It gives me a lot of pleasure just thinking of some of the great strikers that I had the pleasure of playing with. There are also numerous fantastic players in that position that I came up against during the twenty years of playing. Dalglish and Rush, Joe Jordan, Mark Hughes, David Speedie, Andy Gray, Gary Shaw, Trevor Francis, the list is endless. This piece is about players that I played with at either club or international level. I was honoured to play for Ipswich, Leicester City, Southampton, Bristol City, Brighton and finally Cardiff City. A great striker, in my opinion, needs to posses great mental and physical courage, composure, concentration and craft. Craft is knowing what you job is all about, in possession of the ball and without it, concentration is all about being alert for that one chance that might come your way in 90 minutes. Composure is then being able to take that chance or being able to make the right decision in front of goal. Physical courage is obvious, and in the seventies and eighties it really was a physical game. Strikers had to have mental courage also, to be available for their team mates to pass to even if it meant another kicking from an opposing 'hod carrier'. Mental courage to go one on one with the opposing keeper I front of the Kop at Anfield or the Stetford End at Old Trafford. I think it was Brian Clough who used to say that good players used to be able to tick 3 boxes, mental strength, physical strength and natural ability, and he reckoned that if at least 9 out of your 12 man squad didn't tick all 3 boxes then there was no point in playing the game. The mental strength element was always the most questionable quality, and Mr Clough didn't get too much wrong in his day! My target man would be my old team mate Paul Mariner, fit, strong, brave and brilliant in the air. Paul knew how to look after himself on the pitch, and it could be brutal at times, but he never shirked at challenge ever. Paul was a great target for defenders to play the ball to, he had a great touch and would always try to make even a crap pass look good. To play alongside Paul I have chosen Alan Brazil, a great goal scorer with great fitness, pace, and bags of natural ability.
Alan was and still is the best one on one finisher I have ever seen, he used to bamboozle goalkeepers, even our own at Ipswich who knew what he was trying to do. Alan scored one of the best goals I have ever seen, playing at Bolton in the famous game where Frank Worthington scored his 'lucky' goal, Alan's was even better! To go with Paul and Alan there is only one choice, a player who started his pro career at Southampton and has a goal scoring record at Club and International level second to none. Alan Shearer would be my third musketeer, a player who overcame some very bad injuries in his time but never lost his courage, craft, concentration or composure. I think those three would be a challenge for any back four in the world, Brazil's running power, the physicality of Mariner and Shearer, a threat both on the ground and in the air, and the banter would be enough to drive anyone mad. My captain, someone who would be celebrating his birthday today would be Bobby Moore, RIP. The England 1966 World Cup winning captain would play in the back four alongside Terry Butcher, George Burley and Kenny Sansom, with Ray Clemence in goal. A midfield of Muhren, Wark and Le Tissier would supply a front three of Brazil, Mariner and Shearer, formidable. If you wonder about when I played with Bobby Moore;
1 Comment
Mark Osman
12/4/2016 04:07:19 pm
Those front players would be terrifying indeed. The eleven is world class. A good read......again!
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AuthorRussell Osman is a former England & Ipswich Footballer, 4 Handicap Golfer and Father of 3. Archives
April 2018
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