Ian Ashbee will be free of suspension and returns to the Hull City side for the game at Aston Villa on Monday night. When Ashbee is available, Ashbee plays. It is a default position for the Tigers captain, and a privileged one too, especially in a Premier League climate.
Phil Brown sees a player in his own image in Ashbee, a late achiever who has earned a level of respect through graft and bloody-mindedness. Brown was the lower league full back who earned late appreciation in a fledgling Bolton Wanderers side when he was in his early 30s; Ashbee, similarly, lifted the play-off trophy at Wembley at the age 31. Brown's token ex-club that now languishes in the non-league pyramid is Halifax Town; and few will forget that Ashbee ummed and aahed over a proposed move to Hull City from Cambridge United back in 2002.
Ashbee's contribution this season has encapsulated the general feeling about Ashbee the player as a whole. As a captain, he is flawless; he leads through encouragement as much as admonishment, he plays a simple game and permits the better players to be better, and he is quick to leap in to protect hyper or angry players from themselves. Brown also makes it clear that Ashbee's ability to lead when off the park - at functions, community events, official duties - is that of an expert. As a player, however, he has peaks and troughs which are somehow easier to spot than they would be on more refined footballers. He isn't renowned for passing, but at times has played some marvellous spreading balls that have earned generous applause; yet equally he is also adept at giving away possession in the daftest of areas, often to great cost.
The simple truth is, however, that the Hull City team is a better unit when Ashbee is around, just for the level of leadership his presence brings. When the fans are screaming blue murder at the luckless Dean Marney or the headstrong Bernard Mendy, it's Ashbee who is keeping their feet grounded, gently but urgently telling them they can and will do better. This isn't as an instruction, an order, but as an example of his belief in them, a belief he passes on through the manager that selects them.
It is probably Marney that Ashbee will replace at Villa Park, which is a pity in one way as it's easy to argue that Marney's purple patch of the autumn was down to having both Ashbee and the excellent George Boateng, essentially two captains, backing him up in the centre of the field. Boateng's recent return after a knee injury coincided with Ashbee's ban for a stack of yellow cards - his second of the season - and while it was a relief to see Boateng's rehabilitation just in time for Ashbee's forcible removal, it would have been terrific to see those three in midfield again.
However, we are no longer the untried, unheralded and underrated newbies on the block, and a sturdier, stronger midfield, based on width and work, is required behind a front two. Marney may yet fit the bill, especially as he didn't play shabbily against Liverpool, but whether it's for the nerves of a promotion campaign or a strive to fight the drop, you send for Ashbee if Ashbee is there to be sent for.
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