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It's great to be back

3:57pm Thursday 27th March 2008

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By Mark Bower »

All I've done for the last few weeks is moan about not having enough games to play in.

But by Tuesday morning, I felt that I'd had more than enough!

There's nothing like being thrown in at the deep end and playing twice in three days.

Seriously though, it was great to be back in there last week for two games against teams going for the play-offs and doing well. I think the adrenaline got me through in the end.

I'm fed up with playing reserve games in empty grounds so it felt brilliant to be back in the first team. It's totally different because the action is 100 miles an hour and you know so much rests on the outcome.

Rotherham was only my second start for four months and I was desperate to do my best.

The last half hour was a struggle, especially with the conditions - down to ten men, into a snow storm, playing up hill - I've known easier!

But we had something to hang on to and thankfully we did that.

It was a bit disappointing that we didn't win the game because after an hour I thought there was only one team going to do that.

The gaffer changed things around for the Monday game with Chesterfield and everyone did reasonably well. And it was nice to win at home again.

But we've had a pat on the back from the gaffer now and can't let ourselves down again on Saturday as we have done at times this season.

We're up against another side at the top but hopefully we can perform with that little bit of freedom we've had for the past couple of games and give them a really good battle.

It will be interesting to see G again. Players are always up for it against their old clubs and more often than not they usually pop up with a goal.

But we've got more ex-Darlo players in our side than they have ex-Bradford, so if that does happen hopefully we can still come out on top.

G showed glimpses of what he can do while he was here earlier in the season. Maybe it didn't happen for him as often as he would have wanted but we know what he is capable of.

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Bellend Road, Bermuda says...
4:13pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Im sorry to say the way you attempted to defend the Rotherham equaliser by........ falling over in front of their striker was pathetic.
What coaching manual is that from.

Im afraid you are not the player for me, hope Clarke is back soon.

Bellend Road, Bermuda says...
4:13pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Im sorry to say the way you attempted to defend the Rotherham equaliser by........ falling over in front of their striker was pathetic.
What coaching manual is that from.

Im afraid you are not the player for me, hope Clarke is back soon.

Bellend Road, Bermuda says...
4:13pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Im sorry to say the way you attempted to defend the Rotherham equaliser by........ falling over in front of their striker was pathetic.
What coaching manual is that from.

Im afraid you are not the player for me, hope Clarke is back soon.

Bellend Road, Bermuda says...
4:13pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Im sorry to say the way you attempted to defend the Rotherham equaliser by........ falling over in front of their striker was pathetic.
What coaching manual is that from.

Im afraid you are not the player for me, hope Clarke is back soon.

Bantam 58, keighley says...
4:34pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Thats what i love about supporting City the way we all help and encourage the players and fight for the same cause, oops my mate has just broken his pen but never mind, have just told him he is rubbish at his job, its great when you can put someone down.

Bantam 58, keighley says...
4:34pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Thats what i love about supporting City the way we all help and encourage the players and fight for the same cause, oops my mate has just broken his pen but never mind, have just told him he is rubbish at his job, its great when you can put someone down.

Bantam 58, keighley says...
4:34pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Thats what i love about supporting City the way we all help and encourage the players and fight for the same cause, oops my mate has just broken his pen but never mind, have just told him he is rubbish at his job, its great when you can put someone down.

Bantam 58, keighley says...
4:34pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Thats what i love about supporting City the way we all help and encourage the players and fight for the same cause, oops my mate has just broken his pen but never mind, have just told him he is rubbish at his job, its great when you can put someone down.

JM, Skipton says...
6:21pm Thu 27 Mar 08

apart from the goal at rotherham, which to be fair my have been loach's fault as much as bower's, he was excellent over both easter games.

these were his first few games since before christmas, he's had a bad injury. what will your reaction be if Clarke comes back and makes an error in his first game? obviously he will be excused!

it's so pathetic that some city fans have so little time for bower and can't see what a good player he is.
our longest serving player, one who has been brilliant for us for years (I know a lot of people seem to have forgotten that!).

