The human psyche is a funny thing. Naturally, we feel like we are right. We feel that given the same set of information, that our reasoning is more accurate than someone with a contradictory opinion. Our brain highlights evidence which supports our preferred opinion and ignores evidence to the contrary.
Ego and pride then get in the way when it becomes time to admit you missed something, or that your deductive reasoning was flawed. So, let’s get it out of the way, then.
I was wrong.
Not indecisive, or slightly inaccurate, but fully, one hundred percent erroneous.
Kenny Miller is very, very useful.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Not like John Thorrington <i>"when he ain’t injured he ain’t bad"</i> useful, but actually every match, 90 minute, positively contributing to gaining points useful.
After the midseason shuffle in 2012, which not only resulted in a severe slump in form but also a massive downturn in overall team charisma, Miller was named as one of the main culprits for everything that had gone wrong. I was the first to call for his head.
Now, I didn’t scream about misguided designated player contracts or whine about players being brought in from struggling national sides, but I definitely thought that if either of the two Scottish Designated Players should be bought out, that it should be Kenny.
Barry Robson showed us, even if for only moments like in that home game against the Galaxy, that he could be that real General that the Whitecaps lacked. While he wasn’t exactly a creative maestro, he certainly provided some truculence and fire to the midfield both when defending as well as in attack.
I truly believed that in the offseason Kenny Miller would be sent back to some Championship or Scottish club. And I thought that was the right move. We didn’t need him. He wasn’t fast, he couldn’t create, and he looked to be gassed both physically and mentally, unable to come up with any idea of how to provide offense. His notoriously high work rate had started to wane, and he didn’t look like he was having fun, and any time he managed to be involved in a sparking of the offense, he immediately fizzled out and disappeared for the next 30 minutes.
Maybe his float-and-poach approach would work for a club like the Galaxy or Sporting Kansas City, but surely not a team looking to find it’s legs in the final third. And surely not at $1.2 million.
And you know what the worst part of the whole midseason shuffle was? I didn’t really even enjoy cheering for the players anymore.
There was something loveable about Davide Chiumiento and Eric Hassli. They both had their warts. Some pretty significant ones. But they both really appeared to love this city, this club, and each other, and as a supporter you truly wanted to rally behind them. Even after a disastrous showing, of which there were many, you hoped to see their names drawn in the team sheet on match day.
Miller wasn’t like that. He couldn’t make it here. He wasn't athletic enough. He’d lost his touch on the pitch, and he was out of touch with the fans.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
This season, Kenny Miller looks like he has been shot out of a rocket. He runs harder than anyone else on the pitch, whether that be closing down a defender holding onto the ball, forcing himself into space, or even running down an opposition fullback dashing towards Joe Cannon’s corner flag.
He looks hungry, alert, and focused. He’s been a leader, and has taken to coaching and encouraging inexperienced teammates as they mould into professional footballers. His instincts have returned, and he continually pops up in the most advantageous of positions. The man is unlucky to not have three goals in the first two games of the season.
The most ironic of all is that the club's highest paid player, who was the target of many a groan and jeer for his uninspiring play last season, has become a bit of an underdog who gets a raucous round of applause for every dogged backtrack or selfless layoff.
Kenny Miller is now, without a doubt, a player for whom I am very loudly cheering on. Not just because he scores goals, but because he’s a guy I identify with. He’s a guy who faced some adversity and dug deep, despite the criticism, and came out to prove himself and protect his reputation.
He’s scored a goal and looked likely to score two or three others. He assisted a goal that was most likely unfairly brought back for offside, and he has been an integral part of killing off the last two games with good hold up play and resolute defending. Miller doesn’t look like he’ll be giving up his starting eleven position any time soon.
Kenny has certainly proven me wrong. And I’ll be the first to admit it.
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