By Phil Tooley
(Originally in the CFC v Bradford programme in January)
One player that's had a somewhat in and out sort of frustrating season to date has been last season's 'super-sub' Caleb Folan. Last season, the 23 year old Leeds born forward started 17 games in the league and came off the bench on a further 15 occasions, grabbing six goals in the process, all of them after coming on as sub, two of these strikes being in the incredible comeback at Valley Parade against Bradford City, when we nicked a 3-2 win after being two down with just 12 minutes to play.
Indeed Caleb's best showing this season was as a lone forward at Bradford, he was magnificent in the first half, but had to leave the scene in the second half after a big crash. "I love playing against Bradford City, these local derbies get the best out of you. I've done well against them in the past, I was particularly pleased with the way I played at their place earlier this season until I smashed into the advertising boards and had to come off. They were a lot better in the second half, coming at us a fair bit. When I'm fully fit, that's the way I can play."
So has this season been exasperating, having suffered a few injuries and knocks, together with the form of Allison and Larkin, which have restricted Caleb's appearances to just five starts plus a dozen appearances as sub, " It's obviously been frustrating. I picked up injuries early in the season, they're always a setback, but you also have to look at the other side of how well the team's been doing and even though I'm not playing as much as I'd like to, the team's doing really well, so you just have to be a team player. You're always going to get chances to play throughout the season so once I get fully fit, I'll get my chance. The most frustrating thing is that I've not been feeling as fit as I'd like to feel, much of that's through not playing games and being able to get sharp, so I'm working hard on my fitness and when I get my chance I'll play to the best of my abilities."
One thing that's been noticeable from the sidelines this season has been Caleb's improved strength, his upper body seems to have developed and no doubt, fully fit, that will help to improve his game, "I've been working on that side of my game as well, that's not stopped me doing other things, it's just a lack of match fitness really. I need to get fully fit and then I can prove I'm strong enough and good enough on a consistent basis."
Up front, his regular partner from last season, Wayne Allison, has had a terrific time, though he has of course missed the last two or three games. The 37 year old front man has been amongst the goals and the assists, so what's Caleb think has been the secret of his success? "It's all the days off he has you know! He's always fresh for the weekend. Fair play to all of the lads and the gaffer as well, he's brought in a good set of lads, not just good players but lads that are great off the field as well. The team spirit is unbelievable, I've never known a dressing room with as good a spirit, the way the lads mix, we've got experience with the likes of The Chief, Hally, Shinner, Blathers and Muggs, that rubs off so well onto players like myself. The lads on loan as well have fitted right in, Clingan we knew from last season, Hursty and Picks have blended in really well and we're flying at the moment, the best we've done for a long time."
Two of Roy McFarland's prize summer spots have been Reuben Hazell and Barry Roche, both freed by their previous clubs and with no contracts in the pipeline, Chesterfield took them on trial and played them in the pre-season games before rescuing them from the ever growing player scrap-heap by offering them deals, both players have rewarded the club with interest, "The Gaffer seems to have an eye to bring in good players, he obviously saw their talents and saw what they could bring to the squad and they've shown what they're worth to the team and they've been major players in our success."
Last month, Caleb came on at half time against Barnsley, a game which ended 0-0, our all time league record equalling 8th straight draw, but a game which saw Chesterfield dominate possession but seem to lack a cutting edge, indeed I can't recall a game when we've had as much possession, "That's exactly what the Gaffer said! It was quite frustrating, it was always going to be a tough, close game but at times we seemed to have a bit too much possession and overplay things at times, we dominated the ball but we couldn't quite sort out the final bit, we lacked penetration against Barnsley. Maybe in a few of the recent draws we could have won but we never looked like losing any of those games. Reuben's really shone in recent games along with Blatherwick and the full backs, we've been really solid and football-wise, as a team, we've played some good stuff."
With the team doing well and Caleb getting back to full fitness, what are his personal aims for the rest of the season? "Personally, I just want to get fully fit and stay fit, injury free. As long as you're fit, there's always that chance of being selected. All you can do is stay fit, work hard in training, but with the lads doing well at the moment, I know I'll have to bide my time, be a team player and support the cause and when needed, play the way I can, given the chance."
Roy has described Caleb as "possessing all of the attributes needed to play in the Premiership, size, speed, strength, good shot, good in the air" but he adds, "he doesn't always show those talents together, at the same time, consistently." Does Caleb think that's a fair assessment? "Yes, It is sometimes frustrating, a lot of the time it's consistency, you need to be able to do things on a consistent basis, and it's harder when you're in and out, not featuring as much as you'd like to. When you're playing all of the time, you get that confidence, but I've never lost confidence in myself, I'm always pushing myself, training hard and listen to the Gaffer and learn things from him, so I'll just try to do the right things as much as possible."
We're well into the second half of the season now, several points and places better off than we were last season at the same stage, indication of some improvement, so does Caleb think we're good enough to have a better end to the season than we enjoyed last season when the departures of loan men Clingan and Campbell-Ryce saw us fall away from the challenge? "We've shown we're good enough, we've done well for this long so there's no reason why we can't be thereabouts. Football-wise and player wise we're as good as anyone. As long as we keep getting results there's no reason it can't continue. Everyone's committed, the team spirit's great so may be still worth booking a hotel for Cardiff!"
