Tag: Marcos Painter

An Albion promotion winner but Bong didn’t chime at Forest

IT WAS WHILE I was adding the DW Stadium, Wigan, to my list of grounds visited that I first noticed Gaetan Bong.

On the afternoon of 18 April 2015, Bong was playing AGAINST Brighton in one of 14 appearances for Wigan Athletic having moved to the UK on a short term contract from Greek side Olympiakos three months earlier.

Bong up against Inigo Calderon while playing for Wigan

Within three months, he was playing FOR Brighton, joining Chris Hughton’s side as a free agent.

The Cameroon international, who had played top flight football in France and Greece, became a regular in the left-back berth for four seasons, including being a Championship promotion winner in 2017, playing 102 times for Brighton, including 51 games in the Premier League.

Bong was the first permanent left-back Albion had signed since the days of Marcos Painter, having had three successive seasons of season-long loan players in that position: Wayne Bridge, Stephen Ward and Joe Bennett.

“Gaetan is a player that we were aware of while he was at Olympiakos,” said Hughton, on signing the player. “He is very athletic, he is a natural left-sided player and it is important to have that balance in the squad.”

Back to that bottom-of-the-table battle in April, though, and Bong was on the left of a back four that also included a certain Harry Maguire (on loan from Hull City).

It was former player Gary Caldwell’s first match in charge after the sacking of Malky Mackay and both sides were struggling to avoid the drop from the Championship.

I probably decided to go to that game anticipating a win for Brighton because Wigan hadn’t won at home since the previous August! But, as sure as eggs is eggs when watching the Albion, Athletic finally registered another win in front of their own supporters: 2-1. It’s always the hope that kills you!

Albion played Player of the Season full-back Inigo Calderon as a makeshift right-winger that day and he got so little change out of his attempts to get past Athletic’s left-back that he was eventually subbed off.

In spite of the result that day, Albion managed to stay up while Wigan went down with Blackpool and Millwall.

Bong made his Brighton debut in the season-opener at home to Nottingham Forest (a 1-0 win courtesy of a Kazenga LuaLua goal), the club he would join four and a half years later, after he’d lost his regular place at the Albion.

Introduced to Brighton fans in the programme for that match, Bong said: “Once I had spoken to the manager and learned of the plans for the club, then I wanted to be part of this adventure.

“I could have gone elsewhere, I had offers, but I was excited by coming to Brighton. Now I just want to get playing and show the fans what I am about.”

Hughton had problems at left-back in the 2015-16 season when Bong was out for four months with a thigh injury, and back-up Liam Rosenior was also sidelined. Inigo Calderon filled in on occasion and Liam Ridgewell was signed on a short-term deal from Portland Timbers. Although Bong returned to the squad in March, the rest of the season was mainly a watching brief from the bench as Rosenior played out the season in that position.

Back as first choice the following season, a knee injury robbed him of his place for several weeks – loan signing Sebastien Pocognoli filled in – but he still played in 28 matches as the Albion finally won promotion to the Premier League.

Born on 25 April 1988 in Sackbayeme, a suburb of Cameroon’s capital Yaounde, he moved to France as a teenager to join Metz, where he rose through their youth ranks before making his professional debut at 17.

Injuries meant his progress wasn’t as rapid as it might have been but he had a successful loan spell with French second tier side Tours, and then moved to Valenciennes in 2009.

Bong won an under-21 cap for France but went on to win 16 caps for Cameroon. He was in their 2010 World Cup squad but only played in their final group game against Holland. Not entirely happy with the country’s set-up, he briefly retired from international football but returned when renowned former Dutch international Clarence Seedorf was appointed head coach in 2018. Bong even captained his country in a 1-0 friendly defeat against Brazil played at MK Dons in November 2018.

Cameroon international Bong

Bong played for Valenciennes for four years (for the first two playing under former Forest boss Philippe Montanier) and made 117 appearances.

Greek club Olympiakos took him to Athens in August 2013 and he went on to establish himself as a first-team regular, including playing in four Champions League matches and featuring in their league title winning side of 2013-14, before falling out with a new head coach.

Asked by The Athletic to sum up Bong’s attributes, his former Brighton teammate, David Stockdale said: “He comes to win a game. Nothing else. He is strong, he is athletic, he is enthusiastic.

“He is a good person to have around a squad, because he is very professional, he always does his homework before games and generally just looks after himself. He is just strong — that is the word. He is strong, reliable and does what it says on the tin.”

Stockdale added: “He had that drive; that inner drive. He was always going off to do his own work in the gym, to make sure he was properly fit all the time.

“He is one who will say what he wants to say when he feels he needs to. He does know a lot about football, he certainly knows a lot about his position and what he needs to get out of the players around him.”

