I think if you check your posting history I think you'll find you did say those words about him although I acknowledge it wasn't in the normal context. So yep i also acknowledge you try to be constructive in your criticism. Pretty much every forward thinking player costs us potential goal scoring chances so although I understand your point I think it's extremely harsh to single him out when it's pretty clear like I've said many times, the opposition more often than not double up on marking him. That will be discussed in their pre-match preparations. I doubt they pay the same respect to pretty much every other player in our squad. Do you ever consider factoring that into your views and how difficult it can be for him? Do you ever factor in to your views that when Bowler gets the ball that we rarely have a player who tries to get close to him to make themselves available to receive a pass? Personally, I think it's remarkable that he manages to beat so many closely marking defenders that he does. So I'm not one for criticising him when he loses the ball. And of course I have to acknowledge that his final ball could often be better than it is. There again, I've recently seen Lavery trying to cross a ball into the box or pass to a player and that leaves a lot to be desired.
I'll also add that I've never really got involved in the debate as to Bowlers value and keeping him or letting him go because of the circumstances with regards to time left on his contract. Think the only time I've specified an amount is that if he still had a three year contract or so my view is that he'd be worth upwards of 10 million.
As for answering your question, well Critchley isn't the ultimate deciding factor at Villa. And it's stating the obvious that many managers move onwards and upwards without feeling the need to go back to former teams to buy their players. I've always tended to focus on Bowler as a Blackpool player and what he has done for us. And for me, he's got me out of my seat so many times and he is up there with the very best of great Blackpool players who with the ball at their feet had an uncanny ability to beat opposition players with such ease. I know your username contains the word "wizard" Well Stanley Matthews was the 'wizard of dribble' so i don't know if your username was a deliberate reference to those skills but if so you should be able to appreciate what an art form and difficult skill it is. Especially in todays age.
