So the day has finally
arrived when it's time for
Albion fans to say
goodbye to Peter
Odemwingie, and him to
us.
We all knew this day was
coming, perhaps like a
decree absolute in a divorce
case. All parties know
permanent separation is for
the best and are relieved it's
over, but at the same time,
when that letter drops on
the doormat can't help
taking a moment to
contemplate the good times
and what might have been.
It seems a long time ago
Peter signed for Albion in
August 2010. The vast
majority of Baggies had
never even heard of him at
the time, myself included.
When Peter scored on his
debut against Sunderland,
fans were fawning over their
new hero on local radio,
but most still couldn't even
pronounce his name. One
post match radio caller
proclaiming "I'm not even
gonna try and say it. I'll just
be calling him Pete!"
Well just under three years
later we all know exactly
what his name is. In fact I
doubt there's many people
in England who don't. What
an incredible three years it
has been.
Albion fans love affair with
Peter and it's demise is well
documented. Nobody needs
or wants a sanctimonious
monologue about how
great he was and then how
it all went wrong for him as
a West Bromwich Albion
footballer. I suspect by now
most people have made up
their own minds.
This is about my personal
experience of Peter the
person. Not the footballer.
After the notorious incident
against Wigan at The
Hawthorns towards the end
of last season in which he
was verbally abused whilst
warming up, I wrote an
open letter to Peter
explaining how my boys
and I felt about what had
degenerated into a very
sorry situation. Though I've
a relatively insignificant
Twitter presence one post
on the social media platform
snowballed into hundreds
of retweets and over ten
thousand views of the letter
in just three days. Those
who follow me know I
tweet and blog rather
prolifically. Admittedly
rather tediously and mainly
for self gratification rather
than anyone else's benefit as
I find writing thoroughly
enjoyable, and it helps keep
me out of other trouble.
So the reaction to this letter
astonished me. But nothing
was more staggering than
receiving a tweeted reply
from Peter himself just three
hours after posting the
letter.
It read:
"Hey Dave, I blocked you
before. I'm sure you know
why! Good letter. I will
write you one back ok?"
Peter had blocked me on
Twitter around the time of
his ill fated drive to QPR.
Understandably so too. I,
like many Albion fans had
been rather rude to him.
I've blocked people for far
less, so to berate him for it
would be grossly
hypocritical.
I'm not proud to say I've
also fallen out with people
for a very long time for
being nowhere near as
unpleasant to me as I was to
him over the situation. I'm
sure I'm not alone here
either.
So, to first unblock me, then
respond to my tweet
promising a proper reply
back was something I found
particularly impressive.
Forgiving complete
strangers who've been
unkind to you is not a trait
usually associated with most
people, let alone so called
shallow and selfish
professional footballers.
Within a couple of hours of
re following Peter I received
a stream of Direct Messages
comprehensively replying to
my open letter.
One of the most poignant
passages expressed how
he'd concluded from the
tweeted responses to my
letter (and yes, he does read
his mentions) that the
majority of Albion fans felt
sad about the situation
rather than angry, and that
he shared this sentiment of
sadness above any other
emotion.
As I said from the onset, this
piece is not really intended
to be a tribute to Peter
Odemwingie the footballer.
Neither is it about
apportioning blame to
either him, the club or the
fans.
Of course some of the initial
messages I received from
Peter understandably
expressed and partially
explained his issues with the
club. But they were
respectfully worded and in
no way personal, vindictive
or nasty.
The classiest part came at the
end. Peter signed off by
saying 'I would like you
and your boys to come and
visit me for a game of
football at my home so I
can show them I am not a
bad man.'
I didn't know whether he
meant it or if this was a joke!
Admittedly I thought the
latter was far more likely.
But, true to his word Peter
followed through and made
arrangements for us to visit.
I also asked him if he'd like
me to make this gesture
public and suggested to him
a bit of good publicity
wouldn't do him any harm.
But Peter said he'd prefer me
to keep both the contents of
his reply and the visit quiet,
at least until it had
happened. For me this is
confirmation he asked us
round for the right reasons.
No hidden agenda or
ulterior motive. Just pure
kind hearted niceness and
trying to do the right thing
in 1. Acknowledging my
letter. And 2. Making two
