Grant Holt and Robert Snodgrass fit again....your thoughts on these two?

[Dubai Mark]

I read elsewhere that both Grant Holt and Robert Snodgrass are due back very soon, and chose to post on here the subject rather than posting a response "elsewhere" ( just cant be bothered these days with replying on that board).

So, whilst I presume it will be unanimous that Holty was a legend whilst at our great club, well beyond legend in my book, what's your view on Snoddy?

For me, I was very sorry to see him leave, and honestly believe that he is was / is (? lets see after injury) a class act, a terrific player.

But, my guess is many actually didnt rate him, where do you stand?  

 

[dj161]

I like snoddy, popped up with some very important goals for us in a side that just didnt score many at all, lets face it without his goals/assists under hughton we probably wouldn't of even made it to those last few games without being down already, I feel the main issue people had with him was that he was left footed and played on the right without a huge amount of pace, so when the ball went out there you always knew he was going to have to take an extra touch or two to bring in onto his preferred foot and come inside, if we could all see it then so could the opposition, this also meant that Redmond always had to play the reverse, clearly right footed but playing on the left, but without questions his best football has been on the right side of midfield so it meant he also got wasted out there

As for holty he is an absolute legend, came in scored the goals that took us up twice and then to mid table in the premiership, we probably sold him at the right time financially but would of liked him to stay for one more season as he always played with his heart on his sleeve, plus as shown by himself and Rickie Lambert premiership defences dont like playing against the old school style of british forwards that they are.

I wish them all the best for the future, pretty sure Snoddy will be back in the prem sooner than later, and Holt will likely be finishing his career soon, so I'd expect his long overdue move to Carlisle to happen in the next year or so

 

[Canaryboy]

I personally don't think there was any doubting Snodgrass's talent, but I do think he hindered us at times with his unwillingness to let go of the ball and would have been a much better player if he weren't so one footed, his constant presence on the pitch is also the reason why we played inverted wingers all the time and therefore Redmond on the weaker side (and Pilkington on the bench too often), generally accepted to be one of the reasons why strikers found it difficult in our team (the two inverted wingers).

Can't fault his work rate and passion though, he gave 100% every week on the pitch for us, and I think he was unfairly scapegoated at times for Hughton's lack of tactical diversity. I've always been one of those fans who will give respect to any player who gives their all on the pitch, and that included Hoooze, and I've got no time for those who sometimes can't be bothered and that has always been my gripe with Grabban. 

Goes without saying though that anybody who doesn't wish him a full recovery is a moron, a terrible injury and I hope he can get back to his best, gave 100% for us and that can't be disputed whether you rated him or not. 

As for Grant Holt, good on him for getting that extra year but well past his best and difficult to imagine him having any sort of impact at any level now, would be nice to see him go and score a few goals for Carlisle but I can't see him playing past this year personally. A couple of people said he was rumoured to be buying a house in Norfolk which I dismissed as a silly rumour at first, now I wonder whether he's planning on becoming a greyhound owner/trainer/breeder in the near future? Or a year at Lowestoft as a player coach for the coaching badges, then into our academy as a coach? 

Maybe Wigan will let him go out on loan to Carlisle for the second half of this season for a nice send off. 

 

[Canaryboy]

On a Wigan forum somebody has also shared the Holt moving to Norwich rumour, claiming it came from his best mate. 

 

[GJP]

It is not a rumour.

 

[Gaffer]

It is not a rumour.

Cryptic.

 

[Gaffer]

Snoddy was great and you have to remember that not only was he playing under a manager with no idea how to play attacking football, but was also playing though the pain barrier for most of that last season. He was voted player of the season so clearly most fans did rate him. It's just unfortunate that he didn't reach the level of a club legend because of the circumstances under which he was playing. If we'd survived that season it would have been more thanks to him than anyone and he probably would have reached legendary status.

 

[Fenway Frank]

Holt is some way from being a legend to me, would also be surprised if he moved back this way. Didn't his wife and kids move back to Carlisle when he was in his final season here ? 

 

[Canaryboy]

Holt is some way from being a legend to me, would also be surprised if he moved back this way. Didn't his wife and kids move back to Carlisle when he was in his final season here ? 

Holt is easily a legend to me, our top scorer for four consecutive seasons across three different divisions, two of those in the Premier League, two consecutive promotions and three player of the season awards in a row. Could argue all day about how much talent he actually had (I'd say fairly limited talent but an excellent footballing brain), but can't really argue with his CV. 

I wonder whether the wife and kids wanting to move to Carlisle thing was the most convenient excuse at the time, but people do change their minds, grass is always greener etc. 

 

[GJP]

To somewhat end the rumour/doubt - my wife recently met Holt and family in Norwich - in a professional capacity.

So that's how I know.

(If you believe me)

 

[Boyerboy]

To somewhat end the rumour/doubt - my wife recently met Holt and family in Norwich - in a professional capacity.

So that's how I know.

(If you believe me)

and a very close friend of mine also met them hence my post above. It is media work rather than coaching that is the long term aim and Norwich is far better placed for that than Carlisle

 

[Canaryboy]

and a very close friend of mine also met them hence my post above. It is media work rather than coaching that is the long term aim and Norwich is far better placed for that than Carlisle

I bet the location of his greyhound trainer is also a factor, he probably wouldn't tell the missus that though 

If he is already house hunting then that suggests he'll be retiring at the end of this season rather than playing for Carlisle which I think is a bit of a shame really.

Seems like a bit of a waste of effort to spend 10+ months completing rehabilitation only to retire 6 or 7 months later. Then again I suppose you need to build strength and get fit just for general quality of life. 

 

[Dubai Mark]

"Holt is some way from being a legend to me", Fenway Frank, whilst I respect your opinion on this, I am interested to know why you think this? For me, there are few players that have contributed more to our club .......

 

[eatonparkboy]

The size of our hall of fame suggests to me that we are, as a club and supporters, far too eager to elevate players to a loftier position than their contribution merited.

However, in those three dynamic seasons, I think the team and Holt individually, did more than enough to elevate themselves. And it wasn't just Holt's goalscoring. For those of us old enough, he was a modern striker playing an old fashioned centre forward role. He handed it out to defenders, he did things at crucial times to lift the game and brought his team mates into the game. He had a mean streak and had little respect for the opposition.

And above all, he entertained. I bet there is many a supporter whose team have been on the receiving end of a Holt performance who thought "I wish he played for us".

 

[Beauseant]

I think that when a player is still seeing out his autumn years with declining results it's easy to underestimate what they were like at their pomp, but Grant Holt was the touchpaper that was to be lit by the coming of Paul Lambert as we started our march back to the top tier. He deserves credit for squeezing everything out of his skill set, because he wasn't the most naturally gifted player I ever saw, but his leadership was key to City's success. I have to admit that I didn't think he'd be good enough for the Prem but he proved me wrong.