Quote: Th'ump "I think there's some unwarranted criticism & revisionism going on about Gardner. He's a player who, though never a world beater and had a frustrating reluctance to take on a player on the outside, never given less than 100% for the club. I'm never comfortable when players like that get the sort of sneering criticism some have expressed in this thread.'"
As already mentioned, everyone respects what players like Ade have done. But there is no room for such sentimentality in sport. Gardner would only ever be backup to the kids in the team, and would probably fall behind kids coming through from the academy like Percival (I know I'd pick him over Ade on the wing).