Dean Hammond

[Storer68]

He worked bloody well alongside Bertin though, Shame they did'nt get more matches together.

tosh - they were both shite - only difference was that hammond was wilkins blue eyed boy who could do no wrong and therefore always got picked ahead of technically better players who made a more telling contribution, as oppossed to 90 minutes running around like a headless chicken whilst the game went on around him.

 

[Storer68]

Because you state your opinions as FACTS when they are just that - opinions.

"Shame he didn't really want to play for us"

Sorry, but that is complete RUBBISH. Hammond had no desire to leave.

We would NOT have had to let him go for nothing at the end of the season if the club had opened contract negotiations with Hammond when they should have done.

but he would have been a free agent - if he wanted to go, we couldn't stop him.

there was a deal on the table for him to sign in april. he didn't. therefore he went of his own free will

 

[sir danny cullip]

tosh - they were both shite - only difference was that hammond was wilkins blue eyed boy who could do no wrong and therefore always got picked ahead of technically better players who made a more telling contribution, as oppossed to 90 minutes running around like a headless chicken whilst the game went on around him.

Name the players that were better than and benched in favour of Hammond please. I remember very few games that passed Hammond by, I think you must be confusing him with Tommy 'absent' Fraser.

 

[Storer68]

I can never make my mind up with Paul Reid. When he had the ball at his feet, he looked a good player and he used the ball quite intelligently. However, he got bullied out of too many games for my liking and I think that's what a lot of managers probably saw. That said, he went back to Oz to play in the A League and I think that is higher standard than League One, so maybe nobody ever took enough of a chance on him.

.

i've seen both and league one is way ahead of the A League in terms of quality

 

[Storer68]

Take your point about Paul Reid but again he is a midfield player who can pick out a decent pass and we don't seem to like those at Brighton at all.

Your Dean Hammond comment is a joke to be honest. I think you'll find the reason he looked way out of his depth at Championship level was because he was playing alongside a half dead Richard Carpenter who was far further out of his depth and Hammond was doing the running for two. His goal record speaks for itself and that isn't even the main part of his game, he is actually most effective in defensive positions.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2007/sep/25/newsstory.brighton interesting article here for anyone who thinks Dean Hammond is remembered as a better player than he actually was for us.

that article is from september 2007. hardly relevant to where we are now.

and Hammond is hardly attracting scouts to Colchester

 

[BHseagull]

This club has missed Dean Hammond since he left - never really been replaced by a proper signing other than loans

very true. we've missed him & have never really replaced him. certainly not permanantly. the "hammond haters" can say what they like but we've not looked the same since he left.

 

[sir danny cullip]

It was a shambles with him. The midfield was the place we did need to strengthen last season - a mantra on NSC that was ongoing throughout.

This season though, the whole thing has been a shambles. The board would have done REALLY well to have given Dean Wilkins everything he needed, to work with.

The midfield (particularly the centre) has been a problem for us for some time. The problem however was never Dean Hammond himself it was the fact we never signed a creative midfield player to play alongside him (someone like Kevin Thornton/George O whats his face (when he was good) or Westlake would have been perfect for this). Hammond did his job very well and chipped in with goals but we never found the player we needed to form an effective partnership with him.

 

[sir danny cullip]

that article is from september 2007. hardly relevant to where we are now.

and Hammond is hardly attracting scouts to Colchester

It was never supposed to be relevant now, in fact I posted it because it was dated from a few years ago. People were claiming the effect Hammond had on the club had increased since he left and he is being remembered as some kind of 'God' I posted that to show that while he was never a good he was, for a long while, one of our most consistent and influential performers.

You don't know whether he's attracting scouts or not but he is now club captain which speaks volumes. Also, why would any scout bother watching him when hes still tied down for another 2/3 years and would command a significant fee? The latter is the point that we need to take note of particularly when players like Whingy are yet to be offered a contract. Please feel free to bounce this when he signs in the summer but I somehow doubt he will and he will be gone to a league 1 team for free.

 

[dougdeep]

Because you state your opinions as FACTS when they are just that - opinions.

