Alan Tate believes that the Lee Trundle factor made it very difficult for Rory Fallon during his time at Swansea
Fallon returns to Swansea City on Tuesday night with his new employers - looking to put a dent in their play off dream for this season.
Three years ago though he was a new boy at Swansea City with his best moment you would guess being the overhead kick that levelled the scores in the play off final against Barnsley. But that was a high moment in a year of low moments before the Swans recouped their money and sold him onto Plymouth where he still remains today.
But Swans vice captain Alan Tate believes that Rory never really got a chance at the club and was not helped by the hype that surrounded Lee Trundle during his time here.
Tate told Wales on Sunday “Rory did all right here, but I don’t think the fans ever really took to him. He got a bit of stick,”
“The whole thing was probably because of Lee Trundle. ‘Trunds’ got the goals, he had the skill and all that and Rory was just a different kind of player. Rory was a good team player, he just wasn’t the individual that Trunds was.
“Trundle had all the skills and then the supporters saw how much money was paid for Rory and were excepting the same kind of things from him. But they were never going to get it because he is a different kind of player.
“I think that is the way things turned out and unfortunately you cannot go back and change it.
“There will be a part of Rory now which is thinking he needs to come back here and prove himself
“It does add a bit of spice, I suppose. He will be coming here and trying his hardest.
“It is difficult to say what kind of reaction he will get. He had people who liked him here and people who did not like him,
“That is the kind of player he was. There were no real in-betweens with him.
“You did not get many thinking: ‘Oh, he was all right.’
“It was either, ‘Oh, I think he is really good’ or ‘I don’t think he is worth £300,000’.
“Hopefully he will have more people who think he was good in the crowd and he will get a decent reception because he did score some important goals for us.
“Sure, maybe he did not get as many as people might have wanted, but he did get some important ones.
“He is a laid-back kind of guy anyway and whether he gets a good reception or a bad reception it will not phase him at all.
“I don’t think booing him will get to him. I think you are better off just letting him get on with his game.”