Mark Bower has done well since coming back and we should get behind him. after all, he's one of us. a city fan who grew up watching us for years. he's a decent defender and if we were to sell him he wouldn't be dropping into non-league

JM, Skipton says...
6:21pm Thu 27 Mar 08

apart from the goal at rotherham, which to be fair my have been loach's fault as much as bower's, he was excellent over both easter games.

these were his first few games since before christmas, he's had a bad injury. what will your reaction be if Clarke comes back and makes an error in his first game? obviously he will be excused!

it's so pathetic that some city fans have so little time for bower and can't see what a good player he is.
our longest serving player, one who has been brilliant for us for years (I know a lot of people seem to have forgotten that!).

Mark Bower has done well since coming back and we should get behind him. after all, he's one of us. a city fan who grew up watching us for years. he's a decent defender and if we were to sell him he wouldn't be dropping into non-league

JM, Skipton says...
6:21pm Thu 27 Mar 08

apart from the goal at rotherham, which to be fair my have been loach's fault as much as bower's, he was excellent over both easter games.

these were his first few games since before christmas, he's had a bad injury. what will your reaction be if Clarke comes back and makes an error in his first game? obviously he will be excused!

it's so pathetic that some city fans have so little time for bower and can't see what a good player he is.
our longest serving player, one who has been brilliant for us for years (I know a lot of people seem to have forgotten that!).

Mark Bower has done well since coming back and we should get behind him. after all, he's one of us. a city fan who grew up watching us for years. he's a decent defender and if we were to sell him he wouldn't be dropping into non-league

JM, Skipton says...
6:21pm Thu 27 Mar 08

apart from the goal at rotherham, which to be fair my have been loach's fault as much as bower's, he was excellent over both easter games.

these were his first few games since before christmas, he's had a bad injury. what will your reaction be if Clarke comes back and makes an error in his first game? obviously he will be excused!

it's so pathetic that some city fans have so little time for bower and can't see what a good player he is.
our longest serving player, one who has been brilliant for us for years (I know a lot of people seem to have forgotten that!).

Mark Bower has done well since coming back and we should get behind him. after all, he's one of us. a city fan who grew up watching us for years. he's a decent defender and if we were to sell him he wouldn't be dropping into non-league

Bellend Road, Bermuda says...
6:40pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Brilliant, for years. Would those be the years we have seen nothing but relegation?
Not all his fault, but he is a common factor.
And I forgot, he must be great because he is a city fan like us.!!!!

Bellend Road, Bermuda says...
6:40pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Brilliant, for years. Would those be the years we have seen nothing but relegation?
Not all his fault, but he is a common factor.
And I forgot, he must be great because he is a city fan like us.!!!!

Bellend Road, Bermuda says...
6:40pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Brilliant, for years. Would those be the years we have seen nothing but relegation?
Not all his fault, but he is a common factor.
And I forgot, he must be great because he is a city fan like us.!!!!

Bellend Road, Bermuda says...
6:40pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Brilliant, for years. Would those be the years we have seen nothing but relegation?
Not all his fault, but he is a common factor.
And I forgot, he must be great because he is a city fan like us.!!!!

Bantam Forever, Bingley says...
6:50pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Bellend Road wrote:
Brilliant, for years. Would those be the years we have seen nothing but relegation? Not all his fault, but he is a common factor. And I forgot, he must be great because he is a city fan like us.!!!!
Agree totally. Clarke is by far the better defender

Bantam Forever, Bingley says...
6:50pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Bellend Road wrote:
Brilliant, for years. Would those be the years we have seen nothing but relegation? Not all his fault, but he is a common factor. And I forgot, he must be great because he is a city fan like us.!!!!
Agree totally. Clarke is by far the better defender

