Wes Hoolahan grabbed a goal and an assist in his final Norwich appearance in a 2-1 win over Leeds United.
The former Republic of Ireland international, who made 43 appearances for his country, was given a guard of honour before kick-off as a mark of appreciation for his 10-year service to the Canaries.
#ncfc #ThanksWes pic.twitter.com/hI82mDSZc8
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) April 28, 2018
Johnny Ward and Kieran Cunningham joined Tommy Martin on Off The Ball to reflect on Hoolahan’s career and believe the former Shelbourne man would have benefited from an overseas football education.
“The fact about Wes is that he is so small and he has very bad eyesight as well,” Ward told OTB.
“Alan Cawley tells a story when he was playing football in U-14s and there was this little lad in the corner. And a jersey was thrown at him and it covered his entire body.
“And Cawley was thinking, ‘this must be a mascot or something? Who is this little lad?’ And it turns out he was on the team. And he was outrageous and he just couldn’t get over it.
“Wes couldn’t get a move because he was small. Even watching League of Ireland back then – in physical games and playing on bad pitches – people thought this guy has got something I haven’t seen.
“But he couldn’t get a move and he had to take the most roundabout route to get there in the end. If he had a proper strength and conditioning programme in his career, could he have been a real Premier League player at a good club?
“It’s this thing in Ireland where we have to go to Britain – particularly England – when there’s so many players in this country who would be better off in Italy.
“You could see Roma the other night weren’t used to the speed at which Liverpool were playing at. But so many players would have loved it in Italy, but unfortunately cultural ties seemed to deny that.”
Written by James Hopper
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
