28th August – Kevin McNaughton

Kevin McNaughton has played over 500 games in his professional career and despite retiring once he came back to play more and be as consistent as he always was.

The defender did initially retire in 2017 but has had to play further games due to an injury crisis at Scottish club Forfar Athletic where he had been a first team coach.

McNaughton started his career in Scotland with Aberdeen and made his debut at 18 in a 2-1 defeat to St Mirren and would eventually become a regular during the 2000-01 season. He was showing a lot of promise and was even named PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year at the end of the 2001-02 season. However, an injury in the following season slowed down his development and at times he struggled to regain his previous form.

He did eventually show his qualities once more and this led to him being linked with moves to Scottish giants Celtic and other clubs in England. After 201 appearances for Aberdeen he did leave the club on a free transfer on the 26^th May 2006 joining Cardiff City. Initially McNaughton was used a sa left back by Dave Jones in the Championship but in the following campaign he was moved to the more familiar right back position. During this season he played an important role in helping the club reach the final of the FA Cup and even scored his first goal for the club in the Fourth Round victory over Hereford United.

The 2009-10 season was much more difficult for the defender as he struggled with injuries however he bounced back by playing every game in the following season and his consistent performances earned him the Player of the Season vote. Over the next few seasons his popularity continued to grow among the Cardiff fans and he helped them reach the League Cup final which they unfortunately lost on penalties against Liverpool.

On the 21^st August 2012, McNaughton played his 400^th career game for Cardiff in a 0-0 draw with Brighton and played a role in helping the club gain promotion to the Premier League. He was given a new one year deal but unfortunately only played five times in the top flight and during the season he joined Bolton on loan and would play 22 times for the club over two spells.

After he was released by Cardiff he joined Wigan Athletic but only played twice for the club before joining Scottish side Inverness. However, an injury put an end to his season and he announced his retirement but in December 2017 he reversed this decision and is now a registered player for Forfar.

The final word can go to Malky Mackay. “Kevin has been a terrific servant. Good, experienced professionals like Kevin are essential for a squad’s success and I know this news will please City supporters, as much as it does my staff and I, who know and appreciate what a hard working and dedicated player Kevin is.”

22nd August – Heidar Helguson

Heidar Helguson was not one of the tallest strikers to play in England but he certainly scored a lot of headers during his career and was always a threat from crosses.

The striker made a career of out jumping much taller defenders and powering home headers but he was also very good when the ball was on the floor and could bring his teammates into play. A lot of people would argue that he never got a fair chance in the top flight with various different clubs but he always a threat and had a very good goalscoring record throughout his career.

Helguson started his career at hometown club UMFS Dalvik in Iceland and was given his first team debut at the age of just 15. He hit the ground running with five goals in 11 games and this earned him a move to Prottur in 1994. He stayed at the club for three seasons and after scoring 31 goals in 54 league appearances he was being linked with moves to several European clubs. He eventually moved to Norwegian side Lillestrom in the autumn of 1998 and strangely wore the number one shirt. In his first full season he was one of the surprises of the season as he hit 16 league goals and had his own fan club named after him, ‘The Helgusonsons’.

Midway through the 1999-2000 season Helguson transferred to the Premier League and joined Watford for £1.5 million. Despite scoring six goals, he could not prevent Watford getting relegated and was then part of the team that went 15 games undefeated at the start of the next season. However, both he and the club went into decline and with Helguson being played out of position by new manager Gianluca Vialli, he struggled to make a positive impact.

After Ray Lewington took charge Helguson rediscovered his form and ended the 2002-03 season as the club’s top goalscorer with 13 goals, however an injury kept him out of the first half of the next season but still managed eight goals in 22 league games. His final season at the club was injury free and he ended it with 20 goals in all competitions and was linked with moves to the Premier League.

Fulham signed the striker on the 27th June 2005 but he had to wait to become a starter and was largely used as a substitute to begin with. When he did eventually break into the first team he showed his quality and scored some memorable goals and finished with 10 in all competitions. The next season was more frustrating as he only managed three goals and joined Bolton Wanderers in the following summer. He stayed at the club for two seasons but only played eight times because of injuries and left the club for QPR.

Initially he joined on loan and after scoring five times in his first 10 game he joined the club permanently. However, after failing to add to his goal tally and falling out of favour he rejoined Watford on loan. He spent most of the season there scoring 11 times in 29 games. Afterwards he regained his place in the QPR starting 11 and helped get them promoted to the Premier League by scoring 13 goals and while in the top flight he was their top scorer in their successful relegation battle. Despite missing the second half he still managed to score eight goals in 16 games.

On the 2nd August 2012 Helguson signed for Cardiff City. Although he scored eight goals and helped them get promoted to the Premier League, he left the club when his contract expired at the end of the season.

The final word can go to his Cardiff manager Malky Mackay. “He’s the man that really stepped up to the plate and was that battering ram for us. He’s absolutely the type of guy I’d fill a club with. I’ve got great admiration for him and what he’s done in his career.”

15th July – Peter Odemwingie

Peter Odemwingie might have been involved in one of the funniest moments in a transfer window but he has bounced back from that and has found form once again.

While at West Brom he drove to QPR to hopefully sign for them, however the club’s could not agree a transfer fee so the striker who turns 33 today was not allowed to speak to QPR’s officials and had to wait in the parking lot. He ended up not getting the transfer he wanted but this is just a small blip on what has been a very good career.

He started his career at Nigerian side Bendel Insurance and was an instant success scoring 19 goals in 53 league appearances. This was good enough to convince La Louviere in Belgium to sign him and in his first season he helped the club win the Belgian Cup and earned them a place in Europe and Odemwingie scored in a 1-1 draw with Portuguese giants Benfica.

In 2004 he joined French club Lille and was quickly becoming one of the most sought after players in Europe and he proved his worth by helping Lille qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League after scoring twice at the San Siro against AC Milan. He spent three season in total in France and scored 26 goals in 100 games which led to Lokomotiv Moscow spending a lot of money to bring the striker to Russia.

Although he impressed for the club and was a goal threat every time he went on the pitch, he had to deal with a lot of racial abuse from the fans and he understandably wanted to leave the country and on the 20th August 2010 he signed for West Brom. Shortly after signing the Lokomotiv Moscow fans were seen showing a banner that read ‘Thanks West Brom’ and had a picture of a banana.

A day after he joined West Brom he scored the winning goal against Sunderland in a 1-0 win. His first season was very successful and he broke a lot of records, including being West Brom’s highest ever goal scorer in a Premier League season and became the first player to score in four consecutive games. He ended the season with 15 league goals and was rewarded with a new contract.

Odemwingie didn’t quite match the previous seasons efforts but he still put in some memorable performances, particularly in their derby match against Wolves, where he scored a hatrick in a 5-1 win and then followed it up with another two goals against Sunderland. This form meant he was named as the Player of the Month. The following season was obviously more difficult for him and the club after the confusion of his move to QPR meant the fans no longer accepted him.

At the start of the 2013-14 season he joined Cardiff City, however after Malky Mackay was sacked he barely got a look in and in January he signed for Stoke City and ended the season with five goals in 15 appearances for Stoke in the second half of the season and then got the opportunity to represent his country at the World Cup, where he scored the winner against Bosnia which helped the team get through their group.

The final word can go to Mark Hughes, who has been very happy with his signing. “We’re delighted to have signed Peter. He has a good goal scoring record in the Premier League and will bring a different dimension to our attacking options. I’ve no doubts he will prove to be an excellent addition to our squad.”