Bantam Forever, Bingley says...
6:50pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Bellend Road wrote:
Brilliant, for years. Would those be the years we have seen nothing but relegation? Not all his fault, but he is a common factor. And I forgot, he must be great because he is a city fan like us.!!!!
Agree totally. Clarke is by far the better defender

Bantam Forever, Bingley says...
6:50pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Bellend Road wrote:
Brilliant, for years. Would those be the years we have seen nothing but relegation? Not all his fault, but he is a common factor. And I forgot, he must be great because he is a city fan like us.!!!!
Agree totally. Clarke is by far the better defender

JM, Skipton says...
6:57pm Thu 27 Mar 08

that's not what I meant. what I did mean is that a fellow city fan playing for us deserves more respect than people like you give him. he has faults, but his heart is in the right place which shouldn't be forgotten.
you can say you don't rate him as much as clarke and that's fair enough, but "falling over in front of the striker is pathetic, what coashing manual is that from?" is unneccesarily harsh and forgets all the good things he did in both games over easter. i don't like the way some fans talk about a lot of our players, but seeing a home grown lad abused, ridiculed and having all his good qualities convinently ignored is depressing.

we might have been relegated all those years, but even attempting to blame it on bower is poor. he has not even been the common factor! he was no where near the team when we were relegated from the prem and was again not in the team when we exited division one in 2004, robson strangley preferred the woeful gavin. he was, of course, a big part of last season's relegation, but he's been one of our best players in recent years and you certainly can't blame him for us going down.

like i said, i respect your opinion about rating clarke better, but I still don't think bower warrants all the abuse people like you give him

JM, Skipton says...
6:57pm Thu 27 Mar 08

that's not what I meant. what I did mean is that a fellow city fan playing for us deserves more respect than people like you give him. he has faults, but his heart is in the right place which shouldn't be forgotten.
you can say you don't rate him as much as clarke and that's fair enough, but "falling over in front of the striker is pathetic, what coashing manual is that from?" is unneccesarily harsh and forgets all the good things he did in both games over easter. i don't like the way some fans talk about a lot of our players, but seeing a home grown lad abused, ridiculed and having all his good qualities convinently ignored is depressing.

we might have been relegated all those years, but even attempting to blame it on bower is poor. he has not even been the common factor! he was no where near the team when we were relegated from the prem and was again not in the team when we exited division one in 2004, robson strangley preferred the woeful gavin. he was, of course, a big part of last season's relegation, but he's been one of our best players in recent years and you certainly can't blame him for us going down.

like i said, i respect your opinion about rating clarke better, but I still don't think bower warrants all the abuse people like you give him

JM, Skipton says...
6:57pm Thu 27 Mar 08

that's not what I meant. what I did mean is that a fellow city fan playing for us deserves more respect than people like you give him. he has faults, but his heart is in the right place which shouldn't be forgotten.
you can say you don't rate him as much as clarke and that's fair enough, but "falling over in front of the striker is pathetic, what coashing manual is that from?" is unneccesarily harsh and forgets all the good things he did in both games over easter. i don't like the way some fans talk about a lot of our players, but seeing a home grown lad abused, ridiculed and having all his good qualities convinently ignored is depressing.

we might have been relegated all those years, but even attempting to blame it on bower is poor. he has not even been the common factor! he was no where near the team when we were relegated from the prem and was again not in the team when we exited division one in 2004, robson strangley preferred the woeful gavin. he was, of course, a big part of last season's relegation, but he's been one of our best players in recent years and you certainly can't blame him for us going down.

like i said, i respect your opinion about rating clarke better, but I still don't think bower warrants all the abuse people like you give him

JM, Skipton says...
6:57pm Thu 27 Mar 08

that's not what I meant. what I did mean is that a fellow city fan playing for us deserves more respect than people like you give him. he has faults, but his heart is in the right place which shouldn't be forgotten.
you can say you don't rate him as much as clarke and that's fair enough, but "falling over in front of the striker is pathetic, what coashing manual is that from?" is unneccesarily harsh and forgets all the good things he did in both games over easter. i don't like the way some fans talk about a lot of our players, but seeing a home grown lad abused, ridiculed and having all his good qualities convinently ignored is depressing.

