Quite sick of our former player getting stick he doesn’t deserve. Here’s my defence of the man.
It`s Friday evening everyone. I`m off out later so I better get these TWO articles out quick. The second of the day will be the Bristol City preview, if you were interested.
In the first, I will cover one of our former players who has been fairly outspoken this week, and we have barely mentioned. The one and only Nigel Mediocre. I don`t mean that, in fact I rather like the player.
He says he has no issue with our club, and that he had a positive experience with the fans. And why wouldn`t he? Last year he was one of our more consistent performers, and severely suffered from missing out on a midfield partnership with Stuart Holden. Had our dynamic American been around, I feel the two would have really clicked, and we wouldn`t have finished anywhere near the relegation places. But he wasn`t around, and we went down.
Nigel made a decision that he still wanted to be a Premier League footballer when we were relegated to the Championship. He felt that he was still good enough to be a Premier League footballer. And to be honest, I agreed with him. He may not be the player that his agent thinks he is, linking him with Juventus, Napoli and Fiorentina; but he is certainly good enough to play for Fulham or West Ham, who were both mentioned as destinations over the summer.
So it came as a bit of a surprise when the window passed and nobody had snapped him up. It came as even more of a surprise was when it came to the start of October and he was still a free agent. What shocked me the most was the fact that Bolton fans didn`t want him back, and had decided to not only scapegoat him as a main contributor to last year`s downfall, but treat him like a journeyman only in it for the money.
From what I understand, Nigel was on a fair whack last year, and we could really have done with him coming off the wage bill. He was our team captain last year whilst SKD was out being rubbish, and he led the team with the sort of tenacity and honour you would expect from a Wanderers skipper. He put in 100% (none more as it is impossible). And finally, in defence of him, I will not criticise a man for being ambitious. Whatever way of life we lead, we want to get somewhere or stay somewhere, and Nigel wanted to stay in the Premier League. He had shown for several years that he was good enough to play there, so why not try?
When he ended up at Ispwich many people laughed at him. But why? He tried to find the job he wanted but he has had to settle for a job he can get. His contract with the Suffolk club runs out in mid January, and I imagine he will be using these three months as a shop window for his services. So, from me, good luck Nigel. You did a good job for us and scored the winner against Blackburn in El Sackico last December. You certainly won`t be getting booed at by me when we visit Portman Road, or you return to the Reebok. Just don`t score against us.
Right, ready for the match preview? Gimme a minute.