Played for Both Clubs: Ipswich Town - Nigel Reo-Coker

Nigel Reo-Coker was born in Sierra Leone in 1984. As a child, he spent six years in the country before moving to England.

His football career began at Wimbledon. Coming through the ranks, Reo-Coker soon became captain after progressing to the first team. He also made his debut for the England Under-21s while at Wimbledon. Reo-Coker made 64 appearances for Wimbledon in all competitions, scoring six goals.

In January 2004, Reo-Coker moved to West Ham United for £500,000. He made his West Ham debut on 31st January 2004 in a 2–1 home win against Rotherham United. His first West Ham goal came on 9 March 2004 against his former club Wimbledon, as he scored the fifth goal in a 5–0 win. He quickly became a regular member of Alan Pardew's first team and was made the club captain. In his first season West Ham made the 2004 Football League First Division Play-Off Final but lost 1–0 in Cardiff to Crystal Palace.

In his second season, West Ham returned to the Premier League, beating Preston North End 1-0 in the Play-Off final. In 2006, Reo-Coker captained West Ham to the FA cup final, losing on penalties to Liverpool.

Reo-Coker's last season with West  Ham was controversial. Reo-Coker was singled out by some groups as being the main culprit for West Ham's bad form, which left West Ham perilously close to the bottom three and ultimately led to the sacking of manager Alan Pardew. New manager Alan Curbishley identified Reo-Coker as being part of the team which had lost direction and was in danger of being relegated back to The Championship.

Despite regaining his place in the team, Reo-Coker joined Aston Villa in 2007 for a fee of £7.5 million. Upon his move to Villa, Reo-Coker stated he felt he had been 'hung out to dry' by West Ham.

Captaining Villa when Gareth Barry and Stiliyan Petrov were absent, Reo-Coker was a mainstay in Villa's first team during his first couple of years at Villa Park. That was until, under more controversy, Reo-Coker had a training ground bust up with manager Martin O'Neil, and was subsequently dropped.

Following O'Neil's departure, Reo-Coker returned to the Villa side under Gérard Houllier. Reo-Coker was released by Villa in 2011 after making 123 appearances and scoring 3 goals.

Reo-Coker then joined Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer. Reo-Coker was described by manager Owen Coyle as 'having the quality, drive and desire to compete at the highest level in the Premier League'. (ha)

Nigel Reo-Coker only spent one season with the Whites, as Bolton were relegated from the Premier League. Activating a release clause in his contract, Reo-Coker left. Reo-Coker played 42 times for Bolton, scoring 3 goals, against Blackburn Rovers, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite thinking he was 'Premier League quality', Reo-Coker struggled to find a new club. It would be Ipswich Town of the Championship, (oh the irony) who would sign Reo-Coker on a short term deal six months after his departure from Bolton.

Reo-Coker would only play 12 times for Ipswich before leaving in January 2013, after rejecting a contract extension.

In February 2013, Reo-Coker moved across the Atlantic to join Vancouver Whitecaps. Reo-Coker's Discovery Rights had been held by the Whitecaps' local rivals Portland Timbers, but Reo-Coker expressed a desire to play for the Vancouver club instead.

On 21st August 2014, Reo-Coker was traded to MLS club Chivas USA for player Mauro Rosales. Chivas then disbanded at the end of the 2014 MLS season, so Reo-Coker returned to Canada to sign for Montreal Impact. In August 2015, Reo-Coker signed a 4 year extension with Montreal. Reo-Coker currently plays alongside Didier Drogba for Montreal.