Journeyman

by Ben Smith

  The mood in the camp was great when we returned to work on the Thursday. After training, John Trewick asked me to come into his office. That wasn’t always something to be celebrated as John’s meetings had become legendary: he would just talk and talk while whoever was listening would simply nod their head in agreement as it was the only sure way of getting out within half an hour! However, on this occasion, it was short and sweet. John said he had watched the Leeds game on DVD and thought my performance had been brilliant. That was pretty much all he said, but it made me feel a million dollars. I floated out of his office feeling like the best player in the world.

  The only downside was the fact we lost Lionel to Watford; the transfer window was closed for permanent moves but the Hornets used a loophole that allowed them to sign him on a temporary loan, which turned permanent on 1 January. It was a blow but we had a readymade replacement who had been waiting patiently in the shadows – Simon Johnson. He was a child protégé at Leeds and was chomping at the bit to play.

  We had Accrington Stanley at home for our next match and, before the game, GT reiterated in front of all the lads what John had said to me privately. GT, as a rule, gave out very little praise and definitely not much individually; I normally knew I had played well when he said nothing to me. So I liken that moment to what I call the ‘Simon Cowell effect’. Every competitor on The X Factor or Britain’s Got Talent is looking for a compliment from Cowell; when they get one, it means ten times more than one from any other judge.

  The match, like so many that follow a big game, was a bit of a let down. We disappointingly drew 0–0 with Accrington, but I played really well and felt great. The Leeds game had begun the most consistent and productive run of form I ever experienced in my career – across ten games I was either ‘Man of the Match’ or close to it in six or seven cases.

  We were now fourth and sustaining a challenge most expected to have faded away by now.

  The loanees at the club were making a big impact – Toumani Diagouraga and I built up a great relationship in central midfield in particular. I had never been the most disciplined player and, when playing well, I liked to drift around the pitch. Toumani recognised this and was intelligent enough to let me do it while covering around me. He was also technically good and this allowed us to combine together effectively when we had possession. I might be biased but I would say our partnership was comparable to any other central midfield pairing in the League at that time.

  Another loanee who was doing well was Theo Robinson, who had that wonderful arrogance of youth about him. No doubt in his head he was by far the best player in our team and the job of the rest of us was to get the ball to him at all times. He was, in reality, athletic, quick and very direct but he was still raw and a bit erratic on the ball. Some games his hold-up play was OK and other games it was non-existent, but a couple of the games around this time really highlighted his value to the team.

  Theo, when we played away at both Wycombe and Bury, was having the type of days where he could not hold up a little kids party let alone the ball. He did however score in both games; at Bury he even turned and hit a shot with his weaker left from 18 yards which flew into the top corner. If I was playing as poorly as him I would not have dreamt of having a shot from there but Theo did and it won us the game.

  The look on Steve Guinan’s face when that goal went in was priceless – he had done all the donkey work throughout the ninety minutes and Theo would be getting all the plaudits.

  This was in mid-December and, straight after the game, we went to Manchester airport for a two-day trip to Dublin. While having a couple of drinks at the airport Wayne Brown, our rather outspoken goalkeeper, complimented Theo on his goal but added that apart from that he had been poor, which was true. The look on Theo’s face was priceless and he was amazed Wayne thought that; he was adamant he had performed exceptionally.

  Everyone thought it was hilarious and gave him plenty of stick but I weirdly admired him. I often thought I was too honest with myself and wished I could have this unshakeable self-belief Theo exhibited. He was not one of those people that said stuff but did not really mean it, he genuinely believed he was brilliant. Theo could be very frustrating to play with at times but, being fair, he worked so hard for the team and was a big part of this current success.

