Delap of honour for long throw specialists

It made me think back to other such exponents of this unconventional tactic and, indeed, ponder as to whether the English-born Stoke City midfielder, even aged 33, may be a help to 'Trap' in the Euro 2012 qualifiers.Delap of luxury perhaps, given his limitations as a midfielder? Then again, Glenn Whelan and Keith Andrews aren't exactly in the Liam Brady or Roy Keane class. It is certainly a real possibility that Big Jack, who had enormous midfield talent at his disposal compared to nowadays (wasn't Kevin Sheedy a sub for a long time under the great Geordie?) would have relished having Delap on board to bombard other international defences. His 'Captain Fantastic', Mick McCarthy could propel a ball a decent distance and I will always recall my prayers (literally) in Gelsenkirchen in June 1988 as the current Wolves manager launched a late missile at the Dutch defence, as the Republic tried in vain to eke out a last-gasp equaliser to make the Euro 88 semi-finals.Rory Delap's 38 metre throw-ins may seem impressive but he still has a long way to go to match former Notts County and Cardiff defender Andy Legg who made the record books in 1992 with a 44.6 metre throw. Indeed, Legg, who is just 5' 8", claims to have thrown a bit longer in training. Yet Dave Challinor, formerly of Tranmere and Bury, broke Legg's record in 2000 when he hurled the ball 46 metres. However, readers of my vintage will recall the first prominent player to specialise in long throws, Ian Hutchinson. I was sad to read of his death, aged only 54 (see my vintage reference earlier!) in 2002. 'Hutch' was part of Chelsea's famous King's Road set and he triggered the trend for long throws when he helped the then Abramovicless Pensioners win the FA Cup in 1970.Hutchinson was a striker noted for his impressive heading ability as well as for taking long throw-ins. On his debut against Ipswich Town, he sent in a series of long throws which reached the opposite side of the penalty area, confusing both the opposing defenders and the crowd. One of these led to an Ipswich defender inadvertently putting into his own net. At Chelsea he proved to be the perfect foil for the more technically gifted Peter Osgood (also, sadly, no longer with us) and during the 1969/70 season they scored 53 goals between them. Chelsea, once they discovered the power of Ian's long throws, actually used to play for throw-ins, anywhere in the final third, in preference to a corner kick. Hutchinson's flailing arm style was uniquely distinctive. Very often his arms would still be rotating well after the ball had reached its target.In that season's notoriously physical FA Cup final against the much maligned Leeds, 'Hutch' was often in the thick of the action. In the first match at sand-ridden Wembley his headed flick-on teed up Peter Houseman (yes, also gone to the great football stadium in the sky) for Chelsea's first equaliser and he was later floored by a challenge from Leeds' Norman Hunter (nothing unusual about that!) Leeds took the lead with six minutes to go but, two minutes later, Hutchinson, still limping from Hunter's challenge, headed the equaliser. Two weeks later at Old Trafford with the game tied at 1-1 in extra-time, Hutchinson launched one of his trademark long throw-ins into the Leeds' box and it was headed in by David Webb (phew, he is alive and well) to win the trophy. Despite more impressive performances in the following years at Chelsea, the remainder of Hutchinson's career was blighted by injuries, including two broken legs, a broken arm, a broken toe and persistent knee trouble. He retired in July 1976, aged just 27, having been unable to conquer his injury woes.As mentioned, Dave Challinor, then of Tranmere, enjoyed his day in the sun and had specialist ball boys situated around Prenton Park with towels to dry the ball for him (a la Delap), as well as gaps in the advertising hoardings to allow for a decent run-up. Googling brought me to the fascinating sight of 28-year-old Danny Brooks, who has developed a flip throw to launch the ball 49.8m - half the length of a football pitch. He crafted the remarkable technique by returning to his acrobatic past. "I used to be a gymnast and realised I could do a flip while holding the ball," he said. "I thought if I could get the angles and timing right I could beat the record." Brooks, a PE technician at Brooksbank School, Elland plays for Midgley United in the Halifax Premier Division.Brooks' unorthodox throwing style hasn't always found favour with referees. Some whistlers have told him not to do it in games because they thought it was illegal, but his mega-throw is perfectly legal as both feet remain on the ground at the point he releases the ball. I recall a young man called Stapleton playing for a junior club in County Monaghan in my own refereeing days in the mid-1980s and I was mesmerised by his long throws, but I felt sure (and I got my hunch confirmed) that he was within the rules. Opponents can, of course, stand in front of long throwers but can't move. However, a player has to be prepared to tough it out, because the throwers often follow through with painful consequences.Will the rules be amended to eliminate the crude but effective tactic of launching long throws into the opposition box? It's in the Delap of the gods I suppose!