He's King of the road

Josh adds match-winner tag to his name.

I was scanning social media at the weekend after the Villa match when I came across one tweet that said Josh King - give this man a song. I could only agree and wondered why he had not yet picked up a song of his own especially when he has such a cool surname - perhaps something to the theme of King of the road? 

He is certainly starting to rule the world with his finishing. The goal against Villa that won the game was all of his own making. While the team as a whole pressed fairly high it was Josh that caused Ciaran Clark so much trouble in closing him down fast and stealing in ahead of him to grab the ball. I still felt that he was not quite favourite to score as he had a lot to do with being hassled from behind while Josh's first touch pushed the ball rather closer to Brad Guzan than he might have hoped.

I think it actually helped Josh that he did see the ball run away from him as he ha no choice than to be brave and race to try and get to the ball first as Guzan came flying out. I kind of braced as I thought that Josh would be clattered and just getting a toe to the ball first was going to be tight. He not only did that though but was brave enough to flick the ball up and past Guzan with enough pace on it to reach the net safely. It was a very individual goal and the kind of chance that perhaps not every striker would find as easy to score from. But Josh is quick and persistent in his chasing down and he got the reward for his work which is not always the case.

Reading the notes from the last MatchDay programme and King's personal feature you get the feeling that Josh only ever wants to keep getting better. It is quite something that he has filled in for Callum and kept Glenn Murrray waiting for more games and even Lewis Grabban has found the competition to win a starting spot very difficult. I wonder what is next for the King of Dean Court?


All Departments' podcast reviewing the important win at Aston Villa is now out with Gary Hawkins. Listen by visiting the All Departments' website.

PremierTalk: Is the table so unusual?