reading through old BTN's, hockaday and king were constantly criticised for being unable to tackle, mark or pass the ball and often struggling to keep their aimless hoofs in play.
never saw him play obviously, but do you all have selective memories?!
Remember King playing his first game and outsting Rambo from the side. Bit sad as Rambo's comedy capers made him a fans favourite. Remember seeing him get caught out of position from near enough the kick off and tackle someone almost round the waist and get sent off. The surprise and innocence on his face clearly visible from my vantage point under the clock on the Stratton Bank !
Anyway, in waltzes King with his curly blonde hair. The next couple of years saw us what an attacking option on the left was like. Yes, there was frustration that his crossing was hit and miss, but that was to be expected as all we had to compare him with was Dave Hockaday on the right !
Hocky was infuriating. He seemed to go charging down the right leaving defenders in his wake, then, when it came to crossing, the ball could go anywhere !
My post about Hockaday scoring against Shilton typifies what I remember of Hocky. We had huffed and puffed and slaughtered Soton last time we played them with Shilts in goal. Shilts comes back with Derby for more of the same and Hocky beats him with a fluke ! As for defending, he looked ungainly but must have been quick as I recall him being no nonsense.
Remember, this was 20 years ago and memories fade and change with time. I remember those years being fantastic. We were virtually unbeatable. When we did lose or even draw it was a total shock. It would be fantastic to see those days again, but I think the way that the game has changed it is unlikely that we will.
NMH
