Day's anatomy

I am quite sure that Matt Day never, at any point, wished to be an allegory. But indeed he is, analogous to a story that is currently vexing the nation.

There is much to enjoy about Day. He's so barrel chested he could easily be mistaken for a bloke wheezing his way around parks football. What's more, he's charmingly thick, or at least his interviews suggest he is. Most importantly, of course, is that he can spank a ball with unerring accuracy, especially for a defender.

For his other frailties, rugged defending doesn't disguise his poor passing, his goalscoring has made him an invaluable asset, directly contributing 7 points to the cause. In this sense he is a one dimensional player, but it's a great dimension, and whilst its not difficult to identify Yemi's threat, the introduction of a left back when chasing a game is likely to leave the opposition somewhat perplexed.

The allegory is with the David Beckham situation. Steve McClaren drops him to make a point, citing, in not so many words, that Beckham is a one dimensional player. But Beckham's dimension, like Day's, is devastatingly effective. OK, you can't compare Beckham's world class passing and set pieces to Day's Conference class finishing, but I didn't say they were the same.

Now McClaren could do with an experienced player he can rely on to drop a ball onto Peter Crouch's head, but his pigheadedness and pride prevents him from doing so. OK, so you'd prefer a Zidane or Rooney over a player who can be neutralised, but in a sticky situation, I know I'd prefer these sorts of players to be at my disposal than not.