Colin the King wrote:I commented on this briefly in the ratings thread- I've rated Garrido since he signed for us. In Sven's season, he was one of our most consistent performers until the post-Christmas collapse. Footballs fans always look for scapegoats when things go wrong so rather than recognising that the whole team was falling apart at the seams, people chose to pick out Garrido and a couple of others and berate them at every opportunity- the reality is he was a 21 year-old kid coming in to an unfamiliar country. He was bound to have off days. But what about his performances against the rags, Arsenal, Villa and others in that season? Surely they proved he's a perfectly capable left back.
I never understood Hughes' downright refusal to play him- there were times when he seemed to anything BUT give Gaz playing time. Richards at left back at Bolton and Middlesbrough last November, which we both lost, and then Ball or Sylvinho preferred at times. Baffling. As Slim said, Mancini has obviously recognised he can offer us something different- whatever about his lack of pace or supposed tackling weaknesses, you can't fault him technically- he's a wonderful passer and great on set pieces- his corners and crosses from wide areas were almost always inch perfect.
Look, he's not Paulo Maldini but I think he's got a part to play- be it at left back or in midfield- and there are certainly others I'd be getting rid of before him. Don't forget to factor in that he only cost £1million. A bargain I'd say given his versatility and, on the evidence of training, desire to better himself.
Good post, I would have made a lot of similar points if you hadn't got there first.
Garrido was regarded by us as a potential signing of the season. He was very good. It went downhill and he had a few bad games but I think everyone accepts that he didn't have an attitude problem, he worked really hard and was ready when he finally got another chance. He'd probably been waiting too long. Our previous manager (nod to KK) had a funny attitude towards relying on Bridge and completely excluding Ball and Garrido. Better player but there seemed to be more to it (to me).
Javier reminds me a lot of Riera. Had an effective loan here but was called out for being slow and we didn't push too hard to sign him permanently. Since went on to get a commendable number of caps for Spain and a big move to Liverpool (where's he's a significant player). Whilst I don't expect him to be 1st XI, I do expect him him to have a more important role for the team.
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