The goalkeeper pointed out that Bong always had a desire to do well for the team, pointing out: “He was very much a mainstay of the side when I was at Brighton. He is a player you can rely on.”

Unfortunately, a small part of Bong’s time playing in Albion’s colours will also be remembered for an unsavoury incident when he alleged he was racially abused by West Brom’s former Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez.

Rodriguez appeared to pinch his nose after the players clashed during WBA’s 2-0 win over the Seagulls in January 2018, and Bong spoke to the referee about what he said he heard.

A subsequent FA investigation into the matter said the allegation was “not proven” and added there was “no suggestion by any party involved in this case that this was a malicious or fabricated complaint”.

Nevertheless, Bong insisted he heard Rodriguez say: “You’re black and you stink.” The striker denied what he described as a “false allegation” – he claimed he had instead said “breath fucking stinks”.

The dispute led Bong to issue a statement in which he said: “Please let me be clear: I know what I heard and I did not mishear. My conscience in raising the complaint is therefore entirely clear.

“This was my first such experience in more than three years in this country and I would never seek to bring a false charge against a fellow professional. Those who have accused me of doing that do not know me.

“Equally those who have expressed an opinion were not there on the pitch at the time and only Mr Rodriguez and I know exactly what was said and I stand by my original complaint.”

If everyone involved thought that was the end of the matter, Burnley fans had other ideas and I was at Turf Moor in April that year when the home ‘support’ disgracefully booed Bong every time he got the ball.

Albion manager Chris Hughton described their reaction as “shameful” and said of the player: “He’s an incredibly disciplined and straight individual – as honest a person as you will meet. It’s something that happened, it’s not nice at all and of course he’s big enough and strong enough to cope with it. As showed by his performance (the game finished 0-0).”

The respect Albion held for the player was best demonstrated as his time at the club was coming to an end. Bong was going to be a free agent after four years with the club but was handed a one-year extension shortly before Hughton was replaced by Graham Potter.

Chief executive Paul Barber explained to The Argus: “We all felt Gaetan had earned another contract. It is a position we felt we had an opportunity with a player we know, who is a fantastic character.

“The supporters will see what Gaetan does on the pitch — solid, consistent, strong, difficult to get around — but what they won’t know is off the pitch he is a very high-quality person, someone who is very respected and liked throughout the club. Just a decent man, supportive of the young players.

“Those sort of attributes and qualities are so valuable in a club of our size and for the coaching staff and the players. You know whether he plays 10 games, 20 games or 38 games, he is going to be fit, reliable, positive, focused, enthusiastic, consistent and decent.

“All of those things, if you were going out to recruit a left-back, you would be looking for.”

Ultimately, Potter preferred Dan Burn or Bernardo in that position and Bong moved on having made 91 starts and 11 substitute appearances, but only four appearances from the bench in the Premier League under Potter.

His final appearance for Brighton came in the disappointing 1-0 FA Cup third round home defeat to Championship side Sheffield Wednesday. Sadly, when he was subbed off in the 71st minute, there was a chorus of ironic cheers from the home crowd.

Nevertheless, Potter said of the player: “I have only worked with Gaetan for six months or so, but I do know all about the part he played in helping the club get to the Premier League and then establish itself at this level. I’m sure his contribution over the last four years will not be forgotten by our supporters.”

Somewhat bizarrely, it appears that Bong’s move to Nottingham Forest (in the Championship) wasn’t exactly welcomed by head coach Sabri Lamouchi and Nick Miller for The Athletic was brutal in his description of the player’s debut.

“Bong lasted 59 minutes against Charlton, a harrowing hour in which he lost his man for the only goal in the first half, and his eventual removal felt more like an act of mercy than a substitution.”

He didn’t even make the bench for the rest of the season and it was only when his old boss Hughton arrived at the City Ground that he got back into the Forest first team. He played 11 matches under Hughton but only seven in 2021-22 when Hughton’s successor Steve Cooper got them promotion via a play-off final win over Huddersfield Town.

Even so, Cooper was appreciative of the defender’s contributions off the pitch. “We have a good mix of old players – good role models, like Gaetan Bong,” he told The Athletic.

“He doesn’t play much but is a positive influence and I’m sure has conversations with the younger players, which I encourage. The learning players do with each other is a powerful thing.”

After hanging up his boots, Bong set up Ballers & Family Consulting Ltd, a consulting agency which, according to his LinkedIn profile, helps aspiring players to optimise their potential, families to understand the demands of professional football and football clubs to manage/avoid issues concerning certain players.

‘Glove-wearing gazelle’ played only 16 Albion games

SCOUSE defender Jim McNulty, who played alongside Wayne Rooney at Everton as a schoolboy, will probably always be remembered by Brighton fans for a horror injury he suffered in a match at Withdean.

