offs, he saved our arses big time there, and not for the 1st time this season either.

Darren Pratley for captain for me!!

Darren Pratley for captain for me!!

He's not here yet saddles

Give Ledley the captaincy, he deserves it being the only true City lad in the team, i think he'll stay then

overated. Sooner he decides which big money move he is going to make the better for all concerned. If he wanted to play for us then he would £12,000 plus add ons is surely enough. If he came out and said I would like to stay but want to play at the highest level to test myself then fair play.

If he goes to Premiership he will be a bit part player and be back in Championship on loan or permanantly in 18 months. He is not better than Koumas 3/4 years ago and he hardly got a kick at Wigan.

If he stays I'd sign a couple of decent central midfield players and play Joe in his best position out wide.

i want to see anthony gerrard captain next season!

I am with you on this one

Me too!

i want to see anthony gerrard captain next season!

I am with you on this one

Me too!

chopa ?

ledley is leaving,last meeting and offer was not accepted,this will be confirmed by the club soon,my source is spot on almost everytime.hope he goes to a club where we can have a few quid

ledley is leaving,last meeting and offer was not accepted,this will be confirmed by the club soon,my source is spot on almost everytime.hope he goes to a club where we can have a few quid

Well we cant say the Club didnt try their best and personally I cant blame Joe either, he has to look after NO 1.

ledley is leaving,last meeting and offer was not accepted,this will be confirmed by the club soon,my source is spot on almost everytime.hope he goes to a club where we can have a few quid

Well we cant say the Club didnt try their best and personally I cant blame Joe either, he has to look after NO 1.

no to be fair the club tried,he can see the dollar signs also the chance to play in the prem is appealing as it would be to anyone,if i was a local lad i would of rather taken my club to the prem,or at least tried to 1 last season due to the takeover etc,my mate said he def going and no agreement could be made.only time will tell

I can see him going to Stoke City. The main reason is that his girlfriend is pregnant and I cant see them wanting to be too far from Cardiff which would rule out AS Roma and Glasgow Celtic.

You all slate Hudson, yes he is by the best player on our team, but look at leicster away in the play offs, he saved our arses big time there, and not for the 1st time this season either.

Re-arrange this well known word - Locks Boll!

Hudson is a decent centre half and was certainly MOM against Leicester away, but a captain he is not!

If he was to attack the ball and allow somebody else to cover behind him, then we'd have a chance of doing okay!

As he's supposed to be the captain however and likes dropping off (Usually too Feckin deep), he's crap!

You all slate Hudson, yes he is by the best player on our team, but look at leicster away in the play offs, he saved our arses big time there, and not for the 1st time this season either.

Re-arrange this well known word - Locks Boll!

Hudson is a decent centre half and was certainly MOM against Leicester away, but a captain he is not!

If he was to attack the ball and allow somebody else to cover behind him, then we'd have a chance of doing okay!

As he's supposed to be the captain however and likes dropping off (Usually too Feckin deep), he's crap!

He does that in order to read the game and it works well with Gerrard as Gerrard wants to attack everything. Maybe if Gerrard gets a bit more experience then they might swap - its a shame as Hudson is a big guy who when attacking the ball is pretty good in the air. Its definately something they will have to work on. I'm not a critic of Hudson by any means and i beleive he's given some unfair grief by a large section of our fans, but even i would have to say he isn't the best player in our squad !
Its worth considering though that the other players DO seem to respect him (note the reactions at both Leicester games, he was right in the middle, and their response to him while he was injured and his response also), so its not such a bad thing he's captain. Also don't forget that the side could have fallen apart after the Sheff Wed debacle and collapse the seaosn before, and went 1 step further this season, surely he's got to take SOME of the credit for that ?

It didnt work with Blake, due to the fact that Blake hasnt got the physique for it, and they had to sway toward the end of the Leicester game.

You all slate Hudson, yes he is by the best player on our team, but look at leicster away in the play offs, he saved our arses big time there, and not for the 1st time this season either.

Re-arrange this well known word - Locks Boll!

Hudson is a decent centre half and was certainly MOM against Leicester away, but a captain he is not!

If he was to attack the ball and allow somebody else to cover behind him, then we'd have a chance of doing okay!

As he's supposed to be the captain however and likes dropping off (Usually too Feckin deep), he's crap!

