With 10 major trophies won, more than 500 professional appearances and a career that has seen him play for some of the biggest clubs in England, against Europe’s finest and at some of the continent’s grandest arenas, it’s understandable people are questioning why in this cynical age, a 33-year-old Scott Sinclair has decided to return to Bristol Rovers.
To quote the great Barry Davies it really is, "boys' own stuff". Having left the academy to join Chelsea when, arguably, the Blues were the most fashionable club in the country after Jose Mourinho’s first season in charge, he’s now back in blue and white quarters, almost two decades after he made his debut for his boyhood club at the age of 15, older, wiser and very much a man.
It’s fulfilled a prophecy that he would come back one day and, when he eventually does take to the field donning the quarters again, scratch an itch that has lingered since those fleeting two substitute appearances, but Sinclair’s ambitions won’t be necessarily measured in goals, assists, wins or even what success may transpire.
Those things are important, of course, but fundamental to Scott’s desire to play an 18th professional season is perhaps something he’s not experienced since he was last at the club - a sense of fun on the football field. Having started life at the club, as a wide-eyed eight-year-old Gashead making his way through the academy, there's a desire to return to that childhood enthusiasm for football.
Years in Premier League systems, the conditioning, the sacrifices, the relentless focus and the pressure of having to be elite are mitigated by success, wealth and profile, and Sinclair certainly looks back with pride on what he’s experienced, but he’s now searching for something else in the game.
“It’s strange but it’s also really exciting,” Sinclair said. “I’m looking forward to my next chapter, my next challenge and I’m very happy to be back. Since I finished the season with Preston it feels like I’ve been out of the game for a long, long time, so I wanted to get back.
“18 years… it makes me sound old. But I’ve got to an age now where I can feel I can still give and I can give the experience to the younger players and add that to the team. It’s a young squad so I can always put onto the younger players what I’ve achieved and give that experience.
“I left home at 16, when I went to Chelsea, and it’s really nice to come back and my whole family can come to the games every week and not have to travel three-and-a-half hours on the M6 up north, so that’s a nice touch to come back and see my mum and dad and my brothers.
“I’ve still got that drive, that hunger in me; that doesn’t go. I’m at the stage now, no matter what level I’m at, I want to enjoy my football. For what I’ve done in my career it’s about being happy now and enjoying my football.
“Wherever I am in my career I’m always going to put pressure on myself because I want to do well but it’s much different now because it’s all about enjoyment. And when you enjoy your football you play better because you can express yourself.
“I’m at the age where I’m an experienced pro and the main thing for me is to be happy playing. I’ve played at the highest level, and just being back in the building, enjoying football and being in a position where I can be expressive and bring an added quality to the team.”
Sinclair jokes his debut against Leyton Orient was so long ago, his only memories are of the reaction at school in the following days. And although the Gas were never able to build on that introduction into the professional ranks, he’s forever held a candle for his first club.
Always seeking out their results, even though he didn’t play against Swindon Town on Tuesday night at the Mem, returning to the stadium as a spectator was a special occasion.
He admis much has changed at the club - most notably the existence of The Quarters - but Sinclair’s memory allowed him a warm greeting with former head of communications Keith Brookman, now a matchday analyst on BBC Radio Bristol, who used to give the teenager lifts to training at Colerne in Wiltshire all those years ago. The pair, who hadn’t seen each other since Sinclair’s departure 17 years ago, shared a reunion and a catch-up prior to the Papa John’s Trophy tie in midweek.
The process to bring him back to the Gas was a straightforward one. With Rovers having missed out on a few attacking targets towards the end of the window, director of football Eddy Jennings assessed appropriate free agents and Sinclair’s name stuck out like a sore thumb. With his family still in the Bath area, and the obvious emotional pull, the pitch was a straightforward one.
Sitting in the press room at The Quarters, Sinclair barely looks 23, let alone 33, in terms of his physique and those boyhood features from his first time at the club remain. And while he speaks like the veteran figure he is, there’s a youthful excitement and anticipation as to what could happen in his second time at Rovers.
After being released by Preston North End, he’s stuck to an intense daily fitness regime, outside the school run, which was interspersed with a few weeks training at Chelsea in order to get himself among a group again.
It takes significant discipline to do so. Long and often boring hours on your own, without the camaraderie to break up the tedium of it all, with no promise of a new club on the horizon and with what he’s done in his career, he’d be forgiven for thinking, what was the point? But Sinclair never considered retirement and his attention to himself over the last five months is yet another reason why the Gas should feel reassured his presence in the squad is something to look forward to.
“Throughout my career I’ve stayed very disciplined,” Sinclair added. “The shape I’m in, I’ve been training every day. I always had that belief I’d be back into a team so I had to stay right, keep going and now I’m back here and ready to get started.
“For me, I still feel I’m very far away from that even though I’m getting older and age is creeping up. I’ve still got a lot more to give, physically and mentally and that comes back to wanting to enjoy my football. Once that enjoyment starts going, then it’ll be time. But I still love the game, and I’m still enjoying it.”
Barton - who played against Sinclair six years in an Old Firm game which Celtic won 5-1 with winger scoring the third - admits his lack of match fitness, coupled with the fact the Gas are in pretty good shape at the moment, means they can take their time in terms of assessing his suitability as a starter but he’ll certainly be pushing for inclusion in the 18 against Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.
The Pilgrims were, coincidentally, his first loan club after he moved to Chelsea, making 18 impressive appearances under Ian Holloway, and with Barry Hayles as teammate, to continue the serendipity around his return this week.
As for where he’ll be used, Barton believes he can play anywhere across the front three positions and even as an advanced attacking midfielder, giving Rovers plentiful options over the next three months before a longer-term decision is required on his future.
“He’s such a good player, you can play him anywhere in the front positions,” Barton said. “You watch him in training, he can easily play as an 8 as well and, for us, we’re adding 500-odd proper games; a proper fella who’s played for Glasgow Celtic, Manchester City, to name but a few. His desire to be part of our group worked for everybody. Not only that, his attitude when he’s come in has been a real breath of fresh air to add him.
“He’s not come here for finances. As you can imagine, he’s got a few quid. He just wants to enjoy his footy and be part of something.”
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