I’m Shorey writes the column
For
1.
2. -Thanks Tom
3.
4. “” “”
5. “” “”
7. “” “”
8. “” “”
9. “” “”
14. “” “”
15. “” “”
16. “” “”
17. “” “”
21. “” “”
22. “” “”
24. “” “”
25. “” “”
Against
The Checklist
(The origins of these clues can be found here)
1. Is he English?
2. Is he currently married?
3. Has he played under at least 4 managers?
4. Has he had a transfer between 2 Premiership clubs?
5. Was he a Premier League player in January 2011?
6. Has he played with a group of French players at one club?
7. Has he played with a striker who refused to move unless the pass went exactly where he wanted it?
8. Did he play for one manager for a considerable amount of time who was great before losing it?
9. Has he played for a manager who lost the dressing room?
10. Does he have a friend who plays for Liverpool?
11. Might he think Harry Redknapp is the Messiah?
12. Has he appeared as a pundit? (TSF probably doesn’t do so)
13. Did he have a long term girlfriend as a younger player?
14. Had/has a strong father figure.
15. Not an Arsenal or Man City player (at end of 2010-11 season).
16. Did he play a match at some point towards the end of March or first few days of April 2011?
17. Not a keeper.
18. Has a daughter.19. He played with Paolo Di Canio –removed by public demand 20. Someone who’s got a chat about ‘another season’ coming up -see revealing tweet post
21. He’s been involved in a last day relegation battle
22. He’s played for a newly promoted Premier League club
23. Has been subject to a deadline day transfer
24. TSF is Caucasian
25. Has a good friend who is African and has played for a team in Russia
26. Has been diagnosed with depression
27. Played in the lower leagues at start of career
28. Played against Liverpool for a lower league club
29. Was one of the best players in a very successful team
30. Played for a club that got themselves in financial trouble
31. Plays the Paul Scholes role
32. Played under a captain who will go down as one of most successful in the club’s history, without having earned it
33. Played under a stand-in captain wearing a large tubi-grip with a marker pen-written ‘C’ as captain’s armband
34. Has played as captain
35. Has played for a club who promoted their assistant manager to manager (and went on to get bad results)
36. Not a Liverpool fan
37. Played in a team that won promotion to the Premiership
38. Following on from clue 21: That team got relegated due to a goal going in at the other end of the country in the dying minutes of the final game of the season
39. Clue 38 was his last game for that club
40. His wage at the time of clues 38 and 39 was the best part of £100,000 per month
41. He went on to play in the Premiership again after the relegation in clue 38
28 responses to “Nicky Shorey”
25. Has played with Andre Bikey who played in Russia and is African.
10. Downing?
11. He’s originally from Romford so there’s a good chance he’s a West Ham fan.
23. On loan to Fulham 1st February 2010
I’m pretty sure he could be the one now.
@Peter, if it is NS, then surely Peter Odemwingie (Nigerian, Locomotiv Moscow) is a better fit…
Occam’s razor – it’s this bloke. The others’ faces don’t fit, or they’re too dim or they’re black. Nice one, even if you did play for the Vile.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/01/fulham-nicky-shorey-aston-villa
been involved in a deadline day transfer although its only a loan?
@si technically peter odemwingie isn’t african as he was born in uzbekistan plus Andre Bikey left russia directly becaise of rascism
It must be Nicky!!! Todays article (12.05.12) is definitely him speaking about Reading’s relegation in 2008, where he then moved to Aston Villa in the summer. Honestly it’s him!!
The mention of Antonio Valencia being like a brick wall or whatever would tie up with Valencia on the right wing and Shorey being a Left Back.
25. Has a good friend who is African and has played for a team in Russia
Peter Odemwingie, how many African players have played in russia? Only him and Obafemi Martisn are those who have also played in the prem. Nicky Shorey is a good shout.
Shorey has never won back to back player of the year awards, or any trophies. I don’t reckon it’s him. Andy Johnson looks a better fit – Palace POTY 04 & 05, old 1st Div winner 03-04 + various top scorer/Prem POTM awards (at a push you could call those trophies). Put in transfer request when Reading were relegated (although didn’t move in the end). Record transfer for Everton. Talks about new dads receiving Harrods hampers – big hint for Fulham connection. Plenty of injuries in the last couple of years, a likely source of depression.
@Rob, true, he was born there but he has african heritage. Plus he is (or at least was, can’t be bothered to check) Nigeria’s captain….
If you see the video from the guardian website here: https://www.whoisthesecretfootballer.co.uk/i-am-the-secret-footballer/
Then listen to him being interviewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xswJFY4WJNU&feature=player_detailpage#t=165s
It certainly sounds like him.
