Here we are half way through the league season, and doing well so far. However here’s a bit of a teaser,if you had to vote for a player of the season so far, who would it be. Not easy ,some very good performances. I have gone for the player with most outfield appearances,so Chris must rate him, can play defence,midfield and chip in with a few goals and that is Jake Elliott. How about you.
Ollie has certainly improved greatly but he’s not even the best left back at the club. Jake or Daniel for me. Jake has been superb all season, can’t remember a poor game whereas Daniel for me is the best player in the league. But then you have Stone, Lovatt, Elphick, Dixon, very difficult and probably unfair to pick out anyone.
Wish I could choose eleven! It's been such an outstanding team effort so far: if you look across our dozen-or-so regular starters, every single player is good on the ball, aggressive in the tackle, willing to work harder than the opposition, eager to learn, and so on, and so on. To pick out individuals seems to go against the whole spirit of the thing...
...but with that in mind, I'd pick out two in particular. The first is Ben Pope, who's played an absolutely vital, transformative role as a target man who can hold the ball up, bring others into play, press the opposition and, of course, score goals as well. He does so much work, a great deal of it not terribly glamorous; there have been countless goals, such as the first on Saturday, which have begun with him winning a tackle, dragging a defender out of position or getting a flick onto a long ball. Small things that make all the difference. If it's been a team effort, that team is so much harder to play against when it has Ben Pope in it.
And the other, in a similar spirit, is Daniel Ajaikaye. Thought we'd struggle to hang onto him after last season's exploits; a striker who scores thirty-plus goals while also being prepared to work his socks off must be coveted by other clubs. That he's been willing to adapt to a different role in which he'll struggle to score half that number of goals is hugely to his credit, and hugely to the team's benefit.
But even in picking out those two, I feel I should doff my cap to Lanre Azeez who hasn't had a mention yet and puts in a fantastic shift every game. So many candidates. What a great problem to have...
(This whole thread feels like it's tempting fate, though. We'll be terrible on Saturday, just wait and see...)
It's been such an outstanding team effort so far: if you look across our dozen-or-so regular starters, every single player is good on the ball, aggressive in the tackle, willing to work harder than the opposition, eager to learn, and so on, and so on. To pick out individuals seems to go against the whole spirit of the thing...