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Nathan Tyson is banging in the goals again for Wycombe
REWIND the clock three years and you would find Nathan Tyson on loan at Notts County, struggling to get a game or a goal – and on the verge of retirement. Following his release from parent club Blackpool and out of love with football, he decided to have one last shot with a three-week trial at Doncaster Rovers, turning it into a oneyear contract. Fast forward to today and, following a spell with Kilmarnock, the 35-year-old is back scoring goals for his former employer Wycombe Wanderers and tearing up League Two. “I’d love to play right to the age of 40 if I can,” said Tyson. “I’m hoping I don’t get any nasty injuries but I really do look after myself, so I can definitely reach that goal. “Coaching is the first thing I’d like to do if I do stop playing. I would love to coach kids.
Offer
“If you’d asked me three years ago, I would’ve said I’m not having anything to do with football, ‘I can’t stand it’, but now I’ve fallen back in love with the game. “I’ve got a lot more to offer, and to retire back then wouldn’t have been a good thing for me. There are too many things I’d like to do and I’m far from finished in football. “After my spell at Blackpool and loan at Notts County, I had a long, hard think that season about what I was going to do because I had a terrible time.
“Nothing I was doing, like changing my diet, was working. Nothing was happening at all. But then I went to train at Doncaster and I thought ‘I can do this’.
“I ended up getting a contract and won player of the year. That really spurred me on. Here I am now and it’s working out well!”
After leaving Kilmarnock, Tyson had another trial period, this time at Wycombe, where he had previously enjoyed a prolific spell from 2004-2006, scoring 44 goals.
Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth was impressed and Tyson signed a one-year contract in July.
Dramatic
The pacy forward has enjoyed a fine start to the League Two season, scoring his first goals in last Saturday’s 2-1 win over Colchester and the dramatic midweek 3-2 victory at home against Crewe.
“At the start of the season, I played the first three games, picked up an injury and missed the next three weeks,” Tyson added. “To come back and be thrown in against Colchester and to get the goal was just a massive relief really.
“I was a bit wary about coming back here at first, because of what I did before.
“But, to be fair to the gaffer, I met him and thought he was a guy I could really play for - and the fans have been exceptional in welcoming me back.
“I want to be able to finish off what I started all those years ago and it’s good to see some old faces here as well.
“Matt Bloomfield’s still here. He’s part of the foundation of the club.
“We’ve had a good old catch-up and I’m so proud of what he’s achieved (over 14 seasons at Adams Park). Loyalty’s a rarity in football these days, and to see someone like that is something that I really
admire.”