After an on-off transfer saga in which McNulty initially rejected Albion’s desire to sign him, the £150,000 signing from Stockport County scored on his debut and less than three weeks later was involved in an accidental collision that threatened to end his career at 23.

In only his fifth game after under-pressure boss Micky Adams finally landed the left back, a seemingly innocuous challenge as a Crewe defender caught him with his knee in his side quickly became much more serious when he started passing blood.

“Having walked back to the changing room I remember having the sensation of needing to go to the toilet and it was then that blood started spurting out,” he recounted. “I was also throwing up and the real scary part was the look of concern on the medical team’s faces.

“I was rushed to the Royal Sussex County Hospital for an MRI scan and had a catheter inserted as my belly was swelling up. It was then that I discovered one of my kidneys had capitulated.

“I was on the bed in the hospital after the scan when the surgeon said 90 per cent of the kidney is mush and I don’t believe you can play again,” McNulty told the club’s official website.

Nine years later, ahead of facing Harry Kane for Rochdale against Spurs in the FA Cup, McNulty told Ivan Speck of the Express: “It was instant tears. I was there with my father and fiancée, at the time. I remember crying into my dad’s chest.

“It was probably a bit of everyday information for him but, for me, football was my life and he should have stayed quiet until he was better informed. It still winds me up now.

“The FA actually got wind of the news and their doctor spoke with our club doctor. They had spoken to some rugby guys in the southern hemisphere because it’s a more common injury in rugby than it is in football.

“It was nonsense to suggest it would end my career.”

Initially, because he was a professional sportsman, the medics tried two operations to save the kidney but, when he was still passing blood three weeks later, the decision was taken to remove it.

McNulty described incredible pain he had to endure but realised once he had gone through with the operation that he would be able to play football again.

Amazingly, he was able to return to training within three months although he had a lot of work to do to rebuild his fitness. Within four weeks he was even able to play in a couple of pre-season friendlies.

However, McNulty went on to suffer a number of knock-on injuries because his posture was affected by having an empty space on the right side of his body.

“I had multiple ankle injuries because my pelvic alignment was a nightmare from that point on,” he said.

The first came just when it looked like he would make a return to league action in September 2009. He damaged his ankle ligaments on a local park pitch while training ahead of the 7-1 defeat at Huddersfield and was ruled out for a further four weeks.

His long-awaited return to first team action came in a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tie away to Leyton Orient on 6 October, which Albion lost 1-0.

“Just to get out on the pitch and on the ball was fantastic,” he said. “I cramped up after about 70 minutes but the reaction from our fans was tremendous.”

McNulty told the matchday programme: “I have no intention of just sitting around, hoping to break into the side. I want to be playing every week now. I’m fit, raring to go and I want to help us get up the table.”

The unlucky McNulty then missed the following Saturday’s match at MK Dons, enduring yet more pain when he had to have two wisdom teeth extracted.

Nevertheless, McNulty’s eventual return to league action followed on 13 October in a 2-0 Withdean win over a Gillingham side which featured former Albion loanee Simon Royce in goal.

Astonishingly, the following Saturday, he lasted only 27 minutes before injury struck again in a 2-1 defeat away to Tranmere. He limped off with an ankle injury and Jake Wright was sent on to replace him. Glenn Murray scored a penalty consolation for the Albion and was then sent off for a second yellow card.

By the time McNulty was fit enough to return, the second manager of his brief time at the Albion, Russell Slade, had been replaced by Gus Poyet. His first involvement under the new boss saw him go on as a sub against: Charlton at home on 1 December.

He then went on as an 87th minute substitute for his good friend Gary Dicker at Exeter and provided the all-important cross from which Andrew Crofts headed the only goal of the game in the 92nd minute.

He had what one observer described as a man of the match involvement as a sub in the next match, a 2-1 home defeat v Colchester United. Saying the left back was “the epitome of Poyet’s ‘bravery on the ball’ mantra”, Richie Morris wrote: “Jimmy McNulty, like a rampaging glove-wearing gazelle, mercilessly attacked the left flank. Time and again he delivered teasing crosses, and time and again the ball simply would not nestle in the net.”

McNulty celebrates with goalscorer Tommy Elphick

That performance was rewarded with four starts on the trot – but then Poyet brought in the cultured Marcos Painter as his preferred left-back. McNulty was in the Albion side that put on a decent show in a 3-2 fourth round FA Cup defeat at Aston Villa, because Painter was ineligible, but he didn’t make another start that season. And, as it turned out, he didn’t play for the club again. He’d actually only played 16 times for the Albion.

Before the end of the season, to get some games, McNulty actually stepped up a level, going on loan to Scunthorpe United in the Championship, where he made two starts and a sub appearance under Nigel Adkins.