  After that trip to Dublin, which I will dub ‘lively’, we suffered an extended hangover as we got demolished 3–0 by Morecambe in a game which was by far my worst performance in a while. So far we had not lost two games on the trot and happily this was no exception as we ground out a workmanlike victory at Macclesfield on Boxing Day. Over the hectic Christmas and New Year period we followed up that visit with a trip to play Bradford City at Valley Parade. In the pre-game warm-up a few of us were discussing how playing at such venues would become a regular occurrence the following season if we were to sustain our form. It clearly inspired us as we comfortably won the game 3–1 in front of over 13,500 fans.

  That performance was a wonderful advert for the counter-attacking football that had become our trademark. We lined up with two banks of four without the ball and then utilised the pace of Simon Johnson and Theo when we regained possession. Those two, alongside Trevor Benjamin, destroyed Bradford while ably assisted by the rest of us.

  I was back on top form after a couple of average outings and Toumani, Clint and I were dominating midfield.

  Our away form was superb because the onus was always on our hosts to come out and attack, which played perfectly into our counter-attacking style although we found it a little trickier at home when we were expected to break the opposition down.

  GT liked to break the League down into chunks – say six games – and set us both team and individual targets. He would normally expect around ten or twelve points and we were regularly hitting his targets – which also meant a few hundred quid went into the players’ kitty to be spent on an end-of-season party.

  People often say Cup competitions can be a distraction when you are challenging for promotion, but I think they provide a chance to forget about League pressures for a week and play a game against higher-ranked opposition with no real expectations. We had already beaten bigger and better teams though so we were really confident we could get a positive result against Tranmere Rovers.

  The game was a pulsating Cup tie and a great advert for the FA Cup, finishing in a 2–2 draw. Tranmere, as you would expect being the home side, put us under real pressure in the first half. The second half was totally different, however, as we came out, went toe to toe with them and I opened the scoring with one of the best goals of my career.

  We broke forward and I miss-hit a shot into a Tranmere defender just outside the box, but it bounced back to me and I hit the sort of volley you dream about. As soon as I connected I knew it was destined for the top corner. Such was the velocity of the shot, it was a good job the net was there otherwise it might have seriously hurt someone in the crowd.

  In fact – and I do not use these words lightly – it was arguably my best ever performance. Aside from one sloppy pass, my display was pretty much faultless. When you are in a good run of form it can get tricky because you can be so excited for the next game that you struggle to sleep and become restless. This was the case for me, particularly as I knew the Shrewsbury game was coming up. All I could think about in the week leading up to the game was how I was going to prove Gary Peters wrong.

  The game eventually rolled around and it was a horrible wet and windy Sunday in early January. A crowd of just under 5,000 crammed into Edgar Street. I loved playing in front of a big crowd at our rickety old ground. The fans were so close to the pitch that you could smell what they had been drinking (normally cider) and the atmosphere was especially rocking as the Shrews brought a good following too.

  As you would expect from a local derby, the game started off competitively but it was clear to see we were the more confident of the two teams. I had so much energy that day I felt I could’ve run everywhere and was really
relaxed in possession of the ball – always a great sign. Just so you don’t think I’m simply blowing my own trumpet here, below is an excerpt taken from the Daily Telegraph on the Monday morning:

  The admiration was mutual as Ben Smith came off the Edgar Street pitch clapping Hereford’s supporters who responded, in turn, by applauding their captain all the way down the tunnel.

  Deserved too, for Smith had played no small part in the victory that took the hosts back into second place. His contribution included an assist, a shot that rebounded from an upright, and a neat pass that deserved better than a wayward finish from Simon Johnson. ‘He teed us up nicely,’ Johnson said, ‘but I wouldn’t expect anything less from the lad.’

  Shrewsbury’s fourth successive defeat led to a ‘Peters Out’ banner being displayed by the visiting fans, but it will take more than that for Gary Peters to resign. ‘If you walk away, you are a quitter,’ he said.

  I was really proud to receive such words from a well-respected national paper, and just as satisfying was the mention of the chance of Gary Peters resigning.

