If there is an authority on unsung heroes, then surely it has to be Denis Irwin.
While he was a very loudly sung hero on these shores, and one of if not the best full back ever to play for Ireland, Irwin was a player that his teammates and managers would always complain didn't get the love he deserved in the press.
Back in November, the one and only Paul McGrath declared his love of Daley Blind in an interview when he said:
Daley Blind, that kid is cool. You need someone who can just take the ball down and say "I'm not just gonna lash it forward or play it square", and Daley Blind is a beautiful footballer, and I would loved to have played with someone like that who would pass it across to you and say "You deal with it now, and if you need to give it back to me, give it back to me". Daley Blind is one of those, and I swear to Christ, he's going to be a huge United player.
And this weekend Denis Irwin has expressed a similar opinion, albeit with less swearing to Christ.
When discussing Manchester United's defenders, Irwin expressed his belief that Chris Smalling and Daley Blind had been performing well, even suggesting that the latter is an unsung hero for Louis Van Gaal's men:
The two centre-halves have been our best players this year, Chris Smalling has been getting all the limelight but I would say the unsung hero so far this season is Daley Blind, we haven't conceded that many and he has been a big part of that.
He reads the game well and he is a very good footballer as well.
We're just waiting for Terry Phelan and Phil Babb to chime in and complete a USA 94 Irish back-four of compliments for the Dutchman and his fantastic hair.
via DailyStar.co.uk
