It must be conceded that Oliver Skipp is another whom this outlet may have misjudged. In the fickle court of public opinion, where narratives are forged in the financial fire, or the heat of a single wayward pass, the industrious midfielder was often relegated to the periphery of appreciation.
Yet it is Skipp's own nuanced theory on the psychology of the modern game that has finally thwarted former preconceptions and dismantled the distorted eye tests of his detractors. The tired trope that he simply "did not cut it" at Tottenham Hotspur (a club currently flirting with a calamitous descent that could see them join Leicester City in the Championship next season) is a lazy simplification.
Skipp did not fail in North London: he was arguably stifled, and had competent role rivals. Seeking the oxygen of regular playing time, he arrived at King Power Stadium burdened by an initial £20 million transfer fee (that could rise toward £25 million).
"There's always expectation, especially if you do go for a significant amount of money. But there's always pressure internally that I put on myself. I don't think anyone from outside would put as many demands on me as I do myself. It was the club's decision to pay it."Skipp - LCFC Live
At the time, such an outlay felt like an indulgence; a figure that wasn't initially justifiable to the cynical observer. However, metamorphosis is now complete: Skipp looks every part the 'quarter of a £100m player'. A metronomic presence who has remarkably supplanted his fellow Spurs alumnus, Harry Winks.
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Whilst City lead Queens Park Rangers at the time of writing, Skipp performs the Herculean task of doing both men's work as a solitary number six. He has therefore proven his thesis correct: price tags and external expectations serve only to distort reality and cloud honest appraisals.
The 25-year-old's realisation that a player is often a prisoner to his valuation shows a cerebral depth rare in the dressing room. With such keen analytical notions, a seamless transition into management or elite coaching surely awaits once his playing days reach their twilight.