I watched the FA Cup highlights on ITV the other week and was particularly taken by the Macclesfield Town v Swindon Town game, in which Connor Jennings was labelled the hottest property in non-league football after he notched his second goal in Macclesfield's stunning 4-0 first-round victory.
This lad appears to be all over the headlines in non-league at the moment and I'm not surprised one bit.
Stuart Hammonds' “Big Interview” on Jennings at the weekend summarised his stats and gave a great insight into his development from when he left school.
I've played against Jennings a few times over the past few seasons, when he has played for the Silkmen and also Stockport County. The on-loan Scunthorpe United striker certainly knows where the back of the net is and has notched 16 goals in 13 games after having a nightmare start to the season.
He head-butted a Halifax player in September – although he claims it was accidental – and was given a three-match ban, which was extended to five matches after he had confronted the referee in his changing-room at half time. He has gained a bad reputation over the last few years with his aggressive streak and he isn't scared to defend his team-mates, either.
I first heard of this lad when he was at Stalybridge Celtic, when he was banging in the goals in the Conference North as a raw 18-year-old. A friend of mine informed me a couple of years ago that Jennings wasn't happy with a former top-flight player who appeared to be bullying one of his team-mates, both physically and verbally.
Jennings went for him in the players' tunnel at half time. He squared up to him as he wasn't happy that he was bullying a young lad who couldn't defend himself. This is something that has given Jennings his reputation; he has an air of arrogance and a snarl, which may well give the wrong impression.
However, he can back it up. He can certainly look after himself – and has proved as much – but he scores goals. Everywhere he has gone bar Scunthorpe he has scored and his goal ratio would suggest that there is no one more prolific than him at non-league level.
Connor's attributes are very old fashioned. Maybe this is the reason he hasn't been picked up by a top club. He plays like an old-fashioned striker who can contribute both physically and technically. He gains the fans' plaudits through his endless effort in closing players down and tracking back defensively. He isn't a shy lad and is willing to put a foot in and displays a win-at-all-costs attitude wherever he has played.
His passion and desire on the pitch is something that makes him the player that he is. Taking all of this away from him would detract from a hungry player who wants to do well and win. I have noticed this when I have come up against him. He has that presence when he is on the pitch and shows that he can play at a higher level.
His behaviour in the past has shown a natural habit to react to central defenders, who will do all they can to play mind games with him and wind him up. This is something that perhaps runs in the family as his older brother, James, is renowned for his poor discipline and has collected numerous red cards in the Conference in the past few seasons.
Haranguing match officials is also something that Connor is notorious for. Mind you, the five-match ban that he received in September seems to have been a lesson learnt. His discipline has since improved, he has kept his head down and got on with what he does best, which is scoring goals.
Brian Laws, who has just been sacked as manager at Scunthorpe, clearly didn't fancy Jennings at Scunny, which is why he has been out on loan. It would seem likely that Connor's face didn't fit there. But I'm sure he has many clubs sniffing around him now and it wouldn't surprise me if he makes a big move and deservedly so. With his goal record this season, he could even have the Premier League big boys knocking on the door.
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