He does that in order to read the game and it works well with Gerrard as Gerrard wants to attack everything. Maybe if Gerrard gets a bit more experience then they might swap - its a shame as Hudson is a big guy who when attacking the ball is pretty good in the air. Its definately something they will have to work on. I'm not a critic of Hudson by any means and i beleive he's given some unfair grief by a large section of our fans, but even i would have to say he isn't the best player in our squad !
Its worth considering though that the other players DO seem to respect him (note the reactions at both Leicester games, he was right in the middle, and their response to him while he was injured and his response also), so its not such a bad thing he's captain. Also don't forget that the side could have fallen apart after the Sheff Wed debacle and collapse the seaosn before, and went 1 step further this season, surely he's got to take SOME of the credit for that ?

It didnt work with Blake, due to the fact that Blake hasnt got the physique for it, and they had to sway toward the end of the Leicester game.

Sorry, but I canot agree with your argument here!

The best run of unbeaten games we went on, was whilst Hudson was out injured, when Gerrard played alongside Gyepes or more recently alongside Darcy!

We looked far more compact and surer of ourselves, whilst Hudson was out of the team!

Gerrard attacked the ball more often than not and Gyepes or Darcy covered behind (IMHO Darcy did this job better than Gyepes and provided us with a lot more pace in that area as well).

Hudson would only be good as Club Captain in my eyes, much the same as Pursey was, before we allowed him to move on!

I don't want to keep on repeating myself, as I said this elsewhere virtually all of last season, but if Hudson captains the side at the heart of our defence next season and manages to go the whole of the season uninjured or suspended, then next year will mirror this season, only worse!

He does that in order to read the game and it works well with Gerrard as Gerrard wants to attack everything. Maybe if Gerrard gets a bit more experience then they might swap - its a shame as Hudson is a big guy who when attacking the ball is pretty good in the air. Its definately something they will have to work on. I'm not a critic of Hudson by any means and i beleive he's given some unfair grief by a large section of our fans, but even i would have to say he isn't the best player in our squad !
Its worth considering though that the other players DO seem to respect him (note the reactions at both Leicester games, he was right in the middle, and their response to him while he was injured and his response also), so its not such a bad thing he's captain. Also don't forget that the side could have fallen apart after the Sheff Wed debacle and collapse the seaosn before, and went 1 step further this season, surely he's got to take SOME of the credit for that ?

It didnt work with Blake, due to the fact that Blake hasnt got the physique for it, and they had to sway toward the end of the Leicester game.[/quote]

Sorry, but I canot agree with your argument here!

The best run of unbeaten games we went on, was whilst Hudson was out injured, when Gerrard played alongside Gyepes or more recently alongside Darcy!

We looked far more compact and surer of ourselves, whilst Hudson was out of the team!

Gerrard attacked the ball more often than not and Gyepes or Darcy covered behind (IMHO Darcy did this job better than Gyepes and provided us with a lot more pace in that area as well).

Hudson would only be good as Club Captain in my eyes, much the same as Pursey was, before we allowed him to move on!

I don't want to keep on repeating myself, as I said this elsewhere virtually all of last season, but if Hudson captains the side at the heart of our defence next season and manages to go the whole of the season uninjured or suspended, then next year will mirror this season, only worse![/quote]

After Hudson got injured (his last game was the 4-2 win vs Leicester, and we'd lost only 1 in 8 prior to that game, conceding only 8 (and 4 of them were at peterboro), we then went on to have 5 wins, 5 defeats and a draw (including the 5-1 hammerring at newcastle, 3-0 defeat at preston and Barnsley when we lost 2-0 to 2 simple over-the top balls. Gyepes then got injured and we lost again (at leicester). At this point not only did Blake (he actually played in the losses against Ipswich away and Leicester away in CD) come in, but also McPhail returned and we started keeping the ball.

So, I think that you aren't 100% with your stats there, it was only after Gyepes was suspended and Blake paired with Gerrard that things improved. But that coincided with our 1st choice Central Midfield starting again, (Ledley and McPhail), which was the same one which took us to the top and 2nd in the table earlier in the season with Hudson alongside Gerrard.


By the way, if next season mirrors this one and we get to the play-off final then I'll be well happy - as anything can happen on the day. Hopefully without 3 injured players starting for us next time - surely thats not Hudson's fault

He does that in order to read the game and it works well with Gerrard as Gerrard wants to attack everything. Maybe if Gerrard gets a bit more experience then they might swap - its a shame as Hudson is a big guy who when attacking the ball is pretty good in the air. Its definately something they will have to work on. I'm not a critic of Hudson by any means and i beleive he's given some unfair grief by a large section of our fans, but even i would have to say he isn't the best player in our squad !
Its worth considering though that the other players DO seem to respect him (note the reactions at both Leicester games, he was right in the middle, and their response to him while he was injured and his response also), so its not such a bad thing he's captain. Also don't forget that the side could have fallen apart after the Sheff Wed debacle and collapse the seaosn before, and went 1 step further this season, surely he's got to take SOME of the credit for that ?

