For me Gareth Whalley is currently a luxury we can ill afford.
What to do with him depends on a number of things.
1. Notwithstanding that his ankle injury was caused by a disgraceful lunch from a thug from a pub in Droylsden )Lynch) who should have been sent of, is Whalley going to play 20 games between now and May? If he is, then he has a role as his deep lying passing should be able to give us the width we desperately lack.
2. Is Whalley going to at least put a foot in occasionally? He never has been a Carmody esque player and we don't expect him to howver he has to show at least a little bit more fight than we have seen thus far. We aren't good enough to carry anyone in that centre midfield and surely someone who has played in the premeirship has at least some physical capabilities.
3. What sort of wages is Whalley on? I would expect him to be one of the highest earners at the club. If so, are these wages better deployed elsewhere? With the transfer window we are at make or break time. For all his pedigree and indeed Jake Sedgemores, I would contend that neither of them have added anymore direction, drive or vision to our play than Steve Bushell (who we viewed as disappointing ultimately) did last year.
At the moment I am inclined to say I just want to see battlers in midfield and money used for a striker or left back. If the answers to 1 and 2 are positive then 3 becomes irrelevant but these are the facts of the matter. I don't care to much about his demeanour or indeed whether he comes into the bar or not after to be honest but it's decision time really.