Marlon King is a fine footballer and is proving it time and again at Hull City. Given that he joined to take over the role set to be vacated, kicking and squealing, by Dean Windass, he has proved such a tough decision to be amply correct so far.
In some ways, King and Windass are similar - something which will undoubtedly irk both of them considering the spot of team bonding which went a little awry last week. The first touch, capacity to distract defenders, robust character, all are there. Each are finishers. But ultimately, Phil Brown went for King because he has two things on Windass - pace and age.
King hasn't been overly prolific as a goalscorer so far. He has half the goals Geovanni has achieved from a deeper position, for example, and he has yet to score at the KC Stadium. But he has three so far, all crucial, and his contribution to the team as a whole has been spellbinding. For all the headlines generated by Geovanni and by the team as a unit, King has been an unsung hero. For some, he would even offer a candidacy for the player of the season so far.
He was off the pace on the opening day against Fulham, although his brain was in top engagement mode and some of his touches and vision from stationary positions were excellent. By the time the Newcastle United game came around, he was ready to lead the line. Still lacking a settled partner - Daniel Cousin had just arrived with a suspension and Craig Fagan was playing wide in a 4-5-1 - King ruled the match with a performance of strength, cunning and guile. He kept his nerve for the the penalty to put City a goal up, then realised as he chased Dean Marney's through ball that he had to beat two covering defenders and the goalkeeper all on his own, and did just that with a sweet second goal which sent the travelling support doolalley.
The selflessness of King's play is obvious. Since the fabled 4-3-3 was concocted, he has been, predominantly, the sacrificial centre forward. He has been the one dropping deep to collect, or ambling wide to provide extra support for a full back who has no naturally wide midfielder to partner him. On some of City's goals, King has been away from the penalty area or directly involved in the build-up - witness Geovanni's glorious diving header at West Bromwich Albion, for example. That was King's expert sightseeing and delicate touch that gave the Brazilian his moment for the photographers. The goal he then scored himself was a great reward.
At the KC, King has been unlucky, not least against Bolton Wanderers when he improvised a beautiful flick of the heel on an awkward ball and deceived Jussi Jaaskelainen, hitting the angle of post and bar. The keeper then took over, of course, and King's deflected piledriver late on would have hit the back of the net against many a lesser custodian in the Premier League.
King's preening and yelling at the City crowd upon scoring has been a weird mixture of funny and slightly unnerving. At Newcastle, he strutted with a finger up and a stern expression on his face as the (elevated) crowd went crazy and the players rushed to catch him. He didn't snap at all, break into any sort of grin, even as one by one, the rest of the team jumped on him and congratulated him on what was a brilliant individual goal. At the Albion, he flayed his arms wide in front of the (ground floor) crowd shouting "IT'S OVER!" again and again. A fair reflection of our collective feelings, given that he'd just put us three up. This is our best indication of the sort of intense character King may be, and perhaps that has got the goat of Windass as much as the fact he's taken his place in the side and done it well.
King isn't ours, of course. He's on a season-long loan from Wigan but, like Fraizer Campbell last year, one hopes that plans are afoot to make that move permanent. He has a blemished history, of course, but he's paid his dues. As a footballer, he seems insular and keyed up, but maybe this is just his way of getting into the appropriate 'zone' which allows him the best display for his team and the paying public - and for himself - that he can muster. Long may he scowl and strut and brag about his expensive watch if it means he continues to play the way he does. The football has to come first.
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