He rejoined The Iron in July 2010 on a six-month loan arrangement and played six games. But he suffered a recurrence of his ankle issues, so returned to Brighton in December.

When Albion kicked off a new era playing Championship football at the Amex, McNulty had stayed at the same level but with Barnsley, where he was voted players’ player of the year in his first season, and was made captain in his second season at Oakwell.

McNulty certainly wasn’t bitter about the way things turned out for him in Sussex. He said: “I couldn’t speak more highly of my time with Brighton. It is an unbelievable club, an unbelievable fan base, and it was an incredible place to live.

“My daughter was born there and we had a brilliant time, despite the fact that I was horrendously injured for pretty much all of that time.

“I’ve always been a 40-game-a-season man wherever I’ve been, but at Brighton I hardly played at all. Saying that, it was the club I had the best time at.”

Born in Runcorn on 13 February 1985, Liverpool and Everton were both interested in him when he was young, but it was Everton who put a contract offer in front of him.

“At the time I actually played for Everton against Liverpool in a game at Melwood,” he explained. “This would have been in the under-9s and we absolutely destroyed them.

“Ourselves and Arsenal dominated in that particular age group, right up to the under-16s – every week, every game, every season. Everton were a very dominant team and it gave me a great grounding, so I chose the right team.”

Initially a central midfield player, McNulty was switched to left-back during his time at Everton. Although Rooney was in the year below him, from under-10s, he was put up an age level. “I played with him for about four years until he jumped up again,” said McNulty. “He was playing two or three years up during the teenage years. I was just always playing at my own age.

“He was incredible, incredible. It was like watching a man play with boys in terms of his strength and aggression. He was pinging balls 70 yards as a 10- or 11-year-old boy.

“We couldn’t really lift it off the floor yet. His technique and the power that he had as a young boy, he was devastating at that age. He’d score eight goals every week. He’s one of the reasons we were so rampant as a team. Probably the main reason.”

McNulty moved on to Wrexham to make his breakthrough at senior level, ironically going on as a sub against Stockport in a Northern Section Football League Trophy game which the Welsh side lost 5-4 after extra time.

Because he had a Scottish mother, Englishman McNulty was selected for Scotland at under-17 and under-19 level, although one of his worst footballing memories came while playing for Scotland against France when they were beaten 5-0 in the European Under-19s Championship.

“I always remember being particularly mentally scarred by one player,” he said. “He was a winger and I was at left-back – and he scored four, so obviously that was mentally scarring. His name was Jimmy Briand.”

Briand went on to have a 20-year playing career in France and Germany and played five times for the senior French national team, but McNulty didn’t make it to the Scots full international side.

“There was a time when I had some genuine belief that it might happen,” he told The Sunday Post. “I had a good season in my first year at Barnsley in the Championship, in 2011, and ended up being named player of the year and made captain of the club.

“At the time, Scotland were having a bit of a defender crisis, and there was an opportunity there. I actually thought, ‘My name might come out of the hat here.’ But they ended up choosing a couple of guys who were playing in League One at the time ahead of me. That was a bit of a disappointment.”

But back to those early days, and when he didn’t make further progress at Wrexham he dropped down to League of Wales level to play for Bangor City and Caernarfon Town, but in June 2006, former Albion skipper and manager Brian Horton signed him for Macclesfield Town.

“I appreciate what Brian did for me, bringing me back into league football,” he said. “I was playing non-league football in Wales and he gave me a chance to come back and prove myself.”

He spent 18 months at Macclesfield, where he also played under Paul Ince, before moving to Stockport on a free transfer in January 2007. He became part of the County side that won promotion via the League Two play-off final at Wembley, when they beat another of his future employers, Rochdale, 3-2 in front of a crowd of 35,000.

McNulty was reluctant to give up a League One promotion tilt at County to join struggling Albion but chairman Dick Knight and manager Adams spoke of the club’s ambition and he was finally persuaded.

Albion needed a left back after loan signing Matt Richards had returned to Ipswich and

Adams said: “He fits the profile of what we are looking for. He likes getting forward and, without being disrespectful to anyone who has played there before, he is a natural defender, and he is six-foot two. At one stage it looked like we had lost out, so I am delighted to get him.”

Knight and Adams finally persuade their man to sign for the Albion

McNulty was not alone as Knight sanctioned quite a spending spree on new signings – Craig Davies, Calvin Andrew, Seb Carole, Jason Jarrett and Chris Birchall also arrived in that window, all financed by Tony Bloom, a low-profile investor at that time.

“I am very satisfied,” said Adams. “Finding a left back was a major priority. We haven’t been scoring the amount of goals we should, so we needed to look at avenues to open up teams. We have got Carole and Birchall for that.

