The Three Amigos

At risk of speaking when I have no notion of the quality or importance of Ken Leek - he was sadly before my time (although not my Dad's)... it does sound like he was the key in '61! I am as sorry as the rest of you that he wasn't picked (albeit retrospectively).

That said... is it likely Ken Leek broke the law? Is it likely he went on a pre-meditated and continued jolly when specifically told not to. It wasn't even a case of the current manager "not saying anything" and therefore the possibility of uncertainty (which, let's be honest, is not an excuse here because the WHOLE COUNTRY knows not to go out and have a decent sized party with up to 20 girls).

It's not even the case that Ken Leek then ignored the manager whilst the party was on... having been caught out, they turned their phones and lights off, waited for the threat of police action to pass AND THEN CARRY ON AGAIN AT ANOTHER HOUSE...

I suspect Ken Leek went out with a few mates in a normal night out in the week before the Final and had a few too many. That's wild speculation of course because even our veteran fans don't actually know what happened, whereas, here, in the age we live in, we unfortunately know everything.

Then there is the question of importance. It strikes me that Ken Leek was far more important to that 1961 side than James Maddison is to this current starting XI. KL scored in every round. Maddison hasn't even played in every round has he? He played the full game against Brentford in the 4th round and did quite well (second half... as we were rubbish first half) and he got half an hour against Brighton.

If I am honest, our best performance this season was without him - against Man Utd in the QF. I don't think he would play even if he hadn't been out breaking COVID protocols the other week. His form is up and down, his injury has clearly not helped and he's extremely rusty. He would probably get 20 minutes if we needed him (i.e. we were losing).

I appreciate the sentiment here and believe me, I want nothing more than to get to that final - that would be truly wonderful, but it would also be wonderful to see my family when the time is right, so I think a bit of perspective is needed and at the end of the day, it's only football. We will come back again next season with or without him.

He doesn't play for me until he's 100% fit and I think he will only be called on against Southampton as a desperate last throw of the dice. He may not like it, but if we are winning comfortably then it shows a) we don't need him on at that time and b) other players should get what they deserve by being top professionals week in, week out.

UTF!!

As young Warwick mentions, I am old enough to remember Ken Leek and the importance of his contributions to the 60-61 season. As I understand it, he went on the lash shortly before the final and although that was not that unusual 60 years ago, it was clearly sufficient for the excellent Matt Gillies (also a man of integrity) to pull him from the final line up.

Would Jimmy Bloomfield have done the same in similar circumstances with Frank Worthington? Very doubtful.

As for Maddison, I doubt he would have been in from the start anyway - not enough game time. I do expect Perez to start; he has prospered of late. I expect BR to stick to what he said with the possible exception of Choudhury, who as Dunge has suggested, will probably be plying his trade in the Championship next season.

UTF!

Further thoughts on Young Warwick's suggestion that the three should be benched for the remainder of the season. I could go with that if there were sufficient quality resources within the club for it to have little if any adverse effect. Unfortunately, we are not in that position and although Praet is a very capable player, he also lacks game time and is arguably not as proficient creatively as either Maddison or Perez. Thus, benching them for the remainder of the season on a point of principle is akin to cutting off your nose to spite your face, ever bearing in mind that the overriding principles this season are:
(a) get into the Champions League and
(b) win the FA Cup for the first time.

Oh, and as regards Hamza, he will be lucky if he even makes the bench!

Well there's no room for nepotism here... thanks Dad! Hopefully all foxes fans will be smiling again by the time the next Line of Duty is on!

In Brendan we trust. So long as he does the right thing... Ha! Good posting all.

If Barnes was part of this it's not clever but in the context of the match not so much of an issue as he wasn't involved. Not impressed with the others. Their actions could have been the reason for us dropping points - as we nearly got something from the game without them.

It happening a week before the match isn't good either, that's nigh on perfect timing to bring Covid from the party into the squad bubble.

Just to further cast doom and gloom, just 4 days after the FA Cup semi final, we will have to play a resurgent Baggies desperate for points - who will have had a 10 day break following tonight's excellent result against the Saints. Southampton will probably decide to turn up on Sunday against us following tonight's poor effort.

comment by YoungWarwickFox (now in Reading) (U22486)
posted 31 minutes ago
Well there's no room for nepotism here... thanks Dad! Hopefully all foxes fans will be smiling again by the time the next Line of Duty is on!

In Brendan we trust. So long as he does the right thing... Ha! Good posting all.
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Line of Duty? My God, that could start off a whole new thread!

comment by Nuneaton_fox (U7936)
posted 7 minutes ago
If Barnes was part of this it's not clever but in the context of the match not so much of an issue as he wasn't involved. Not impressed with the others. Their actions could have been the reason for us dropping points - as we nearly got something from the game without them.

It happening a week before the match isn't good either, that's nigh on perfect timing to bring Covid from the party into the squad bubble.

Just to further cast doom and gloom, just 4 days after the FA Cup semi final, we will have to play a resurgent Baggies desperate for points - who will have had a 10 day break following tonight's excellent result against the Saints. Southampton will probably decide to turn up on Sunday against us following tonight's poor effort.


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You're not wrong there Nuneaton. At least our desire to make amends should be at least equal to that of Southampton! What are the chances of West Brom winning three on the bounce? I might be wishing I'd deleted that sentence on Thursday 22nd!

Re downsouf and his reference to Matt Gillies.

In his book "The Davie Gibson Story" Davie recounts the tale of when he played golf (!) with Frank McLintock on a Friday before a game which was totally against club rules. They spotted MG on the course, dropped their clubs and hid in some bushes. As they could see MG they assumed he could see them. Next day, in the Filbert Street dressing room MG walks in and asked if everyone was ok, "fine boss" all replied. Mclintock grinned at Davie, "he can't have seen us." City beat Liverpool 3-0 and as they were getting changed MG sat between Frank and Davie and said "you two were terrific". As he walked away he said "oh, by the way, you two can play golf every Friday"!

comment by Bowstring (U17642)
posted 5 hours, 35 minutes ago
Re downsouf and his reference to Matt Gillies.

In his book "The Davie Gibson Story" Davie recounts the tale of when he played golf (!) with Frank McLintock on a Friday before a game which was totally against club rules. They spotted MG on the course, dropped their clubs and hid in some bushes. As they could see MG they assumed he could see them. Next day, in the Filbert Street dressing room MG walks in and asked if everyone was ok, "fine boss" all replied. Mclintock grinned at Davie, "he can't have seen us." City beat Liverpool 3-0 and as they were getting changed MG sat between Frank and Davie and said "you two were terrific". As he walked away he said "oh, by the way, you two can play golf every Friday"!
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Great story Bowstring, I'd forgotten that. What I do remember from the 1961 final was on the eve of the final, the team went to London to one of the Park Lane hotels. Frank McLintock, who was also painter and decorator by trade arrived at the ground on his pedal cycle. At the hotel, the team were introduced to Elizabeth Taylor who was intrigued as to why Frank was wearing bicycle clips! Now there's a sign of the times.