Nigel Reo-Coker’s West Ham United career was something of an enigma.
The midfielder has only just turned 35 but has spent the last six years in the footballing wilderness.
It is a world away from when he was making a name for himself as one of West Ham’s youngest ever captains from 2004 to 2007.
Things ended on something of a sour note for Reo-Coker at West Ham.
Reo-Coker and the Baby Bentley brigade
The season of the great escape under Alan Curbishley saw Reo-Coker portrayed as a central figure in what the Hammers manager of the time labelled a ‘Baby Bentley culture’ at the club (Daily Mail).
Reo-Coker’s form and attitude were questioned by fans.
And he made matters worse for himself by cupping his ear to supporters after scoring a goal.
He moved on to Aston Villa after the club’s Great Escape was sealed by Carlos Tevez in 2007 and was booed on his return.
Mature Reo-Coker made heartfelt admission over Hammer time
In an interview with whufc.com, a mature Reo-Coker has since conceded he did not appreciate what he had at West Ham until he left.
Now one of his former Hammers teammates and club cult hero Jimmy Walker has finally revealed what really went on.
Speaking on the West Ham Way podcast on Phoenix FM on Thursday June 20th, Walker said Reo-Coker was a ‘good lad’ who rated himself too highly and ‘lost his way’.
“I love Nige, he was great,” Walker said on a brilliantly funny edition of the WHW podcast.
“Nige was a good player…(but) if he was 20% of what he thought he was he’d have been England’s best, because he thought he was the best player in the country, which (confidence) is not a bad thing to have to be fair.
“If he’d have stuck to what he did well which was breaking up play, box to box and added a few more goals to his game… I mean he captained the side.
Cult hero reveals the truth on Reo-Coker situation
“Don’t get me wrong I’m not making him out to be a bad person because he’s great and I still speak to Nige now and again now.
“He did just lose his way a little bit and he’d come in moaning to me everyday and he’s only 17 years of age, come from (Wimbledon) … and I tried to give the wisdom to the young lads. He used to moan everyday.
“As we got promoted to the Prem and that he did lose his way a little bit. You go from being a kid on nothing and you go and earn £30,000 a week when you’re 18 and if you don’t get the right guidance you’re going to lose your head a little bit.
“We kept telling him ‘Don’t lose your head, stop doing interviews in the press just stick to what you’re doing on the pitch’. And that went down like a lead balloon with him obviously because the next week he’s on MTV Cribs putting on some American accent then a Martin Bashir nothing to do with football interview and I’m like ‘Nigel what are you doing, what are you thinking son!’.”
Listen to the excellent podcast in full here.
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