Everything I said was true, you can call it a fact or an opinion, but you can't deny it.

 

[drew]

Re: bold text
Would signing for a team destined for our division not suggest that the idea he "thought he was better than our division" is a false one? The idea that he had those opinions is more at best a bitter fan hurt he left, at worse a propaganda campaign against him from people trying to hide the fact we didn't do more to keep him?

Ah, the old conspiracy theory resurrected. From my point of view, I couldn't give a flying fu*k about him and am certainly not bitter he left. Have watched the club for over 30 years and can't say I'm bitter about any player that left.

 

[Uncle Buck]

I do not think that Dean Hammond was as good a player as many would like to make out as for my money his tackling was poor and as a result we conceeded too many free kicks around the edge of the penalty box. But having said that he was better than we have had at being a box to box midfielder who we have never replaced. If only we could find another Paul Rogers who IMHO was far better in all aspects of his general play than Hammond.

Is there any player you do not have a downer on?

The best thing is everyone you seem to slate is normally a fairly decent player.

Lucky that you are not a scout...

 

[Uncle Buck]

Any truth that Colchester offered us Hammond back in the summer?

 

[BensGrandad]

Is there any player you do not have a downer on?

The best thing is everyone you seem to slate is normally a fairly decent player.

Lucky that you are not a scout...

I have been or rather was for many years hence you tend to look at the negatives to try to improve them.

My only critisicm of Hammond is his rash tackling just outside of the box and this was one of the reasons that he was sent out on loan to Orient early in his career but in fairness to him he was given 3 months to show he could do the job when he came back from Oerient and he did just that. That doesnt make him the next Paul Scholes but he is a better midfielder than we have got or had for some time. Yes we have missed his box to box play as we havent properly replaced him.

 

[British Bulldog]

tosh - they were both shite - only difference was that hammond was wilkins blue eyed boy who could do no wrong and therefore always got picked ahead of technically better players who made a more telling contribution, as oppossed to 90 minutes running around like a headless chicken whilst the game went on around him.

I dont agree with you, The games Hammond & Bertin had together they looked good and they complimented each other very well and I'm convinced if we had'nt lost Hammond to a hernia operation we'd have finished higher up the table than we did that season. Like him or loathe him we certainly miss Hammond and he's yet to be replaced.

 

[BensGrandad]

I believe that if we had a Bertin type player to be the anchor man in midfield and a player like Hammond to get forward we would have an ideal midfield. I also believe that it is on this basis that several managers have tried to shoe horn El Abd into that role to allow other to get forward more but unfortunately it hasnt been to successful as we havent found the right combination.

 

[Acker79]

Ah, the old conspiracy theory resurrected. From my point of view, I couldn't give a flying fu*k about him and am certainly not bitter he left. Have watched the club for over 30 years and can't say I'm bitter about any player that left.

I didn't mean you were the one who was starting the rumour, or that you were bitter.

I just mean, it makes no sense for someone who thinks they are better than league 1 to sign for a team that will be playing league 1 football.

So, how do we explain the belief going around that he believed he was better than league 1, and the only ways I can think of that explain this idea that he felt that way is a bitter fan trying to make him look bad/arrogant etc. and that this fan's comments have been given weight and spread and believed by other fans.

The other alternative is "the old conspiracy". Sorry, but when you have someone in Advertising/PR running your club, these types of conspiracy theories are par for the course. If you make a career out of trying to sell things, or work the media coverage to your advantage, peoplpe are going to wonder if you're bringing it over into the football club. Give the theories as much thought as you want, which I presume is very little.

 

[Storer68]

Name the players that were better than and benched in favour of Hammond please. I remember very few games that passed Hammond by, I think you must be confusing him with Tommy 'absent' Fraser.

paul reid for starters

 

[sir danny cullip]

paul reid for starters

Paul Reid should have been played alongside Hammond or on the right of midfield. He would have complimented Hammond very well.

 

[bristolseagull]

there's a guy in Hove Tesco that looks just like Dean Hammond