IF ever there was an example of a victim of circumstance, Scott Sinclair may very well would have been it.
You donāt have to trawl too far into the past to find the evidence, only last season would do. Villa Park was the toxic environment one of English footballās most rated talents was exposed to, a seemingly burgeoning and bright career halted in its tracks as one of English footballās biggest clubs slowly slides towards Premier League oblivion.
Playing at a club where there is expectation is nothing new to Sinclair, of course. A product of the Chelsea youth academy before going on to play for the Stamford Bridge first team and then Manchester City, having a lack of bottle ā or indeed ability ā is not something to level at Sinclair. Even with that, he was powerless to prevent Aston Villa slipping out of English footballās top tier after a truly woeful campaign last year.
Read more:Ā And to think there were doubts about whether Kieran Tierney could play right-back for Scotland
Coming up to the present day, that torturous 18-month spell at Villa now seems a lifetime ago to the high-flying player Celtic fans have come to adore as a potential player of the season. Lee Hendrie, the Aston Villa stalwart, broke his heart as his beloved side capitulated spectacularly last term.
Yet he now seeks comfort in the fact Sinclair has not let the ordeal deter him from moving on to bigger and better things.
āI watched Scott Sinclair a lot at Aston Villa and he just needed to get away and get his career back on track,ā said Hendrie, who played over 250 games in claret and blue. āVilla were on a downward spiral, things werenāt going well and the fans got on his back a little bit as they did with most of the players at that time.
āScott has been at some great clubs and you know heās got quality. You donāt get signed by big clubs like Manchester City for no reason. And when things arenāt going well at a football club you need to look at the situation sometimes and ask yourself if itās time to move on and it was for him.
āThere were a number of quality players at Aston Villa at that time who were underperforming but a lot was to do with 25,000 fans expecting so much. When that happens players can go into their shells and thatās what happened at Villa Park. You know what fans are like when things arenāt going well - they start blaming the big players who came in for big money.ā
After rejoining Brendan Rodgers at Celtic during the summer, many south of the border would have switched off to the progress Sinclair is now making in green and white. Not Hendrie.
The 39-year-old, who played for an England select side at the weekendās Fernando Ricksen charity foundation match in Fleetwood, has been monitoring the ex-Swansea starās progress with great interest going all the way back to his league debut winner in the Premiership opener at Hearts.
While others may believe scoring 18 goals in Scotland is less of a feat than doing so even in the English second tier, Hendrie is far from unimpressed.
āI was talking to Mark Walters before the Fernando Ricksen charity game about the situation at Aston Villa. They have been a crisis club for four or five years,ā he went on. āI went to a lot of the games during Scottās time and as an Aston Villa fan myself it was frustrating but I watched Scottās debut for Celtic at Hearts and I know heās got quality and pace.
āHe showed glimpses of it at Villa but he needed to go to a club where he could shine again. When youāre in a team thatās not doing well you donāt stand out as much. When he first moved to the club I said it was a very good signing because heās quick, direct and scores goals. He did when he first joined but he was coming into a team on the way down.
āWhen wingers perform well the fans expect it every single game and itās hard. The English league is a bit different from Scotland and it just didnāt pan out for him but he has undoubted ability.
āIām glad the move to Scotland has worked out and heās going in the right direction again. It doesnāt matter if heās scoring against Inverness Caley Thistle or whoever it doesnāt matter because you still have to go out and produce regardless of the opposition.ā
Read more:Ā And to think there were doubts about whether Kieran Tierney could play right-back for Scotland
Sinclair is still in the first season of a four-year term, and the man from Bath is enjoying his football. Taking this into account, coupled with the fact he is now working with his former mentor in Glasgow, means Celtic fans will be confident one of their prize assets is here to stay. However, given his next contract will likely be the biggest of his career, should those supporters fear potential English suitors may soon be circling to take the former England U21 cap back home?
āCertainly if heās scoring against the bigger clubs and on the Champions League stage then people are going to start looking at him again,ā said Hendrie. āCeltic are a big club and it was a big step for him to go to Scotland.
āHeās hit the ground running and Celticās a good move. He wasnāt performing to his best so if he hadnāt gone to Celtic then Iām not sure where he would have gone in England.
āHe could have ended up at a club fighting relegation so heās taken a good step by going to Celtic who are a big club that are going to win things. People will keep tabs on him.ā
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