30th August – Kris Commons

Kris Commons played over 500 games and scored over 100 goals during his professional career and proudced some magic moments.

Commons started his career at Stoke City, making his debut in a 3-2 defeat against Blackpool. Shortly afterwards he picked up an injury and was out of action for year before making his comeback in a 0-0 draw with Sheffield Wednesday and his first goal came 16 days later against Norwich City. After a promising start he was offered a new contract, however he rejected it and signed for Nottingham Forest.

Although his first season ended in relegation from the Championship, Commons stayed with the club to try and get them promoted. He had to wait until his final season to finally achieve this aim and following a 3-2 win over Yeovil Town they gained promotion with the midfielder being named in the PFA League One Team of the Year. At this point he had played 159 times for Forest but with his contract up he made the unthinkable move to Derby County.

He started his time at Derby on the wing under Paul Jewell but he didn’t really show his potential until he was moved into the centre and he would go on to score the only goal of the game in a victory over Manchester United in the League Cup. Later on in the season he would also score the winning goal against Forest in an FA Cup game.

Injuries caught up with him in the next season and he didn’t have much of an impact, however the 2010-11 season was probably his best in England as he went on a run of seven goals in nine games. This form caught the attention of Celtic who signed him on the 28^th January 2011 and on the following day he scored against Aberdeen and would end the season winning the Scottish Cup. Celtic won the title in the following campaign but it was a difficult one for Commons as he only scored one goal.

But he did manage to bounce back and show his quality. During the 2013-14 season he finished as the top scorer, hitting the back of the net 32 times in all competitions. However, this wasn’t enough to convince new manager Ronny Deila to give him a starting place. He did manage to turn this round again but things got worse when Brendan Rodgers took charge as he told him he would not be part of the squad.

Commons would stay at the club until the end of his contract and after a back injury he decided it was time to retire. His last games in football came during a loan spell at Hibernian where he played five times, scoring twice.

The final word can go to Neil Lennon. “He’s intelligent, grounded and hungry. What he will do is improve us and influence the team and squad on and off the field. He will provide a goal threat from the wider areas or deeper lying areas.”

18th October – Robbie Savage

Robbie Savage has definitely spilt opinion throughout his career, some love his antics whereas others hate him but one thing that nobody can deny is that he put in a lot of effort while out on the pitch and didn’t let down the fans.

Now a pundit, the 40 year old likes to be controversial and say things that will upset people and he is not shy in giving his opinions. Recently he has put across the point that footballers don’t care how much fans pay to support their team but at least he came out and gave his honest opinion rather than one he doesn’t believe.

Savage started his career at Manchester United and was part of the 1992 FA Youth Cup winning team which has become known as the ‘Class of 92’ however unlike David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville he never made it at Old Trafford and failed to play a game for the club and joined Crewe Alexandra in 1994. The midfielder was an instant success at his new club and in his first two seasons he helped them reach the Division Two playoffs and then they finally made it third time lucky and were promoted via the playoffs in 1997. Shortly after promotion Savage handed in a transfer request and he ended his time at the club with 10 goals in 87 games.

In July 1997 he joined Leicester City for a fee of £400,000 and became known as a reliable and fiery midfielder and became a fans favourite but was largely hated by the opposition. In his five years at the club he reached two League Cup finals and in the first he was involved in an incident with Tottenham Hotspur player Justin Edinburgh that got the Spurs man sent off. Savage had to wait a year to pick up a winners medal as they saw off Tranmere Rovers in the 2000 final. After Leicester were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2001-02 season Savage joined Birmingham City for £1.25 million.

Savage was once again a key player for the club and he played a vital role in keeping the club in the Premier League for two seasons but he handed in a transfer request and on the 19th January he joined Blackburn Rovers. In his first half a season at Blackburn he also played a key part in keeping them in the top flight and in the 2005-06 season he was a very consistent performer and helped the club reach the UEFA Cup and in the following campaign he scored in the competition against Salzburg and Wisla Krakow. However, a broken leg in January meant that he would miss the rest of the season. During the 2007-08 season he suffered a few more injury problems and struggled to break into the starting eleven meaning that on the 9th January 2008 he left for Derby County.

He could not stop relegation from the Premier League and even though it was not his fault, his performances were poor. After an equally poor start to the following season he was dropped by manager Paul Jewell and was sent out on loan to Brighton in October 2008, where he played six times. After Jewell was sacked, Nigel Clough put him back in the team and would also become captain of the club in the following season.
Although it was another disappointing one for the club, on a personal not Savage must have been happy as he played 51 times and was named the club’s Player of the Year. He did not miss many games while Clough was in charge and went on to play 137 times for the club before retiring in 2011.

The final word can go to Alex McLeish. “I Like Robbie. I think he brings colour to the game. He has had a good career, he is a good player, a guy who rallies his team. He annoys the life out of the opposition and he can instigate a fight in an empty barn.”

16th April – Arjan De Zeeuw

After retiring from football some go into coaching, others into media and some begin working as an investigative detective specialising in forensics.

Arjan De Zeeuw is 44 today and is enjoying his retirement as a detective which is an interesting route to take after being a very consistent centre back for a number of years. But he was never just a normal footballer, as a youngster he did not turn professional because he wanted to finish his degree in medical science.

At the age of 22 after completing his course he signed for Dutch team Telstar where once again he made interesting decisions about his career as he almost quit the game when the club rejected transfer offers from Utrecht. However he decided to stay for another season and played over 100 times for the club before moving to England where he spent the majority of his career.

His first stop in England was Barnsley who paid £250,000 for him and was a key player in their promotion to the Premier League however it only lasted one season as the club struggled and were relegated the following year. It looked as though the centre back was about to leave but manager John Hendrie persuaded him to sign a contract extension which the fans and other players were happy about. The next summer he joined Wigan Athletic. Former teammate Darren Barnard said: “He was the ultimate professional who went on have a great career at the highest level.”

As at every club he was very dependable at the back and settled in quickly winning the club’s Player of the Year award in 2001 and 2002. In the summer of 2002 he was on the move once more, this time moving on a free transfer to Portsmouth where he was an important part of their title winning side. He continued performing to a high standard in the Premier League and won the Portsmouth’s fans Player of the Year and the season after he was given the captains armband and once again proved vital in their successful attempt at staying in the top flight.

However a falling out with manager Alain Perrin meant he left the club to rejoin Wigan and this decision was criticised by all the Pompey fans. During his time at the club he showed what a brilliant person he is and how he lead by example at all times both on and off the pitch. Nothing showed this more than when in a game against Bolton Wanderers he did not retaliate when El Hadji Diouf spat in his face and instead of reacting aggressively he went and scored the winning goal.

At Wigan one of his greatest fans was British Prime Minister Tony Blair who praised him for his consistent performances. Although this would have been nice to hear what pleased him more was when in a poll to celebrate the centenary of the PFA the fans voted him to be the best Wigan player of all time.

By this point he was starting to get to the end of his career but he was given one last spell in England by Coventry City. Manager at the time Iain Dowie said: “Arjan is a model professional and hugely experienced. He has what it takes to be competitive at this level and adds more quality to the squad.”

He only made 17 league appearances for the club and after a brief spell at ADO he retired. The final word can go to his Wigan manager Paul Jewell after an impressive start to their Premier League campaign. “I wanted experience at the back because we knew we were going to come under the cosh. I wanted people in the team who were not going to be in awe of the Premiership. He enjoys defending. It’s no good me having a ball playing centre half who can’t head it or can’t defend because we know we’re going to be under pressure.”