There was something in the way Joel Piroe sauntered onto that cross and calmly nodded his header into the bottom corner of the net to equalise at Sunderland. There was something about the movement, something about the certainty in his mind that he was going to score, something about the certainty in my mind that he was going to score, something about the coolness of the finish. No, it couldn’t be, could it?

I’ve never been entirely sold on the concept of Joel Piroe. I liked the theory of taking a striker who scored loads of goals in the Championship for another club and signing him for our club so he can do the same thing for us. Sound logic. But the reality once he got here didn’t quite match up.

⬢

To read the rest of this article, you need to join TSB+ — members get access to this plus extra podcast and video episodes, all podcasts advert-free, can read every issue of our magazine online and much more. You can join or log in below.