Crunch Time for Hammill

Excuse the pun but it really is a decisive moment in his career this.

 

He will get a 3 match ban - undeserved - and come out absolutely firing in the new year.

The lad is still without question our most talented player.

Will love him forever for what he did last season, and can see him having another magical six months this year.

 

The danger this season was always that his impact wouldn't be the same in the higher league. It happened last time he stepped up the leagues. Clubs are richer in this league and hire more coaching staff and analysts, etc. Hammill's wares were advertised in two Wembley finals last season. When he's played this year he has been double-marked and more. He has still come up with three goals, but overall his impact has been less (no assists). While his attitude has in general been much more mature since his return to the club, his petulant showing when subbed against Newcastle has derailed his season.

We have a situation where Adam's impact has been lesser, and we have found ways to win games without him, which we needed to do in this league, given other clubs' knowledge of his abilities. I agree it's crunch time for him. He needs to get his head down big time and concentrate even harder on his game. There are signs that his ability to track back can add to his value for us, and he needs to continue to work on this. The other point is that you get the impression that his best moments for us have come when working in tandem with Aidy White, when he can feed the ball to the overlapping full back when necessary.

If Adam doesn't re-establish himself as a starter, he faces a career twilight where he has to drop down the leagues, trying to have an impact in league one or league two sides seeking promotion. It will be a shame if that happens, but no-one is bigger than the club.

 

..Adam has been missing Aidy White. When they play together he plays well. The rest of our full backs don't create any space or make runs beyond him leaving 3 players to mark him.

 

To be honest I think the petulance against Newcastle cost him much more than last night. Before Newcastle, we accommodated two wingers, and we were the top or second top scoring team in the league. We also shipped goals. After that Newcastle incidenet, Hecky hasn't played with Hammill and Kent together. I'm not sure if he has gone with Kent because of the terms under which he is contracted to us, or whether Hecky genuinely believes Kent to be the better threat, but either way, replacing a winger with a more combative type midfielder has certainly improved our resilience.

Most of us view last night as an odd set of circumstances, where the red card will probably be challenged, where the ref may even have made a mistake and sent off the wrong player. Who knows.

 

He's always going to be very well thought of because of last season, but if he did go elsewhere next month it shouldn't be a shock to anyone. He turned down more money elsewhere to bench warm for us and doesn't look like getting a start. We aren't the richest club so can't afford for our biggest earner to be the luxary of a bench warmer. Since his strop he's hardly had any minutes and maybe Hecky doesn't see him as a first team regular at this level like three other clubs didn't as well. What he's on could probably bring in three players to strengthen our squad. If he's not going to get starts again anytime soon then next month could be a huge one for our club and him.

 

He'd have been starting infront of Kent had he not been sent off he was brilliant when he came on they couldn't deal with him.

 

Thought last night that when he came on he scared them shitless.

 

I was more disappointed we didn't see him earlier last night. They were there for the taking & we didn't have enough of a threat wide right wheras I thought Kent had a good game. When he did come on, he scared them **** less.

 

Unless he is being disruptive behind the scenes, I doubt very much that he will be sold. I am a huge admirer of Isgrove (last season) and Kent but the fact is that neither can either score goals or provide assists. Hammill however does both very regularly and is an great asset to the squad. Sure he may not be as impacting in the Championsshipbut he is very capable of causing havoc in opposition defences. Players like that are hard to find for clubs with our budget size.

 

Then he should be playing every week to justify the outlay to have made him the highest earner. We aren't getting value for money from him stuck on a bench with 20 minutes here and 15 minutes there. He's behind Watkins who's now back and behind Kent who we seem to play regardless of his form so he costs us less. I don't see where his next start is coming from unless we change formation or get injuries.

 

I don't disagree. We are not getting value for money at the moment. I remain hopeful he will hit his best form and make himself a fixture once again. It's a long season and it will go in phases and I think his best is yet to come. It will probably be when he stops trying too hard to impress and use his head more.

 

Apart from last night, Hammill's appearances from the bench of late have been in a more defensive change rather than an attacking one. He' ll be hurting from this and I think he'll be more than chomping at the bit after his spell of suspension. Think we' ll see the best of him in the new year.