Swindon Town 1 Huddersfield Town 0 – Man Mountain

Sean Morrison is an exceptional young talent.



My clipping from this morning's copy of The Sun
The Sun’s football website: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football

As central defenders go he has all it takes to make it to the top, but he’s only 19 years old and while he should enjoy the plaudits after performances like the one he showed against Huddersfield on Saturday, he also has to keep his feet on the ground.

His manager, Danny Wilson, is one person who can – and will - help him to continue to develop his ability so that at some stage he is ready for the next step. His mum and dad are also solid people who can give him wise council and he has plenty of team mates who can give him guidance, but like anyone, his future is ultimately in his own hands.

Fortunately Sean seems to be listening to Wilson and shrugged off speculation linking him with Newcastle, Liverpool and others after the game on Saturday. He said:

“A couple of people I know have gone up to the Premier League and it hasn’t worked out for them for one reason or another. Ben Tozer (who signed for Newcastle at about the same age and has suffered from injuries and been restricted to Toon reserve fixtures) has now signed on loan for Northampton and played really well at Anfield when they won last week.

I’ve signed a contract for another two years and just played my 50th professional game which is a real milestone and I couldn’t be happier.

I’m sure that there are scouts at every game and they watch every player on the pitch, but I’m just focused on keeping clean sheets.”

And that’s the way it should be. The Swindon faithful won't begrudge him a move to a bigger club when the time is right, but he's at the right place now to hone his skills and learn the trade. Because as good as he is, make no mistake, he's still learning.

Keeper David Lucas, 32, played his own part in Swindon’s victory, but praised Morrison saying:

“Sean’s enjoying himself at the moment and you can see it in the way he plays. Last season he had the crutch of knowing Gordon Greer (now at Brighton) would be playing most of the games, but now he knows that he’ll be playing each week and he has risen to it.”

And Morrison himself was quick to recognise central defensive partner Scott Cuthbert who played a big part in the clean sheet. Morrison said:

"I know Scott's a good honest player and always gives 100%. We've developed a good understanding at the moment and long may it continue and there be many more clean sheets to come. We worked hard for it and Alan Sheehan said to me at half time that we couldn't keep creating this many chances and not score."

It was Sheehan's corner that led to Morrison's goal.

When I watch Sean, I think back to Titus Bramble who also had everything at the same age. Physically they are both tall and well built, neither shirks a tackle and they can both spray the ball about the pitch. Sean is even taking the long throws into the opposition boxes at the moment.

However, Bramble’s problem was always his lapses in concentration at the most inopportune moments – and his off field image.

As far as concentration is concerned, this is an area that Wilson has been urging Sean to work on and, to be fair, he is listening to his boss. He proved this by frustrating the Huddersfield strikers for more than ninety minutes before nodding in the injury time winner.

My phone footage of Sean’s winner – the only time I filmed anything during the whole game! I had one of my funny feelings that something was about to happen ... again!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/9034841.stm

And the BBC's slightly better camera work!

Away from the County Ground, Sean will have to find his own way just like the rest of us did at his age. He’ll make mistakes and have to work out who is a friend and who is a hanger-on, but he’s smart enough to be able to make the right judgments.

Listening to 606 on the way home on Saturday evening I was stunned to hear Robbie Savage laugh at a caller when they pointed out he was an entertainer, but frankly that’s all ever football has been about. Savage was a good footballer, but lacks perspective.

I hope that Sean retains his – as I’m confident he will - and keeps his feet firmly planted on the ground ... apart from when he needs to head in an injury time winner of course!

Terriers Knocked Off Top Spot by Robins - Dog Days Are Over

What I had predicted would be an open high scoring game between two footballing sides turned out to be a masterclass in League One defending.

Swindon central defenders Sean Morrsion and Scott Cuthbert along with keeper David Lucas came out on top thanks to Morrsion's 91st minute winner, but Huddersfield's defenders also acquitted themselves well.

Jamie McCombe and skipper Peter Clarke were resolute in the centre of defence and keeper Alex Smithies pulled off several good saves with even opposite number Lucas saying:

"Smithies is going to be a really good keeper. Every time I've played against him or watched him he has looked very good."

Unfortunately for the Terriers, two injuries to Gary Roberts and Scott Arfield in the first half restricted manager Lee Clark's tactical options and while it appeared to the away fans that Jonathan Douglas had 'done' Roberts in the 12th minute, the lad was actually taken off with a broken arm after falling awkwardly in the tackle. Clark said:

"Gary Roberts has been one of my best players in the last 4 or 5 games and he was causing problems in the short spell he was on. The break is in a high area of his arm and he was taken to hospital. We'll learn more later, but I've now lost one of my best players for a period of time."