we might have been relegated all those years, but even attempting to blame it on bower is poor. he has not even been the common factor! he was no where near the team when we were relegated from the prem and was again not in the team when we exited division one in 2004, robson strangley preferred the woeful gavin. he was, of course, a big part of last season's relegation, but he's been one of our best players in recent years and you certainly can't blame him for us going down.

like i said, i respect your opinion about rating clarke better, but I still don't think bower warrants all the abuse people like you give him

Bantam Forever, Bingley says...
7:39pm Thu 27 Mar 08

JM wrote:
that's not what I meant. what I did mean is that a fellow city fan playing for us deserves more respect than people like you give him. he has faults, but his heart is in the right place which shouldn't be forgotten. you can say you don't rate him as much as clarke and that's fair enough, but "falling over in front of the striker is pathetic, what coashing manual is that from?" is unneccesarily harsh and forgets all the good things he did in both games over easter. i don't like the way some fans talk about a lot of our players, but seeing a home grown lad abused, ridiculed and having all his good qualities convinently ignored is depressing. we might have been relegated all those years, but even attempting to blame it on bower is poor. he has not even been the common factor! he was no where near the team when we were relegated from the prem and was again not in the team when we exited division one in 2004, robson strangley preferred the woeful gavin. he was, of course, a big part of last season's relegation, but he's been one of our best players in recent years and you certainly can't blame him for us going down. like i said, i respect your opinion about rating clarke better, but I still don't think bower warrants all the abuse people like you give him
Im sorry but you cant give a player more credit for his abilities just because he supports the team he plays for. Open your eyes, we have better defenders than him in the squad i.e Moncur and Clarke

Bantam Forever, Bingley says...
7:39pm Thu 27 Mar 08

JM wrote:
that's not what I meant. what I did mean is that a fellow city fan playing for us deserves more respect than people like you give him. he has faults, but his heart is in the right place which shouldn't be forgotten. you can say you don't rate him as much as clarke and that's fair enough, but "falling over in front of the striker is pathetic, what coashing manual is that from?" is unneccesarily harsh and forgets all the good things he did in both games over easter. i don't like the way some fans talk about a lot of our players, but seeing a home grown lad abused, ridiculed and having all his good qualities convinently ignored is depressing. we might have been relegated all those years, but even attempting to blame it on bower is poor. he has not even been the common factor! he was no where near the team when we were relegated from the prem and was again not in the team when we exited division one in 2004, robson strangley preferred the woeful gavin. he was, of course, a big part of last season's relegation, but he's been one of our best players in recent years and you certainly can't blame him for us going down. like i said, i respect your opinion about rating clarke better, but I still don't think bower warrants all the abuse people like you give him
Im sorry but you cant give a player more credit for his abilities just because he supports the team he plays for. Open your eyes, we have better defenders than him in the squad i.e Moncur and Clarke

Bantam Forever, Bingley says...
7:39pm Thu 27 Mar 08

JM wrote:
that's not what I meant. what I did mean is that a fellow city fan playing for us deserves more respect than people like you give him. he has faults, but his heart is in the right place which shouldn't be forgotten. you can say you don't rate him as much as clarke and that's fair enough, but "falling over in front of the striker is pathetic, what coashing manual is that from?" is unneccesarily harsh and forgets all the good things he did in both games over easter. i don't like the way some fans talk about a lot of our players, but seeing a home grown lad abused, ridiculed and having all his good qualities convinently ignored is depressing. we might have been relegated all those years, but even attempting to blame it on bower is poor. he has not even been the common factor! he was no where near the team when we were relegated from the prem and was again not in the team when we exited division one in 2004, robson strangley preferred the woeful gavin. he was, of course, a big part of last season's relegation, but he's been one of our best players in recent years and you certainly can't blame him for us going down. like i said, i respect your opinion about rating clarke better, but I still don't think bower warrants all the abuse people like you give him
Im sorry but you cant give a player more credit for his abilities just because he supports the team he plays for. Open your eyes, we have better defenders than him in the squad i.e Moncur and Clarke

