I noticed there isn't a thread to mark the retirement of one of my favourite footballers, the one and only Jimmy Bullard.
Theres a nice little article/interview on the BBC BBC Sport - Jimmy Bullard: The entertainer calls it a day
My first memory of Bullard was watching a young (ish) midfielder strutt his stuff for Posh in the early noughties. He was (and still is) a hit with the London Road faithful, to the point where many fans were calling for his return this season. The fact he has stuffed franchise FC's season up by leaving them short in midfield has put a smile on the face of plenty of glum posh fans.
Always the prankster, you got the sense he annoyed some of the old guard in football, but his attitude for me is a much better example than a lot of the superstars who's constant misdemeanours fill the back pages. Bullard always played with a smile on his face, and win or lose you knew he had given his all, but most importantly he had enjoyed every minute of it. He is one of a select few who gives the impression that they would play even if no-one was watching them and no-one was paying them.
I was surprised it took him as long as it did to make it to the premier league, and even more amazed that the likes of Jenas and Dyer have managed to accumulate England caps ahead of him.
Naturally it took a while for the media to start highlighting his pranks and funny moments:
Dribbling 20 yards while at Wigan and smashing it into the arsenals goal after everyone else was leaving the pitch due to floodlight failure.
Leapfrogging the goalmouth scramble against Everton.
THAT look he gave Dunc Ferguson.
Phil Brown celebration.
Wash and Goadvert and bloopers.
And my personal favourite:
Jimmy Bullard - Fooling around - Sky Sports - YouTube
But rest assured he was just as much fun at Posh, even if the media wasn't interested.
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=H0ZHGFJUAYo
Set piece master, terrific passer and an eye for goal, you couldn't really box him into a midfield category. He certainly wasn't a winger, calling him a holding player would be unfair but he probably wasn't a good enough dribbler to be classed as an AMC. Footballs free spirit was probably best deployed in a free role, preferably with a destroyer behind/alongside him, as during his pomp he was more than capable of making runs in the final 3rd a la Lampard.
I can't say how sorry I am that his knees have caused so much of his career to be spent on the treatment table, depriving the public not just of the cheekiest of chappies, but also a genuinely quality player.
Thanks for the 2 years at Posh Jimmy, it's been a pleasure to watch someone who started their career at our club progress into not just a genuine premier league performer, but one of the most loved players of recent times.
Theres a nice little article/interview on the BBC BBC Sport - Jimmy Bullard: The entertainer calls it a day
My first memory of Bullard was watching a young (ish) midfielder strutt his stuff for Posh in the early noughties. He was (and still is) a hit with the London Road faithful, to the point where many fans were calling for his return this season. The fact he has stuffed franchise FC's season up by leaving them short in midfield has put a smile on the face of plenty of glum posh fans.
Always the prankster, you got the sense he annoyed some of the old guard in football, but his attitude for me is a much better example than a lot of the superstars who's constant misdemeanours fill the back pages. Bullard always played with a smile on his face, and win or lose you knew he had given his all, but most importantly he had enjoyed every minute of it. He is one of a select few who gives the impression that they would play even if no-one was watching them and no-one was paying them.
I was surprised it took him as long as it did to make it to the premier league, and even more amazed that the likes of Jenas and Dyer have managed to accumulate England caps ahead of him.
Naturally it took a while for the media to start highlighting his pranks and funny moments:
Dribbling 20 yards while at Wigan and smashing it into the arsenals goal after everyone else was leaving the pitch due to floodlight failure.
Leapfrogging the goalmouth scramble against Everton.
THAT look he gave Dunc Ferguson.
Phil Brown celebration.
Wash and Goadvert and bloopers.
And my personal favourite:
Jimmy Bullard - Fooling around - Sky Sports - YouTube
But rest assured he was just as much fun at Posh, even if the media wasn't interested.
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=H0ZHGFJUAYo
Set piece master, terrific passer and an eye for goal, you couldn't really box him into a midfield category. He certainly wasn't a winger, calling him a holding player would be unfair but he probably wasn't a good enough dribbler to be classed as an AMC. Footballs free spirit was probably best deployed in a free role, preferably with a destroyer behind/alongside him, as during his pomp he was more than capable of making runs in the final 3rd a la Lampard.
I can't say how sorry I am that his knees have caused so much of his career to be spent on the treatment table, depriving the public not just of the cheekiest of chappies, but also a genuinely quality player.
Thanks for the 2 years at Posh Jimmy, it's been a pleasure to watch someone who started their career at our club progress into not just a genuine premier league performer, but one of the most loved players of recent times.
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