Tuesday, January 30, 2007

All the young dudes

I was disappointed to hear that Jay McEveley has been sold by Rovers to Derby County. I love it when home grown players burst into the first team and always see it as failure when they leave and do well somewhere else. There was a time when the backbone of Birmingham City's team was three ex-Rovers players, Dunnie, Damien Johnson and Tiny Taylor, that Graeme Souness had discarded or fallen out with.

Jay was a decent enough player who had suffered through some unlucky injuries. I remember him knocking David Beckham into the stand in a semi-final at Old Trafford, then getting injured and going on loan to, ahem, Burnley and Ipswich.

The best Rovers teams all had a talisman - a player who connects with the fans, either because he was one himself, or he's done well when the club have given him a chance - Simon Garner, Colin Hendry, David Dunn spring to mind. For all his badge kissing, Savage doesn't quite do it.

That said, Matt Derbyshire is doing ever so well. Hope springs for him.

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