Just goes to show that any player can come back from the brink; his relationship with our fans was pretty rock bottom when he went to Villa. Fair play to him for knuckling down, working hard and winning the fans back on side. Not words I ever thought I'd write.
Talk about redemption - he was virtually out of the door for good at one stage. Went out on loan but came back and re-established himself in the team. Great news.
I feel like the failed loan move to Villa humbled him somewhat. No doubting the way he knuckled down after that though, acknowledged his mistakes and has clearly worked bloody hard not just for the team, but on his own communication and leadership on the pitch. Fair play! While obviously not perfect, at his best he is an excellent CB and I love his commitment and passion.
His quotes are nice. He said: “I’m really happy. I think it's the right choice for me, for my family. We all are happy here. "I think we found our happy place in life, and we just want to keep going, keep growing as a family, as a football player, as a football club, so I think this is the right place for me right now. “I think I'm in the right place, with the right manager, with the right fans. I think we created something special and I think this was the only one decision I could make to extend the contract and stay here.”
I'm not sure testimonials happen anymore, or do they happen once the player has retired? JWP and Stephens have both done 10+ years for us, so not sure. Great news though about Bedders, always liked him.