It is Nicky Shorey. Steve Coppell is the manager who fined him and also the man who was once the messiah and lost his way. Andre Amougou is the African friend with Russian connections. His Dad knew how to bring him up. He’s played in all four leagues, but been in prem for ages. Flirted with England. Married with a daughter. Been to LA on holiday as a big fan of the rat pack, which he mentions in another blog too. In all his interviews he’s articulate and literate.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/apr/06/the-secret-footballer-andy-carroll
Above he mentions “from having suffered quite spectacularly in the wake of a big‑money move of my own.” Would this be in reference to his move to Villa? Transfer was undisclosed…
Don’t think it can be Shorey. In the book, TSF says he started in non-league football before joining his lower-division club. Shorey came through the youth team at Orient, where his dad was the kit-man
6. He played with a bunch of french speaking players at Reading- Jimmy Kebe and Imbrahima Sonko.
32. Graeme Murty at Reading.
34. at West Brom
35. Paul Brush (not 100% was assistant but was youth team coach) who then had an unsuccessful stint as manager. Also Kevin Dillon at Reading (though was only caretaker)
37. At Reading
38. Reading relegation due to Danny Murphy’s goal for Fulham against portsmouth in May 2008. Not mins but he could have heard the news in the last 5 mins.
39/41 He then tranfered to Aston Villa.
39. c£20,000 is the market rate for a premier/pushing on england left back.
23. Deadline day loan to Nottingham Forest (loan deal not permanent)
27. For Leyton Orient.
29. At Reading. On 5 May 2007, it was announced that he had taken second place in the 2006–07 Player of the Season vote by the Reading fans.
30. Leyton Oreint: According to Nicky in this article
“As I said, my dad, Steve, was involved in football, he was at Orient when I was younger, and he took us over there when I was nine. My brother was there as well, a couple of years older, we both went training there and it was a great education. It was a bit of an eye opener as well, there was a lot going on at the time! There were a lot of financial problems going on and there was a documentary made about it, “Club For A Fiver” – my dad was actually in it! http://www.firsttouchonline.com/2010/11/nicky-shorey-interview/.
23. Correction Fulham- not nottingham forest
39. “He has a year left on his contract but negotiations have been put on hold until the summer. Reading want to make him their best-paid player at £25,000 a week but Newcastle and West Ham hover with offers of their own.” telegraph article in 2008 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2292617/Nicky-Shorey-A-long-road-back-if-we-go-down.html#.
“Recently our physio approached our most experienced player, a man who has won almost everything worth winning in the game and who has a few quid in his pocket, to inform him that he’d had a chat with his counterpart at a Championship club and learned that Doncaster were interested. “Great,” replied our player. “What do they want me to do, buy the club?”
Pretty sure he’s talking about Robert Pires who was heavily linked with Donacaster while he was at Villa.
In the book he mentions being forced to play at full back by scouts as a kid with some resentment – would be odd if he turns out to be a left-back, surely?
The relegation certainly fits Shorey more than AJ.
Palace were down because of their result but Reading went down because Fulham scored away at Portsmouth (granted it was the 76th minute not the last). Reading were at Derby which could be classed as the other end of the Country.
His Dad is also the chief scout at Reading and called……..Steve.
Dave Kitson definitely nicky Shorey player who got an England call up on page five in the book
I think most of the Shorey evidence can be applicable to Kitson – I think he mentions a friend that played for Chelsea under Mourinho which has to be Sidwell… Also, I think he mentions in the book that he has no love for defenders – which would seem to rule out a full-back
Joe Cole? He was relegated with the hammers – definitely will be a Harry Fan played under a couple of promoted managers. Was certainly close to 100k a week.
38,39,41
” Meanwhile, despite Birmingham beating Blackburn Rovers 4–1 and Reading beating Derby 4–0, both Birmingham and Reading were relegated due to Fulham’s 1–0 win over Portsmouth.”
played for reading then joined stoke after they were relagated on last day of the season due to fulham winning 1-0
He also keeps referring to ‘our striker’which makes me think that he is not a striker.
But there’s video of Dave Kitson being tackled by Valencia that fits exactly
He is the right size compare to the video in the homepage.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that Shorey played in CM as a kid and, when he was moved to LB, both himself and his dad resented it.
Speaking of Shorey Sr, he is the Chief Scout at Reading. One of the feeling I got from reading the books was that he is pretty familiar with the scouts, or at least one of them, at one of the teams he has played for. (E.g. the call about the drug-addict player who, incidentally, appears to match Greg Halford)