One To Watch: Paul Huntington

Valentines’ Day is usually a day for showing your loved ones how much they mean to you and what better way for the Birmingham City lads to show that to us than by getting 3 points away at Preston North End tomorrow evening. The late kick off is usually a problem for us with not many points being picked up in evening games. Preston are also doing well with a recent win over Fulham to their name and a very consistent season having settled down after their promotion to the Championship from League One.

The lilywhites are always really hard to beat on their own turf and tomorrow will be no different. They’re a well organised side who pass the ball well and attack the opposition on the break very efficiently. Young players are always given a chance at Preston ever since the days where a young David Beckham found himself there and so a young, energetic side is what we expect in the upcoming fixture.

Ty Browning has recently been brought in on loan to add both an attacking flair and defensive work down the sides which will only help them further with other attacking players such as Callum Robinson. They have threats all over the park and also a very sturdy backline with experience in terms of John Welsh but also a lot of patience and consistency. Marnick Vermijl is the only player a doubt for the hosts (other than the long term absentee Alex Baptiste) and therefore they have a strong selection to choose from unlike the Blues’ who have a lot of noticeable absentees.

My one to watch for Preston has to be Paul Huntington. I believe we should go into the game with an attacking set up and really put the hosts under pressure from the start. Therefore I would say that Che Adams must start as well as Kerim Frei. But the man that these players will have to get past is Huntington and that is no easy task. He is one of those players that is very underrated by opposition fans that don’t get to see him week in week out. He organises the back four and is constantly vocalising his ideas for the back line. He is the player that everyone else looks to for guidance and he has the experience to know where everyone is.

As a player he is composed on the ball and prefers to play short if he can. He is a simple defender and will clear the ball into Row Z if he has to rather than trying something fancy when it doesn’t need to be done. Also he does put his body on the line. In that sense, he is a bit like Paul Robinson and just flings the full torso at the ball without any real thought to the consequences. He really does love Preston and that is seen in every performance that he gives. But he is not the quickest so if we are able to play the ball through and inbetween the lines then we have a chance. Crosses may not be as effective in this game.