Wayne Routledge signed for a resurgent Newcastle United yesterday, making the Toon the eighth club of his career. He really needs to make this move last, for he is already starting to look like a typical journeyman.
That would be a shame for he is a good, yet inconsistent, player with enough talent to make his mark on the Premier League. And that looks to be where Newcastle are heading. Chris Hughton has revitalised the Magpies in the short time he has been in charge. In fact, it seems far longer than eight months ago that they were relegated from the top flight under a haze of mediocrity and with the ever increasing resemblance of a circus. Perhaps Hughton can have the same impact on Routledge?
Newcastle and the soon to be in his prime winger actually have some similarities. For starters they have both flattered to deceive in the past. The Toon have long been considered one of the most underachieving sides in English football, and have not won a major domestic trophy in 55 years. Routledge burst on to the scene at Crystal Palace as a teenager and secured a move to Spurs, but has never really imposed himself for a sustained period since. Also, they have both on too many occasions looked brilliant going forward but at the same time neglected their defensive duties. This could be a match made in heaven.
Wingers tend to peak earlier than other players and for this reason Routledge really needs to find a place to call home. St James Park could be that place. His move to the north east could help him land on his feet as there has not been a better time to join Newcastle since the Sir Bobby Robson days when they were challenging for the Champions League spots on a regular basis. For the first time in a while the city of Newcastle feels optimistic about its team, and there is so much more to come. The London born Routledge should be licking his lips at the thought of running out in front of 50,000 fans in a team that will give him plenty of chances to do his work. With the likes of Alan Smith and Kevin Nolan alongside him he knows that much of the donkey work will be done for him. And he knows he has more than enough ability to absolutely terrorise Championship defences.
His unflattering record of eight clubs can also be slightly forgiven. He was whisked off to Spurs at a young age and it was always going to be difficult to break into a side with so much talent. The same can be said of his time at Aston Villa. Maybe these two clubs just came about too quickly for him. He had various spells on loan at Portsmouth, Fulham and Cardiff during this time and then Joined QPR, where he scored seven goals in 49 appearances. And now Chris Hughton has decided to take a chance on the former England under-21 creator.
Hughton must see the winger’s untapped potential. He is proving to be a good manger and a clever man. He has started to get the best out of Newcastle and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him do the same with Wayne Routledge.