Despite the injuries, Huddersfield contributed greatly to the game and probably deserved a point, but they look too good an outfit to let this result get to them and I suspect they will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season. As Clark said:

"This result hurts like hell, but as Sir Alex Ferguson will tell you, it's not quite squeaky bum time yet."

More on this game tomorrow.

David Prutton - Old Friends

I met up with Former Forest and Leeds midfielder David Prutton after the Swindon game last weekend - a very nice and very genuine guy.

One thing he mentioned that surprised me was the fact that while he’d been talking to clubs in the summer, he had been really impressed with Andy Scott the Brentford manager he scored against in the 40th minute.

“I spoke to Andy in the summer and he’s got a lot of very progressive and good ideas. My agent knows him and so I spoke to him a couple of times about Brentford and what they had to offer. I just thought it wasn’t the right time to go there plus I was really impressed with what Danny had done last year.

I’ve also got a couple of very close friends here in David Lucas and Jonathan Douglas and you don’t often get the chance to play with people you’re good mates with. I’m not just here for sentimental reasons though, they’re both very good players and you want t surround yourselves with good players if you can. I’ve played in teams where I haven’t had that and it’s very hard work.

For example David is one of the best keepers I’ve seen as a reaction shot stopper and he showed that with a save from our defender Sean Morrison against Brentford..

Another reason I joined Swindon was that Danny Wilson likes to get the ball down and play. Sometimes he wants you to play in areas you wouldn’t think of which isn’t always the way, but he’s got a lot of good ideas.”

Listening to David talk about the game, it didn’t stretch my imagination too far to see him working in the broadcast media at some point in the future. He has a quick sense of humour, but also talks well about the game – certainly easier on the ear than Robbie Savage was on 606 as I drove home!

“It’s only three games in and you can’t get too carried away. It’s got the makings of a team that can do something. We need to keep having belief and make sure the fans keep making lots of noise. Football’s a different beast nowadays.

Let the games commence – Brighton Rock

I’m off to Swindon tomorrow for the League One opener against Brighton and it’ll be interesting to see how the Robins bounce back after their play-off final defeat.


After struggling the previous season, Danny Wilson’s boys did incredibly well to make it to Wembley last term, but will they find this season a little tougher? There’s no doubt that they will have earned the respect of the rest of the division and – while a top two position might be tricky with the likes of Southampton and Charlton trying to get back into the Championship – Swindon have a canny boss at the helm and a decent squad.

One player who they might miss is Billy Paynter who weighed in with 29 goals on the way to the play-off final before joining Leeds in the summer. Then again, the County Ground faithful also worried when Simon Cox left for West Brom one year ago, before Robins' fan Charlie Austin started banging them in.

Swindon’s success might depend on whether Wilson can play a suitable foil up front for Austin. Togo striker Thomas Dossevi has just signed a one year deal and former Stoke City and Pompey hitman Vincent Péricard – who was also on the books of Juventus as a kid – is itching for a run in the side. Personally I think a fit Péricard could more than make up for Paynter, although only if he matches the Scouser’s work ethic.

This might also be the season when young Sean Morrison makes his mark and it wouldn’t surprise me if he isn’t being linked with a few bigger clubs by the end of the season if he knuckles down and plays to his potential. He’s only 19 years old and still learning his trade, but has all the attributes needed by a central defender. If he keeps focused, he gets the chances and the crowd cut him a little slack, he could quite easily fill the void left by former skipper Gordon Greer who – along with manager Gus Poyet and Slovak keeper Peter Brezovan - returns with his new employers tomorrow afternoon.

Simon Ferry has also signed from Celtic after spending last season on loan at the Robins and along with Jonathan Douglas and Jon Paul McGovern, was an outstanding and consistent performer on the way the Wembley.

In goal both David Lucas and Phil Smith can do a good job at this level and seem to have had the confidence of their defenders last season. There’s no reason why that shouldn’t continue.

Danny Wilson has brought in a few new faces during the summer and if anyone can get them to gel, it’s him. Wilson has been around the block and has earned the right to be backed by the fans and the board.

I’m tipping the Robins for a top six finish this season and wouldn’t be surprised if local neighbours Bristol Rovers join them. A play-off final meeting? What a great day out at Wembley that would be. Does North London stock enough cider to cope?