JOE’s Forgotten Footballers: Regi Blinker

Who could ever forget one of the most eye-catching players from the Premier League in the mid-90’s? Our Forgotten Footballer this week is Sheffield Wednesday’s dread-locked winger Regi Blinker.

By Declan Whooley

Call it naivety. Call it a cultural thing. Perhaps you could even put it down to the fact that as a result of Cool Runnings we thought dread-locks were confined to another sport far, far away. Dutch international Regi Blinker arrived in March 1996 and his hair and debut were perhaps the highlights of his stay at Hillsborough.

The winger/attacking midfielder had spent a decade at Feyenoord since his debut in 1996, in latter years forming a deadly winger partnership with Gaston Taument. He made his international bow during the 1994 World Cup qualifiers and though he only gained three caps in total, he was a highly respected club player. However, the arrival of Arie Haan at Feyenoord meant Blinker wanted a change of scenery and he chose England as his destination, and in particular, Sheffield Wednesday.

David Pleat was in his first season in charge of Wednesday during the 1995/96 season and the club were on a very bad run after the turn of the year. By the start of March they had won just twice since New Year’s Day and seven times in total. Pleat decided to shell out £275,000 to bring Blinker to the club and the return on investment seemed instant.

The perfect start to his Wednesday career with a brace against Villa

He scored two goals on his debut for Wednesday, which was on a Wednesday, but the Owls still went down 3-2 to Aston Villa. A new fans’ favourite was created, though he would go on to score just one more time for the club.

“The fairness of the game was attractive and I managed to score two goals that night. That filled up my ‘credit book’ straight away,” he would later say.

His dribbling ability had many of the lumbering defenders in sixes and sevens. The following season he missed only five league games all season as Wednesday finished a lofty 7th in the Premier League, but it was to be the end of the Dutchman’s time in the English top-flight. Though Ian Wright was probably as disappointed as anyone to see him go.

At the end of the 1996-97 season, he was part a swap deal that saw Paolo Di Canio leave Celtic for the Owls, with Blinker re-uniting with his former boss Wim Jansen at Parkhead. He spent three years in Scotland, part of the squad that stopped Rangers' '10 in a row' bid.

His time at Celtic was not deemed a major success – “Blinker had the heart of a chicken and the application of a sloth” – was how one fan delightfully described him. The phrase ‘I had a Regi Blinker’, meanwhile, was synonymous with having a wretched performance.

Blinker returned to Holland and had spells with RBC Roosendaal and Sparta Rotterdam, before retiring professionally in 2003.

Since retiring completely in 2006, Blinker founded Life After Football, a magazine to help players adjust after they hang up their boots.

“My aim is for LAF to become an international platform for football players at the end of their careers, from lifestyle and financial advice to providing a network to help them back into normal society,” he said.

The magazine has a circulation of 450,000 copies a month, while there are a number of events held throughout the year and TV Show appearances.

Probably our favourite moment of Blinker’s time in England was the time he was set to earn a sponsorship deal with a major sunglasses manufacturer but the deal was scrapped when it was revealed Blinker had been mistaken for Edgar Davids, a footballer renowned for his use of eyewear.

Needless to say, the press had a field day.