Often Partisan

Where Are They Now? Part XXI

How many players have Blues signed on trial that have gone on to make a first team appearance? It’s not many – believe me – and this guy was one of the last to do so. He only came to Blues for a short period – 90 days on loan – and in honesty he wasn’t that great, but he has an interesting story to tell. That man is the English-born to a Ghanaian father Scottish International, Nigel Quashie.

Nigel Quashie

Image Courtesy Birmingham Mail

The 2008-9 season was a bit of a strange one. Blues had three players with a “Q” at the start of their names on their shirts in the squad (can you name them?) and as they pursued promotion back to the top flight they took three players on subsequent to trials – Stephen Carr, Nigel Quashie and Ulises de la Cruz.

Quashie came to Blues a West Ham player; absolutely unfit and in need of first team action. Having trained with the club for several weeks, he was picked up on an initial month loan which was extended to the maximum three. In those three months he played eleven times, not scoring but picking up five bookings and one red, which came in the 3-2 victory over Charlton at St Andrews.

As a player for Blues, he was a bit “meh” in all honesty. I can’t remember him being spectacularly bad but then I can’t remember him doing anything good either – he was just there.

The Blues loan move was the start of the slide for Quashie; previously a player who had played consistent first team football, his career drifted as he searched for form and fitness. Quashie spent three games on loan with Wolves in the 08-09 season after leaving St Andrews but he returned to West Ham unwanted, dropping quickly out of first team contention at Molineux.

His next first team action came a tier lower with MK Dons but having made seven first team appearances, scoring twice, he returned back to the Boleyn Ground. West Ham finally cut their losses and in January 2010, Quashie was released.

The midfielder returned to his first club, QPR two weeks after his release from the Hammers but he only made four appearances in the second half of the season and in May 2010, Quashie was released once more.

That precipitated a spell in the wilderness for Quashie, who wasn’t seen anywhere near a football club until February of this year when he went on trial with Dundee. Things were looking up for the midfielder but he had to pull out of accepting a deal citing family reasons and he remained without a club until April.

On April 13, Quashie signed for Icelandic club Íþróttafélag Reykjavíkur (IR), who play in the Icelandic second tier. Having made his debut in May, he has gone on to be a mainstay in the middle whilst also helping to coach in their academy. It’s not quite the same as playing in England though, as you can see from this video I have of him scoring for IR. (The goal is at 4:03)

IR haven’t been having much joy, being bottom of the division and on 21 August they replaced their manager Andri Marteinsson with Quashie. The Scot, who has been relegated four times in the English leagues with QPR, Forest, Southampton and WBA was charged with trying to keep IR up. However, with two games to go IR still lie bottom and are mathematically assured of dropping another division, being seven points off safety with two games to play.

So, Nigel Quashie – four relegations as a player and one as a manager to the Icelandic Third. Some guys get all the luck, eh?

For those who couldn’t remember, the three players with names beginning with “Q” on their shirts were Quashie, Queudrue and Quincy.

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