“We also needed two strikers (Davies and Andrew) to increase the striking options and we needed a bit more physical strength in midfield, which is why Jason (Jarrett) is there, so I can’t complain.

“I had to be patient to make sure the right type of player was available and at the right price. Two of them were money buys and I am delighted that the board have backed me.”

Both Davies and McNulty were on the scoresheet when Peterborough visited the Withdean on 10 February but Barry Fry’s side took away the three points courtesy of a 4-2 win; Craig Mackail-Smith scoring for Posh along with strike partner Aaron McLean (two) and Dean Keates.

With only one League One win in six and a hoped-for tilt at silverware – the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy – gone in a penalty shoot-out defeat to Luton Town, the second coming of Adams was over. That horrendous injury to McNulty came while Dean White was caretaker manager and, when new boss Russell Slade arrived, one of his first tasks was to bring in Gary Borrowdale on loan from QPR to cover McNulty’s absence.

A change in manager often spells bad news for certain players and, after those successful first two seasons at Barnsley, McNulty found his face didn’t fit when David Flitcroft succeeded Keith Hill as manager. He’d only had one first team outing in a Capital One Cup tie against Southampton.

He grabbed the chance to join Tranmere Rovers on loan in November 2013, although he told the Liverpool Echo: “I have not even had a chance there.  I think I should still be playing for Barnsley.

“They are struggling defensively this season and had been conceding a lot of goals. But now I’m thinking about helping Tranmere.”

Rovers boss Ronnie Moore said: “Jim is a knowledgeable player and a good talker. He settled in quickly here. He is a footballing centre-back, rather than the Terry Butcher type. I don’t think you will see too many cuts and bandages around Jim’s head. He is clever. He drops off and picks the ball up.”

In January 2014, McNulty reached a mutual agreement with Barnsley to terminate his contract and he switched to Bury under old boss Flitcroft. He played 51 times for the League Two Shakers before beginning a long association with Rochdale in 2015.

McNulty in control with the Shakers

Over eight seasons, McNulty played a total of 237 matches for Dale, eventually combining coaching with playing. In August 2022, he found himself in interim charge for three matches after the club sacked Robbie Stockdale.

Former Morecambe boss Jim Bentley was appointed manager but when his services were dispensed with in March 2023, with Rochdale at the foot of League Two, 2023, McNulty once again stepped in as boss.

He was unable to prevent the club’s 102-year reign as a league club coming to an end but, in May 2023, he was appointed manager on a two-year deal.

“The opportunity to lead our team and represent our club, which the fans cherish, has always been a dream of mine,” he said.

“To be given the opportunity at a club so close to mine and my family’s hearts, is really special to me.

“As a boy, first and foremost, I dreamt of becoming a footballer, then when I did, I very quickly knew I wanted to become a manager thereafter.

“Within a couple of years of being a Dale player, I knew that this would be the club where I hoped to fulfil that ambition.”

Binned off by Baggies, Mattock welcomed Seagulls chance

FOR A FEW seasons, it seemed Brighton’s left back spot would always be occupied by a player on loan.

In the second half of the 2011-12 season, it was Joe Mattock who slotted in there, having been edged out by a change of management at West Bromwich Albion.

“I am delighted to come and play where I am wanted and for a manager who feels I can do a job for him,” Mattock declared in a matchday programme.

Mattock made his debut as a substitute in Brighton’s 4 February 1-0 home win over his former club, Leicester City, and he subsequently made 14 starts after Gus Poyet borrowed him from the Baggies.

Mattock’s signing was largely to cover a long term hamstring injury to Marcos Painter after Romain Vincelot and Gus Poyet’s assistant, Mauricio Taricco, had been temporary stand-ins.

Mattock made his debut in Albion’s 2-1 win away to Leeds United on 11 February with fellow West Brom loanee Gonzalo Jara Reyes occupying the right-back spot.

Unfortunately, Albion only registered three more wins through to the end of the season, so it wasn’t a particularly successful period.

Mattock was on the scoresheet once, netting Albion’s only goal in a 3-1 defeat away to Blackpool, and the side finished 10th in the Championship.

Mattock was given a free transfer by the Baggies at the end of the season and, while Poyet viewed signing him permanently as an option, the defender went instead to Sheffield Wednesday, putting pen to paper on a three-year deal.

It would be something of an understatement to say he wasn’t missed, bearing in mind the next loanee left back through the door was Wayne Bridge!

Born in Leicester on 15 May 1990, Mattock was a successful graduate of his hometown club’s academy system, initially as a forward, then as a midfield player before settling as a left-back from the age of 16. He was named Leicester’s academy player of the year in 2006-07.

Leicester caretaker boss Nigel Worthington gave him his first team debut as a substitute in his first game in charge, a 2-1 Championship defeat to Norwich City.

