Darren Huckerby - journeyman? (1 Viewer)

clint van damme

Well-Known Member
just been looking around for some new podcasts to listen to and found one that reviews football biographies/autobiographies.
Haven't listened to it but one episode is on Huckerby and describes him as a journeyman striker.
He was better than that wasn't he?
 

lord_garrincha

Well-Known Member
Agree... a bit harsh.

Got a big move from Lincoln but was never going to replace Ferdinand/Asprilla/Shearer, then proved himself in the Prem with us for almost 3 seasons, getting a move to one of the biggest clubs in the Prem at the time. Then the level dropped with Man City and Norwich but, all in all, a decent career.
 

hill83

Well-Known Member
That goal. Full stop.

Me walking into class when the term started again after that.

hE3044A40
 

robbiekeane

Well-Known Member
Wouldn’t say he falls under that category.

I’d be an absolute mercenary if I was a footballer. Would whore myself out to the highest bidder no question about it. Short career!
 

Adge

Well-Known Member
Speaking to him recently and he said he was at home in Nottingham (and was with a friend in court) and received a phone call from the club (Ccfc) telling him that he had been sold and don't bother coming back-your boots will be sent up!
Didn't want to leave at all.
 

DannyThomas_1981

Well-Known Member
Hucks was a class striker.
The Dublin - Huckerby partnership was widely viewed as one of most lethal in the League.
Huckerby scared the life out of the opposition with his pace and finishing. And he had the ability to single handedly win matches - for example his performance on Boxing Day at Elland Road will always live in my memory.
Whoever called Hucks a journeyman could not be more wrong.
 

Legia Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
He was an extremely exciting player, but also a frustrating one, and was caught offside more often than he should have been, given his blistering pace meant he could beat defenders even if they had a start on him. Strachan kind of got it right when he said Huckerby scored great goals rather than a great number of goals. He tended to score his goals in patches, often before and after Christmas time for some reason, and of course some of them were fabulous goals, but he did go for long dry spells too. By the time he was playing for Norwich he had become a much more consistent player, who read the game and his role in it much better than when he had played for us, when he was more raw. We got to see some great moments though and he was part of the 1997-98 team that was one of the best we have had so he deserves to be remembered as a top player, and certainly not a journeyman. That tag I would rather place on the likes of Richard Shaw..
 

Terry Gibson's perm

Well-Known Member
I wonder if Huckerby would have benefited from VAR or if he would have been offside even more.
 

Joy Division

Well-Known Member
Hucks is on this week's Quickly Kevin podcast. Just listened to it on the way to work - worth a listen. They've also promised a Coventry City special in 2020.

I think the Coventry City special episode will be with Gordon Strachan so could be interesting.
 

Speedies_Chips

Well-Known Member
He was an extremely exciting player, but also a frustrating one, and was caught offside more often than he should have been, given his blistering pace meant he could beat defenders even if they had a start on him. Strachan kind of got it right when he said Huckerby scored great goals rather than a great number of goals. He tended to score his goals in patches, often before and after Christmas time for some reason, and of course some of them were fabulous goals, but he did go for long dry spells too. By the time he was playing for Norwich he had become a much more consistent player, who read the game and his role in it much better than when he had played for us, when he was more raw. We got to see some great moments though and he was part of the 1997-98 team that was one of the best we have had so he deserves to be remembered as a top player, and certainly not a journeyman. That tag I would rather place on the likes of Richard Shaw..

4 clubs in 22 years (one of which was a loan) hardly makes Richard Shaw a journeyman!

Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986–1995
Crystal Palace 207 (3)
1989Hull City (loan) 4 (0)
1995–2006 Coventry City 317 (1)
2006–2008 Millwall 59 (0)
Total
587 (4)
 

Grendel

Well-Known Member
I take the term to reference someone who moved from club to club a lot - so Quinn, Gould and Leon Clarke would be other examples
 

DannyThomas_1981

Well-Known Member
I think the Coventry City special episode will be with Gordon Strachan so could be interesting.

What will be interesting will be seeing a crazed man (myself) smashing up his iPad in central Coventry as soon as I hear Strachan start speaking.

How that moron got us relegated with all of the resources at his disposal really takes advanced degrees of mismanagement.
 

Grendel

Well-Known Member
What will be interesting will be seeing a crazed man (myself) smashing up his iPad in central Coventry as soon as I hear Strachan start speaking.

How that moron got us relegated with all of the resources at his disposal really takes advanced degrees of mismanagement.

The squad was pretty poor
 

Grendel

Well-Known Member
Kind of agreed.
Strachan bears complete responsibility for that squad though and not evolving the team year over year.
Kept his favourites whilst other teams progressed.