Bantam Forever, Bingley says...
7:39pm Thu 27 Mar 08

JM wrote:
that's not what I meant. what I did mean is that a fellow city fan playing for us deserves more respect than people like you give him. he has faults, but his heart is in the right place which shouldn't be forgotten. you can say you don't rate him as much as clarke and that's fair enough, but "falling over in front of the striker is pathetic, what coashing manual is that from?" is unneccesarily harsh and forgets all the good things he did in both games over easter. i don't like the way some fans talk about a lot of our players, but seeing a home grown lad abused, ridiculed and having all his good qualities convinently ignored is depressing. we might have been relegated all those years, but even attempting to blame it on bower is poor. he has not even been the common factor! he was no where near the team when we were relegated from the prem and was again not in the team when we exited division one in 2004, robson strangley preferred the woeful gavin. he was, of course, a big part of last season's relegation, but he's been one of our best players in recent years and you certainly can't blame him for us going down. like i said, i respect your opinion about rating clarke better, but I still don't think bower warrants all the abuse people like you give him
Im sorry but you cant give a player more credit for his abilities just because he supports the team he plays for. Open your eyes, we have better defenders than him in the squad i.e Moncur and Clarke

JM, Skipton says...
7:48pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Bantam Forever wrote:
JM wrote:
that's not what I meant. what I did mean is that a fellow city fan playing for us deserves more respect than people like you give him. he has faults, but his heart is in the right place which shouldn't be forgotten. you can say you don't rate him as much as clarke and that's fair enough, but "falling over in front of the striker is pathetic, what coashing manual is that from?" is unneccesarily harsh and forgets all the good things he did in both games over easter. i don't like the way some fans talk about a lot of our players, but seeing a home grown lad abused, ridiculed and having all his good qualities convinently ignored is depressing. we might have been relegated all those years, but even attempting to blame it on bower is poor. he has not even been the common factor! he was no where near the team when we were relegated from the prem and was again not in the team when we exited division one in 2004, robson strangley preferred the woeful gavin. he was, of course, a big part of last season's relegation, but he's been one of our best players in recent years and you certainly can't blame him for us going down. like i said, i respect your opinion about rating clarke better, but I still don't think bower warrants all the abuse people like you give him
Im sorry but you cant give a player more credit for his abilities just because he supports the team he plays for. Open your eyes, we have better defenders than him in the squad i.e Moncur and Clarke
i'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say I mustn't be making myself clear enough.

I'm NOT saying we should all think Bower is a good player just because he supports City. I'm saying we shouldn't be abusing him so much and remember he's a city lad like the rest of us.

that doesn't mean I think it's wrong to say Clarke is better - for what it's worth I'd agree with you on that - what I don't like is the level of abuse Bower has been getting from some fans this season. I don't like the way any players are abused, but when it's a city lad who has played well for us for many years I think it's worse. what's wrong with just saying "it's a shame but Bower has been in poor form and I don't believe he's as good as Clarke and I'd prefer we play him" rather than some of the abuse and ridicule he gets, such as attempting to blame him for all our relegations.

Anyway I've got no beef with what you put and what the other guy wrote isn't too bad, but talk to a lot of fans and they will say he is "sh*t" and should "f*** off". Some of the abuse he was getting at Rotherham was out of order and I don't see how anyone who was at the last two games can slag off his performances, especially when he's just come back from injury.

Anyway let's leave it at that!

