Ins and Outs - And Belated David Young Tribute

After yesterday’s flurry of activity and this morning’s further addition, and with another few days left, we now stand at six in – Dykes, Clarke, Chambers, Fevrier, Brooks and Coady – and three out – Maynard-Brewer, Arter and Olaofe, with no shortage of speculation over further moves in both directions. To the extent that the three who have left were playing no meaningful role in the team/squad, leaving aside whether or not they should have been, it follows that we are stronger on balance, primarily in the troublesome wing-back areas. If you add in recently losing Edwards and Knibbs for the rest of the season the scales are of course more balanced.

We are all still shocked by last Saturday’s lame surrender, which has translated into more intense debate around Jones’ chosen formation and tactics, selections and substitutions, rumours of him having bust-ups with one or two, and criticism of the ambitions of the owners in light of our budget set against others in the Championship. There’s always a danger of a reality check feeding into overreaction. We have learnt, like all children do, that Jones the Boss isn’t perfect, he doesn’t have a Midas touch, just an approach to the game and creating teams that has served certain clubs, including us, extremely well. When Carey slammed home the last-gasp winner against West Brom in early November we were starting to imagine that the play-offs were in the realm of the possible, that a team punching above its weight due to an emphasis on a mean defence, sheer hard work and determination might just achieve the if not impossible then highly unlikely. Injuries – Edwards, Bell, Burke, Ramsay, Godden, Kelman – took their toll, others – Leaburn, Campbell, Apter, Olaofe etc – have overall struggled to step up to Championship standards, which was overshadowed early in the season as we weren’t conceding goals.

We’ve had a reality check – and I guess the owners have too. In November they were probably sitting back very contentedly, imagining that little needed to be done in the January window, and that they could safely plan for strengthening to be more competitive next season. And they have responded to the changed circumstances. I don’t see any grounds for criticism of their actions, given the plans, goals and parameters they stressed when they took us over.

I merely hope that when the dust settles on Monday evening we all take a deep breath – after beating Leicester of course - and then focus on what matters: doing all we can to help us avoid relegation. That for me means an end to negative criticism of whoever plays (as opposed to constructive suggestions). I’m already tired of seeing comments such as those suggesting Gillesphey is not up to playing in the Championship. Whether or not he is – and he is not by a long shot among the worst defenders to play for us in the second flight - is irrelevant. What do comments like that do for his confidence, and that of those around him? If he – and anyone else – steps onto the pitch for us we hope he has a blinder and we win. Period.

Of those who have gone out, we all I’m sure wish Maynard-Brewer every success at Dundee Utd and for Australia. He has been a credit to himself and the club. From afar I’d say the one thing that perhaps stood/stands in the way of him being/becoming a top keeper is that indefinable quality, presence. A goalkeeper may need to be mad (Keily etc) but he also needs to bully the opposition and command those around him (Schmeichel being the obvious example). Whatever, he’s still only 26 and as a keeper has his best years ahead of him.

We hope we see both Apter and Olaofe again as they both have a good deal to offer; it is a pity that out of necessity (registered player numbers) they have been shifted out for now. Just who imagined Apter could operate as a wing-back needs to have a serious rethink. It was apparent before Bree joined that clubs could target him when they attack, in the air and on the ground. Going forward he shone brightly in the early part of the season and if played as a winger will do so again in the Championship at least. Olaofe wasn’t given a decent run in the side and kind of fell between the stools of target man and willing runner in behind. We perhaps forget (as we bought him rather than him coming through the ranks) that he’s still only 22, the same age as Leaburn, who we regard as still developing.

Of those who have arrived, Dykes has slotted in to good effect so far, although I had assumed he and Leaburn would alternate to a greater extent rather than being tried as a pair. Clarke has hit the ground running (allowing for the fact that nobody came out of the Millwall game with credit), Chambers it is much too early to make any sort of assessment, but moving forward with the ball on Saturday he looked assured. A pity for him he was thrown in up against their winger.

Just how Fevrier and Coady will work out, and Brooks (although if he plays this season we will have had more problems), perhaps others, remains to be seen (hopefully no grounds for comparisons with Maurice Setters for Coady). But while we’re on the subject of transfers in working out or not, I’d like to say a belated few words of tribute to the recently deceased David Young. Because he was a signing that did everything for us we could have hoped for.

You might say he was a player who ran below the radar, having been an unused substitute (remember when games were played without calling on a sub?) for Sunderland when they beat Leeds in the FA Cup final in 1973. He was almost 30 – and in around 10 years at Newcastle and Sunderland had only notched up 72 appearances - when new manager Andy Nelson made him his first signing, paying Sunderland a reported £20k. Under Theo Foley, in the 1973/74 season we conceded 73 goals in 46 games and ended up 14th. Peter Reeves was retiring from the game through injury aged only 25, Dave Shipperley was allowed to go on a free transfer to Gillingham, while Bobby Goldthorpe was the main central defender. His career at Charlton would not feature in the record books other than for his equaliser in the final game against Preston. (For the record, of course Foley left a much more positive legacy at the other end of the pitch, with Powell, Hales and Horsfield – although King Arthur was converted by Nelson to play centre-half alongside Young.)

Young immediately took on the leadership of the defence, played 44 games in that first season, and we were promoted back to the Second Division. In his second season with us Young played 32 games, now accompanied by ‘Farmer’ Jim Giles, and with Killer scoring 28 league goals we finished a respectable ninth. Then just as calmly and quietly as he arrived, he left us to join Southend (I imagine that Nelson concluded that he wasn’t good enough for the Second Division, in 1976/77 Les Berry and Giles were the stalwarts, although Bob Curtis and Phil Warman – who both preceded Young – were retained), making 60 appearances for them. Although is total of 77 league appearances for us doesn’t rank him among the ‘greats’ for us on that front, when it comes to ‘best buys’ he is right up there, if not matching Hales then not far behind.

I just don’t remember him having a bad game. I suppose he did now and then, he was only human – and in that second season we were trounced 1-5 by Luton, conceding three goals in just over two minutes, and shipped 72 goals for the 42-game season (although the emphasis was very much on outscoring the opposition). He seemed to approach each one with a quiet assurance, did his job very effectively, didn’t get injured. And you have to love this quote (made available from my scrapbooks of the time), when Charlton were about to play Sunderland at The Valley. “I was depressed when I came here (Charlton) and saw the deserted terraces. I thought that the transfer meant I was condemned to end my career in the Third Division. But that’s all changed now. Gaining promotion last season meant more to me than winning a Cup-winners’ medal as a Sunderland substitute. Believe me, this club can be in the First Division in three years’ time.”

And as a footnote, in the days when the match programme featured the same photo all season, that for 1975/76 was one of Graham Tutt punching the ball away, flanked by Young and Harry Cripps. Now all three are dead. May they all rest in peace and condolences to David Young’s family and friends.