Tuesday, September 20, 2005
5 Back in Action
Five key squad players returned to full training this week after varying amounts of time on the treatment table. And nothing could be more timely, ahead of the first Tees - Wear derby in 3 years! Parnaby, Riggott, Mendieta, Nemeth and Hasselbaink have all been passed as fit. Although it is unlikely any of them will do better than the subs bench come Sunday it is still good news.Jimmy Floyd and Gaizka may be the star names and the big wage earners but I am of the opinion that Chris Riggott is the most significant returnee. Ugo Ehiogu is getting on in years and has not looked too solid at times in recent games, so Chris would be an invaluable stand-in long term, eventually perhaps replacing him altogether...
On the down side, both Mark Schwarzer and James Morrison picked up knocks at Wigan (both from Lee McCulloch!) and are 50/50 for the weekend. Morrison especially was looking good in the first half and would be much preferred to Mendieta on the right, also in my opinion. Either way we are sure to stuff our neighbours by a good margin - bring it on...!