It didnt work with Blake, due to the fact that Blake hasnt got the physique for it, and they had to sway toward the end of the Leicester game.

Sorry, but I canot agree with your argument here!

The best run of unbeaten games we went on, was whilst Hudson was out injured, when Gerrard played alongside Gyepes or more recently alongside Darcy!

We looked far more compact and surer of ourselves, whilst Hudson was out of the team!

Gerrard attacked the ball more often than not and Gyepes or Darcy covered behind (IMHO Darcy did this job better than Gyepes and provided us with a lot more pace in that area as well).

Hudson would only be good as Club Captain in my eyes, much the same as Pursey was, before we allowed him to move on!

I don't want to keep on repeating myself, as I said this elsewhere virtually all of last season, but if Hudson captains the side at the heart of our defence next season and manages to go the whole of the season uninjured or suspended, then next year will mirror this season, only worse![/quote]

After Hudson got injured (his last game was the 4-2 win vs Leicester, and we'd lost only 1 in 8 prior to that game, conceding only 8 (and 4 of them were at peterboro), we then went on to have 5 wins, 5 defeats and a draw (including the 5-1 hammerring at newcastle, 3-0 defeat at preston and Barnsley when we lost 2-0 to 2 simple over-the top balls. Gyepes then got injured and we lost again (at leicester). At this point not only did Blake (he actually played in the losses against Ipswich away and Leicester away in CD) come in, but also McPhail returned and we started keeping the ball.

So, I think that you aren't 100% with your stats there, it was only after Gyepes was suspended and Blake paired with Gerrard that things improved. But that coincided with our 1st choice Central Midfield starting again, (Ledley and McPhail), which was the same one which took us to the top and 2nd in the table earlier in the season with Hudson alongside Gerrard.


By the way, if next season mirrors this one and we get to the play-off final then I'll be well happy - as anything can happen on the day. Hopefully without 3 injured players starting for us next time - surely thats not Hudson's fault [/quote]

Well I'd be happy with another Play Off Final appearance as well, although I'm not sure about the wife or my bank manager!

To get back to the Hudson debate though (Which I suspect should be in a different thread), I've copied these stats posted elsewhere, for an impartial viewpoint. These stats show the different centre back pairings we used last season, the time they played together and the goals which were conceded during their time on the pitch together:-

Gerrard/Blake
Minutes 479
Conceded 2
Mins/Goal 240

Gyepes/Blake
Minutes 329
Conceded 3
Mins/Goal 110

Hudson/Gerrard
Minutes 2547
Conceded 31
Mins/Goal 82

Gerrard/Gyepes
Minutes 1158
Conceded 18
Mins/Goal 64

Hudson/Gyepes
Minutes 290
Conceded 5
Mins/Goal 58

Hudson/Blake
Minutes 299
Conceded 6
Mins/Goal 50

Gerrard/McNaughton
Minutes 194
Conceded 4
Mins/Goal 49

We've also had the following, but they've hardly had any time so you can't really read anything into it:

Gyepes/McNaughton
Minutes 49
Conceded 0
Mins/Goal N/A

Hudson/McNaughton
Minutes 39
Conceded 0
Mins/Goal N/A

Gyepes/Quinn
Minutes 38
Conceded 1
Mins/Goal 38

Quinn/Capaldi
Minutes 25
Conceded 0
Mins/Goal N/A

And here's some lovely stats on each individual, regardless of partnership:

Blake
Minutes 1107
Conceded 11
Mins/Goal 101

Gerrard
Minutes 4378
Conceded 55
Mins/Goal 80

Hudson
Minutes 3175
Conceded 42
Mins/Goal 76

McNaughton
Minutes 282
Conceded 4
Mins/Goal 71

Gyepes
Minutes 1864
Conceded 27
Mins/Goal 69

The stats clearly show we conceded less goals when Blake played alongside Gerrard and then alongside Gyepes. Blake's stats when he played alongside Hudson, aren't nearly as good as when he played alongside Gerrard and Gyepes. I think that this is due to the fact that Hudson lies to drop off and cover behind the defenders, when he hasn't really got the pace to do so and little by the way of organisational skills, as the Captain, he should have!

We won only 11 of the 29 games where Hudson started, we drew 6 of those and lost 12. That's a loss to games ratio of 41% where Hudson started us.

I know he can't control any of our injuries and he was not directly responsible for any of the goals we conceded at Wembley, however, he was supposed to be the Captain and what leadership qualities do you think he showed, when Blackpool scored their first goal and their second as well?

