‘Crown jewel’ Doug loaned back to ’Port
SOUTHPORT sold star defender Doug Tharme to Championship side Blackpool this week – but Liam Watson has managed to keep ‘the crown jewels’ until the end of the season.
Tharme had been attracting interest from a number of clubs higher up the football chain but both player and manager felt it in his best interests to see out the remainder of the National League North campaign at Haig Avenue.
And when Blackpool agreed to a deal which saw Tharme immediately loaned back to the Sandgrounders, it was all systems go on transfer deadline day.
Watson said: “If I’d have let him go to Blackpool now, I don’t believe he would go and waltz into Blackpool’s team. He would go in and train with them and get used to them, but I’d have to pick up the pieces here with the lads thinking I’ve sold the crown jewels!
“It’s all about the squad, the team.
“It’s not the first time I’ve sold a player to the Championship from the Conference North. Doug has got to go and work incredibly hard, probably be patient and he’s going to work with one of the best developers in our game in Neil Critchley when you look at his record and the ones who came through at Liverpool, the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold. I think he’s one of only eight people in the world with the highest coaching badge.
“It’s a fabulous club with a great owner and Doug will get an opportunity but he’s got to get to that level. He’s come on leaps and bounds since he came to us, he’s been taught a lot of things that will make him better as a defender and you couldn’t ask for a better lad, he’s a credit to his family and to our football club.
“He’s got numerous games here for the rest of this season.”
And Watson expects the talented youngster to be a success at Blackpool.
“It’s not always about the ability of the player, I think clubs know, if lads play for us, they have got to be a good lad because we’ve had some good players who weren’t great lads and they’ve just around,” he said.
“But the ones who are really good lads move on with the seal (of approval) off me or Terry (McPhillips), and you talk to managers higher up the pyramid and you say ‘listen, he’s a diamond,’ and the one thing you’d say about Doug is he’s a diamond.
“Blackpool are getting a lad who will take everything on board, he’s very bright, wants to go as far as he can and is physically capable of doing anything they ask him to do.”
Meanwhile, Southport’s moved 14-match unbeaten run came to an end at Kettering on Tuesday evening where they were edged out 2-1.
Southport started brightly and took the lead through Tyler Walton in the 14th minute who headed in a Tharme long throw.
Kettering quickly found their feet and came back well and got an equaliser in the 15th minute when the defence were left flat footed and Decarrey Sheriff put the home side back on terms.
Southport’s only real chance in the first half came when Jack
Bainbridge fired straight at the ‘keeper.
The second half saw the wind increase and it was the home side who dominated the play and it was no surprise when Sheriff grabbed his second of the game beating the offside trap and slotting home.
Southport were struggling to keep the ball and showed very little but in the 90th minute they could have grabbed an equaliser when Tyler Walton was through but blasted the ball over the crossbar.
“No complaints, Kettering deserved to win, I thought they were the better side, especially in the second half,” said Watson.
“It’s a tough place to come. The way they play, they will ask questions. It’s proper nonleague, Conference North football where they put the ball in the right areas and ask questions. I can see lots of teams coming here and getting rolled over.
“The run is over, so we just need to get back on another one.”
Southport make the relatively short trip to Chester on Saturday.