Cheers Sullay

Sullay had his doubters. Some people prefer to watch a sweaty run of the mill player shouting, pointing, getting booked for lunging into late tackles and displaying 'passion'... to a gifted footballer with genius in his boots, weaving magic.

Such is life. It would be boring if we all liked the same thing. I too am a big fan of anyone who makes the most of their abilities and whose attitude is a key attribute… 

It has to be said though, that whilst 

players of his ilk might frustrate sometime, it would a dull game if there were no Sullay Kaikais running down the wing, or even better, through the middle, or even better still, belting it so hard on the volley that the net literally looks like it's going to break. Attitude is great but if it's just lads kicking each other for 90 minutes and he who kicks hardest wins, you might as well watch rugby.

Yeah, he could run into a dead end and no, he wasn't the world's best tackler and I can't remember him heading it more than about 5 times in his Pool career but he was capable of electrifying brilliance.

Of course it sometimes didn't come off. But when it did, it was magical. Gliding with a low centre of gravity past 1,2,3 players as if they weren't there. Taking the ball and killing it stone dead, a touch to die for. Seeing the pass and hitting it first time. Arriving late and placing the shot into the exact place it needed to go. 

Under Grayson, Sullay was more or less all the creativity. Roaming free and thrilling with his gifts, it's easy to forget that our decline broadly coincided with his injury woes. 

Critchley seemed to see him as a project. A talent to be, if not tamed, but channelled. A place wide on the left was marked out for him and he never really seemed to quite suit it. Bez Lubala was bought and played there instead, but never took his chance. Sullay kept working his way back in, Critchley seemingly never quite convinced, but never able to overlook the obvious talent. 

If one game sums him up, it's Burton Albion at home. Even I, an ardent believer that one person's "he goes missing" is another's "he gets double marked because of the rigid system we employed as Critch is fundamentally a bit suspicious of players whose skill comes from within and needs to let them loose a bit, as was proven when he did that..." couldn't really describe him as anything other than 'languid and fitful' in the first half, moping about like a Victorian lady in need of a good dose of smelling salts. All he needed was a lacy hanky to dap at his brow, so out of sorts did he look. Oh, but what a performance in the second half. Bit between his teeth, picking the ball on the half turn, racing forward, playing people in, trying the shot, dropping the shoulder, going one way then the other, defenders running backwards, afraid to even look at him. Pure magic. 

A video of his best bits is quite sensational. His critics would say that's the problem. He's a highlights reel player. I'd say he's more than that. His work deep is underrated, his ability to pick a pass is it at times outrageous. Again, it's easy to forget how lumpen we were at the outset and how weeks went by where it appeared only Sullay seemed willing to put the ball into the box, instead of sideways. For all the criticism of his wider play, he proved to be adept at holding a shape, shadowing, tracking back, even drawing public praise from the impish one himself for his defensive work. 

His final performance in tangerine was probably one of his best. Released into the no10 role, he played an absolute blinder for 60 odd minutes at the Stadium of Light. The unforgettable goal was just one of many pieces of magic and that he went down injured just as it seemed he might have made himself indispensable in his preferred position seemed somehow tragically apt. 

I'm left with a feeling that whilst Critchley has done many, many, many things right, he never quite got to grips with Sullay. He could never bring himself to unleash him, preferring players like Embleton and Anderson when looking for the no10 role. Both have their merits and Anderson in particular is a joy to watch but there's a nagging sense that heresy as it may be to question the author of so many a masterclass, that we might have missed a trick… 

For a player played in an unfamiliar role he wasn't best suited to, who seemingly played most of the year not 100% fit, to end the season behind only Jerry Yates for direct involvement in goals and by some distance the leading assist maker  speaks to his ability to find the right decision at the right moment. 

If someone can find the right blend around him and free him to just play, he'll be a promotion winner on his own. He's that good. The irony is, as much as Larry did a lot wrong (or certainly a lot less right than Critch) I think Larry understood him pretty well. He's better than anyone else. Just let him do what he wants. 

Critch has, despite my obvious sense that he's not always been used to his fullest, likely improved him further and maybe his experience this year of playing a position and playing a team role will make him appreciate future freedoms still further and maybe refine his game to be more selective about when to keep it simple and when to turn it on.  

I'm weirdly sad it won't be with us. He never did quite put it all together week on week in the way we hoped, but I'm really surprised that a player with such quick feet, instinctive brilliance, attacking intent and uncanny vision doesn't have a place next year. Maybe fitness has taken a toll, maybe Critch just doesn't see the risk/reward being worth it. I don't know. I can see why he like Embleton, who gives you half of Sullay and half of Matty Virtue. I just like the complete 100% wildcard type player that Sullay is. 

What I do know is, I'll miss the quiet lad with the ability to electrify. Other players may snarl and strut, push, snap, spit and elbow their way round the pitch. I once watched a replay of a penalty shout we had and saw how tentative his appeal was as everyone else screamed in rage. He seemed embarrassed. He seems like one of the most polite players I've ever seen. He seems positively shy. Maybe if he was more arrogant. Maybe if he was a bit more of a knobhead, had a bit more swagger... But my god, when he gets the ball, he comes alive. When he gets the ball, my heart went a little faster. Who the hell knew what could happen next? He just looked so natural, so easy. At his best, he could be on a different plane. At times, he just looked lost. Where others read diffidence or a surliness, I always felt he was questioning himself

I think he's a player who has almost been cursed by his ability. Who, if he hasn't danced around 4 and hit a reverse back heel into the top corner whilst looking the other way, people feel is 'not at his best' because, quite frankly, his best is way beyond that of most of the rest of the players we've had for years. Who perhaps himself sometimes doubted as much as anyone else which meant when it clicked, there was a certain thrill and rawness to it. 

I think I've made it clear over the time he's been here, that I rate him. I'll make it clear once more.... I bloody loved him. An absolute pleasure to watch, one of my favourite players in a long time.  

 

Cheers Sullay.