Hanlan (aka Mustard)
Can someone throw more light on the signing of Brandon. His arrival from Bristol Rovers came a bit ‘under the radar’ and was not particularly heralded. I knew nothing of him. The Bristol fans’ comments were pretty equivocal. We apparently paid a fee. Does anyone know how much?
Regardless of all of that, he has been an absolute revelation. How the blazes do Gaz & Dobo spot these rough diamonds?
Background info would be interesting.
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Before everyone piles in with the correct spelling of his name...
I posted a little while back - he actually scored against us for Col U many years ago. My guess would be that GA and Dobbo spotted his potential then, and kept tabs ever since. They have an incredible eye for talent, the pair of them.
Oh bollocks! BrandOn HanlAn
Think the fee was 130k
Can’t have been that many years ago. He’s only 24 and was at Colchester for one season (2017-18).
It was just over four years ago - Layer Road 23 September 2017. He scored just before half-time. Tyson and Mackail-Smith both scored for us in the second half in a 2-1 victory.
But was he pulling up trees for Rovers? His signing just seemed so quietly done and with very little reaction from our fans - even those who seem to have stats on every EFl player. On this form he is worth at least the same as we receive for Uche, and probably more.
Read a few bits at the time and there's some about him moving here, not that Joseph Barton of strangeways is the best source.
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/joey-barton-brandon-hanlans-move-5839467
Looks like they signed him out of contact with compo payable as he was U23, then the tribunal took almost a year to decide they needed to pay £150k for him and by this time he was attracting bids from clubs higher up and could have run his Rovers contract down . Think there were maybe a few questions about his consistency and work rate but no doubting his skill and pace. He looks like a wonderful signing.
Honestly, I thought McLeary was a shoe-in for Player of the Season until very recently, but Mustard is starting to give him a real run for his money. What a player!
@StrongestTeam To back this up, the Gills fan on the D3D4 podcast said in the aftermath that the fee was £150k - no more, no less - because that was what Rovers owed to Gills for him. We paid Rovers, they paid Gills. A pretty extraordinary insight into football's hand-to-mouth existence.
Rovers fans told me when we signed him “he wants out doesn’t get on with Barton. Has pace but no control and can’t head”. Great addition in my book but the lad was correct about his heading.
We paid Rovers and they paid Gills. Simple housekeeping skills. Unless of course you are a Derby fan in which case you dont pay your debt and expect to the debt to be excused!?
It was even before that I believe. GA mentioned in an interview a while ago that he had first seen Hanlan in a Chalton youth team game, but he was quite small at the time. Just goes to show how patient the management team were to bide their team and pounce when he became available
I think the Gills were probably in a much worse situation financially when they got the bill for Hanlan than they were when they tried to buy him.
His goal against us for Col U was a great finish, in off the bar from the edge of the box. I remember it well, cos it was right in front of us away fans, and it was the start of our League Two promotion season, my only ever trip to Colchester
We won 2-1 that day, but Col U dominated the second half and looked really dangerous. JJ made an incredible goal line clearance similar to his one against Sunderland last week, and Brownie made a load of saves
Yes of course when attacking , but increasing the sole or secondary striker is expected to challenge in and around the centre circle as the first line of defence and that often requires an arial challenge. He either just backs on on the ground or jumps up in the air where he is not anticipating the trajectory of the ball in the air. Dobo et al will no doubt be working on the unfinished project.
Should add I love him and was the poster who backed @Shev ’s choice of the ‘mustard’ moniker pre Xmas.
You classically have the big man / small man combo, or at least big man / fast man.
Because Hanlan is big and strong as well as fast, you'd assume he'd be tidy in the air.
He isn't, but he has everything else going his way.
He can probably improve his aerial ability over time a little, but is never going to be a Vokes in that department.
Read this as 'big man / fat man'. Isn't that Sunday league?
That's more fat man / fat man