Management owe us an explanation why Harper Played?

[Blue and White Toucan]

According to tonights EP, Harper 'felt awful on Sunday and did not train Thurs, Friday or Saturday as he was suffering with the runs'

Now I really have to ask what the hell was he doing playing!!!! Does this not really send out a message to the rest of the squad, who presumably had all trained in the 3 days before and felt fine.

I think the supporters deserve an explanation as to why a player who was not well was played in a game that we were desperate to win. In midfield you need to be at your peak every game. Harper was even sick during the game FFS!!!

What the hell is going on. Have we really lost the plot this far.

WHY? We deserve an explanation that I presume was given to Bikey, Fae, Lita, Duberry, Ivar etc etc as to why a fully fit player needing to run for 90 minutes was left out to someone who was clearly ill and should have NOT played.

Come on RFC Management explain yourselves!!!!!!

[earleyroyal]

Agree with you, doesn't say a lot about what the management think of the alternatives.

[Coppelled Streets]

You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!!

[Cookie]

You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!!

Great movie.

[martin fife]

I agree, what's wrong with Emerse Fae? Is he not deemed good enough to play even in an emergency? Just what is going on at this Club that we track a player for over a year, pay a Club record fee for him, give him a couple of games out of position and bin him off? In the meantime we play James Harper when he's ill. It beggar's belief.

[leon]

I agree, what's wrong with Emerse Fae? Is he not deemed good enough to play even in an emergency? Just what is going on at this Club that we track a player for over a year, pay a Club record fee for him, give him a couple of games out of position and bin him off? In the meantime we play James Harper when he's ill. It beggar's belief.

absolutely spot on , Fae could have probably run around like a tw8t for 90 minutes trying to tackle the opposition by doing a few star jumps, and he might not have shat himself in the process..

[Millsy]

According to tonights EP, Harper 'felt awful on Sunday and did not train Thurs, Friday or Saturday as he was suffering with the runs'

Now I really have to ask what the hell was he doing playing!!!! Does this not really send out a message to the rest of the squad, who presumably had all trained in the 3 days before and felt fine.

I think the supporters deserve an explanation as to why a player who was not well was played in a game that we were desperate to win. In midfield you need to be at your peak every game. Harper was even sick during the game FFS!!!

What the hell is going on. Have we really lost the plot this far.

WHY? We deserve an explanation that I presume was given to Bikey, Fae, Lita, Duberry, Ivar etc etc as to why a fully fit player needing to run for 90 minutes was left out to someone who was clearly ill and should have NOT played.

Come on RFC Management explain yourselves!!!!!!

Yes I think us fans have lost the plot if we were "desperate to win" against Villa. No wonder there's so much negativity here, as the current thiking amongst most fans it seems was that we were not only desperate to beat one of the best teams in the country, but that we somehow had to win it, and if we didn't then we're absolutely rubbish and are doomed for relegation. Therefore we must nitpick at every little thing that went wrong and every decision. Utterly bizarre and I still don't get it. You'd have thought we were playing Yeovil's reserve side, with the negativity and depression here for losing by 1 goal to a class side.

Apologies if this is shifting the point of your thread, so I'll address that more directly. For reasons I give above, I don't think we should be getting outraged or angry. The performance was ok. Harpers form certainly had nothing to do with the defeat. I thought he wasn't bad.

HOWEVER, I didn't know that about Harper. Very interesting. It would be nice to know why he was played. But I'm guessing it's not rocket science... i.e. he was unwell so was rested so he could play, and he did. A slightly underpar (through lack of training) Harper is clearly deemed better than a fit Gunner/Fae etc.... and that's assuming these guys would've fully fit anyway!

I suspect had we not played Harper and slotted in the much criticized Gunner into midfield there'd be probably ten times the outrage on HNA after a defeat.

I don't find it surprising and I'm certainly not bothered by it.

[Royalee]

Can they give us an explanation as to how he's been playing since August? Just a thought.

[readingtillidie]

Can they give us an explanation as to how he's been playing since August? Just a thought.

TRUE! ALL HE SEEMS TO DO IS THROW HIS HANDS AROUND AND SHOUT AT EVERYONE ELSE

[Archie's penalty]

Can they give us an explanation as to how he's been playing since August? Just a thought.

TRUE! ALL HE SEEMS TO DO IS THROW HIS HANDS AROUND AND SHOUT AT EVERYONE ELSE

WHY DID YOU WRITE YOUR REPLY IN CAPITALS HMM ?

