S4/SC11: Reggi Blinker, Celtic, Pro Match Soccer 99 Series 4

Between July 2018 and June 2021 Matt Hancock served as the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in both Theresa May and Boris Johnson’s governments which meant that, in theory at least, he was in charge of the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. During one of his early press conferences he called upon the nation’s footballers to solve all manner of problems he was struggling to cope with and then had to pretend he was happy when Marcus Rashford actually did. Hancock’s colleague Gavin Williamson, who was Secretary of State for Education from July 2019 until September 2021, was slightly more grateful and used an interview with the Evening Standard to commend the Manchester United striker for his charm, compassion and engagement. It later transpired that Williamson had actually been speaking with England rugby star Maro Itoje.

This wasn’t the first time a leading member of the Conservative Party had got their sporting entities confused. After all former Prime Minister David Cameron wasn’t sure whether he supported Aston Villa or West Ham United due to their similar coloured kits. But it’s not just in the halls of power that such mistakes are made. Back in 2014 referee Andre Marriner witnessed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain tip Eden Hazard’s shot round the post during Arsenal’s clash with Chelsea and decided to send off Kieran Gibbs. Meanwhile in the halcyon days of the 1990s a sunglasses manufacturer were excited about the arrival of a dreadlocked Dutch midfielder in Britain and sent over the paperwork to secure him as the new face of their brand. Sadly for Regi Blinker the deal was scrapped when the company realised that he wasn’t his famously bespectacled compatriot Edgar Davids.

Having spent ten seasons at Feyenoord, and collecting one Eredivisie title and four KNVB Cups, Blinker was signed by Sheffield Wednesday in March 1996 for £275,000. He made an instant impact with two goals on debut in a 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa and was a regular in the 1996/97 campaign which saw the Owls finish seventh in the Premier League buoyed by the goals of Andy Booth and David Hirst, the creativity of Benito Carbone and the emergence of Ritchie Humphreys. Understandably excited for the future Wednesday manager David Pleat headed to the transfer market and stumped up £3m for Italian maverick Paolo Di Canio from Celtic. As part of the deal Regi Blinker moved up to Glasgow to help the Bhoys foil their Old Firm rivals Rangers in their quest for a tenth consecutive Scottish Premier League title. The Italian forward had made a big impression up in Scotland and his move away was not greeted with too much joy by the Celtic faithful but then again Blinker was unlikely to be phased by transfer controversy. He served a short ban during his time at Hillsborough when it transpired that he had signed for Udinese without informing his Feyenoord management.

Despite the less than enthusiastic reception Blinker, reunited with former Feyenoord manager Wim Jansen, helped Celtic achieve a league and cup double. However, his form was somewhat patchy and the phrase “having a Regi Blinker” entered into the Jesper Olsen-esque footballing lexicon in Scotland. Some Celtic fans went even further in their criticism describing him as having “the heart of a chicken and the application of a sloth” and after the Bhoys came second to Rangers in the following two seasons Blinker returned to the Netherlands with RBC Roosendaal for their first ever season in the Eredivisie. His five goals in 22 appearances weren’t enough to save them from relegation and he moved on to Sparta Rotterdam. Once again his side endured relegation from the Dutch top flight and, at the age of 34, he moved in to semi-retirement with amateur side Deltasport Vlaardingen.

Regi Blinker was not Edgar Davids. Both men won the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup and represented the Netherlands but after that the similarities dry up. For all of Davids’ Serie A titles and his collection of European trophies he can’t stake claim to his own publishing company, Life After Football, producing a range of magazines. Nor can he claim to be the first man to abseil down the Harrods building or to have completed the Berlin Marathon to raise money for charity. Regi Blinker might not have been able to shift as many sunglasses as his more celebrated compatriot but it’s hard to deny he enjoyed a fairly impressive career both on and off the football pitch which makes it seem somewhat odd that he turns up on so many ‘Where Are They Now?’ lists. Just don’t ask any cabinet ministers to try and answer that question any time soon.