  Although a great victory for us, I did feel for some of my old colleagues at Shrewsbury. I looked at their faces and could see the pain in their eyes. Peters had done to some of them what he had done to me: if you continually tell someone they are rubbish at something they are going to believe it in the end, no matter how strong a character they are.

  He had a player of the quality of Marc Pugh on the bench whom he should have been building his team around, not marginalising on the sidelines.

  Still, I was happy with my own renaissance. If the season had ended then I am convinced I would have romped away with any ‘Player of the Year’ award.

  Next up was the FA Cup replay against Tranmere. We got battered and played terribly – especially me. After a virtuoso performance in the first game, I was the opposite this time.

  It was a warning and one we did not heed. We went to Saltergate for our next game against Chesterfield live in front of the Sky cameras, but were promptly torn apart. The 4–0 scoreline flattered us.

  I was captain and embarrassed by both my own and the team’s play. After about sixty minutes it became clear there was only going to be one winner and I was just desperate to get off the pitch and erase the debacle from my memory.

  It wasn’t great preparation for our fourth-round FA Cup match at home to Cardiff City. The game was scheduled to kick off early on a Sunday due to police advice. To ensure we were fully prepared, we stayed in a hotel the night before, but that didn’t quite go according to plan since the hotel dished up our pre-match meal of beans on toast and cereal as our evening meal.

  The match itself was a bit of a damp squib. We didn’t play anywhere close to the high level we were capable of and Cardiff had a pretty comfortable afternoon, leading 2–0 until the last fifteen minutes when Theo Robinson scored for us and we pressed for an equaliser. I was relatively happy with my own performance and enjoyed pitting my wits against Stephen McPhail, who I thought was a very elegant, thoughtful midfield player.

  We were in a mini-slump and, for the first time that season, we lost three games in a row. The small squad that GT and John put together was starting to feel the effects of a challenging season, especially the younger players who were not used to working towards playing fifty games. We needed a boost and the management did this by signing two strikers on loan: firstly Gary Hooper from Southend United and then Sherjill MacDonald from West Bromwich Albion.

  Hoops joined us just before the Barnet game and initially I wondered why we had signed him. Southend were after all only one league above us and if he could not get in their team would he be good enough to get in ours? I could not have been more wrong.

  After feeling his way in during the Barnet game, he was absolutely brilliant and in my opinion the difference between us getting promoted or not. He was ice cold in front of goal – it got to the point where he would get clean through and I would start preparing for kick-off because there was no chance he was going to miss.

  As our home form hadn’t been great but away we were excellent, GT, being the superstitious manager he was, decided we should prepare for our next home game against Dagenham & Redbridge by having a pre-match meal together like we did for away fixtures. So we met at the Three Counties Hotel on the Saturday morning of the Daggers game. The news that we had signed another new player, Sherjill, had broken the night before, but I knew very little about him.

  It was very rare for a new player to go straight into playing for the team without having at least one training session with his new teammates but that is what was happening with Sherjill. Once we started to warm up we realised why, though.

  We were going through our normal pre-game regime when Simon Johnson and I noticed Sherjill playing around with the ball. The Dutchman was doing stepovers at the speed of Ronaldo and we looked on in amazement. We didn’t say anything but you could tell we were both thinking you do not see ability like that at our level. As I’ve said before, you can tell how good someone is just by watching them warm up – it definitely rang true on this occasion.

  Sherjill and Hoops, even though they had never met before, absolutely destroyed Dagenham & Redbridge. The rest of us simply had to get the ball up to them as quickly and frequently as possible. Those two proved the old adage ‘good players can play together’ by clicking instantly. As a contest the game was over by half-time and we showed mercy by declaring at four goals, eventually winning 4–1. Sherjill scored two on his debut, Hoops got one and Johnno slotted away a coolly taken penalty.

