Continuing our series of articles of gaining a perspective from a fan of the club we have bought a player from, Bob Beech from Pompey Supporters Trust gives his views on David Nugent’s time at their club
In the world of professional football, players come and go. Some stay in the memories of supporters forever, be that because they are great, or because they are bad beyond belief. David Nugent doesn’t belong in either of those categories he belongs in the “Oh yes, I remember him” group, a player who came and went without barely a ripple on the pond.
It’s not that he is a bad player, he isn’t, he just wasn’t someone who can be described as great. The problem he had at Pompey is that he never had a chance to show what he had until this past season, by which time he had no doubt made up his mind to see out his contract and by then he looked no better than anyone else on the pitch.
David Nugent arrived at Fratton Park following a successful spell with Preston which culminated in his single England cap and goal (OK, he knocked home future team mate Jermaine Defoe’s goal bound effort two inches from the line, but they all count I suppose).
With a six million pound price tag and rumours abound that he may not have been the choice of manager Harry Redknapp, things were only ever going to be tough, although there was speculation that he wouldn’t have time to unpack his bags before being sold on to Derby County literally within weeks of arriving on the South coast…….
Redknapp added fuel to the fire when, after the League Cup clash with Leeds in which David scored his first goal for the club, he stated that Nugent was free to leave if the right offer came in.
It could have been so different, it is often said that the margins between success and failure are slim, a phrase that could have been written for the ‘Nuge’. His home debut came against Manchester United under the floodlights in front of a packed house. It was an exciting game, two sent off and Pompey coming from a goal down to grab a point.
With the game going back and forth David Nugent’s moment came. A deft ball over the top split the United defence leaving our David one-on-one with Edwin Van Der Sar, the first touch was followed by a stumble and then a fall, something that would become a bit of a trade mark sadly, and while David was left face down in the Fratton turf the ball bobbled into touch and with it his chance of entering Pompey folklore. Had he been able to slot that one home the attitude of the manager and with it the player’s confidence, could have been so different.
That first season David found himself mainly warming the bench making just 15 league appearances not surprising he failed to find the back of the net. In the cup things were different, he was the player who kicked started the successful FA Cup campaign scoring the only goal away to Ipswich in the third round, (it is one of those strange quirks of football that certain players always seem to score at certain grounds, for Nugent it is Portman Road) in his seven League Cup and FA cup games David scored three times, a disappointing season finishing with him dancing around Wembley with an FA Cup winners medal around his neck.
It’s pretty clear that under Harry Redknapp David Nugent’s face just didn’t fit, in his second season he made the pitch nineteen times netting just three times however he may not of helped himself, a potential loan move to Ipswich fell through when their then manager Jim Magilton questioned his fitness.
Much of David’s time at Fratton has seen speculation of moves away and during the recent financial meltdown there was a loan move to Burnley. With every player having a price tag to move it was a surprise to many that David was still at the club for the start of the 2010/11 season, with Pompey freshly relegated it was Dave’s chance to shine, at last a run in the side, forty eight league and cup matches, saw him score goals, fourteen of them, and there were a couple of crackers amongst them.
Stalling on contract negotiations (it was pretty clear that Nugent was allowing the clock to tick down on his Pompey days) is something that never endears any player to supporters. His departure was never going to see Pompey fans in tears, more indifference because we never really got to see the best of him. Or perhaps we did as Steve Cotterill said “David Nugent is the scorer of great goals, not a great goal scorer”
David Nugent could well set the world on fire at Leicester, but equally in a few years’ time many Foxes fans could struggle to remember his name. Sadly at Pompey it will be the latter, twenty goals in ninety three games isn’t a great return for someone billed as an ‘England striker’ not that he will care, he arrived just at the time when the Pompey Board were spending money like a drunken sailor on shore leave, he should never have to worry about getting close to his overdraft limit. Added to that he has his FA Cup winners medal which will mean far more to him, won’t it?
If you would like to find out more about the current activity Pompey Supporters Trust, their website is available here http://www.pompeytrust.com