little boys very happy.
The day came when it was
time to visit. Not
surprisingly Peter lives in a
house and area befitting of
his status. We approached
the iron gates and buzzed
the intercom. We knew we'd
got the right place because
sitting peacefully behind the
electronic gates was the
infamous black Range
Rover, safely out of harms
way on the drive. Nobody
spoke through the intercom
but smoothly the gates
gradually began to separate
and move back. We slowly
drove in and parked our
comparatively tiny car next
to the majestic 4x4. I once
saw the car from Knight
Rider 'Kit' whilst on holiday
as a kid. For those old
enough to remember the
show, the car had a mind of
it's own. The mischievous
black Range Rover brought
back memories.
The front door of the house
opened and out scampered
two hyperactive small dogs
to investigate. Yapping and
nipping at our ankles. Think
Mulumbu and Yacob in
Chiauau form.
We looked up and there was
Peter on the door step,
beaming smile on his face,
flip flops on his feet. He
walked over to greet us.
I guess as football fans
none of us ever truly grow
up. Yet many an elder and
intellectually superior being
than I have been taken in
by the romance and magic
of football, hook line and
sinker. So I make no
apology and feel no
embarrassment for having
felt like a starstruck kid in a
sweet shop.
As a child I adored Charlie
and The Chocolate Factory.
I always wondered how
Charlie Bucket must have
felt when he visited Mr
Wonka's factory. I'm not
ashamed to admit thinking
this is the closest I'll ever
get to experiencing
something like that. My two
boys, Jake 7 and Toby 6
even more so. That's the
best way I can describe it.
Peter showed us into the
lounge and asked us to sit
down. He took a deep
breath, leaned forward and
launched into a passionate
and detailed account of his
time at the Albion from the
first day through to today
(It was the eve of the Man
United match).
Out of respect to Peter the
vast majority of the content
of our conversation will
always remain private. But I
left in no doubt it takes two
to tango.
I suggested to Peter 'It's not
like you did what Lee
Hughes did is it?' To which
he replied 'Who's that?' I
was initially gob smacked
that our modern day hero
didn't know of his
equivalent from ten years
ago or anything about him
or his plight whatsoever.
Then I thought, why the
hell would he?
I struggle to give a clearer
example of how football
clubs and players have
become detached from
supporters.
Would it make sense for all
clubs to educate incoming
players on a clubs history,
dynamics, complexities,
rivalries? Maybe a club
should almost have a moral
duty to help players feel as
though 'they belong' rather
than fan the flames of their
mercenary, nomadic
tendencies. It's easy to call
players greedy and disloyal.
But it's a two way street. If
they're treated like nothing
more than a financial
commodity, surely they'll
behave like one. That's
human nature.
Remember Paul Scharner
and how he went about/
goes about endearing
himself to fans and
communities. Well Scharner
is almost unique because he
does it off his own back.
Imagine if more or even
most footballers were like
this. Sadly it won't happen
because football is a
business, run by business
people and corporations.
On the whole, they just
don't get it. Never will.
Peter Odemwingie is an icon
in not just the country he
represented at football, but
also on a whole continent.
Top, Premier League
footballers are revered in
Africa. He has almost
200,000 followers on twitter.
The vast majority are not
Albion fans. By contrast
West Bromwich Albion's
official twitter account has
less than 100,000 followers.
I'm not suggesting any
player is bigger than any
club. We all know the polar
opposite is true. But whether
it's Rooney, Suarez, Bale or
Odemwingie, it's not
difficult to see where players
egos and sense of self worth
is harvested. Football is a
global game now with
global players. Fans views of
their clubs can be
introspective and somewhat
insular. Understandably so,
they're our clubs and we
love them. But like it or not,
rightly or wrongly, apart
from the elite most clubs are
a vehicle for the modern
player not vice versa.
Some of these players need
an arm around their
shoulder and to feel wanted
and appreciated. They have
egos and need them
massaged. Others respond
to being put in isolation and
being given big fines.
Knowing which stick to use
to put employees in line is
the art of man management
its self.
Two hours later our
conversation drew to an end
we moved towards the
hallway from the lounge,
and past a piano. On top of
the piano was a framed
picture of our host scoring
the equalising goal against
Villa in January. If you
hated your employer,
would you have a picture of
