Blackburn Following in Carey's Footsteps

I'm starting to get Chris Blackburn. I wasn't sure about him at first, but I've begun to see his value to the team, and hopefully he'll follow the pattern of previous players I've taken a while to warm to. If he does, he'll be in pretty illustrious company.

I've overcome my reservations to end up seeing a player as absolutely key before. I wasn't sold on Tony Humes at first, as he seemed a bit on the short side for a centre back to me, and was prone to giving away free kicks. I soon came to appreciate his talents, though, as he led us to promotion.

Funnily enough, the other time I've looked at a player in is way was also about a centre back, and I must admit that I'm surprised at myself with this one. However, I have to confess that I had my reservations about Brian Carey at first when he signed permanently for us.

It was probably down to an inflated sense of expectation; having enjoyed two outstanding spells on loan to us, my excitement at landing him probably got the better of me, and I expected a Beckenbauer-like prowess in everything he did. I also recall a strange prejudice I has about the lack of yellow cards he got; I think I had a notion that centre backs ought to eat raw meat, tear dressing room doors off their hinges to throw them at their quaking opponents in the tunnel, and kick lumps out of them if they have the temerity to ignore that and venture onto the pitch. Carey didn't conform to that notion, as he has far too much class. He just stuck to what he did best; being a top notch centre back. Eventually I got it, and I'm hopefully I'll be able to praise Chris Blackburn in similar vein in the future.