“At least we know one member of LCFC staff is working hard and thats the physio, they dont seem to be bad managers either looking at Scunny and Tranmere. Saves on the budget too.”

“I completely agree with you Jonathan over Butcher.

Pearce missing is unfortunate but certainly not a problem as Hone is more than capable of filling his boots (a future Captain in my mind).

Herd would be a big loss, but with all the bookings that he collects it will happen anyway at some point, so we might as well get used to a contingency plan, and assuming we retain a 4- 4 -2 formation we have plenty of midfielders to choose from.
I¿m assuming Kerr will rightly keep his place and probably Saunders (though I confess he still has to convince me) then just about any other from the midfield squad can be the third midfielder, but obviously we want a similar high energy replacement for Herd. One who will chase everything and win important tackles. For me, Green (if fit) could do this, after all he was a midfielder when he came to us. I would even consider playing Connor or Somma out of position and in midfield, as they are both prepared to chase everything and make nuisances of themselves.
Whether there is agreement or not about my team suggestions, the real point I want to make is that we do have a reasonably good squad to select from, and there is no need to be down hearted even if these two quality players (Pearce and Herd) are not available, there are still many permutations available that can produce a positive result for us.
Now if Birch was injured, I might be worried, but that¿s another story.”

“butch will probably return to city but it must be hard to play for a manager that has made it quite clear that he dont like you and dont want you. even if you are being paid to do a job.”

“Jonathon Ricketts, voice of reason.

Butcher is past his sell-by date. Since his return, he has done little of note, and quite often has seen the game pass him by. He does not offer enough in either an attacking or defensive role. Given, that we are trying to develop an up-tempo slick passing game, his lack of mobility is also a problem, as it is undoubtedly with Sick-note Oakes.
Sadly, for all his seeming love for our club, he just isn't good enough.
Personally, I always thought Peter Gain was twice the player, and I don't see him as much more use than Shane Clarke in the current squad.
Just my opinion though, and everyone else is entitled to theirs.”

“Butcher 'average' is better than Keltie or Oakes have been this season, why waste the wages? I am not saying Chris Sutton is evil either, just that he didn't accept his pay-off, it was stupidly made public, so now they have to kiss and make up for the good of the club, I doubt Macc are meeting much of his wages if hes earning anything reasonable.”