HAND HINCH THE CREDIT HE’S DUE

ANDY HINCHClIFFe was unassumingly surprised to be told it was his record for assists in a season as a defender — held jointly with leighton Baines — that had been broken by liverpool’s Andrew Robertson on Friday night. Hinchcliffe’s point was that with the increased attacking role played by full backs, he thought it had fallen long ago. There were two theories. Number one, that Hinchcliffe was supplying his crosses to Duncan Ferguson at everton, whereas the target men for today’s full backs tend to be link players, such as Olivier Giroud, rather than old-fashioned strikers who attack the goal. secondly, that elite teams play so much in the opposition half, there is nowhere for a full back to run, and many do little but pass inside to attacking midfielders. liverpool’s style, Hinchcliffe said, is different, so Robertson gets more opportunity to directly create. Theory number three, which modesty dictates would have to be advanced by a third party, is that Hinchcliffe was a damn good player.