Team of the Decade revealed - midfield

Greensnet Editor
Tue 31 Dec 2019, 09:42

The midfield has an intriguing mix of flair, bite, industry and skill with more than 700 appearances in the middle and two elusive goalscoring wingers out wide.

First up in the centre of midfield is Casey Maclaren. Originally signed in the summer of 2007, Casey is one of two members of the side that recall Claremont Road, and who spent more than a decade at the club. Able to play in midfield, at full-back or even at times as a centre-forward and emergency goalkeeper, Casey epitomised everything about Gary McCann's time at Hendon during the nomadic years and beyond. A regular goalscorer and, at times, a scorer of great goals (rockets against Tonbridge and Harrow attest to this), Casey also scored one of the most crucial goals of recent years with his equaliser against Staines Town to secure our survival in April 2017.

Partnering Casey is another Mr Dependable, and another to have played in almost every position, Dave Diedhiou. Dave signed for the club in the summer of 2008 from Willesden Constantine and swiftly became a fan's favourite for his big-hearted displays. Scorer of the last Hendon goal at Claremont Road, Dave was another regular goalscorer from midfield. As time went on, so did Dave's ability to put his stamp on a game and often filled in at full-back or centre-half as well as occasionally wide in midfield. After leaving to try his luck at St Albans City, Dave has returned to make a couple of appearances this term for the Greens on dual registration, much to the delight of the supporters.

The two wingers were part of the awesome foursome that took us so close to promotion in 2017/8 and swiftly went on to excel in the professional game.

Ashley Nathaniel-George signed in the summer of 2017 from Potters Bar Town and took a little while to settle down at SJP before a terrific performance and couple of brilliant goals in a 4-3 defeat at Billericay Town saw potential turn into something more tangible. Bewitching levels of skill and a turn of pace saw defenders unable to cope with Ash and often, they were forced to resort to unfair means to stop him. His 17th and final goal for the club came in the play-off final defeat against Dulwich Hamlet and the summer of 2018 saw him depart for Crawley Town in League 2.

Josh Walker takes the other winger's berth having marked his debut with a brilliant goal from the bench to win the game at Champion Hill in September 2017 against Dulwich Hamlet. Josh was another with skill and pace to burn and was often used to good effect to come off the bench and score when defences were tiring. His best performance arguably came against Billericay in the 4-1 win at SJP where an expensively assembled back four couldn't get near him - or Niko Muir - as the two of them put Glenn Tamplin's side to the sword. In the summer of 2018 Josh moved up the Jubilee Line to Barnet, and after missing large portions of last season through injury, he is now thriving under the stewardship of a man he beat into third place in this vote, Darren Currie.