“Steve, Lincolnshire.....I know people have differing opinions....but if you think that Shane Clarke is better than Richard Butcher then I am sad for you AND SUTTON AND JACKSON AND SCHOFIELD. I don't give two s h ONE t's about how good Clarke is in training or whatever.....On the pitch on Saturday/Tuesday he ain't good enough....PERIOD. Since he was dropped, City have looked like winners....UNTIL the excellent Chris Herd was injured. Make no bones about it, City need "up an' at 'em" midfielders, not paceless, reactionless, pedestrian "can't win a header against 5 foot nothing" players in the centre of midfield. Sutton seemed to have allowed the penny to clang but now he's lost it again. Five minutes of watching Clarke flounder is enough for me to realise we are still in a huge relegation battle. UP THE IMPS! PS Maybe Butcher in the centre of midfield (with renewed vigour) will help make up for Herd and the excellent Sergio Torres being out........Oh!...what a dream ticket....Herd and Torres running riot in midfield as permanent City players..........dream on.....”

“butch should be given some first team action,surely cant have lost his talent and desire in half a season. up the IMPS”

“Washyimp, tou talk like a tait.
Butcher is a nice lad and was signed by the imps manager and board.
What right do you have to say he no good.
Does he come on this site and tell you what carp you talk.
Now get back down Washy road and stick you head up you own A.......”

“Butchers not been good enough since he came back. If you lot think hes so good then why has no other club come in for him. With sixteen months left on his contract it looks to me that hes not really interested in playing again for anyone.”

“I'm sure heis a good lad and has some affinity to the club, having been here several times and for several years.
BUT, he simply isn't good enough. He does not offer enough in either half of the field. He doesn't have the pace to be the forward running midfield role carried out so well by Herd. He doesn't have the mettle to play the holding role. And he isn't snappy enough in the tackle either.
I have to say, I didn't rate him too highly first time around. He was better then for sure, but there is no escaping the fact that he wasn't half the player that Peter Gain was.
He has every right to knock back the pay-off, I don' think many would do differently if they were unsure of getting a similar deal elsewhere.”

“I might add when butcher did play he set up goals and we won and he did not play in midfeild sutton has never played him there. just because things didant go right as a team then it does not say butcher would not do well with team we have now.

Butcher is good enough and sutton should get his head out of the rich clouds he is in and come down to the real world of football. stick it out butcher you are good enough.”

“just give him a chance! if hes not good enough after a run of games then fine, but he hasnt really had a chance. whats the point in all these loan players coming in? now thats a waste of funds, when you have an experienced player already at the club, who knows that league not someone premiership youth reserve player who doesnt care like butch does, stand your ground butcher!”

“When Butch played earlier in the season he was not the same player that left LCFC, he did not score goals and did not make those box to box runs we were use to. In the present formation with a loan striker it requires the midfield to get forward and get back to defend so I don,t think Butch has the game to play in the present side. If he loves LCFC that much why is he staying and taking good money off the club.”

“Sorry, when did Butcher become to worlds greatest player? For me he has been average at best. Are people really advocating keeping him on the wage bill because he is a nice lad, rather than freeing up some money for someone decent? Who's lacking ambition now?”

“By best XI - I mean Suttons best XI. We'd all pick different, Ian Pearce would probably pick a different XI. That's football.

A new manager should not pick based on sentimentality - just how he sees it.”