- Jul 31, 2011
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Yeh that's a slightly strange one. I've heard him use it before and this is what he's referring to. Obviously he means that those are the players that hold the squad together. In American sports where we have salary caps, its difficult to build a squad full of superstars, no matter how much money your owners have. So teams need role players that they can get for relatively low wages who come in and make a difference. So guys who are experienced pros, like Bradley Orr, or guys who can come off the bench and play three or four different positions, a la Warren Creavalle, even though they aren't the most talented at their position can come in and make a difference. In a league where you can only pay three guys on the team over $350,000 a year, you have to have these kinds of role players (which he is calling "glue players") to support your superstars and make the team competitive. It's definitely a less important concept in a league where you can just throw money at you're squad deficiencies and put superstars in every position.
Don't know why someone agreed with you, but the term seems american, for sure.
Avery Johnson is the definition of a glue guy. That Spurs (NBA) team to win the title in the late 99' finals would have never won with out him being the glue guy. Didn't put up huge numbers, but held the team together with timely plays and leadership.
A Scott Parker for instance, even though I don't ever want to see him in my team again.