He was chosen at left-back for three more matches at the end of that season, a 2-1 defeat at home to Birmingham and 1-0 wins away to Preston and Barnsley.

Current day BBC pundit Dion Dublin was something of a guiding light to him as he was progressing. “He was a good bloke who spoke to all the young players,” Mattock told the matchday programme. “He was playing centre-back at the time, so taught me a few things about how to defend and how to be a professional footballer.”

While the 2007-08 season saw a veritable merry-go-round of managers as the side eventually lost their Championship status, Mattock’s performances attracted attention and it was said West Ham and Aston Villa had bids to buy him rejected.

After gaining England under 17 and under 19 caps, Mattock went on to win five England under 21 caps, making his debut in a 2-0 home win over Bulgaria in November 2007 alongside the likes of Joe Hart, James Milner and Theo Walcott.

He also played in a 1-1 draw away to Portugal, a 3-0 win over Republic of Ireland, he went on as a sub in a 0-0 draw at home to Poland and his last international action saw him start in the 3-2 defeat away to Ecuador in February 2009.

Although he was selected for the squad, Kieran Gibbs and Ryan Bertrand subsequently got the nod ahead of him.

In August 2009, unsettled Mattock finally got to follow former teammate Richard Stearman away from the Foxes when West Brom, newly relegated from the Premiership, paid a £1m fee to take him to The Hawthorns.

The manner of his exit didn’t go down well with Leicester boss Nigel Pearson, who said: “I like to deal with people straight up. I don’t like it when the player rings the chairman when we are playing a pre-season game to ask to leave when he is out of the country on international duty.

“That gives you a taste of the situation and we’ll wait and see what happens.”

Mattock made 29 starts plus five substitute appearances in Roberto di Matteo’s side as the Baggies were promoted back to the Premier League in runners up spot.

But he didn’t feature in West Brom’s elite side and instead was sent out on loan to Sheffield United where he met up with another loanee from the Black Country, Sam Vokes, who was later on loan with him at the Albion.

Di Matteo’s eventual successor, Roy Hodgson, didn’t fancy the defender either and, before he moved to Brighton, he spent time on loan at Portsmouth who were managed by his former West Brom coach, Michael Appleton.

After choosing to join Wednesday, Mattock barely got a look-in during his first season, when Dave Jones was Owls boss, and supporters were convinced he would be shipped out.

But he was selected for around half of the 2013-14 season’s fixtures under Stuart Gray, and played in 25 games, plus three as a sub, the following season.

“I didn’t have a great start at Wednesday,” Mattock told the Rotherham Advertiser. “I didn’t get on with the manager.

“Then Stuart Gray came in and played me all the time. I was told they thought they were going to offer me a new deal, but I got injured six weeks before the end of my third year and it didn’t happen.”

In the summer of 2015, he was one of 11 Owls players released and the left-back made the short South Yorkshire journey to Rotherham United.

Being settled in the area, he was keen not to have to up sticks and he was persuaded to join by then boss Steve Evans.

Evans was soon on his way from the AESSEAL New York Stadium but Mattock remained and has subsequently played under Neil Warnock, Alan Stubbs, Kenny Jackett and Paul Warne.

He is now in his seventh season with the Millers and has played more than 200 games for them in the Championship and League One.

“I was promoted from League One with Leicester when I was 19. The year after, I was promoted to the Premier League with West Brom,” he told the Rotherham Advertiser.

“When you’re young you don’t realise how much it should mean to you. You do when you’re older, so when we went to Wembley last season (2017-18) and won in the play-off final (they beat Shrewsbury Town 2-1), in front of all the family, in front of all the fans, it was a perfect day, one of the big highlights of my entire career.”

Craig Noone bounced back after Heighway heave-ho

PACY SCOUSE winger Craig Noone was a born entertainer who bounced back from early rejection by Liverpool to make it all the way to the Premier League.

Brighton in the Championship under Gus Poyet provided the former roofer with a platform to showcase his ability before Cardiff City gave him the opportunity to perform at the top level.

After he’d scored (below) and impressed in an away game at Manchester City, then newly-appointed Cardiff boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: “Noone is a terrific little player.

“He causes defenders problems with his pace and his technique; he can go inside and outside. He’s got a good left foot, but he can cross it with his right.”

Born in Kirkby, Liverpool, on 17 November 1987, Noone was on Liverpool’s books between the ages of eight and 11.

“I was spotted playing for my Sunday team St Peter and Paul and I used to train at Melwood a couple of times a week – it was unbelievable,” he recalled. “We wore the cream and black training kit and I loved every minute. I was a big Steve McManaman fan, the way he ran at players, and would try to do the same.

