Gudjohnsen: One Star Was ‘Full of Himself’

Eidur Gudjohnsen rated Tony Pulis and all Stoke City backroom staff very highly during an interview with an Icelandic radio station, however a certain player apparently got on his nerves.

When in conversation with presenters about his brief time in the Potteries, Gudjohnsen described the player as someone who “seemed determined to make it a hard stay”. However he was reluctant to drop any names. Shame.

Eidur Gudjohnsen grew frustrated with his lack of game play for the Potters and so made a last-minute loan switch to Fulham for 6 months. His lack of fitness since his arrival from Monaco proved to be a big obstacle as he only made five substitute appearances in a red-and-white shirt.

Despite his glorious record during his campaigns with high-profile clubs, Eidur couldn`t make an impact worthy enough to secure a regular place in Tony Pulis`s first team.

But the Iceland International spoke of his initial pleasure when he signed for Stoke and praised the club saying: ‘Stoke is a very decent club; it just didn`t work out for me there. The first day I went there I felt something. This was a club I could see myself at and I knew I had to change my playing style and I was very happy when I signed.”

However, he continued: “But after a while I knew something wasnt right, I was away from my family and that made it harder.’

‘I worked really hard on the training ground but I was getting no game time, so it always felt like I was starting from scratch as each weekend went by. I kept telling myself, all I need is to start one game and I`ll show the real me. But it never happened sadly.’

‘There are some good players at Stoke and the manager [Tony Pulis] is a good Premiership manager, however there was one individual who seemed determined to make this a hard stay for me. I have played alongside and trained with Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho, Didier Drogba and others but I have never met an individual so full of himself.”

Intriguingly, Gudjohnsen added: “If I bumped into him at the training ground, I was worried he would literally explode, and frankly that got on my nerves. He will never be a Messi and he will never play for Barcelona or win the Champions League.’

So who is this mystery player that Eidur is referring to? Does anyone want to hazard a guess? Whoever it is perhaps they could be a crack in the dressing room moral, and Tony will want to keep spirits and fans happy for the second half of this season. As for the Icelandic, I hope his time at Fulham can benefit his fight for fitness so he can come back up and be in near top form. But at least his share of the wage budget is cleared as he does something productive.