Oh Danny, Danny . . .
Forget Steven Gerrard’s FA Cup final wonder strike if you will, and if you are a West Ham fan, you’ll be receiving counselling for years to come to achieve just that. No, the most astonishing performance for me from Saturday’s incredible final was that of Wales defender Danny Gabbidon.
Gabbs turned in the sort of assured super show that would have had the watching worldwide audience wondering why this classy stopper is not being talked about in the same breath as John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Ledley King.
His reading of the game was exceptional. As Liverpool bombarded the West Ham area Gabbidon was first to every ball. On the floor, or in the air he was almost Gandalf-like – ‘You shall not pass’ was surely his maxim for the afternoon.
He marked Crazy Legs Crane, or Peter Crouch as he’s also known, out of the game. It was the sort of defensive masterclass that prompted Alan Hansen, who purports to know a thing or two about defending to purr that he was “immense”.
He didn’t even let Djibril Cisse’s terrible haircut and even worse lime green boots combo, put him off.
Recently voted West Ham supporters’ player of the year, Gabbs has quickly dispelled any doubts those Premiership managers who didn’t take a chance on him may have had about his concentration levels, to become one of the Prem’s most reliable players.
So it can sometimes appear that he is shaking off the after-effects of a pre-match jazz cigarette and yes he is so laidback he’s almost horizontal, but he does find room and time on the ball that others don’t. At Premiership and international level that just underlines his class.
With a watching worldwide audience of millions – and the world’s leading managers sure to have taken a peek at this most memorable of finals, don’t be surprised to find Danny on a few wish lists this summer.
And for John Toshack’s Wales – that’s got to be great news.