JM, Skipton says...
7:48pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Bantam Forever wrote:
JM wrote:
that's not what I meant. what I did mean is that a fellow city fan playing for us deserves more respect than people like you give him. he has faults, but his heart is in the right place which shouldn't be forgotten. you can say you don't rate him as much as clarke and that's fair enough, but "falling over in front of the striker is pathetic, what coashing manual is that from?" is unneccesarily harsh and forgets all the good things he did in both games over easter. i don't like the way some fans talk about a lot of our players, but seeing a home grown lad abused, ridiculed and having all his good qualities convinently ignored is depressing. we might have been relegated all those years, but even attempting to blame it on bower is poor. he has not even been the common factor! he was no where near the team when we were relegated from the prem and was again not in the team when we exited division one in 2004, robson strangley preferred the woeful gavin. he was, of course, a big part of last season's relegation, but he's been one of our best players in recent years and you certainly can't blame him for us going down. like i said, i respect your opinion about rating clarke better, but I still don't think bower warrants all the abuse people like you give him
Im sorry but you cant give a player more credit for his abilities just because he supports the team he plays for. Open your eyes, we have better defenders than him in the squad i.e Moncur and Clarke
i'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say I mustn't be making myself clear enough.

I'm NOT saying we should all think Bower is a good player just because he supports City. I'm saying we shouldn't be abusing him so much and remember he's a city lad like the rest of us.

that doesn't mean I think it's wrong to say Clarke is better - for what it's worth I'd agree with you on that - what I don't like is the level of abuse Bower has been getting from some fans this season. I don't like the way any players are abused, but when it's a city lad who has played well for us for many years I think it's worse. what's wrong with just saying "it's a shame but Bower has been in poor form and I don't believe he's as good as Clarke and I'd prefer we play him" rather than some of the abuse and ridicule he gets, such as attempting to blame him for all our relegations.

Anyway I've got no beef with what you put and what the other guy wrote isn't too bad, but talk to a lot of fans and they will say he is "sh*t" and should "f*** off". Some of the abuse he was getting at Rotherham was out of order and I don't see how anyone who was at the last two games can slag off his performances, especially when he's just come back from injury.

Anyway let's leave it at that!

JM, Skipton says...
7:48pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Bantam Forever wrote:
JM wrote:
that's not what I meant. what I did mean is that a fellow city fan playing for us deserves more respect than people like you give him. he has faults, but his heart is in the right place which shouldn't be forgotten. you can say you don't rate him as much as clarke and that's fair enough, but "falling over in front of the striker is pathetic, what coashing manual is that from?" is unneccesarily harsh and forgets all the good things he did in both games over easter. i don't like the way some fans talk about a lot of our players, but seeing a home grown lad abused, ridiculed and having all his good qualities convinently ignored is depressing. we might have been relegated all those years, but even attempting to blame it on bower is poor. he has not even been the common factor! he was no where near the team when we were relegated from the prem and was again not in the team when we exited division one in 2004, robson strangley preferred the woeful gavin. he was, of course, a big part of last season's relegation, but he's been one of our best players in recent years and you certainly can't blame him for us going down. like i said, i respect your opinion about rating clarke better, but I still don't think bower warrants all the abuse people like you give him
Im sorry but you cant give a player more credit for his abilities just because he supports the team he plays for. Open your eyes, we have better defenders than him in the squad i.e Moncur and Clarke
i'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say I mustn't be making myself clear enough.

I'm NOT saying we should all think Bower is a good player just because he supports City. I'm saying we shouldn't be abusing him so much and remember he's a city lad like the rest of us.

that doesn't mean I think it's wrong to say Clarke is better - for what it's worth I'd agree with you on that - what I don't like is the level of abuse Bower has been getting from some fans this season. I don't like the way any players are abused, but when it's a city lad who has played well for us for many years I think it's worse. what's wrong with just saying "it's a shame but Bower has been in poor form and I don't believe he's as good as Clarke and I'd prefer we play him" rather than some of the abuse and ridicule he gets, such as attempting to blame him for all our relegations.

