Nigel Reo-Coker comes in from the cold to captain Aston Villa
• Reo-Coker to lead Villa in Stilian Petrov's absence
• Midfielder could be offered new contract by Gérard Houllier
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/oct/26/nigel-reo-coker-aston-villa-captain
Stuart James
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 26 October 2010 22.30 BST
Article history
Nigel Reo-Coker has impressed his new Aston Villa manager, Gérard Houllier. Photograph: Scott Heppell/AP
Nigel Reo-Coker will complete a remarkable turnaround tomorrow night when he takes over as the Aston Villa captain, a little more than a year after he was involved in a training-ground fracas with Martin O'Neill that led to the midfielder being marginalised and later told to find another club.
The 26-year-old was sent home from training in September last year and left out of the squad for the league match against Fulham after he clashed with O'Neill, the then Villa manager, at Bodymoor Heath. Reo-Coker made only three league starts under O'Neill after the bust-up and his miserable season was brought to a premature end when he suffered an ankle injury in January. In the summer he was told he was surplus to requirements, prompting interest from Galatasaray and several Premier League clubs.
Yet the midfielder has started all six games since Gérard Houllier's arrival, and was today handed the captain's armband in the absence of the injured Stilian Petrov. Houllier has also signalled his intention to offer the former West Ham United player a new contract to replace the one that runs out in June.
"We will try to keep him," Houllier said. "If he wants to go elsewhere, he will go elsewhere. But the situation is this: he has played every game I have been in charge of and his performances are getting better and better. He plays for the team and he plays in a role where you have to be extremely unselfish. What I like is that he knows what he's capable of doing and he does it very well. The attitude is also very important. He's an example for the rest of the team. He's got personality and I like players like that. He's a winner and he's a fighter."
A couple of those attributes were evident on the training ground 13 months ago when O'Neill became embroiled in what he described as "a bit of a contretemps with Nigel". Reo-Coker has never spoken about the incident, and Houllier claimed he had no interest in discussing it. "I never ask anything about the past," the Villa manager said before the home Carling Cup tie against Burnley. "It doesn't interest me and it doesn't bother me. I judge on what I am seeing. I told the players that."
Houllier expressed concern that some players "get back into a comfort zone" once they have signed a new contract, and said it would be another couple of months before he could trust Reo-Coker enough to know that situation would not unfold with him. Yet the Frenchman also revealed preliminary discussions have already taken place between Reo-Coker's agent and Paul Faulkner, Villa's chief executive, suggesting an offer will be put to the player sooner rather than later.
Asked whether he was aware Reo-Coker could start talking to other clubs in January, Houllier gave a pragmatic response: "Do you think he waits until January? If Nigel doesn't do it himself, his agent will. But this club is big. If he wants to achieve, he knows what we are looking for. But if he goes elsewhere, it's not a problem. Nobody is bigger than the club."
• Reo-Coker to lead Villa in Stilian Petrov's absence
• Midfielder could be offered new contract by Gérard Houllier
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/oct/26/nigel-reo-coker-aston-villa-captain
Stuart James
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 26 October 2010 22.30 BST
Article history
Nigel Reo-Coker has impressed his new Aston Villa manager, Gérard Houllier. Photograph: Scott Heppell/AP
Nigel Reo-Coker will complete a remarkable turnaround tomorrow night when he takes over as the Aston Villa captain, a little more than a year after he was involved in a training-ground fracas with Martin O'Neill that led to the midfielder being marginalised and later told to find another club.
The 26-year-old was sent home from training in September last year and left out of the squad for the league match against Fulham after he clashed with O'Neill, the then Villa manager, at Bodymoor Heath. Reo-Coker made only three league starts under O'Neill after the bust-up and his miserable season was brought to a premature end when he suffered an ankle injury in January. In the summer he was told he was surplus to requirements, prompting interest from Galatasaray and several Premier League clubs.
Yet the midfielder has started all six games since Gérard Houllier's arrival, and was today handed the captain's armband in the absence of the injured Stilian Petrov. Houllier has also signalled his intention to offer the former West Ham United player a new contract to replace the one that runs out in June.
"We will try to keep him," Houllier said. "If he wants to go elsewhere, he will go elsewhere. But the situation is this: he has played every game I have been in charge of and his performances are getting better and better. He plays for the team and he plays in a role where you have to be extremely unselfish. What I like is that he knows what he's capable of doing and he does it very well. The attitude is also very important. He's an example for the rest of the team. He's got personality and I like players like that. He's a winner and he's a fighter."
A couple of those attributes were evident on the training ground 13 months ago when O'Neill became embroiled in what he described as "a bit of a contretemps with Nigel". Reo-Coker has never spoken about the incident, and Houllier claimed he had no interest in discussing it. "I never ask anything about the past," the Villa manager said before the home Carling Cup tie against Burnley. "It doesn't interest me and it doesn't bother me. I judge on what I am seeing. I told the players that."
Houllier expressed concern that some players "get back into a comfort zone" once they have signed a new contract, and said it would be another couple of months before he could trust Reo-Coker enough to know that situation would not unfold with him. Yet the Frenchman also revealed preliminary discussions have already taken place between Reo-Coker's agent and Paul Faulkner, Villa's chief executive, suggesting an offer will be put to the player sooner rather than later.
Asked whether he was aware Reo-Coker could start talking to other clubs in January, Houllier gave a pragmatic response: "Do you think he waits until January? If Nigel doesn't do it himself, his agent will. But this club is big. If he wants to achieve, he knows what we are looking for. But if he goes elsewhere, it's not a problem. Nobody is bigger than the club."