If you think Ash was a just a big clobber then shame on you His ability to read the game was amazing and more than made up for any lack of ball skills
I stand by my original opinion, Ashbee was a decent captain but an average player. The longer he's retired the better he seems to become, more heresy to follow. The views expressed in my posts are not necessarily mine.
Where would he play? Battling midfielders don’t exist anymore, like giant target men, or fox in the box type goalscorers, or wingers playing on the side of their strongest foot who get to the byline.
watching Matt crooks goals highlight real on YouTube with the kids and every other goal is a header, certainly something we're short of at the moment
I’d argue he’s the best captain we ever had and a club legend but still an average footballer. Apparently, that’s blasphemy and an insult to the man though.
Neither would Ken Wagstaff or any past player you care to mention for that matter but no-one is rubbishing him on a 'fans' forum. Especially one who captained this club through all four divisions and came back from a career threatening injury to lead the team out into the PL and our first ever FA Cup Final.
Not even sure Ashbee was average at this level, not in terms of footballing skill. But what he did have was an acute self awareness of what he was actually capable of and what he wasn’t, and confidence to play to the best of his ability consistently. Which meant his lack of skill was never exposed nor hindered him stepping up each division.
Decent captain, average player, if that's rubbishing him I'm losing my touch! The views expressed in my posts are not necessarily mine.
A big clobber is exactly what he was. I’m sorry what else was he? A master technician pinging 80 yard cross field balls and curling them into the top corner from 30 yards? He was a big clobber, breaking up play (and Sometimes breaking the opponents too) and recovering the ball, that’s what he did and he was very good at it. We can pretend he was the pioneering Kevin De Bruyne though if it makes you happy.
Ashbee scored one of the most important goals in our history at Yeovil, a decent strike to boot. Hero.
So you saying a player is either a big clobber or master technician? As I already said Ash was a master of reading the game and timing a tackle. Yes he'd stick one on the opposition when needed but there was more too his game then that.
I think that’s the confusion , some people are classing footballer as been able to do all those things you’ve mentioned . John Terry and Tony Adams couldn’t do any of those things but many would regard them as great footballers . There are many aspects of been a footballer , Thierry Henry couldn’t smash into 3 players at once like Harry Maguire did . Many like me believe , the way he captained us through the divisions made him an unbelievable footballer for us , some people think to be a footballer you have to be able to dribble past 10 men , each to their own .. anyway , we signed anyone yet?
