TIMBERS TO TIGERS AS LIAM RETURNS!
Ridgewell relishing new test on home soil
LIAM Ridgewell is back – and now boasting transatlantic title-winning pedigree, he’s hoping to lend his seasoned hand to a late Hull play-off push.
The 34-year-old, who accumulated more than a decade of Premier League experience for the West Midlands triumvirate of Aston Villa, Birmingham and West Brom, is now just over a month into life at the KCOM Stadium, having returned to English football after a fruitful four-and-a-halfyear spell with the Portland Timbers.
Ridgewell’s crowning achievement arrived when he captained the Timbers to an historic first Major League Soccer title in 2015 but, inescapably, there’s no place like home.
“My intention was always to come and play back in England before my career finishes,” said Ridgewell, who joined Hull on the final day of the January transfer window, having departed Portland in December.
“I still feel like I’ve got a few more years left in me and it was just the right time. We had a few changes at Timbers and last season wasn’t the same.
“Hull had some injury problems within their defence and it fitted quite well that I was a free agent and ready to go after finishing the season out in Portland on December 16.
“It was time to come home and spend more time with the family.
“Every Christmas that I came home, it was always harder going back to Portland every time, having young children and having family that had their own children as well.”
Heading into this weekend, Ridgewell had made four appearyouth ances for mid-table Hull and his arrival has helped offset the Angus MacDonald and Ondrej Mazuch-shaped injury headaches currently bothering manager Nigel Adkins.
The veteran centre-half, who is a father of three, briefly returned on-loan to both Wigan and Brighton in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
However, the south-east London native has plenty of unfinished business back on these shores and has no plans to treat his return as an indulgent swansong.
“I’ve done it over the years, being the experienced head and coming to try and help out teams, like I did at Brighton and Wigan during my loan spells, so it was obviously nice to come to Hull,” said Ridgewell.
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“If the injuries weren’t there, it might not have happened, so it’s given me the chance to come back and get a few games under my belt, and try and prove myself back home in England again. “My aim is still to win things and still to perform at a high level, and make the team – wherever I am – win things; promotions and things like that. “I’ve enjoyed that over the last couple of years and I’ll look to carry that on in the time I’ve got left, which is hopefully three or four more years.” And there are few current Championship campaigners that have so successfully honed their craft Stateside, with Ridgewell having also helped Portland to last season’s Championship game.
Ridgewell was just the fifth Timbers player recruited under the Designated Player Rule – the option that allows MLS sides to break the league’s salary cap – and while he’s delighting in life back this side of the pond, the former England international definitely left a piece of his heart in the City of Roses.
“Winning the MLS in my very first full season; it was unbelievable for a team that was written off and never given a chance of winning it,” he said. “We set our eyes on improving the club and making sure that when I left, it was in a better state than when I arrived, and I think we did achieve that.”