The rise and rise of Chelsea and Liverpool target Charlie Austin
I first saw Charlie Austin play way back in summer 2010, when Swindon Town knocked my beloved Charlton Athletic out of the League One play-offs. Everybody knew who he was; the striker Swindon had drafted in from non-league football to net 20 times in all competitions – an inspired acquisition from then-manager Danny Wilson – but that preceding reputation still didn’t prepare me from the explosion of talent I went on to witness over the course of the next few years.
Austin didn’t score that night – a rare occurrence for a front-man with a one-in-two record for the Robins, playing in the most important game of their season – although he did have a goal ruled out for offside.
Yet, the then-20 year-old was seemingly moving faster and quicker than anybody else on the pitch. It wasn’t his legs making the difference, it was his mind; a step head, a level above even the Addicks’ experienced centre-back partnership of Christian Daley, formerly of the Premiership with West Ham, and Miguel Llera, a real veteran of the Football League.
Austin’s offside goal must have been only fractions. He anticipated the abyss about to open in Charlton’s defence almost too early for his ball-possessing team-mate to act accordingly – and that was by no means the only time he had Daley and Llera on the back foot.
That was the mid-point of a journey taking Austin from the anonymity of non-league to fourth in the top flight’s scoring charts, an adventure spanning Poole Town and the Premier League, a rise and rise that could result in him joining Liverpool or Chelsea this summer, according to the tabloids.
A few seasons later, he returned to The Valley, this time for Burnley, to launch a 25-yard piledriver past a helpless David Button – a goal he later described as the best of his career.
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If I had my doubts about Austin the first time around, the second time he looked like a Premier League player – a striker capable of scoring from anywhere in a variety of ways. That’s what we’ve seen at QPR this season; two goals with his left foot, eleven with his right, four with his head and two from outside the area. A real mix underlining the 25 year-old’s poacher instincts.
But just as it did against Charlton all those years ago, Austin’s intelligence, movement and anticipation still stands out.
Former Football Leaguers are often stigmatised as the more industrious types. Although the Rangers star certainly has that rough streak within him, the top flight’s most notable inductees from the foot of the footballing pyramid over the last few years – namely Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Danny Ings – are all blessed with a unique understanding of the game. Albeit at a lesser level, they’ve seen every situation a thousand times before; their vast game-time experience, Austin making 314 appearances before his inaugural Premier League campaign, can be equally as devastating as any ‘natural’ talent, or any training from one of England’s top academies.
That combination of intelligence, experience, instincts and finishing ability has seen Austin net 17 times in the Premier League this season – a haul only surpassed by Diego Costa and Sergio Aguero, two strikers who cost their clubs a combined £70million, and Tottenham’s Harry Kane, apparently a crossbreed of Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham, according to Les Ferdinand.
Not bad for a striker who started his career at Kintbury Rangers in 2006. Not bad for a striker who cost QPR just £4million, that Hull City turned down in summer 2013 because of a mysterious medical problem, that’s more acclimatised to scoring at the modest dwellings of The City Ground and The Valley than Stamford Bridge or the Emirates.
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And at this point, I refuse to speculate where Austin will end up, what level will prove to be his ultimate limit. Back in 2010, it seemed improbable he’d go on to represent Liverpool, Chelsea or the England national team, but he now has five years’ worth of momentum from progression through the English pyramid firmly on his side. Nothing has stopped him so far – even when battling with injuries, he’s scored more than ten league goals during every season of his career, and more than 17 in all competitions since 2008.
With QPR almost certain for the drop, Austin will answer his higher calling this summer. But how far his sensational rise eventually takes him – to silverware, the Champions League or the 2018 World Cup – remains to be seen.
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