[seahawk10]

Harper is the shiznit. end of.

[readingbedding]

Lots of naive points made here...
Players get played in football matches whilst not being anywhere near 100% all over the World, every single week.
Be it professional or amateur, it happens.

Have we really lost the plot???

Whoever said that and means it doesn't understand team sports.

[Shaka's Giant Hands]

Harper = Legend.

Will run all day, then run a bit more. Maybe not the greatest midfield 'battler' but that's not his role...doesn't get the credit he deserves IMHO.

[Coppelled Streets]

That sounds like Andy Hughes.

[RoyalBlue]

Harper = Legend.

Will run all day, then run a bit more. Maybe not the greatest midfield 'battler' but that's not his role...doesn't get the credit he deserves IMHO.

Agreed. What's more, if we do go down, I wouldn't be at all surprised (although clearly a good many on HNA would be) if he was one of the players who left us and ended up back in the PL with another team.

Given that we have scored so few goals recently, it's amazing that people have so quickly forgotten the good ones that Harper scored.

[PEARCEY]

Harper = Legend.

Will run all day, then run a bit more. Maybe not the greatest midfield 'battler' but that's not his role...doesn't get the credit he deserves IMHO.

Spot on Shaks. Nuff said.

[Blue and White Toucan]

by RoyalBlue on 28 Feb 2008 09:11

Shaka's Giant Hands wrote:
Harper = Legend.

Will run all day, then run a bit more. Maybe not the greatest midfield 'battler' but that's not his role...doesn't get the credit he deserves IMHO.


Agreed. What's more, if we do go down, I wouldn't be at all surprised (although clearly a good many on HNA would be) if he was one of the players who left us and ended up back in the PL with another team.

Given that we have scored so few goals recently, it's amazing that people have so quickly forgotten the good ones that Harper scored.

Harper = Legend.

Will run all day, then run a bit more. Maybe not the greatest midfield 'battler' but that's not his role...doesn't get the credit he deserves IMHO.

Agreed. What's more, if we do go down, I wouldn't be at all surprised (although clearly a good many on HNA would be) if he was one of the players who left us and ended up back in the PL with another team.

Given that we have scored so few goals recently, it's amazing that people have so quickly forgotten the good ones that Harper scored.

I am not disputing Harpers performances but someone who has had stomach problems for 3 days and has has actually said 'felt awful' on the match day to the point of throwing up on the pitch, in my mind is just not able to give 100%.

Now the question will be is Harpers 85% work rate bettter than anyone else's 100%? Maybe it is is but I just see this as a there is no faith in many of the squad except the 'usual' starting 11. That is a just not where we should be.

by readingbedding on 28 Feb 2008 07:12

Lots of naive points made here...
Players get played in football matches whilst not being anywhere near 100% all over the World, every single week.
Be it professional or amateur, it happens.

Have we really lost the plot???

Whoever said that and means it doesn't understand team sports.

I played at a fairly high local standard for 15 years and in all my time playing anyone who had been throwing up or had the squits for 3 days and then turned up saying they felt awful either didn't play or were put on the bench.

This is a professional club with a squad players trained and paid to play in the Premier League. If one is ill then surely he should be left out of the starting 11? To me that is not naive that is common sense.

Players play with slight knocks all the time but being ill for 3 days and even saying 'I feel awful' on the day of the game - Come on, if you seriously think this is OK then I think that you are being a little naive TBH.

[Stranded]

Why did Harper play?

Gunna is injured
Fae has been carrying an injury since the ACN
Cisse has been playing well at CB (although wasn't great on Sunday)

All other options would have involved moving two or more players around as a result.

Harper obviously felt fit enough to complete 90mins so he played. Not rocket science really.

[howser]

This is just another amazing example of how we are so much out of our depth at this level, trying to do everything on the cheap, well boys you are in a different league now, and we, as a club and, management in particular, better grow up to the ways of the Premiership or fall by the wayside.

[westendgirl]

[
I am not disputing Harpers performances but someone who has had stomach problems for 3 days and has has actually said 'felt awful' on the match day to the point of throwing up on the pitch, in my mind is just not able to give 100%.

I find it interesting that other players talk of Harps is that he wants to play every game and all game so just wondering how much he talked up how much better he was rather than admit he was less than 100%