Is Akpom the biggest turnaround in fan opinions since Zenden?

Hamilton Ricard after we got promoted perhaps.🤔

Even then that's a stretch as he hadn't underachieved with us for as long beforehand. But it's doubtless exacerbated by the fact that someone who was completely "Meh" in the second tier somehow went on to bother the top of the goalscoring charts in the Prem?
 
I agree its bigger change in fortunes than Zenden. Chuba has become a star striker in just 4 months. Last season there were a few on here that were willing to drive him anywhere off Teesside and I don't recall Zenden getting that much grief on the Board at the time.
 
Can't even think of a similar example at other clubs. There must be one though.

Zenden was ok before being moved into the middle and really shining. I think it was just that it made for a good song that he had the "used to be *****" reputation.
 
None more so than Chuba. But just about every Boro player has been consider rubbish then great and vice versa and sometimes back and forth.

Even just looking at the current team.

Dijksteel, Bola, Lenihan, Fry, Howson, McGree, Jones.

You could argue almost the entire team.
 
Zenden just had a slow start, nobody ever really thought he was a poor player.

Ricard is the best example I think.

People on this board were slagging him off like crazy. Easy to pretend otherwise. Just like give it a few more months and people will claim they always rated McGree 🤣
 
Definitely Chuba, 5 months ago we’d have paid clubs to take him off our hands.

even I’d written him off …. My apologies Chuba

you’re the main man 👍
 
People on this board were slagging him off like crazy. Easy to pretend otherwise. Just like give it a few more months and people will claim they always rated McGree 🤣
But there's a difference between not performing and everyone thinking that you're hopeless
 
People on this board were slagging him off like crazy. Easy to pretend otherwise. Just like give it a few more months and people will claim they always rated McGree 🤣
Quite a few knew Mcgree was a good player at this level based on his Birmingham days.
 
Zenden just had a slow start, nobody ever really thought he was a poor player.

Ricard is the best example I think.
Agree with this, Zenden didn’t look great at first but we weren’t ever seemingly desperate to get rid of him, as we appeared to be with Chuba last summer.

When Pogatetz first came he wasn’t really very well liked and ended up a fan favourite, but still nothing like this sort of scale.
 
Yes but even more thought he offered nothing and would never replace Tav.
That’s true. I was actually ridiculed on OneBoro for suggesting that losing Tav might not be a bad thing as McGree could eventually be as good or better.

If we still had Tav now I really don’t think we’d be higher than 3rd.
 
Akpom has massively benefitted from that drop off in position- he's far better in the pocket/hole , his attributes lend to the position much better

I still think he is a very limited number 9 if you play him as a number 9, fans views were based on him playing that, usually with a tactic of lumping
the ball up to him against a big centre half
 
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