yourself at work, in your
uniform in your lounge?
We drifted towards the
kitchen where Peter
presented my boys with a
signed, worn Albion away
shirt and signed Nike
Nigeria boots. Their little
faces were a picture. Wide
eyed and open mouthed,
they both looked like
Christmas had arrived early
this year.
In return we presented him
with a four pack of
Guinness. He found this
amusing and laughed out
loud. In fact he sent me a
message later which read
'One down! ;-)'.
Granted being a name
dropper is not a very
attractive personality trait.
But when you're sat
watching Britain's Got
Talent on a Saturday
evening and your phone
vibrates with a direct
message from Peter
Odemwingie telling you
he's drinking the Guinness
you bought him, well it's a
surreal anecdote which is
quite difficult to keep to
one's self.
My eldest asked if we could
see the Hat Trick ball. Peter
hesitated and said 'Sorry no,
you can't have that!' He
thought Jake wanted to
keep it! We explained it was
just for a photo. He obliged
by reaching for a top
kitchen cupboard and
pulled the yellow ball out
from amongst some
everyday kitchen utensils.
Rather flat and signed by
the Albion team of that
momentous day at
Molineux, I gave it a kiss
and we all had our photos
taken together with the ball.
Sadly the game of football
didn't happen this time.
Whilst the rest of the first
team squad were preparing
for the final game of the
season, Peter had been
summoned to train on his
own at 4pm Saturday.
Regardless of your pay
packet and what had
happened over the previous
six months, if you've made a
contribution like he has
that's got to hurt.
It was time to go. For us
home. For Peter training. In
isolation prior to going on
holiday that evening and
missing out on any
involvement in the next
day's match against
Manchester United.
We followed his Range
Rover for a little while, then
off it went into the distance.
Peter still keeps in touch via
twitter and asks after the
boys from time to time. He
doesn't need to, he's
nothing to gain from doing
so. He's just a normal,
decent family man and like
most good people, he loves
children.
And he didn't do too bad
for the Albion either. 30
Premier League goals and
three EPL player of the
month awards. Which
incidentally is more than
both Ryan Giggs and a
certain Nicolas Anelka
who've both won it twice.
All the best at your new
club Peter. And thank you
for the memories on the
pitch. Time will be the judge
of your West Bromwich
Albion legacy, not a few
mad moments around
transfer deadline day.
Ultimately football fans will
always side with their club
when push comes to shove.
Our club is like an extension
of our family and our
devotion to it is
unconditional. We
sometimes turn a blind eye
to poor or unacceptable
behaviour from family
members because blood is
thicker than water and we
love them. But that's not to
say they are always right
and shouldn't be
questioned.
West Bromwich Albion is a
slick, well oiled PR machine.
It knows what it's family
want to hear and what they
don't. One man with a
Twitter account and an axe
to grind was never going to
win against the lawyers and
the suits. Neither was a small
town club ever going to
boss around a single
minded maverick of world
football.
The result of which has been
like the transfer window
equivalent of Vietnam.
Nobody has won.
Everybody is hurt. Only in
this case it's just football
and we can all move on.
Peter has asked if we'll come
and see him play for his new
club as his guests and
signed shirts will also be
sent to my children Jake
and Toby.
They say you should never
meet your heroes. You'll
only be disappointed. In the
case of Peter Odemwingie
they couldn't be more
wrong.
Thank you for reading.
Constructive feedback is
always appreciated.
Please leave a comment
here or on Twitter @
CoachDave_

Keshi pls Osaze has learnt his lessons....pls 4give nd extend an invitatn to him.

This piece is really touching; i just feel there are things we are yet to know regarding the conflict between Odewinge and his former club. I think we should give him a second chance; Keshi its your call.

I have always known that Osaze Odenwingie wasn't the rascal we all made him out to be. He always plays with his heart whenever he has an opportunity. I hope he rediscovers himself at Cardiff.

We dnt need in him in d national team except he is ready 2 warm d bench. He thought he was a super star. We have a team already, Osaze has no place in d 1st 11.

Peter was treated like crap at Albion, and it is sad, that they are not going to have his goal scoring ability. However, he does have to change his way of blasting people out on twitter.

Forget sentiments, Osaze is a bad egg in a basket of eggs. Give him sometime in cardiff, he will show himself again.