Robson-Kanu tops list of stars on scrapheap
IF Wales do make it through to the last 16 of the Euros tomorrow, it will be down in no small part to the efforts of Hal Robson-Kanu.
Millions of nervous Englishmen won’t have failed to notice how he put the fear of God into Chris Smalling and Gary Cahill during that first half in Lille on Thursday.
But whatever happens to him and Wales over the coming days, there is a real possibility that he will come home later this month on the dole. Robson-Kanu (above), who started his football career as a boy at Arsenal but was given a free transfer by Reading at the end of last season, is now looking for a new club.
His name figures high next to those on an annual heartbreak list drawn up by the Professional Footballers Association, one which this summer features around 400 players desperate to find a new club to play for next season.
It’s mighty tough given what Robson-Kanu, 27, has done for Wales in France after qualifying to play for them because of his Welsh grandparents. Chances are there will be a manager, in the Championship at least, who will give him another opportunity. Not necessarily so for Emmanuel Adebayor.
The former Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham striker finds himself with nowhere to go after being freed by Crystal Palace.
Fellow international rejects Marouane Chamakh and Brede Hangeland are also on the lookout for new clubs after being shown the exit door at Palace.
They are joined by legends like Liverpool’s Kolo Toure and Everton’s former England midfielder Leon Osman, who made his international debut at 31 during a career spent entirely at Goodison but who now finds himself on football’s scrapheap. But defender Steven Taylor (left), 30, is arguably the most pitiable casualty among the one-club men. Newcastle opted to begin life in the Championship without him after 21 years’ service.
Other high-profile freebies include Mathieu Flamini and Tomas Rosicky from Arsenal, Charles N’Zogbia and Kieran Richardson (Aston Villa), Martin Demichelis (Manchester City), Sylvain Distin (Bournemouth) and Carl Wilson (Stoke).