Peter Beagrie Q&A: Niall Quinn was a great big man; Wes Hoolahan is quality No 10

Peter Beagrie is here to answer YOUR Football League questions.

The former winger, who played over 770 games, representing clubs in all four tiers of the English footballing pyramid, including Manchester City, Everton, Bradford, Sheffield United, Scunthorpe and Grimsby, forms part of the Sky Sports punditry team for all the big matches in the Championship, League One and League Two.

So if you have a poser for Peter, whether it's about a team, player, match or incident that has caught your eye, a wider point on the Football League or something a little left field, then send it in via the feedback form at the bottom of the article (skysports.com only).

Read on for this week's column where Beags has his say on the best target man he played with, Neil Lennon's appointment as Bolton boss, the Championship's chief creators, where Crewe must improve and more...

NIALL BY A MILE
Hi Beags. I am a big Leyton Orient fan and we have just signed this 6ft 6in striker from Italy (former Sienna striker Gianvito Plasmati). So I was wondering who the best big man striker you played with was? Thanks, Alan Murphy

Niall was always handy to have around due to the fact he could change a light bulb without the need for a pair of stepladders.

BEAGS SAYS: Alan, I didn’t even have to pause for thought for this one. At 6ft 4in, it was The Mighty Quinn who was – literally – head and shoulders above the rest. Niall was wonderfully gifted on the ground, something that goes unrecognised unless you played with him, and sensational in the air, not always the case with big strikers. People used to get in a wrestling match with Niall, lose sight of the ball and often get caught under its flight – I lost count of how often he pulled off a defender and chested the ball down before finishing with aplomb. He also had good intelligent movement and was clever enough to prey on the weakest centre-half in terms of heading ability as well as full-backs. Quinn also linked well with different types of strikers, often playing in a triumvirate up front with The Little Magician, Paul Walsh and The German Destroyer, Uwe Rosler. It was up to myself and Nicky Summerbee to supply the ammunition for those three and on our day we were a formidable forward line. Niall was always handy to have around due to the fact he could change a light bulb without the need for a pair of stepladders, and it was always good to get photos of him and Walshy stood together, such was their comical height difference.

FRESH IMPETUS
Are you surprised Bolton have been able to lure Neil Lennon to the club? This guy beat Barcelona and now he is mixing it with Birmingham and Blackpool! Keep up the good work, Steve

BEAGS SAYS: I am surprised, Steve, as I know Neil was in for several other jobs before Dougie Freedman left your club. Lennon was linked with recently-relegated Fulham, Cardiff and Norwich and was also touted as a candidate for a couple of Premier League vacancies over the summer. Neil had become increasingly frustrated at being overlooked whilst shortlisted but has kept his profile up with various media outlets. As you say, Neil had lots of success at Celtic and took some big scalps in the Champions League, with the standout that magnificent victory over the footballing equivalent of The Harlem Globetrotters, Barcelona. There is never a dull moment with Lenny around, as Saturday’s victory over Birmingham showed, when Neil was sent to the stand and viewed from afar as the Trotters ran out 1-0 winners. That triumph lifted Bolton off the bottom of the table and into 23rd but, more importantly, it was a great start to a new era and ended a disastrous sequence of results. Before Neil gets excited, though, he will realise that Wanderers are second-bottom in the Championship for goals scored (9) and have conceded the third most (22). The win versus Birmingham came courtesy of just a second clean sheet, something that won’t be lost on the pragmatic man in charge, but Lennon will have also realised that he needs some new blood to freshen things up on the pitch and offer a bit of life to a dressing room that has been doom and gloom for a couple of seasons.

THE PERFECT 10
Who would you class as the best No 10 in the Championship? I think I would have to say Wes Hoolahan, even though he sometimes plays wide for Norwich. Dougie

BEAGS SAYS: Hi Dougie. This could have been the shortest answer in all the years I have been doing my blog. ‘I agree’, ‘you are right’ and ‘great shout’ would have covered it because Wes is certainly a top performer operating in that role, prompting and finding space between the lines and possessing close control and passing ability as well as a real goal threat. He is elusive, difficult to mark and a top technician, too. As you say, he often plays wide and as a rule of thumb wingers generally do well in that central position, prime examples being Bakary Sako (Wolves) and Callum McManaman (Wigan). I will give you food for thought, Dougie, by offering up a selection of players I would also have no hesitation in putting in my team in that pivotal No 10 berth: Andy Reid, probably Nottingham Forest’s first choice as a creator and a big loss to the side with injury; Lewis McGugan (Watford), who has dynamite in both boots; and Shaun Maloney (Wigan), the wizard of the dribble and a precision pass-picker. However, the best in the Championship, along with Hoolahan, is probably Middlesbrough’s Lee Tomlin, who produces a constant supply line for wingers Albert Adomah and Adam Reach and who is a perfect foil for Kike. Everything goes through him on his day, and as Liverpool found out, he is a hugely technically-gifted player and one of the main reasons Boro are bombing on at present.

