The 100 Club
There are also a number of players who will pass 100 appearances this season. George Wickens (50) and Tom Bayliss (54) will likely fall just short, but these three could (and should) go through.
Tendayi Darikwa – 64 appearances
Tendayi will be touch-and-go. With 37 matches to play (and assuming we get at least one or two more in the cups), he could breach 100 towards the end of the season.
Given that when he signed, some (me included) thought ‘veteran coming in to coach’, that’s a huge achievement. However, when you consider his fitness, attitude and application, it should probably have been expected.
Freddie Draper – 90 appearances
I’ve tried to use the earliest images of the player that I have, and when I saw this, I barely recognised Freddie! He’s going to break through the 100 barrier before Christmas, all being well, and the only surprise isthat he hasn’t done it sooner.
He’s currently seven appearances behind Jovon Makama and four goals shy, so if he goes on a run, he could match our first million-pound player.
The difference is we know we have Freddie until January at the very least, and likely beyond that. An uplift in goals to macth his uplift in performance could well see us grabbing another seven-figure sum in the future.
Reeco Hackett – 86 appearances
Finally, Reeco is likely to break the 100 appearance barrier in this, his third season at the club. He needs 14 between now and the end of the season, and if he stays injury-free, he’ll definitely do that.
His average is 36 matches per season, and as he’s played 13 already, we can hope to see him at least 23 more times, giving him a total of 109. That would see him surpass Anthony Scully (106) and Jake Sheridan (104), drawing level with David ‘Magic’ Johnson on 109.