156: Rory Delap, Derby County, Merlin’s F.A. Premier League 2000, Millennium Edition Sticker Collection

“Get it in the mixer.” A cynic could argue that this phrase perfectly summarises English football. Where else in the world would a team getting a corner get more of a cheer than an exceptional piece of skill or a slick passing move? The more generous amongst us might argue that the desire to “get it in the mixer” could be English football’s blessing and curse in equal measure. Sure, lumping the ball blindly into the box might be the reason that the England team hasn’t taken home a notable piece of international silverware since 1966, ok, apart from the Tournoi de France, but the commitment to trying to create goalscoring chances is the reason why the Premier League is regarded as one of the world’s most entertaining club competitions.  And who doesn’t like a corner?

In February 1998 Derby County manager Jim Smith spent £200,000 to prise a young midfielder away from Carlisle United in order to “get it in the mixer” for the likes of Dean Sturridge and Deon Burton. The 1999/2000 Premier League album described Rory Delap as “a right-sided player with a lot of potential” with the “pace and skill on the ball to trouble the opposition” and clearly believed he was worthy of a giant shiny to prove this point. Both of these attributes undoubtedly helped Delap to provide these services for his teammates and, during his four seasons in the East Midlands, he helped establish the Rams as a decent mid-table side. Southampton were suitably impressed and splashed out £4m to make him their record signing in the summer of 2001.

After a relatively quiet first season with the Saints he played a key part in steering them to the FA Cup final in 2003 but was unfortunate to miss the game with an ankle injury. A solid mid-table finish in 2003/04 was followed by a dismal 2004/05 where Southampton were relegated to the Championship. He remained at St Mary’s to help the side mount a promotion challenge but was snapped up by struggling Premier League side Sunderland midway through the 2005/06 campaign.

However, proving that tragic stories were a thing in the north-east before Netflix, Delap suffered a sickening head injury which ended his season in April and piled further misery on a Black Cats’ side which only managed fifteen points on their way to relegation to the Championship. Delap struggled to regain his place in the first team and was sent out on loan to Stoke City but after only two games he broke his leg in two places in a challenge with Robbie Elliot in a game against, of all teams, Sunderland ending his 2006/07 season in October.

If this was a Marvel film this would be the part where Delap’s leg was reset using some sort of rare mineral that gave him superhuman powers. While there is no evidence of this happening the Rory Delap who was signed on a permanent deal by Stoke City manager Tony Pulis was a player transformed. Armed with a deadly weapon, that brought fear to opposition defenders and managers alike, Delap helped to propel the Potters into the Premier League in the 2007/08 season. The top flight had no idea what was about to hit it.

Anyone who had seen the prequel, by which I mean Delap’s schooldays, would have been aware of his record as a junior javelin champion but across five Premier League seasons defences across the country struggled to cope with his long throw-ins. Seven of the Potters’ first thirteen goals in the Premier League saw Delap’s long-range deliveries credited with the assist and teams went to extraordinary lengths to try and counter Stoke’s potency from this set piece. Hull City turned to their substitutes, in particular Dean Windass, to try and distract Delap in his run up whilst West Ham United brought the advertising hoardings closer to the pitch to shorten Delap’s approach. Despite such dastardly designs the midfielder’s missiles helped establish Stoke in the Premier League as well as leading them to the FA Cup final in 2011.

Delap’s potency from the touchline reduced as teams got wiser and he got older and he gradually dropped down the pecking order as Stoke looked to address criticism of their pragmatic style. Delap retired in 2013 after an impressive 587 professional appearances alongside 11 caps for the Republic of Ireland but his legacy lives on in the numerous attempts to break the World Record for the longest throw-in, which currently stands at 59.8m courtesy of American Michael Lewis in 2019.  Delap probably deserves to be remembered for more than his rocket arms, after all he proved he could do it on a wet night in Stoke for seven seasons, but when World Cup winning manager Luiz Felipe Scolari describes you as “fantastic” maybe it’s not so bad. Scolari went on to say “maybe it’s not beautiful football but it’s effective”. Or, in other words, “get it in the mixer”.