Blast from the Past No. 4: Regi Blinker

Reviving the Premier League players you forgot existed…

Fans these days think nothing of filling their squad with exotic imports from every continent of the globe. But in March 1996, it didn’t get much more exciting than the signing of a dreadlocked Dutchman named Reginald.

That was the sensational breaking news that greeted Sheffield Wednesday fans as they read the morning papers in their pre-internet homes, a full day after the £275,000 transfer took place, and things got better fast and more.

Within 36 hours Regi Blinker was donning a blue and white striped Puma shirt with ‘Sanderson’ emblazoned across the front and striding onto the pitch in an away match at Villa Park looking like a superstar footballer from another planet.

Within three minutes, he took the lead on Wednesday, then completed another fine strike in the second half. The Owls ended up losing 3-2, but their fans had a new cult hero. A left-hander with skill, pace, a fearsome shot and dreadlocks so magnificent you wanted to reach out and grab them. The temptation to do just that was too much for Arsenal striker Ian Wright, who once yanked the King’s barnet during a game at Highbury – much to the Dutchman’s horror.

Before long, the club’s Wednesday shop began selling wigs in honor of Blinker’s long, luxurious hair. Hillsborough was packed with South Yorkshiremen wearing fake Afros, wanting their Surinamese-born talisman to score another goal. But he never did.

Not at Hillsborough, anyway. Blinker’s third goal on Wednesday came a year to a day after his first, coming in a 3-0 win at Nottingham Forest. It proved to be his last shot for the club, with Celtic snapping him up at the end of that season in partial exchange for Paolo di Canio.

Blinker’s £1.5m valuation has proved an undoubted success in the Premier League, but he still left Wednesday’s fans feeling short-changed.

“We thought ‘what a player we have here’, then he soon descended into mediocrity. Two goals on his debut then just one in his remaining 44 appearances really sums him up,” lamented one man on the OwlsOnline forum on Wednesday.

“He was a player who promised so much but in hindsight delivered little,” concluded another fan, while a fellow Owl admitted: “Sorry he’s good but he’s not a superstar.”

Unfortunately for the Kings, things would not improve north of the border. Replacing the popular Di Canio was a losing battle and Blinker’s three seasons in Scotland are not looked upon fondly. Although he was part of the Celtic side that prevented Rangers from winning a 10th straight league title, he will be better remembered for conceding a penalty in a shock cup defeat to Inverness, who triggered the famous “Super Caley go ballistic, Celtic have. atrocious’ Sun title.

Most regrettably, at some point during Parkhead’s time, Blinker’s name was turned into rhyming slang. To this day, UK players dread being described as ‘having a Regi’ – otherwise known as a stinker. It’s a particularly unfortunate legacy for someone blessed with a name as excellent as ‘Regi Blinker’, but one feels there is affection – rather. than malice – in present-day tribute Blinker is a lifestyle magazine editor in Holland and the dreadlocks are long gone, but perhaps it’s some comfort to know his name lives on.

@darlingkevin

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