John Welsh To Get Starting Place?

Hull City midfielder John Welsh has had a troubled time at Hull City since joining from Liverpool last season. Apart from having one prolonged period in the team, Welsh has struggled to hold down a regular place under Phil Parkinson and in the previous regime under Peter Taylor.

Despite being an England under 21 international, the hard-working midfielder has found first-team chances hard to come by. Despite featuring in the opening day defeat to West Bromwich Albion where the player was denied a late penalty after being brought down in the box, Welsh was dropped from the squad and has been rarely seen again.

Last night, in Hull City’s victory against Hartlepool United, Welsh had the perfect opportunity to remind Phil Parkinson what he was missing out on. Instead, he failed to impress against a League 2 midfield. Although showing glimpses of what makes him an England U21 international with some tough tackling, Welsh wasn’t able to sustain a good performance throughout the match and all too often passes went astray.

Despite this, 42% believe that John Welsh is a vital asset to the club. Unfortunately for him, the current midfield pairing of Ian Ashbee and David Livermore are starting to make the central midfield areas their own. Last night’s subdued performance showed how important the passion and rive of Ian Ashbee is to the team whilst Livermore’s performances to date don’t deserve the player t be dropped.

With his chances hard to come by, and places in the sixteen man squad limited for the midfielder, City fans are understandably worried about losing their prized asset in the January transfer window – after all, how long will he hang around waiting for his chance, and how long will it be before another club realises his talent and makes us an offer?

32% of fans believe he isn’t needed and on last night’s performance has showed he can fulfil the position of a squad player but not a first-team regular. 26% answered the question ‘Where is he anyway?’ Perhaps he has gone wherever Nicky Barmby has gone.

The forthcoming game against QPR will not see John Welsh feature in the first-team based on last night’s performance. The player’s that played last night must learn that to make an impact they have to show us what they can do, and turn in better performances than they did last night.