“Unfortunately, when I got to 11, Steve Heighway called one night to say that I wasn’t good enough to stay on – I’ll never forget it.”

Noone would eventually get to play on the hallowed turf of Anfield, but not on behalf of the home side.

It was New Year’s Eve 2010 that he joined Brighton, making his debut four days later in a 2-1 win away to Exeter City, where he’d spent six weeks on loan the previous year.

Poyet had admired the winger’s attributes up against Inigo Calderon in one half and Marcos Painter in the second during the Seagulls’ 2-0 win at Plymouth three months earlier, Noone discovered from another Argyle player, Ashley Barnes, who’d scored against his old club that day.

“Barnesey later told me that the management thought I was a good player and had mentioned me a lot in the half-time team talk,” he said. “When Brighton made their interest official, I didn’t have to think twice. The manager, the team, the stadium…it ticked all the right boxes for me.”

The slightly built Noone swiftly endeared himself to the crowd with jinking runs at pace and it was perhaps inevitable that the fans would adapt for him the chant more widely associated with England and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney.

More a provider of chances for others than a goalscorer, ‘Nooney’ made 10 starts and 13 appearances off the bench as Poyet’s Seagulls romped to the League One championship title, getting his first goal in a home 2-0 win over Colchester United at the end of January, followed by one of Albion’s four in a convincing win over Hartlepool United on 12 February.

The highlight of the following season for Noone was Albion drawing Liverpool in cup games; not once, but twice. In the League Cup at the Amex, Noone put in a man-of-the-match performance as Albion narrowly lost 2-1 to the Reds.

Four years previously, Noone had been working on the roof of an extension at Steven Gerrard’s house, but in the post-match TV interview for Sky Sports he was stood alongside the Liverpool captain.

“It was his comeback match after injury and he gave me his shirt,” Noone told the Liverpool Echo. “To do the Sky interview alongside him afterwards was unbelievable for me. He said I deserved to be man of the match because I’d caused Liverpool a lot of problems.

“For him to say that made me really proud, especially when I think about where I’ve come from. It wasn’t long ago I was playing non-league football part-time and working as a roofer. That puts into perspective how far I’ve come and sometimes I have to pinch myself.”

Indeed, Noone’s resilience and ability to bounce back from adversity did have something of a Roy of the Rovers feel to it. After the disappointment of not progressing at Liverpool, Noone nonetheless did get to play representative games at Anfield: for Merseyside Schoolboys in the final of the National Cup against Bedfordshire.

“I scored to make it 1-0 in front of The Kop and it was an unbelievable feeling,” he said. “That was the only part of the ground open to spectators and I had all my friends and family watching. We went on to win the game 3-1.” He also played for Myerscough College in the National Colleges Cup final, again scoring in front of the Kop.

Non-league Skelmersdale United guided Noone from their youth team through to the first team. In early 2007, he had a trial at Royal Antwerp, a feeder club for Manchester United, but it wasn’t until November that year that he started to climb the football pyramid.

He was 20 when he stepped up two divisions to Blue Square North neighbours Burscough in exchange for experienced non-league striker Kevin Leadbetter. A regular for Burscough under Liam Watson, Noone followed the manager to Southport in June 2008.

He made his debut for Southport on the opening day of the 2008-09 season against Gainsborough, watched by the Plymouth chief scout Andy King, the former Everton striker. After the game, King approached him and told him to expect a call. Sure enough, the following Tuesday, the Devon club made contact and he was soon on his way for a £110,000 fee.

“Craig comes to us with a glowing reputation,” said Argyle boss Paul Sturrock. “It is now up to him to prove that it is merited. If he shows me he can make the step up to the Championship, the door is open for him.”

With Plymouth battling to stay in the division, Noone struggled to get games under his belt initially and was sent on loan to Exeter to gain some league-playing experience. But an intended three-month arrangement was cut to only six weeks by Sturrock, and he returned to Home Park and became a regular until his transfer to Brighton.

The least said the better about the FA Cup fifth round clash when the Seagulls were thumped 6-1 at Anfield. Noone only got on as a substitute, but the pre-match hype gave him the chance to tell his story to the Echo and he said: “I’m loving it at Brighton. I’m learning all the time and Gus is unbelievable to play for. His coaching is spot on and he’s made me a much better player.”

Indeed, Championship football didn’t faze Noone and, with the close season departure of Elliott Bennett to Norwich City, it presented him with the opportunity to start 21 games (coming off the bench in a further 16 matches) despite the addition of another wideman in Will Buckley.

He was also a popular character in the dressing room, having inherited a sense of humour from his dad, Steve, a part-time stand-up comedian. Skipper Gordon Greer said of the winger: “He’s a real top guy. He’s a great laugh and a really good personality to have about the place. He does some hilarious things and that really adds to the good atmosphere we have about the place.”

