Ian Hart: If he goes, will Stockdale regret it one day?

T here were marvellous scenes at Sunday's parade '“ it was a shame the trophy wasn't on show but for the sake of all our sanity, that issue needs parking now.
Could David Stockdale be set for an Albion exit this summer? Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)Could David Stockdale be set for an Albion exit this summer? Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)
Could David Stockdale be set for an Albion exit this summer? Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)

I didn’t watch the ‘And Smith Must Score’ moment for more than 20 years, in fact when I had the pleasure of interviewing Gordon at the end of the 1990s, I made a point of telling him that I’d expunged it from the old memory banks, concentrating instead on his 13th-minute opener at Wembley.

When I actually did finally get round to seeing it in 2004, I soon realised that Smith wasn’t the real villain, does anyone else reading this think Mike Robinson actually bottled it?

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The David Stockdale gaffe is now history, I’ve not watched it yet and given my age and my history on watching classic Albion ‘horror’ moments, I probably never will.

I’m actually more concerned about his Albion future.

“Up in the air” is a worrying soundbite to hear when he’s asked about his next move. There’s no doubting – and apologies to Kilo (John Keeley) and Kuips (Michel Kuipers) – that he’s probably the best goalkeeper to ever play for the club. Clearly he’s going to attract interest from elsewhere, but if I could just point out two words that inadvertently relate to this subject, ‘Liam Bridcutt’.

Again, for his position, possibly one of the greatest players to pull on a blue and white shirt.

He had his head turned, allegedly via texts, left for Sunderland and has ended up at Leeds, when he could so easily could have stayed and been a huge part of recent events.

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As a wise man once said “The grass may by greener, but ultimately it’s still grass”.

In the short term, like Bridcutt, a move might seem lucrative for Stockdale but to be part of what Chris Hughton is building at the Albion, will, in my humble opinion, be the better long-term option.

We’d all love a time machine from time to time. I wonder, if he had his time again, would Bridcutt actually wish he’d turned his mobile phone off?

n Congratulations to all at Worthing United for another excellent tournament last weekend.

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Like the Dynamos one in a few weeks, it’s a very popular event on the local footballing calendar.

United’s format is slightly different as the various age groups are covered in either a morning or an afternoon. It was something that came out of a committee meeting up at Lyons Way many years ago and its natural advantages against a potentially tiring all-day competition has made it very attractive.

United have come a long way from those eight age groups over a weekend at the Robert Albon Memorial Ground over a decade ago.

Now at the Rotary, tournament chairman Darren Ambler and his hard-working committee have put together an event highlighting all that is good about youth football.

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With his musical influences, Darren’s almost created ‘a festival’ feeling to the event, so maybe on the Saturday night next year, a Hog Roast and a tea-time set by Synthony 101 could be an option?

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