  So, after a slight lull, we were flying again. My performances had slipped a little but I was still contributing to the team. My body was screaming at me to rest, though: I was picking up little niggly injuries – nothing that stopped me playing but a warning I needed to take it easy … a warning I ignored until we played away against Rochdale.

  My groin was still stiff and aching from the game on Saturday but I was not going to give up my place in the team on the off-chance I might get injured. I was named in the team and started to warm up as usual, but the stiffness in my groin was not easing. Once my body warmed up, any aches and pains normally disappeared – but they didn’t on this occasion. In actual fact, the ache was getting worse; I was getting a shooting pain every time I kicked the ball. So now it was serious and there were two things I had to take into account: I didn’t want to make the injury worse and, more importantly, I didn’t want to let the team down. As much as I didn’t want to pull out, I knew I had to.

  I shouldn’t have worried: Kris Taylor (or Gonzo, as he was known – and if you’ve met him you’ll know why) took my place and played excellently as Sherjill and Hoops ripped the opposition apart. We comfortably won 4–2.

  I definitely made the right decision as my groin was much sorer after the game then it was during the quite sedate warm-up (I dread to think what it would’ve been like if I’d attempted to play). The injury caused two problems, though. Firstly, I was out of action for ten days so it was touch-and-go for the return match at Shrewsbury, which I was desperate to play in. Secondly, as a result of my fitness issues, the club signed Stephen Gleeson on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers and I was determined not to be sacrificed to allow him to play.

  So I only missed one other game and was back training on the Thursday – two days before our big game against Shrewsbury. I was all over the place and looked very rusty; I nearly played myself out of the team in that session. However, as Toumani was out injured, the gaffer showed great faith by putting me straight back into the team at the expense of the unfortunate Gonzo.

  I remember going into the referee’s room with GT to have the usual pre-game chat with the officials and our opposite numbers. I exchanged pleasantries with Gary Peters and remember him making some sort of comment that wound me up.

  We won a hard-fought game 2–1. I hadn’t played as well as I had in our first meeting but I was satisfied with my performance as I’d done all the unspectacular parts
of the game that Peters had always insisted I couldn’t do: I broke up play and did a good job for the team.

  It was a great feeling to go there and captain the team to victory. Peters was very bitter after the game and came out with a lot of comments regarding us being an amalgamation of Premiership and Championship players. He had a point, to be honest, but it all smacked of sour grapes. I’m sure if our management had the budget he had then the recruitment strategy would’ve been different.

  A few days after the game, John Trewick spoke to GP. John told me my old manager was surprised Hereford had got me playing the way I was. We had a laugh about it and I commented it was amazing what players can produce if they’re not continually being told what they can’t do.

  We followed this victory up with a shock defeat at Dagenham & Redbridge and a narrow loss to a fast-improving Stockport County, who were quickly coming from nowhere to become rivals for an automatic promotion spot.

  Whenever we looked like we were feeling the pressure, we managed to go on a run of victories – and this was no different. We beat Accrington, followed that with an away win at Mansfield and then won a hard-fought home game against Wycombe Wanderers.

  We were now in the third automatic promotion place. At the start of the season, just reaching the play-offs would’ve been a great achievement, but, at this point, anything less than automatic promotion would be a disappointment. Easter was coming up and we knew a good points haul would put us in a commanding position, although we suffered a blow as we were unable to extend Sherjill’s loan.

  We suffered a wobble when we sacrificed a two-goal lead at home to Chester City to draw 2–2, which left GT fuming. As with any poor result, we had a post-match debrief that involved going into the board room and watching all our mistakes in super-slow motion. This was especially painful for someone like me, who was slow in real time let alone in any other. GT was especially scathing about our lack of professionalism in the second goal we conceded. He felt we should’ve been smarter in closing the game out. The ball had gone out for a goal kick to Chester with one minute left and Toumani threw the ball back to their keeper, who duly launched it up the pitch. The gaffer told us in slightly more industrial language that the ball should have been in the Meadow End.