THE ONLY WAY IS UP WHEN AARON’S ON BOARD
Wherever he goes, striker wins promotion
FOUR promotions. Four different clubs. Four divisions conquered. Aaron Wilbraham is coming to a pub quiz near you.
“Well, maybe,” laughs Bristol City’s new striker. “I don’t know for sure, but I think I might be the only player to do it.”
So over to you, readers. Wilbraham has won promotion from each level of the Football League. He has also scored at every level including the Premier League. And his party piece is that his promotions have all come with different clubs.
“I know others have been promoted from all four leagues and scored in all four,” says the 34-year-old. “My old mate Ian Ashbee did it at Hull. But I don’t know if anybody else has done it with four different teams. I think that might be unique.”
Unique or not, it is certainly incredible. Barely four years ago,Wilbraham was a journeyman striker who, at 31, had never even played in the second tier. But then came a call from Norwich boss Paul Lambert, and a career stuck in second gear went supersonic.
“Paul sat me down and said, ‘Look, I hate playing against you. You’ve scored against me five times over the years.You’re a pest, a nuisance, and that’s what I want you to be for me’.
Shrine
“I signed in the December and we managed to get promoted to the Premier League that same season.
“We had six strikers at the time – Grant Holt, Steve Morison, Chris Martin, James Vaughan, Simeon Jackson and me. It was looking like I’d be fifth or sixth choice but Paul was great – he used me in 32 of the 38 games.
“It was mad. Most players, when they get to 31, they kind of start drifting down the leagues. So to suddenly get that chance to play in the top-flight – I just relished every minute.”
Mainly, it must be said, against Manchester City, Knutsford-born Wilbraham’s childhood club.
“I had a season ticket at Maine Road for nine years when I was younger – before they had all the money and the glory,” he says. “My childhood memories are of them getting smashed every week so it’s nice to see a bit of success.
“I got shirts from Yaya Toure, Vincent Kompany, Nigel De Jong, Sergio Aguero. I’d get one myself and the lads all knew I was City daft so they’d all grab me one as well. My house is like a Man City shrine!”
Wilbraham dropped back into the Championship with Palace in 2012-13 but, yet again, luck was with him during his two seasons at Selhurst Park.
“Glenn Murray was on fire that season so I barely got a look-in,” he adds. “But then he did his cruciate in the play-off semis and I ended up playing the full 120 minutes when we went up at Wembley.
“Last season, I started the first game against Tottenham, played the full 90 minutes.
“But then we signed about 12 players on deadline day, and when Ian Holloway named the full 25-man squad in September, I didn’t make the cut. I was devastated. Even though it happened to a few of us, it was totally unexpected. I had an option to go out on loan but I needed an operation so I had that done to be fresh for a loan in January.
“By then, though, Tony Pulis had taken over. He said,‘I don’t want you to go out on loan, I want you in my squad’. All the staff and the other lads had told him I didn’t deserve to be dropped in September and he gave me another chance.
“Again, I’d thought my chance to play in the Premier League was gone. It just shows that no matter your age or your circumstances, if you just keep plugging away somebody might notice.”
Now, of course, the Premier League dream probably is over. Released in the summer, Wilbraham went on holiday to Dubai to think over offers from Coventry and Birmingham.
Instincts
It was there, at Jumeirah Beach hotel, that he ran into Robins boss Steve Cotterill.
“I recognised him, so I went over and shook his hand,” recalls Wilbraham, who was briefly reunited with his old MK Dons strike partner Sam Baldock at Ashton Gate before Baldock signed for Brighton & Hove Albion this week.
“Steve and I had a few chats and on the day he left he said, ‘Enjoy your holiday and when you get back, let’s have a meeting’.
“He got in touch with Sam and between the three of us we set it all up. It felt right straight away and I signed the same day.”
With three goals in his first two games, it seems
Wilbraham was right to trust his instincts – and he believes Cotterill is cut from the same cloth as Lambert. He adds: “Every good manager I’ve had has been the kind of person who can chat to the players and have a bit of banter but also a slight fear factor – so lads know when it’s time to work and when the messing about has to stop.
“Paul has that and Steve has that. It’s what fosters the kind of bond that gets promotions.”
And Wilbraham, of course, knows all about those.