Post by Macmoish on Mar 19, 2011 8:19:10 GMT
The Herald
Plymouth Argyle's Simon Walton is praised for his attitude
PETER REID has praised midfielder Simon Walton (pictured below) for his commitment to cash-strapped Plymouth Argyle.
The Greens are facing the drop from League One after being docked 10 points for announcing their intention to go into administration – a process which has since happened.
With the club being forced to sell key players such as top goal-scorer Bradley Wright-Phillips to ease their financial crisis, it is far from inconceivable that Walton will become a vital cog in Argyle's machine as they fight to avoid relegation.
Reid made it clear yesterday that he was impressed with the way Walton had applied himself since he had returned to training after recovering from a severe knee injury.
Walton has spent more time away from Home Park than he has at it in recent seasons.
The midfielder was signed by ex-Argyle manager Paul Sturrock from Queens Park Rangers in August 2008 and is under contract to Argyle until the summer of next year.
But Walton fell out of favour with his new employers and spent most of last season on loan to Crewe Alexandra in League Two.
His last appearance for Argyle was more than two years ago, in a 2-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic in February 2009.
Walton signed for Championship club Sheffield United on a season-long loan last summer.
But in their first pre-season friendly, away to Mansfield Town in July, the 23-year-old suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury.
Argyle and Sheffield United came to an agreement where Walton's loan was cancelled.
He stayed in Yorkshire for his operation and the start of his rehabilitation, before returning to Home Park to work with club physios Paul Atkinson and Ian Leigh.
Walton, who seemed destined not to play for Argyle again after apparently dropping well down the midfield pecking order, was given a run-out in the reserves at Forest Green on March 7.
His latest appearance for the club's second team was against Swansea, which saw Walton successfully complete the majority of Tuesday's game.
Reid said he had been impressed with Walton's attitude to the predicament the club found itself in.
The Argyle boss, who has praised the character of the rest of his squad, said, ahead of today's visit of Rochdale in League One (3pm): "Simon's in the squad today, having got through 70 minutes against Swansea.
"I've known the boy since he was at Leeds as a young player.
"His attitude has been similar to the other players – first and foremost, they want to get Argyle out of the situation it's in, so his attitude has been good.
"I asked him to go on the bench when he was less than 100 per cent fit and asked him if he was available. He jumped at the chance.
"I think that showed an attitude of he's going to do his best for this football club and I was really pleased with that.
"He's been terrific in training and had a really bad injury, but nowadays, with the specialists around, these sort of injuries are dealt with really well.
"In many cases, knees come back stronger than they were.
"Yes, he's got to rebuild his career, because he's definitely got ability."
www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/sport/Walton-praised-attitude/article-3348991-detail/article.html
Plymouth Argyle's Simon Walton is praised for his attitude
PETER REID has praised midfielder Simon Walton (pictured below) for his commitment to cash-strapped Plymouth Argyle.
The Greens are facing the drop from League One after being docked 10 points for announcing their intention to go into administration – a process which has since happened.
With the club being forced to sell key players such as top goal-scorer Bradley Wright-Phillips to ease their financial crisis, it is far from inconceivable that Walton will become a vital cog in Argyle's machine as they fight to avoid relegation.
Reid made it clear yesterday that he was impressed with the way Walton had applied himself since he had returned to training after recovering from a severe knee injury.
Walton has spent more time away from Home Park than he has at it in recent seasons.
The midfielder was signed by ex-Argyle manager Paul Sturrock from Queens Park Rangers in August 2008 and is under contract to Argyle until the summer of next year.
But Walton fell out of favour with his new employers and spent most of last season on loan to Crewe Alexandra in League Two.
His last appearance for Argyle was more than two years ago, in a 2-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic in February 2009.
Walton signed for Championship club Sheffield United on a season-long loan last summer.
But in their first pre-season friendly, away to Mansfield Town in July, the 23-year-old suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury.
Argyle and Sheffield United came to an agreement where Walton's loan was cancelled.
He stayed in Yorkshire for his operation and the start of his rehabilitation, before returning to Home Park to work with club physios Paul Atkinson and Ian Leigh.
Walton, who seemed destined not to play for Argyle again after apparently dropping well down the midfield pecking order, was given a run-out in the reserves at Forest Green on March 7.
His latest appearance for the club's second team was against Swansea, which saw Walton successfully complete the majority of Tuesday's game.
Reid said he had been impressed with Walton's attitude to the predicament the club found itself in.
The Argyle boss, who has praised the character of the rest of his squad, said, ahead of today's visit of Rochdale in League One (3pm): "Simon's in the squad today, having got through 70 minutes against Swansea.
"I've known the boy since he was at Leeds as a young player.
"His attitude has been similar to the other players – first and foremost, they want to get Argyle out of the situation it's in, so his attitude has been good.
"I asked him to go on the bench when he was less than 100 per cent fit and asked him if he was available. He jumped at the chance.
"I think that showed an attitude of he's going to do his best for this football club and I was really pleased with that.
"He's been terrific in training and had a really bad injury, but nowadays, with the specialists around, these sort of injuries are dealt with really well.
"In many cases, knees come back stronger than they were.
"Yes, he's got to rebuild his career, because he's definitely got ability."
www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/sport/Walton-praised-attitude/article-3348991-detail/article.html