All 5 goals From Reading can not make my mind up between Doyle, Marcus, Sidwell and Shorey But because of his quiet unassuming style I would give it to Shorey.
Ps for those that criticise Sidwell just think about the games this season when he has been absolutely superb and 'won' them on his own. Villa at home and Everton away come to mind.
For all your drunken ramblings and hero worship of Steve Sidwell, in these 2 paragraphs you highlight my main bone of contention regarding our over rated midfielder.
If fans like you can find 3 alternative Reading heroes, just think what those of us who don't think the sun shines out of Sidwell's backside can come up with
Whilst I wouldn't take issue with the others you mention, I can add several who have either, equaled or, bettered Sidwell's contribution to this campaign, not forgetting that many of these players could make similar claims regarding last season, when the greedy one was nowhere in site when it came to voting for player of the season.
In my view,
Marcus has been an unsung hero for much of the season and, given the amount of stick he's had for a few poor kicks, it beggars belief how little Sidwell has had for countless shots that wouldn't have looked out of place in League 2
Sonko was superb until he finally believed he was superman and got himself injured for the rest of the season and beyond.
Lita has made the kind of top flight impact that Sidwell can only dream about, by scoring enough goals to establish himself in the England under 21's.
Doyle has gone one better by cementing a place in the full Irish side, in a season that saw him nominated for young player of the season.
Murty has not only been missed more this season than Sidwell has since the day he arrived, but has also been the teams main driving force far more than Sidwell and his fan club would have us believe.
I've criticized
Shorey in the past for going through the motions at times, with his place all but guaranteed since the day he first broke into the side all those years ago, but this campaign has, in my view, been his best by a distance. He's responded to playing against some of the best players in the world. I still don't believe he is good enough to be an England regular but the fact he isn't even in the frame is a disgrace.
Little started the season returning from injury and is now injured again. However, I think it's fair to say that in between he provided the sort of quality that our strikers are now missing, having delivered crosses that previously earned us points at places like Stamford Bridge
Stephen Hunt couldn't dislodge Convey last season but has now made idiots of his detractors by forcing his way into the Irish squad with his performances for RFC.
I don't think
Ivar quite warrants the rave reviews he's getting from certain quarters, having had a number of flat performances when returning from international duty, but I still see his contribution has being equal to Sidwell's.
Unless this club is prepared to pay similar, or better, wages to the above mentioned heroes, who have all made vital contributions to making this season one that surpassed all all our wildest dreams, I can't wait for the day that Steve Sidwell leaves and we can all move on.
He will get his over inflated wage elsewhere but it will be at a club that currently has less chance of winning any silverware than ourselves and, frankly, I think we're better off without this type of player.
Keeping the rest of this fantastic squad is
FAR more important than pandering to one over-rated midfielder who's biggest accolade this season has been to committ the most fouls in the Premiership
Bye bye, Siddy, close the door behind you.
