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One To Watch: Gary Hooper

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Considering Gary Hooper has been nominated for the player of the month award for January, along with our very own Kieftenbeld, it would be hard to overlook him.

Throughout his career, Hooper has always managed the weight of expectations very well and he will certainly need this personality trait when it comes to the game tomorrow. Sheffield Wednesday against Birmingham City is a huge game for both parties involved. It is a six pointer. Whoever wins this will gain not only a lot of confidence but also valuable points in the quest for play-off glory.

Hooper, if Wednesday are to make the play offs, will be key to their success. He is one of the most selfless strikers I have ever seen, often choosing to set up his strike partners rather than going for the glory. This is a trait which may not be well received if his team mates are not on the same wavelength or are not as prolific as Hooper.

Talking about his prolific scoring, he can certainly find the back of the net. Usually from close range. This reaction is pivotal for a striker and I think that Donaldson is a great example of how good strikers can be if they are always on their toes and expecting the ball to fall to them.

Despite not being the quickest player, Hooper will run behind the defence but he is simply not as effective doing this as he is receiving crosses into the box. For this game, I would play Spector. The reason for this is that he has the ability to beat Gary in the air and I believe due to his height would be better than Robinson at dealing with the aerial threat.

He is also good with his feet and will try the simple ball rather than the Hollywood pass. Therefore due to his quick feet, it’s important that our defenders do not dive in and try to steal the ball. He is a clever player who will win free kicks from this and so it will be detrimental to allow him to get on the end of such set pieces by being silly.

As we all know, Sheffield Wednesday are a great team. They have strengths all over the park and it was difficult to choose a one to watch. However, we have shown that we can beat high flying teams and therefore we often play better against these than against league strugglers. So I am hopeful for the game tomorrow and I hope that we can maintain our good form.

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