Anyway I've got no beef with what you put and what the other guy wrote isn't too bad, but talk to a lot of fans and they will say he is "sh*t" and should "f*** off". Some of the abuse he was getting at Rotherham was out of order and I don't see how anyone who was at the last two games can slag off his performances, especially when he's just come back from injury.

Anyway let's leave it at that!

JM, Skipton says...
7:48pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Bantam Forever wrote:
JM wrote:
that's not what I meant. what I did mean is that a fellow city fan playing for us deserves more respect than people like you give him. he has faults, but his heart is in the right place which shouldn't be forgotten. you can say you don't rate him as much as clarke and that's fair enough, but "falling over in front of the striker is pathetic, what coashing manual is that from?" is unneccesarily harsh and forgets all the good things he did in both games over easter. i don't like the way some fans talk about a lot of our players, but seeing a home grown lad abused, ridiculed and having all his good qualities convinently ignored is depressing. we might have been relegated all those years, but even attempting to blame it on bower is poor. he has not even been the common factor! he was no where near the team when we were relegated from the prem and was again not in the team when we exited division one in 2004, robson strangley preferred the woeful gavin. he was, of course, a big part of last season's relegation, but he's been one of our best players in recent years and you certainly can't blame him for us going down. like i said, i respect your opinion about rating clarke better, but I still don't think bower warrants all the abuse people like you give him
Im sorry but you cant give a player more credit for his abilities just because he supports the team he plays for. Open your eyes, we have better defenders than him in the squad i.e Moncur and Clarke
i'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say I mustn't be making myself clear enough.

I'm NOT saying we should all think Bower is a good player just because he supports City. I'm saying we shouldn't be abusing him so much and remember he's a city lad like the rest of us.

that doesn't mean I think it's wrong to say Clarke is better - for what it's worth I'd agree with you on that - what I don't like is the level of abuse Bower has been getting from some fans this season. I don't like the way any players are abused, but when it's a city lad who has played well for us for many years I think it's worse. what's wrong with just saying "it's a shame but Bower has been in poor form and I don't believe he's as good as Clarke and I'd prefer we play him" rather than some of the abuse and ridicule he gets, such as attempting to blame him for all our relegations.

Anyway I've got no beef with what you put and what the other guy wrote isn't too bad, but talk to a lot of fans and they will say he is "sh*t" and should "f*** off". Some of the abuse he was getting at Rotherham was out of order and I don't see how anyone who was at the last two games can slag off his performances, especially when he's just come back from injury.

Anyway let's leave it at that!

Geordie Bantam, Bratfud says...
8:28pm Thu 27 Mar 08

I'm not Bower's biggest fan but FFS give the guy a break!

I thought he played superb in both games considering how long he has been out. Yes the Rotherham goal was half his fault but he saved us plenty of times aswell.

Geordie Bantam, Bratfud says...
8:28pm Thu 27 Mar 08

I'm not Bower's biggest fan but FFS give the guy a break!

I thought he played superb in both games considering how long he has been out. Yes the Rotherham goal was half his fault but he saved us plenty of times aswell.

Geordie Bantam, Bratfud says...
8:28pm Thu 27 Mar 08

I'm not Bower's biggest fan but FFS give the guy a break!

I thought he played superb in both games considering how long he has been out. Yes the Rotherham goal was half his fault but he saved us plenty of times aswell.

Geordie Bantam, Bratfud says...
8:28pm Thu 27 Mar 08

I'm not Bower's biggest fan but FFS give the guy a break!

