Things are looking good.Without doubt for me the difference is the stability that Andy Crosby and Paul Musselwhite have brought. The team is developing a solid confidence that radiates out from the back. Tommy Evans is a good shot stopper without doubt, but as my old Irish mother would say you wouldn’t hear him behind a stamp. And Barraclough looks like another good signing, and in the same way as Crosby and Butler look to be turning into a winning partnership Barraclough and Kell have an air of confidence about them. We’re not there yet but it’s all looking like coming together nicely.
Maybe, just maybe, this could be our year. It is of course tempting to wonder how different a start we made have had if Steve Torpey had not been injured.
For me we are now playing more football because the route one target is no longer there. OK we tried to cast Mat Bailey in the role of understudy, perhaps hoping that if he looked enough like Torps then the audience wouldn’t notice, like they do in a soap opera when they actor playing a character changes.
When Laws made the late night call to Mark Lillis on the scrounge I suspect it was his height that made him the obvious candidate. But Bailey is more of a footballer than a traditional target man, and for a lad that tall he has good touch and control. He did well enough I thought, but when the excellent Keogh got his chance and was so impressive we were suddenly liberated.
In the past the plan involved lumping it upfield to Torpey who glanced, knocked or otherwise diverted it somewhere or other and Hayes’ job would be to live off the scraps. Worked about once in forty times and on the other thirty nine occasions the ball was quickly back up our end of the field. Nowadays we pass the ball out and guess what – we’re good at it.
The reason we got a result against Lincoln was because for once we were not playing them at their game. We are getting the best out of intelligent footballers like Kell and Barraclough, and feeding players like Beagrie, Taylor and Sparrow who can do the business given the ball at their feet.
I suspect however that if we had started this season lumping it up to Torps things might have been very different. Barraclough and Kell would have found themselves bypassed with only neck ache to worry about and with no opportunity to develop as a partnership. Crosby and Musselwhite would have had little opportunity to find their feet.
And let’s be under no illusion that if things had started badly then a sizeable proportion of the crowd would have been les than supportive shall we say, which would have further destabilised the team, causing more mistakes, which would in turn provoke more vocal criticism, etc., etc.
Yes this season could have started very differently. Which is not to say I don’t think Steve Torpey is a prize asset, or that he is now surplus to requirements. He can play football too and let’s just hope we don’t revert to hoofing it up to him when he’s back. Ideally he needs a nasty head wound that would allow him to play otherwise but make heading the ball impossible.
Perhaps Brian could do the honours with a tray of sandwiches.