With the Wanderers having signed Nigel Reo-Coker, we have another midfielder in our ranks. For those who don't know much about Reo-Coker, here's a bit of background and insight for you.
NRC was brought up in the Wimbledon system where he played from 2002 to January of 2004. He made 58 appearances for the club which included a captaincy roll and 6 goals. He was due to sign for Pompey under wheeler-dealer 'Arry Redknapp but the club's financial issues at the time put an end to the deal. Reo-Coker then moved to West Ham where he enjoyed a good first two seasons under Alan Pardew that saw him become club captain and enter the England U21 fold. The 2006/2007 season was not so good for NRC much like it wasn't for the rest of the West Ham team as they hovered around the relegation zone for the majority of the season. It wasn't until the final 9 games that Reo-Coker and the West Ham team regain their footing to win 7 of those final 9 with help from one Carlos Tevez. At the end of his West Ham career, Nigel had made 125 appearances with 11 goals.
The start of the 2007/2008 season had Reo-Coker move to Aston Villa for a price of £8.5 million, a sum that was rather hefty for an English midfielder at that point. Under Martin O'Neill, he didn't enjoy the same playing time that he had at West Ham but was given the opportunity to captain in Gareth Barry's absence. After O'Neill left and Houllier replaced him, NRC saw much more time on the field, including wearing the captain's armband while Stiliyan Petrov was out. He earned 102 caps in 4 seasons at Villa before leaving on a free to join BWFC.