I thought he played superb in both games considering how long he has been out. Yes the Rotherham goal was half his fault but he saved us plenty of times aswell.

london_bantam, St Albans says...
9:03pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Well said JM.
I agree that Bower hasn't been at his best over the last year, but he is a local lad who has performed well in otherwise depressing times at VP. He is a local lad, and we should value him and get behind him. Like you say, I can guarentee that he would easily find another league 1 or 2 club if we were to get rid, and I am glad he is in our squad and not someone elses.
For the record, I also have the same opinion about Joe Colbeck - a local lad who should get our full support. This guy has been thrust into a team over the last 2 / 3 years that has been struggling, and I think most of us would agree, that this is not the ideal way to break into the football world. He seems to have benefitted hugely from his loan spell at Darlo where people probably didn't get on his back quite so easily. We are now seeing a massive improvement in his performances, and I for one hope it continues. This is the only way that our club will move forward, as we don't have the money that some teams have. - Keep it up boys!
CTID.

london_bantam, St Albans says...
9:03pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Well said JM.
I agree that Bower hasn't been at his best over the last year, but he is a local lad who has performed well in otherwise depressing times at VP. He is a local lad, and we should value him and get behind him. Like you say, I can guarentee that he would easily find another league 1 or 2 club if we were to get rid, and I am glad he is in our squad and not someone elses.
For the record, I also have the same opinion about Joe Colbeck - a local lad who should get our full support. This guy has been thrust into a team over the last 2 / 3 years that has been struggling, and I think most of us would agree, that this is not the ideal way to break into the football world. He seems to have benefitted hugely from his loan spell at Darlo where people probably didn't get on his back quite so easily. We are now seeing a massive improvement in his performances, and I for one hope it continues. This is the only way that our club will move forward, as we don't have the money that some teams have. - Keep it up boys!
CTID.

london_bantam, St Albans says...
9:03pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Well said JM.
I agree that Bower hasn't been at his best over the last year, but he is a local lad who has performed well in otherwise depressing times at VP. He is a local lad, and we should value him and get behind him. Like you say, I can guarentee that he would easily find another league 1 or 2 club if we were to get rid, and I am glad he is in our squad and not someone elses.
For the record, I also have the same opinion about Joe Colbeck - a local lad who should get our full support. This guy has been thrust into a team over the last 2 / 3 years that has been struggling, and I think most of us would agree, that this is not the ideal way to break into the football world. He seems to have benefitted hugely from his loan spell at Darlo where people probably didn't get on his back quite so easily. We are now seeing a massive improvement in his performances, and I for one hope it continues. This is the only way that our club will move forward, as we don't have the money that some teams have. - Keep it up boys!
CTID.

london_bantam, St Albans says...
9:03pm Thu 27 Mar 08

Well said JM.
I agree that Bower hasn't been at his best over the last year, but he is a local lad who has performed well in otherwise depressing times at VP. He is a local lad, and we should value him and get behind him. Like you say, I can guarentee that he would easily find another league 1 or 2 club if we were to get rid, and I am glad he is in our squad and not someone elses.
For the record, I also have the same opinion about Joe Colbeck - a local lad who should get our full support. This guy has been thrust into a team over the last 2 / 3 years that has been struggling, and I think most of us would agree, that this is not the ideal way to break into the football world. He seems to have benefitted hugely from his loan spell at Darlo where people probably didn't get on his back quite so easily. We are now seeing a massive improvement in his performances, and I for one hope it continues. This is the only way that our club will move forward, as we don't have the money that some teams have. - Keep it up boys!
CTID.

Big Mal, Bradford says...
7:46am Fri 28 Mar 08

Clarke isn't a better player when he's laid on treatment table for half a season, year in year out.

Big Mal, Bradford says...
7:46am Fri 28 Mar 08

Clarke isn't a better player when he's laid on treatment table for half a season, year in year out.

Big Mal, Bradford says...
7:46am Fri 28 Mar 08

Clarke isn't a better player when he's laid on treatment table for half a season, year in year out.

Big Mal, Bradford says...
7:46am Fri 28 Mar 08

Clarke isn't a better player when he's laid on treatment table for half a season, year in year out.