Daring to Dream

This morning’s papers are reporting that Jimmy Bullard and Nick Barmby had a scrap during a training session (or maybe even two) following last weekend’s humiliation at Everton.

If this is indeed true, City fans can take one of a couple of approaches to the news.

There is the element that will say, ‘good, at least they care so much that they are prepared to front each other up about failings on the pitch. Better that than being out every night partying as the fans pray for survival’.

But then there is the alternate view. The one that says if Barmby did confront Bullard over supposed ‘laziness’, does he have a point?

It seems a tad harsh to knock Jimmy after the number of potentially career-threatening injuries he has fought through, but the question remains over some of his off-field behaviour since he arrived at the club.

It is an open secret that he has spent much of his recovery time enjoying himself, shall we say, and making the most of west Hull’s nightlife.

Could he possibly have returned earlier than he has from any of the knocks he’s received, as Barmby presumably was suggesting? It’s hard to say.

The mauling at Everton appeared to highlight the squad’s lack of unity on the field. Now we learn of potential unrest off it as well. It is the last thing the fans want to hear ahead of arguably the club’s biggest month since promotion (although we seem to have had quite a few weeks labelled ‘the biggest in the club’s history’ in recent years).

The best way to prove that all is well is for the squad to pull together on the field, start picking up results and slowly work us away from the bottom three.

Bullard will be crucial to this, and Barmby could yet prove to have a substantial role to play in the run-in, as he did a year ago.

What price one setting up the other for a winner against Arsenal tomorrow?