By Hughie Southon
Am I wrong to believe that David Moyes should have made his mind up over Conor Coventry given the lad has been on the fringes of the first team squad since the manager has been at the club?
We ran a story earlier saying that the young midfielder was likely to have a last chance of impressing the Scot on the Australian pre-season tour.
But after four years at the club surely the manager has had enough time to make his mind up about the lad given that he decided to spend £12 million on Flynn Downes, clearly in preference to the academy product.
Moyes has been able to monitor Conor during his time at the club , regularly sending him out on loan where he did very well apart from a spell in a poor Peterborough United team which was relegated after he was sent to Milton Keynes Dons midway through that season where he was on loan.
In fact in his time under this manager he has been loaned out to Lincoln, the Posh, MK Dons and last season Rotherham United which is sure enough time for the manager to have made a decision.
For me, the little I’ve seen of him shows that he is quite as good as, and more creative than Downes, but I fear we will see him suffer the same fate as Josh Cullen.
I hope not but with a year left on his contract I hope the lad isn’t kept hanging around ! Surely the manager knows by now whether he thinks he is a first team player or not!
I can’t see him playing for Moyes. He doesn’t fit, like Cullen before, and Lanzini last year, Moyes does not select them. Even Downes, whom Moyes signed, does not get picked. If they are not very tall and a bit clumsy, like Soucek or Fellani, they do not fit Moyes model. Moyes has done this to Conor for four years, and like Manu, he won’t make him a first choice. As it goes, I put Cornet and Downes in that same category.