The stats clearly show we conceded less goals when Blake played alongside Gerrard and then alongside Gyepes. Blake's stats when he played alongside Hudson, aren't nearly as good as when he played alongside Gerrard and Gyepes. I think that this is due to the fact that Hudson lies to drop off and cover behind the defenders, when he hasn't really got the pace to do so and little by the way of organisational skills, as the Captain, he should have!

We won only 11 of the 29 games where Hudson started, we drew 6 of those and lost 12. That's a loss to games ratio of 41% where Hudson started us.

I know he can't control any of our injuries and he was not directly responsible for any of the goals we conceded at Wembley, however, he was supposed to be the Captain and what leadership qualities do you think he showed, when Blackpool scored their first goal and their second as well? [/quote]

I asked a couple of questions of those stats when they first came out which were never answered. Its also pertinant to ask who the full backs were and midfield.



As for the first goal at Wembley - it was a 25-yard free kick and the 2nd one was dropped by the keeper.

No blame for anyone for the first one - as good as any goal scored at the new Wembley and the 2nd goal is the keepers fault - surel he hasnt called as he clattered into McNaughton (or has Mc Naughton ignored him), either way, I'm sure Hudson can be faulted for some things over the season, but not those 2 goals even as captain. Did anyone blame Kavenagh for Stoke's 2 goals ?

As for the win draw/loss stats I've just checked my programme -they arent accurate.

With Hudson starting W13 D7 L11. Including Cup and Play-Offs.

Don't know where the other poster got 12 losses from ?


I agree with you, though on the fact that Blake and Hudson don't work as a partnership becasue of the dropping off thing, but don't see that as an issue as Blake isn't going to be a centre half long term due to his height.

Irrepsective of the stats (which I cant be bothered to check as its late) on minutes/goal I felt that Hudson and Gerrard was the best partnership over the season, bearing in mind also that Gerrard and Blake only played a handful of matches together as a pairing wheras Hudson and Gerrard played 25-30.

The stats clearly show we conceded less goals when Blake played alongside Gerrard and then alongside Gyepes. Blake's stats when he played alongside Hudson, aren't nearly as good as when he played alongside Gerrard and Gyepes. I think that this is due to the fact that Hudson lies to drop off and cover behind the defenders, when he hasn't really got the pace to do so and little by the way of organisational skills, as the Captain, he should have!

We won only 11 of the 29 games where Hudson started, we drew 6 of those and lost 12. That's a loss to games ratio of 41% where Hudson started us.

I know he can't control any of our injuries and he was not directly responsible for any of the goals we conceded at Wembley, however, he was supposed to be the Captain and what leadership qualities do you think he showed, when Blackpool scored their first goal and their second as well?

I asked a couple of questions of those stats when they first came out which were never answered. Its also pertinant to ask who the full backs were and midfield.



As for the first goal at Wembley - it was a 25-yard free kick and the 2nd one was dropped by the keeper.

No blame for anyone for the first one - as good as any goal scored at the new Wembley and the 2nd goal is the keepers fault - surel he hasnt called as he clattered into McNaughton (or has Mc Naughton ignored him), either way, I'm sure Hudson can be faulted for some things over the season, but not those 2 goals even as captain. Did anyone blame Kavenagh for Stoke's 2 goals ?

As for the win draw/loss stats I've just checked my programme -they arent accurate.

With Hudson starting W13 D7 L11. Including Cup and Play-Offs.

Don't know where the other poster got 12 losses from ?


I agree with you, though on the fact that Blake and Hudson don't work as a partnership becasue of the dropping off thing, but don't see that as an issue as Blake isn't going to be a centre half long term due to his height.

Irrepsective of the stats (which I cant be bothered to check as its late) on minutes/goal I felt that Hudson and Gerrard was the best partnership over the season, bearing in mind also that Gerrard and Blake only played a handful of matches together as a pairing wheras Hudson and Gerrard played 25-30.[/quote]

Can't argue with the majority of your comeback, as I'd already identified that Gerrard and Blake hadn't player together so long as Hudson and Gerrard, but I couldn't be @rsed to type anymore at the time.

However, whilst I suspect that you'll end up being right about Blake not getting any more first choice game time at Centre Back, I don't think that his height is such an issue, as a lot of people make out.

Remember Gary Mabbutt at Spurs playing at Centre Back, he was 5' 10" tall, won 16 England caps, whilst also being diabetic.

DJ himself used to play at Centre Back, he's only a short house and should also be able to see the merit of playing somebody like Darcy as a sweeper type Centre Back, especially as Darcy has pace, but can also win the ball in the air when needed to as well. I'd personally be happy with Gerrard and Darcy starting alongside each other next season, but I hope we bring in another CB, with a bit more height than Darcy and with a bit more pace than "Speedy!"