In the second of our Player of the Season pieces, David Evans explains why your vote should go to defender Richard Stearman.
Odin, Miami Vice, Football Genius and Thor. A mixture of the Marvel and pop culture nicknames we have given Richard Stearman over the last couple of years. These haven’t been created to oppose the defender, but to highlight a loveable connection that fans have with ‘Stears’.
Richard Stearman has been the favourite to win the Player of the Season award for a while now. Whether this is from the clubs official awards or just in the minds of fans. The fact that it has now been for a few months shows you the impact that he has had on the team this season.
Stearman has rode the rollercoaster of Molineux more than most players in the last few years. Promotion, double relegation and promotion again. Richard has seen the highest highs and the lowest lows of his footballing career at Wolves.
Strikers usually get all the plaudits and praise. Defenders are rarely are hoisted in the air and buzzed about on social media in the same light. Richard Stearman’s performances this season have changed that trend in the Wolves community.
Richard Stearman started life in football at Leicester City. After their relegation to League One in 2008, he joined Wolves on a four year deal in what would be our promotion season. Notching up a goal in Wolves last game of the season and the winner against Doncaster Rovers, he would then dip in and out the defence. Stearman would become key in the Wolves back line alongside Jody Craddock in their Premier League survival in 2011.
After relegation to the Championship in 2012, Stearman fell out of favour and was loaned to Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich in January 2013. It was here that Stearman went back to his natural position of centre back. With these games under his belt, it was just what he needed to get back on track with his career on the pitch.
Some fans bemoan McCarthy, but bringing in Stearman was the start of the revival of the impressive defender we see today.
With Wolves relegated to League One, Stearman could have walked away and there would have been no surprises if he had re-joined Ipswich permanently. It didn’t happen. Instead with a year left on his contract, Jackett brought him back into the fold and partnered him with the young Danny Batth to be our new back line.
Many will have talked about Dicko, Jacobs, Ricketts and Sako last season. The ’10k2MK’, the records broken and the beards (one which Stearman displayed perfectly). Simmering away though was the strong relationship developing between Danny Batth and Richard Stearman.
Stearman, now an experience pro at the club, would compliment the young and energetic Batth. It’s clear to see that his influence on the pitch has helped Danny to grow and become the fan favourite he is now. Stearman was the young buck to Craddock’s seasoned pro. Stearman has now taken on this mantle and you can tell that this has helped Richard to develop.
With Wolves promoted to the Championship in May 2014, fans called for the former Leicester boy to sign a new deal. Weeks later, a new deal was agreed much to fans delight. Wolves entered the new season with a defence as impenetrable as Jodie Fosters ‘Panic Room’, but the new season would bring a tougher test. With a few games in, Stearman and co continued their good work.
Out of no-where, the goals started to rain in. Stearman was dropped. Perhaps it was tactical. Perhaps Jackett felt Stearman was off form. But the gap was not plugged. The wall has been broken and it looked like there was not enough time to re-brick the gaps.
Fans shouted for a re-call. Stearman was brought back in the fold and after the relief of a 1-0 away win over Sheffield Wednesday mid December, the gap had been sealed. Stearman is now one of the first names on the team sheet for most fans. A defence without him is a scary thought indeed.
His good performances led to a crisp late winter evening against Huddersfield. Podcast pundit Luke Regan started the chant ‘Richard Stearman – Football Genius’. It hasn’t faded away.
Batth and Stearman compliment each other. Danny is an old school defender. Strong, battle hardened and with a strong head. Stearman is good on the ball. He can swim into tackles, dance the ball away from an attacker and retain possession. Many a time he has literally put his body on the line to make sure that ball isn’t reaching the back of his goalkeepers net.
Stearman has a fierce passion for his performances. Many times we have seen him scream and shout at colleagues when mistakes are just avoided. Kicking the posts and shouting to the sky when goals have gone against the team. Take the 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth back in December. With the Cherries storming the Wolves goal, Stearman literally threw himself at the ball to make a goal-line clearence. Sadly it wasn’t enough as a spiraling shot found the back of the net moments later.
Stearman displayed the frustration all fans felt. Viciously kicking the post and screaming in discontent. This wasn’t unprofessional. This was a man who cared about his job and the performances he made. This kind of attitude is something that we want to see more from footballers.
Danny Batth’s recent injury has lead to a new man to take on the captaincy reigns for the remaining (potentially) two games. Enter Richard Stearman. With a clean sheet and a win under his belt against Wigan, it’s likely that he will also take the armband for the last game of the normal season at home to Millwall.
Stearman is a natural captain and has the experience to back it up. There is a lot of love for Danny Batth and he will continue to lead the Wolves line. But with every good performance and games added to Stearman’s belt, thoughts might drift to whether the captaincy might have a challenger on its hand.
Stearman will have his critics like all players but his stock has risen significantly over the season. The magic trio in Afobe, Dicko and Sako will be idolised but Stearman in this writers eyes will deservedly gain the rewards come the end of the season.
You can vote for the Fancast Player of the Season Award here – http://t.co/ts9QuFPnSs
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