2008/09 Player of the season countdown

#14. Andrew Hills

Apps: 12

So long as it’s not to be awake in order to attend training, he is as reliable to be available as anyone in the entire squad. It’s this availability that’s given him chances and those chances saw some excellent form at the back end of the season.

He made a decent start, not putting a foot wrong in either Postal or Oakfield games at right-back at the beginning of the campaign – despite the results. His performance against Portland at home was excellent, but his man of the match display against Santos was the pick of the bunch. He is a nuisance on the football pitch, and his fellow players recognised that and duly rewarded him. Being marked by Village can be a pain in the arse. If he’s marked you in training he’s up your backside so much that you begin to question whether he could be accused of rape. It was this, coupled with his usual hard-working, no nonsense attitude that saw him perform so effectively down the left hand side in the narrow victory against Santos. Much to the disappointment of that manager.

He also provides moments of comedy, in particular the fence ‘jumping’ incident, as well as catching the ball when it was still on the pitch as linesman.

He may look like he’s carrying a baby in there, but fortunately he can shift once he gets going. Though as said previously on this site, it’s like watching Donkey Kong pull away on Mario Kart given his acceleration is almost non-existent. Whilst his tactical nouse of the game has improved, Village still suffers from a lack of confidence on the ball. A bit more confidence in his own ability to pass the ball would see a drastic improvement to a player who has got better even from last season. 20 less fags a day and more miles on the bike would also see him improve beyond recognition. Here’s to hoping.