He might be a striker that has been used as a right and left winger this season but Dave Nugent has again said how happy that he is just to be playing premier league football for Pompey, as he continues to prove that he is a ‘decent footballer’, even if some never had any faith in him…
As we all know Jamie’s Dad never ‘fancied him’, bizarre really considering he convinced the club to fork out some £6m for him a couple of summers again – although I am still not sure that the fee actually was £6m, as this varies between £4.5m and £6m, either way it was a fair amount. Was it just that ‘he’ did not want to run the risk of missing out on another potential ‘championship star, would come very good’ in the making? After all we had done this in the past with the likes of Dean Ashton and Andy Johnson – even if they were never ‘realistic signings?’
Again, as we all know with Jamie’s Dad, once you are out, you are out you cannot change his mind, no matter how much the fella tries to convince you he is worth it, how much the fans plead for them and so on, you are basically dead to him – the only player to ever change his mind was of course Linvoy Primus, and even that was hard going for him…
Thankfully, maybe as much as ‘needs must’ as anything Nugent eventually got his chance under Tony Adams, oh how I loved it when he scored his first goal at White Hart Lane – I am not sure who loved it more, him or us fans! It was double ‘up yours’ for everyone really wasn’t it.
Under Paul Hart he has just got stronger, and to be fair, although he still really needs to work at his ‘getting the head up’ stuff, and maybe the expansion of unnecessary effort with his running technique, which seems to use so much effort with a lot of this not needed (something that his old man, who is a top bloke, spoke to me and Chix back along about. He says that he needs to be more like Stevie G, taking giant strides, not these quick little steps) the guy is getting better too – maybe a lot of this negativity in his game were down mental issues, now he has clearly got over this these ‘quality’ issues are coming through. Do not get me wrong, I am not claiming him a ‘world beater’ now, but he is without a doubt moving on from the donkey most thought he was!
I would still love to see him given a regular go up top, and hopefully next season we can see this, as I feel although he might miss some chances he would get in the positions to miss them – and it is better to be there and miss than not miss at all! Lets be honest he is getting in for a few chances from a wider area, he might again miss some, but he is at least working the keepers now, not always something he did.
Without a doubt Nugent is the new Benjani, and like the Zimbabwean I feel sure that if we carry on carrying on with him we will see plenty more goals from the former Preston man too…
At the moment we are very much getting a lot from the guy and the thoughts that Chix shared in the forum recently that ‘Nugent would be his player of the season at the moment’ are fair comments. Its not always about who is the best technically is it, players of the season are based on what they offer the team as a whole, and although a lot are offering a lot at the moment have any really offered as much as he has and been as driven to do it?
Nugent wants to play for the shirt, for the club and for the fans, that’s good enough for me! He could have easily thrown in the towel and swanned off taking the easy route out but he never gave up, and we are now reaping the benefits, as is he. He might not have the top quality about him that some do but if I could have a team full of ‘David Nugent’s’ I would take that any day of the week – his qualities are qualities that I, in fact ‘we’ surely, have always loved in the real fans favourites to pull on the blue shirt?
Yep, he is glad that he stayed, and I think it is not too presumptuous to speak for the majority when I say ‘we are glad he stayed too’…
PLAY UP POMPEY!
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