I’ve always been a massive fan of the IMG/Premier League produced television show, ‘Premier League World’.
The nerdy cousin of the famous ‘Premier League Review Show’ and the equally intoxicating ‘Premier League Preview’, ‘World’ provides a behind-the-scenes view of the league and its clubs, covering topics such as community work, transfer news, tour updates, international players living in England and more. Along with ‘Review’ and ‘Preview’, ‘World’ represents the finest supporting content in the footballing world. If you haven’t tuned in already, I highly encourage you to do so.
In one of the show’s shorter segments, ‘World’ asks a current player a series of questions for which he provides short, insightful answers. In this week’s show, Manchester City’s Scott Sinclair was the man in the hot seat. In the series of questions asked of Sinclair he was queried on his ‘Happiest Moment’ as a footballer.
The question brought a huge smile to Sinclair’s boyish face and without hesitation the winger explained: “The moment I signed for City.”
My jaw dropped to the floor.
How on earth Sinclair’s happiest moment could be the moment he signed for City is beyond me.
I figured he would’ve said scoring a hat-trick in Swansea’s 4-2 victory over Reading in the 2011 Championship playoff final to help the Swans become the first Welsh club to compete in the Premier League. Or, perhaps something with an international flavor like getting capped by the England U-21s or scoring a goal for Stuart Pearce’s 18-man Olympic squad.
But not signing for City. That, I didn’t see coming.
Mainly because I would’ve thought his decision to sign with City would rate as one of his worst moments of his career. My disdain for Sinclair’s answer is simple – since leaving Swansea to sign a four-year contract with City in August 2012 he’s appeared in only 15 of 46 competitions. Making matters worse, 12 of those 15 appearances have come as a late match substitute. In other words, he’s barely stepped on the pitch.
And it’s not like this is the first time Sinclair has been thwarted by life at a big club. In 2004 he signed with Chelsea only to spend next five years being loaned out to six different clubs. Not exactly the best way to spend your formative years as a footballer.
It’s not that I don’t understand Sinclair’s motive for the answer. I get it – it’s all about the money. It’s a fact widely known and accepted throughout football. And for Sinclair, the proof is in the pudding as the winger more than quadrupled his £10,000-a-week salary since moving from Swansea.
But still, it’s incredibly disheartening to see a player reflect fondly on the moment when his wildest dreams came true as his talent contemporaneously spoils on the sidelines.
