All our good/decent sides have had a standout player, the one that drives the team forward and inspires and brings the best out of those around him. Hammill is that man and he is the first since Brian Howard for me, its what we`ve been missing a leader.
I don't know, Hammill doesn't strike me as being a leader of men type. He's an excellent footballer who sparked our revival, but I think for leaders, we have Hourihane and Mawson.
He`s done a good impersonation so far. By leader I mean he leads from the front in an attacking sense, this has seen improved performances all over the park. Leader as in captain maybe not.
If you listen to Hammill speak he's an intelligent guy and he has a way with words that comes across really influencial/believable. If you can listen to his interviews on player you'll see what I mean. They're not just bog standard footballer interviews. You feel like he really means what he says. The last player we had like that was Luke Steele who always gave a really honest and believeable interview. Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk
Leadership manifests itself in many ways. Adam hammill forces the team to go forward, rather than that horrible sideways stuff we got.
I think with us having such a young inexperienced squad its only natural to look up to your more experienced players, out of the current squad there's no one with more experience at a high level than Hammill. And yes i would agree that he inspire others to play with more freedom and look forward with the ball rather than sideways.
I watched the Marley Watkins interview on player a few months ago and he said something about Hammill being a good, bubbly character to have about the place and referred to him as the 'Scouse magician'. I think you're right, his arrival sparked improved performances all over the park. It was as if the attacking players came out their shell and had the confidence to have a go.
In my humble opinion Hammill was the catalyst for the drastic upturn in our fortunes this season. Without him I don't think there'd be any talk of possible automatic promotion.
A leader is someone who is always looking for the ball. Takes the pressure off others. Hammill is a leader. He's taken the heat off Hourihane, who is now grabbing the limelight too. Adam is half way to legend status now for me. To achieve it, he just needs to get us promoted & sign a new contract...
The last five games without him we've won them all with three clean sheets and only two conceeded. We didn't miss him for back to back 1-0 wins and thankfully haven't missed him for his three match ban. I get he's one of the first names on the team sheet and will be back in on saturday (which I agree with). But I don't believe he's as irreplaceable and inspirational as he's made out to be.
just had to log in to reply to this with a big LOL. We were going down before he joined! Agree with the original poster, he is the redfearn, hignett, betsy(at one stage , Howard, JCR of our team, gives them all belief and confidence!
That is hugely blinkered. The fact he hasn't been in the team for the last three games (or the other two missed through injury) doesn't mean he has had no influence. Him being around the club, from the moment he returned, was a massive boost to the club and squad. For the kids to see his standards on the training field and in matches, he was the level to aspire to, the evidence that it can be done. So the fact we haven't turned back into absolute garbage when he's been out of the side isn't proof he's not irreplaceable or inspirational. It's proof that the lads look up to him - and also play that much better, as they know that in all likelihood he will be back in the team, so 2 or even 3 of them in wide/forward areas might be competing for a single place in the side, especially with winnall to come back too. Hammill isn't the sole reason we improved - but I would say he's head and shoulders clear as the biggest and main reason.
Catalyst is definitely the word. We've grown into a squad that can cope without him, but for me there's absolutely no doubt that his arrival kickstarted this comeback.
Any other time I'd agree. Hammill has been exceptional. But no more stand out than Brownhill, Winnall, Watkins, Isgrove, Chapman, Hourihane etc etc etc. We've currently got a team full of standout players for the first time in a very long time. Sent from my I-Oven using the internets
If in those five games we'd lost 2-4 of them then people quite rightly would have been saying (myself included) that we've missed him. By the same set of rules after winning all five and keeping three clean sheets we haven't missed him as much as some thought we would.