Danny Guthrie loves Latin threesome.
Posted on November 19th, 2009 | 21 Comments |
On their spirit, and the so-called ‘English mentality’, Guthrie gushed:
“You might talk about the so-called English mentality, about being able to fight when your back is against the wall and showing strength in adversity,”
“But the foreign lads have also shown plenty of spirit and that’s really good to see. You sometimes hear stories about players who don’t really fancy a battle when they come over to play in this country, but Jose, Jonas and Fabricio have really knuckled down. It would have been easy for them to fob it off once we had been relegated, but they have stayed and they have got on with it.
“People have preconceptions about what foreign players are going to be like and whether they have the stomach for it, but they have been brilliant and haven’t been fazed by anything this season.”
On dispelling myths, and how Jonas’s “skinny little legs” are much tougher than they look, Guthrie continued:
“It does dispel a few myths. They could have rolled over and played a bit part, but they came back in the summer, rolled up their sleeves with the rest of us and have got on with it. I don’t know if they get targeted more than the English lads, although Jonas does because of the way he plays. But he’s tougher than he looks. He’s got skinny little legs, but he can take a whack, get up and carry on going.
“He has shown that this season and all three of them deserve a lot of credit for the way they have conducted themselves.”
Guthrie then moved on to Newcastle in the Championship, and how other teams from the division have been looking forward to “turning over” the big fancy Dans fresh from the Premiership and supposedly in chaos behind the scenes.
“I think some people in the Championship were looking forward to playing us and turning us over. They might have expected us to be soft and ready to roll over whenever the going got tough.
“We’ve had to show a bit of steel and we haven’t been kicked off our game or bullied at all. We’ve got to be strong and that will always be the case because we know we’re the team everyone wants to beat. A lot has been made of the fact we have a really good team spirit and everyone has contributed to that. You’ve got your senior players like Nicky Butt, Alan Smith and Steve Harper who set an example, but everyone has bought into what we’re trying to do.”
Hmmm, well, writing from a personal point of view, I think that they have had to make some adjustments for the speed of the English game, with little time for fancy little passes in your own box etc. Enrique, the first to come over seems to be well and truly there now, and has been one of our best players this term so far. Despite some erratic displays from Guti and Colo, they have definitely been making progress too.
Like all three – all will be a feature in the Prem when we return.
Good signings. (WHOEVER MADE THEM)