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Diary - Thursday 6 November 2008

6 November 2008

As we all stumble through our lives weathering a constant barrage from news, information, misinformation, messageboards, blogs and old-fashioned rumour-mongers, we occasionally miss an important fact. Your Guest Diarist in fact woke up this very morning wondering who had won the American election in the end. But more importantly, perhaps, the knowledge that I am missing is "what exactly is wrong with Richard Hope?" Hope, you may remember, came with Heywood as part of the pre-season plan to shore up the defence, using sheer size and bulk as a substitute for the perceived rather namby-pamby skills of the daydreaming scaredy-cat Fenton, who had been pushed out of the door in a fit of angry pique by Buckley at the end of last season.

Now Town fans will know that in the past few years we have tried, with varying degrees of success, various types of centre-back. At one point we went all gangly-beanpole, starting with Rob 'The Stick' Jones. This was an apparent failure for ages until the Stick had a damascene moment at Sincil Bank. From that point on he became able, much loved and heroic, consistently head, shoulders and upper chest above the players around him in every way. Later, after Chairman Fenty had brusquely dismissed Jones' request for a bit more money, idly quipping that only strikers got pay rises because people didn't come to watch defenders, and Jones had justifiably buggered off to where his ability would be appreciated, we signed Fen Butcher.

Now history repeats itself, but not in this case. Enormously lanky, but very poor in the air and not in receipt of any nepotistic respect, Futcher was a total failure and didn't last long. So the beanpole theory went from Hawking to Icke in one season.

Before that, of course, Town had a history of converting ageing strikers with 'tight thighs' to be centre-backs. It started with Garry Birtles and continued with Steve Livingstone. Both players gave their all for the Town cause and should look back on their contributions with pride. The pride should come from their eagerness to fight for the team rather than the quality of their centre-halfedness. In similar vein of course, Paul Groves pretended he was taller than he really was for a bit and marshalled his awful defence from the back. Another great idea that never really worked.

This is turning into a bit of a history lesson, gentle reader; by now you may have realised that there is no news worth mentioning yet today. Morecambe have a lot of injuries (does that cheer you sufficiently, Mr Baily?) and that's about it so far. Oh, and the superb new official site reckons they might tell us later that we might sign another player before Saturday. The rumour mill is shouting Proudlock. We'll just have to see.

Lest we forget, Town occasionally have had truly great players at centre-half: guile and elegance personified (Handyside(s), Futcher senior and, all too briefly, Todd) and raw courage with a never-say-die team-lifting spirit (Whittle, Lever, Jobling). And the latter is really what is needed most now. Hope's spring is not, it would seem, eternal - he just seems to have gone missing. Heywood looked the part on his debut - he looked a leader of men, but the confidence rapidly sapped to the point where he has handed over the armband to nobbut a promising youth - a whippersnapper has outperformed him consistently of late in thought, word and deed.

Last season Bennett was denied a great opportunity - a full season playing centre-half alongside Whittle, a lesser player but one who would have mentored him superbly. It is to Bennett's credit that he has managed to mentor himself and come through a difficult 12 months without losing confidence in his ability and with his motivation undiminished. All he asked for was a chance to play centre-half with a reliable partner.

With Whittle stupidly ignored and sent away to the wilds of Yorkshire, Buckley played the Crane card and signed Heywood and Hope. Mr Re-Newell has, I believe, recognised the deficiencies of these two gentlemen and has, rather diplomatically, gone along with the perception that they are injured, allowing him to sign Rob Atkinson on loan. Now that sounds cruel; maybe Hope does have a long-term injury as reported in passing in yesterday's Telegraph. And maybe Heywood's thighs are tight after all. But you know, I'm a self-confessed cynic.

Whatever caused us to get where we are, I'm a lot happier with Bennett and Atkinson than what I briefly saw of Heywood and Hope; maybe at last Town are trying a new centre-half pairing based on - how shall I put it? - ability, motivation and potential. It could be the best tactic of all. See yer.