A Straw From The Nest: John-Joe O'Toole please log in to view this image Most fondly remembered for: The progression of his hair Least fondly remembered for: Off-field stories He was: The right player at the right time. Pace. Stamina. A good passer. Selfless in front of goal. An exemplary disciplinary record. Early nights. All things more often associated with John-Joe O'Toole's successors than himself, and on the whole rightly so. History suggests that we allowed JJ to leave because we didn't think he could compete with Cleverley, Lansbury, Cowie, Jenkins and Eustace for a place, but I don't think leaving it at that paints a fair picture of what O'Toole achieved whilst at this club. We are talking about a man who made his first team debut at a time when manager, chairman and CEO all believed that we were rolling in money. A man who played regularly from his very first appearance, albeit from the bench, in a period which coincided with one of the strongest starts to a season in our history. The central midfielder whose goalscoring record at the start of his second season made Danny Graham's subsequent efforts look slow. Although I should correct one detail. John-Joe O'Toole wasn't a man when he achieved those things. He was a teenage boy. To play for your country's U21s as a teenager is another achievement worthy of mention. There's no dispute that injuries to Bangura, Francis and Williams gave JJ opportunities earlier and for a longer run of games than he could have normally hoped for. Hindsight is a wonderful thing on the financial front, and presumably we're all glad that we didn't pay £1m+ for a central midfielder on high wages. But based on the money we spent in 2007, our beloved long ball merchant clearly had the ability to strengthen in midfield if he so wished, and chose not to. The only incoming midfielder of any stature that season was John Eustace, and even he was only signed halfway through as a replacement for Gavin Mahon. I guess there was also that mythical 20 year old Argentine who never challenged for a spot. So what did our route-one minded manager see in this teenager? A willingness to just get on with physical opposition probably helped his cause on the training pitch. A mindset to offload the ball, and look to go forward and get it back: music to the then-manager's ears. Teenagers can be forgiven for running themselves into the ground mid-way through the second half: at that age it's a case of showing what you're capable of, and working hard to constantly improve your fitness levels. Clearly management were relaxed about JJ going through this process, else we wouldn't have played him so often. For me it's once you reach 20 or 21 that you should be looking to pace yourself through most games. Whatever the level of truth in off the pitch rumours (there was some), on it he was as determined and positive as anyone to have put the shirt on in recent years. But that attitude is true of most young, attack-minded players. The characteristics I think set JJ apart, and which some of our more technically gifted current crop lack, were his selfishness and instincts inside the box. Yes, selfishness. Some people disagreed with me about Marvin and will no doubt disagree with me here, but within reason there is nothing wrong with a young player being a little bit greedy. As an example, I consider Jenkins to be a better passer and tackler than JJ. To make a fair comparison I've got to point out the obvious: Ross is considered a defensive midfielder, and even in the very early days got less licence to go forward than O'Toole did. But allowing for that, when Jenkins is in or around the box, how often does he look like causing trouble? How often have players made the wrong decision in front of goal, leaving us wishing they had seen Ross? That isn't a dig at Jenkins specifically, I chose him solely because he broke through while O'Toole was here. A similar comparison can be made for a lot of Watford midfielders since. JJ knew where he could be a menace in the final third, and made sure he got there, using his strength en route if necessary. He sometimes shot when he shouldn't have, but that's true of most youngsters, and part of the learning process. Since leaving the Hornets in 2009, JJ has had a torrid time with injuries. I don't know any Colchester United fans, and couldn't be bothered to try to find some on forums, but according to Wikipedia his energetic performances have earned him rave reviews. It's a big statement by a manager to ensure that an injury prone player gets a multi-year contract, so clearly John Ward holds him in similar esteem. Reluctantly I'd have to say that League One probably is the right level for O'Toole at this point in time, but much like Troy Deeney, I think under the right circumstances he can use that as a platform to progress. After all, he has plenty of things going for him. Determination. A willingness to push his body to its limits. A hunger for goals (or should that be thirst?) The mental toughness to continue to perform despite his recent bad luck. And hair that at its best or worst will be difficult for scouts to miss. With thanks to: BSaD for the inspiration to do these articles. BHaPPY for being the closest current thing that I can plug. =================================================== Not too happy with this one. I guess I knew exactly what I wanted to say in a nutshell, and as a result the padding is a bit more noticeable than usual.
A Straw From The Nest: Lionel Ainsworth please log in to view this image I was asked to do one of these for Lionel Ainsworth, but I never saw anything particularly interesting in him, good or bad. So instead I present you with an out of date McDonalds advert which contains a relevant summary. [video=youtube;g9xxlhbTxQk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9xxlhbTxQk[/video] A bit harsh perhaps. For balance he is carving out a reasonable career for himself, ahead of other players who were hotly tipped and now in non-league. But he really didn't make much of an impression on me as a Watford fan: he was simply a young, vanilla player who made a handful of mediocre to poor appearances, at a level which was a little bit too high for him. I genuinely wish him all the best though. Thanks for doing the work for me Alan.
Great stuff NNW - it was a real shame that JJ did not make it at Watford and as you mention I wonder if the timing had been different and he had arrived a few years later he may have progressed further. Ainsworth? - I had forgotten all about him!
Good read NNW. Wasn't the main reason J-J left because of a lack of a professional attitude, particularly in the close season?
Thanks NNW. I thought these two would come really good. JJ O'Toole - I've never heard a better paddy sounding name !!
good stuff NNW, thanks. Ainsworth is summed up perfectly i think. JJ was a real shame...but yes, his antics cost him...our loss i think, but he lost it somewhere along the way...glad to know he's still in football somewhere...!
Thank you NNW a good read. I have some material that I have been saving in the hope that one day I might get round to sorting and editing it, but clearly do not have the same energy as you to actually get and do it.
As I elude to in the article, I know from my own eyes that there was some truth in the rumours. But we've all been around long enough to know that the snapshots we get can sometimes form a distorted picture. It's difficult to argue with the decisions Mr Integrity made about JJ, and indeed Lee Williamson. He gave both players a few chances at the start of his reign. But they were both in trouble once Jenkins and Cork started to form a partnership, and once Don Cowie came in and Rodgers started to flirt with the idea of 4-4-2, loans to Championship clubs must have been dreams come true for all concerned. And despite how low our opinion of Eustace was in summer 2009, I think a lot of people looking at the players we had would have correctly tipped him to replace Cork.
I know this is random but, "a straw from the nest" bugs me when that would be bird's nest, not a hornet's nest!
Fair point Lux. But as grateful as I am to everyone (even Bassini) for getting it re-opened, the club set a pretty low bar with the name of the pub on Vicarage Road.
Didn't we pay as much as £400k for Ainsworth from Hereford??? Thats a lot of money for a league 2 player, mind you back then we did over pay for just about everyone we signed bar Eustace.