It was Strachans first job in management and i often thinks he’s over criticised

A lot of the players signed were nothing to do with him they just “appeared” - one in particular was treated disgracefully both by the selling club and us. He was never wanted and he wasn’t alone
 

ajsccfc

Well-Known Member
Was Aloisi one? I remember wondering why we'd signed him only to not really use him loads, but it's a sketchy memory of the time so not sure if he just wasn't as good as I thought.
 

clint van damme

Well-Known Member
It was Strachans first job in management and i often thinks he’s over criticised

A lot of the players signed were nothing to do with him they just “appeared” - one in particular was treated disgracefully both by the selling club and us. He was never wanted and he wasn’t alone

you sell your goals you're going to have a problem. Yes he got it wrong with the players he brought in, but no manager has a 100 percent strike rate in the transfer market.
And even as poor as we were, if Richardson had bought Hartson in when he first had the chance to, I think we probably would have still stayed up.
Think we all bought in to this if the Titanic was Sky blue it would never have gone down nonsense, it's a miracle we lasted as long in the top flight as we did.
 

Grendel

Well-Known Member
Was Aloisi one? I remember wondering why we'd signed him only to not really use him loads, but it's a sketchy memory of the time so not sure if he just wasn't as good as I thought.

No

Richardson is in my view not to blame for the Ricoh fiasco he was pretty ruthless and would have sorted in

In the background which is never mentioned there was a senior sports journalist Patrick Collins who was on his case. He featured in article regarding greed in football which I believe ironically included a cartoon of 3 faces on pigs hanging round a trough the others being Risdale and Garside

The accusation centred on an investigation that Richardson employed and overseas scout who was paid significant money to recruit players but said he’d never heard of Coventry City

The allegation said the DTI were looking at it

The scout allegedly specialised from memory in European transfers
 

JulianDarbyFTW

Well-Known Member
We spaffed money up the wall in those days. A million here, two million there, and we spent that on players that didn't even play. It was shameful really.
 

Sky_Blue_Dreamer

Well-Known Member
No

Richardson is in my view not to blame for the Ricoh fiasco he was pretty ruthless and would have sorted in

In the background which is never mentioned there was a senior sports journalist Patrick Collins who was on his case. He featured in article regarding greed in football which I believe ironically included a cartoon of 3 faces on pigs hanging round a trough the others being Risdale and Garside

The accusation centred on an investigation that Richardson employed and overseas scout who was paid significant money to recruit players but said he’d never heard of Coventry City

The allegation said the DTI were looking at it

The scout allegedly specialised from memory in European transfers

Apart from the fact BR sold Highfield Road before we'd even started building the Ricoh, so we were simultaneously renting our old stadium while trying to build a new one. Something he paid himself a very nice little bonus for too. Was at one point the highest paid Chief Exec in the PL. He may not be entirely responsible but his decisions led to the conditions for it to occur. At best chronic mismanagement.
 

Grendel

Well-Known Member
Apart from the fact BR sold Highfield Road before we'd even started building the Ricoh, so we were simultaneously renting our old stadium while trying to build a new one. Something he paid himself a very nice little bonus for too. Was at one point the highest paid Chief Exec in the PL. He may not be entirely responsible but his decisions led to the conditions for it to occur. At best chronic mismanagement.

You do know why Mike Mcginnity wanted Richardson out I assume?
 

Adge

Well-Known Member
The squad was pretty poor
One of the main reasons we went down was Bellamy. Couldn’t score for love nor money and we put all our eggs in his basket to take over the mantle from Keane.
 

The coventrian

Well-Known Member
Apart from the fact BR sold Highfield Road before we'd even started building the Ricoh, so we were simultaneously renting our old stadium while trying to build a new one. Something he paid himself a very nice little bonus for too. Was at one point the highest paid Chief Exec in the PL. He may not be entirely responsible but his decisions led to the conditions for it to occur. At best chronic mismanagement.
Give me richardson over mcginnity or anyone since him any day. We certainly wouldn't be in this black hole that we find ourselves in now.
 

The coventrian

Well-Known Member
One of the main reasons we went down was Bellamy. Couldn’t score for love nor money and we put all our eggs in his basket to take over the mantle from Keane.
I remember being behind the goal at man city away in the fa cup and seething at the amount of chances he squandered ,then goater popped up in the 90th minute.....
 

Grendel

Well-Known Member
Give me richardson over mcginnity or anyone since him any day. We certainly wouldn't be in this black hole that we find ourselves in now.

Dreamer is clueless
 

Legia Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
4 clubs in 22 years (one of which was a loan) hardly makes Richard Shaw a journeyman!

Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986–1995
Crystal Palace 207 (3)
1989Hull City (loan) 4 (0)
1995–2006 Coventry City 317 (1)
2006–2008 Millwall 59 (0)
Total
587
(4)

Fair enough. I take it to mean someone who has a long career and is bang average, so to my mind Shaw was very much a journeyman. If it just means someone whose played for a lot of clubs then the likes of Robbie Keane & Ibrahimovic would also be journeymen players. However, the term is generally used in derogatory terms which is why I presume the OP objected to it being applied to Huckerby.
 

The Great Eastern

Well-Known Member
As far as I know, Hucks is still playing but in an East Anglian Veterans league. Prior to that, he was playing Norfolk Sunday league football.
One of those players who loves playing and doesnt mind at what level he plays at !
 

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