However, Noone’s performances didn’t go unnoticed by others and promotion-chasing Cardiff tested Albion’s resolve to keep the winger by offering £500,000 for him in January 2012. Albion rebuffed the approach and, in March, extended Noone’s contract until June 2015 with manager Poyet declaring: “He was a key player for us in the second half of last season and has already established himself as a top Championship player.”

A satisfied Noone told the club website: “I set my sights on a long-term contract so I’m very happy to get it sorted, because this club is going from strength to strength.

“We have a few wingers here but we all have our individual qualities and the way this team plays lets me express myself on the pitch. This contract shows that the club has confidence in me and I’m very happy here at Brighton.”

However, just a matter of days after playing for Brighton against Cardiff in a 0-0 draw at the Amex at the start of the new season, Noone was on his way to Wales when the Bluebirds doubled their previous offer to £1m, and Malky Mackay got his man.

“They matched my ambitions to get to the Premier League as quickly as possible,” said Noone, who appreciated their persistence in trying to sign him. “It’s a shame the move didn’t happen in January because I would have liked to be here and settled, but I enjoyed my time at Brighton and wouldn’t change that.

“But Cardiff are better equipped than Brighton to go up after going so close and not quite making it. Hopefully this time we will do it. I’m a Cardiff player and want to do the best I can.”

Noone played 25 times (plus six as a sub) and scored seven goals as Cardiff went up as Champions, while Albion slipped up in the play-offs, so making the switch certainly worked in his favour.

City went straight back down after one season in the Premier League, but Noone managed 15 starts plus eight appearances as a sub. He spoke to the matchday programme about how tough it had been to force his way into the side and said: “When you’re not playing it can be frustrating, but you have to take a step back and take a look at your situation. If I’d have been moaning and groaning, I don’t think I would have lasted long here.”

He was in Cardiff’s midfield when they lost 3-1 at Liverpool on 21 December 2013. The BBC report of the game noted: “Cardiff started the game promisingly and went close early on when a swift counter attack resulted in Mutch playing a ball though to Craig Noone, whose 22-yard shot was palmed over by goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.”

He was not involved in the return match in March when Liverpool thumped City 6-3, by which time Solskjaer had taken over the reins.

Apart from the individual goal against Manchester City that had Solskjaer purring, Noone also enjoyed a FA Cup third round match away to Newcastle United on 4 January 2014 when he scored from distance a minute after coming on as a late substitute, when City were 1-0 down.

Fellow substitute Fraizer Campbell scored a winner, turning the lead in City’s favour only seven minutes later. The victory proved historic, because it was the first time the Bluebirds had won at St James’ Park since 1963.

Noone’s humble journey back into the game meant he was always happy to contribute to community activities too and he was named Community Champion by Cardiff City FC Foundation for his inspiring involvement in its futsal programme.

His voluntary efforts, also recognised by the PFA, included taking part in classroom sessions before leading pupils in practical lessons.

He somewhat modestly said: “I’ve been in the classrooms with the young lads and girls as well. I’ve just been helping them out and giving them ideas of what it feels like to come into football late, the way I did.”

Cardiff’s website said of him: “Having risen from non-league football to the Premier League, Craig Noone has shown what a player can do for a club both on and off the pitch, and is remembered fondly by the Bluebirds faithful for his part in helping the club soar to historic new heights.”

In March 2015, Noone leapt at the chance to play at Anfield again, all in a good cause, when he was part of Jamie Carragher’s team against a Steven Gerrard side in an All Star Charity match.

Noone spent five years at Cardiff, scoring 19 goals in 170 appearances, but in the summer of 2017 manager Neil Warnock went public in suggesting the winger should look for another club. That move came in September 2017 when he joined fellow Championship side Bolton Wanderers on a two-year deal. He went on to score twice in 65 games for Bolton, where he once again found himself lining up alongside Buckley.

In 2019, Noone went Down Under to continue his career, linking up with A-League side Melbourne City FC, one of the sister clubs to Manchester City – the team Aaron Mooy was playing for before he returned to England.

“It’s a big life-change, but it’s something that I’m looking forward to,” he told a-league.com/au. “I like a challenge. The previous clubs I’ve been at it’s always been a challenge, whether it’s going for promotion or staying in the league.”

City football boss Michael Petrillo said of the new signing: “Craig is a creative, pacey wide player who, after playing at the highest level in the UK, will bring a lot in experience and threat to the team.

“Craig is a proven goalscorer and provider who is just as comfortable cutting inside and shooting from range as he is at linking up with his fullback and delivering dangerous crosses.”

After two years with Melbourne, Noone switched to Macarthur FC in South West Sydney for the 2021-22 season.

• Pictures from Albion’s matchday programme and online sources.