The Delap Definition – and how Liam will change it.

In football, the name Delap is cognitively associated with long throws, cold Tuesday nights and Tony Pulis.

That, thanks to Liam, is going to become a definition akin with the dark ages of 2009 Stoke City football. That, thankfully for football purists’ eyes, is dégagé.

Of course, I jest. Rory Delap is written into Premier League folklore for the uniqueness of his skillset and the quality he possessed – but, in comparison to the ceiling of his son, his technical ability is amiss. Any good father would definitely want the same.

So how has Liam escaped from his Dad’s shadow at such a young age? And what steps can he take to have an even more successful career?

A chip off the old block

Rory Delap – synonymous with the promoted and established Stoke City team of the late noughties and early tens. His Premier League career began in the late nineties firstly, with Derby County.

He was snapped up by manager John Smith in February 1998 for £200,000, and played a regular part in the Rams setup. He was somewhat a goal scoring midfielder too, bagging 11 league goals in three years.

Southampton broke their transfer record of £4 million to secure Delap in 2001. The ex-Carlisle man was one of the most sought-after assets in the lower echelons of the top tier.

He’d feature on the South Coast for five years, including their relegation under Harry Redknapp, before joining Sunderland, and then Stoke City, where he’d establish himself in Premier League legend.

Of Stoke’s first 13 goals as a Premier League club, seven were accredited as Rory Delap assists from his gargantuan long throw – stuff of which has never been seen before. Teams putting the ball out for a corner instead of a throw-in was common practice.

They even made the European stage when Stoke’s European tour ensued in 2011/12 – making six appearances as they lost to Valencia in the last 32.

Rory made over 300 appearances in England’s top division, and played 11 times for the Republic of Ireland – so it seems somewhat unfair that he is known for being, effectively, a ball chucker.

However he is judged, it seems that his son already has eclipsed him in the technical and physical equation.

Physicality

So I’ve harmlessly joked about the way football was played in the day of Delap Sr. It was, by all accounts, a different game; physical, and with vital importance in imposing yourself. ‘Let him know you’re there’, ‘win your battles’ etc, etc.

It’s quite ironic that to describe Liam, the first words (well, after goal and machine) would be ‘physically imposing’. At just 18, he stands two centimetres his fathers’ senior.

He doesn’t look only 6’1 though – psychologically when I saw Liam on the pitch, I was in awe and thought ‘crikey, he’s at least 6’4’. It could’ve been as he was surrounded by smaller players, but the build was of a man rather than a developing teenager.

Didier Drogba was similar – as he was so stocky, it gave an illusion of height that aided intimidation. He’s only three centimetres taller than Delap Junior.

Height does give a deception of pace though – and as 11 young Welshmen discovered, Delap is as nippy as he is physical.

Wales vs England Under-18s

England have developed into a prolific talent conveyor belt on paper. At club level, we’ve seen the emergence of more youth talent in the face of COVID-19.

As we all know with the Three Lions, with hope comes inevitable pain. No matter how talented these players are, they never seem to gel.

The proof is in the pudding when it comes to progress though, and for the future, there is no better foresight than watching youth teams.

The first half at the Leckwith Stadium was edged in Welsh favour. If it wasn’t for Arsenal goalkeeper Hubert Graczyk and his woodwork, England could have been 2-0 down.

Half-time brought wholesale change for England. As it was a friendly, it was likely pre-conceived that Kevin Betsy would make ten changes.

Delap was one of the emerging group, with his forearm donning the captains armband. A change in aura, quality and score-line followed from his introduction.

His hold-up play was already levels above what England had seen in the opening 45. With the deepest of respects to another top prospect in Louie Barry, he is not an aerial outlet. A completely different style of footballer.

Karamoko Dembele also occupied forward positions when England were defending in some situations – and he is 5’6. Need I say more?

I mentioned earlier that his height enables him to deceive defenders, and in one particular case, goalkeepers with his pace. He dashed through on goal to what seemed like a hopeless through ball from Carney Chukwuemeka, but in a thunderous sprint he got to the ball ahead of Salford stopper Max Williams. Stonewall penalty.

He converted with ease, unlike his counterpart Chris Popov who missed for Wales in the first half. The penalty was struck with the conviction of a player with ten years experience at international level – not an 18 year-old.

This was the headline grabber – the penalty, but as mentioned it was his hold-up play that was the underlying impact he brought in a dominating second half.

Typified in a chance eventually missed by Samuel Edozie – the ball was interchanged between the Manchester City man and full-back Alex Scott, before Edozie unluckily blazed over.

He was man-of-the-match in the 45 minutes he played – the impact of creativity, connection and fluidity was levels above any other on the Leckwith turf.

Interest from Madrid

Various UK tabloids have been releasing stories in the last week about the future of Delap as a City player – with the main interest coming from Real Madrid.

The biggest club in the world – I mean, really? I know their transfer policy is far from the Galactico model in 2021, but Delap has a lot of developing to do. Being frank, Real Madrid are a club built on instant success with world class players. Whilst they navigate a transition phase, the last thing they need is another project.

A Championship loan would be a premier aid to Delap’s development. He may be a specimen physically for 18, but it’s learning how to use it which will elevate his game. Wily defenders in the Championship will provide this stern test.

The Derby Perspective

I spoke to Derby fan Tom Rodgers about his prospects, coming through at Pride Park and the potential for returning there on loan.

“I think Liam Delap is a good player myself, scored a lot of goals at both youth level for Derby and Man City, certainly knows where the back of the net is that’s for sure. He has the potential to be a top quality striker but I think he does need to add a few more attributes to his game to get him to the level he needs to be at.

“It is obvious why clubs are sniffing around him such as Real Madrid as the talent is clearly there, it’s just unleashing the potential.

“As for taking him on loan, I think it could potentially be an option but the Championship is a completely different beast, it’s so physically demanding and requires a lot of consistency to be able to perform week in, week out.

“Derby could be somewhere he comes back to learn more and improve himself but I think him getting guaranteed play time may be an issue.”

The City Perspective

Lewis Brown of CityXtra profiled his thoughts on Delap from a City perspective.

“I believe that City have a very good opinion of Delap given his obvious qualities (20G + 4A in 15 PL2 games this season). However this doesn’t mean that his future lies at Man City. With Sergio Aguero leaving, it’s almost certain that City will sign a new striker, however that still leaves Gabriel Jesus as our back up and with City only playing one striker (sometimes even none given our false 9 success) it’s difficult to see where his game time will come.

“Unless Gabriel Jesus leaves I see Delap’s future away from City, probably on a loan deal.

“He has the qualities to have a top career, but it’s in these crucial years now which will likely define his career going forward. He need to play competitive football and this is probably not going to happen at City anytime soon. A loan move somewhere would do him a world of good.”

What the future holds

It’s clear to see that Delap is only making his initial steps into men’s football. He still needs to be tested on a regular level to gauge how far he can go.

But with an experienced football man in Rory as a father, the Delap Definition will be revered in a positive manor whatever the results on-field.

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