NOT SO SOLID CREWE
Crewe have turned it around lately but why do you think they have struggled this season? I don’t support them but I have always liked the club for the way they bring through players. Cheers, Duncan Sprott

BEAGS SAYS: It would be easy to say Crewe’s problems are all of a defensive nature considering they have conceded a League One high of 30 goals in 13 games, including 13 in the recent four-game losing streak. However, you mentioned Alex’s recent mini-revival with two morale-boosting wins over Coventry and Walsall, the latter bringing a first clean sheet of the season. Crewe always possess a small squad supplemented by the usual young guns from a prolific academy, but League One is full of quality this year as the 6-1 defeat to MK Dons and the 5-2 loss Rochdale testify. The Railwaymen possess some technically sound players but are struggling with a lack of presence in both boxes and if you add in poor decision making and individual errors, it’s no surprise they are bottom of the league. The plusses are that the youngsters can get better as they are intelligent enough to take specifics on board and brave enough not to hide and to accept responsibility, always a trademark of Crewe’s academy graduates. For me, though, the biggest plus manager Steve Davis should be drumming into his players is that having let their standards drop and had a disastrous start from a scoring, creating and conceding perspective, they are not cut adrift and in such a tight division find themselves just five points off Barnsley in 13th place. Thanks for your question, Duncan.

RAISE YOUR GAME
Wimbledon’s strikers (Adebayo Akinfenwa and Matt Tubbs) lead the League Two scoring charts. Does that mean if we sort out our defence we should make the play-offs? Please say yes! Sean Patricks

BEAGS SAYS: Hello, Sean. I would love to say yes and the stats do back your point up: four of your side’s wins this season have come off the back of clean sheets, with the 3-2 victory versus Bury the exception to the rule. If I look deeper for an answer, Sean, I would suggest Wimbledon need to be as motivated for the lesser games as the ones against sides deemed play-off contenders. Your team have taken one point from a possible 12 against bottom-half outfits, so losses against Hartlepool, Stevenage and Accrington and a 4-4 with Carlisle must be learned from if the fruits of your deadly duo’s labours are to be capitalised on. Take Saturday’s defeat at Wycombe out of the equation and wins versus second-placed Bury, third-placed Burton, fourth-placed Luton, sixth-placed Morecambe and eighth-placed Southend should see you in the top seven comfortably. If your team can put the aforementioned and their quality players to the sword, they must endeavour to show the same amount of focus against the less-fancied teams. After all, you only get three points whoever you beat. If your boys do that, they have the capability, even with a bottom-four goals-against tally, to make inroads on the lucky seven in the play-off places. Key to that, of course, is the partnership of Crocket… sorry, Akinfenwa and Tubbs!

THE APPEAL OF NEWCASTLE
You played for a lot of clubs but was there one club you desperately wanted to play for and never quite managed to? Thanks mate, Jackson Wells

BEAGS SAYS: Well, Jackson (great name by the way!), I can honestly say I never had one club I would desperately like to have played for growing up. There were many I admired because of their fanatical fans, style of play or the manager in charge, but if you put all three categories together and add in a great pitch and a fantastic atmosphere, I could formulate an answer for you. Three managers I held in high regard were Sir Bobby Robson, Kenny Dalglish and Kevin Keegan, my idol growing up. Robson gave me my England Under-21 and B caps and is a footballing legend, while Kenny did the unthinkable at Liverpool, replacing and outperforming Keegan. However, like Kenny, Kevin was a brilliant footballer and a deeply passionate person. Bobby, Kenny and Kevin wore their hearts on their sleeves and commanded respect and loyalty from players and fans alike. Keegan’s Newcastle team would have suited me down to the ground with its flair and maverick, swashbuckling style – it operated with genuine width and real tempo. I had the pleasure of playing against them for Man City on a few occasions very successfully, with our 4-4-2 dominating theirs, and it was a joy to play in front of 50,000+ on a great surface in a great atmosphere. Playing for Newcastle would also have kept the other half of the family happy as they are all from Northumberland!

Reading on skysports.com? Then send your question to Beags using the feedback form at the bottom of this page or at the base of any of his articles...