Not sure if this will interest anyone, but I have been thinking lately about Fred’s legacy, as it is an interesting one.
On the one hand, he has had many spells for us (4 now is it? Or 5?), won the most important penalty in our history (after that memorable brace at home to Fleetwood in the second leg of the semis), played in both the Championship season and the Blooms Purple Calendar Year, and is currently a massive key player for us.
On the other hand, he has never had the effervescence of a Bayo or the interview talents of a JJ, and left a little acrimoniously (possibly?) once, should the ‘Club Offices Being Cleaned’ episode be read into in that manner, and doesn’t seem to have the connection with the fans that some of those old favourites had.
So if anyone is interested, how do you see his legacy, still being written though it is? Undoubtedly a huge net positive, but where does he rate in the pantheon for you, as it were?
It’ll be a really sad day when he moves on. Great servant to the club and has put a huge amount of effort into matches. I’ve never seen any reason to think he’s anything other than a really top bloke.
His story with us isn’t finished yet so let’s see where he ranks after his last game.
He has only left the club once when permanently signed for us. Twice he left after loan spells ended. He left at the end of the Championship season to sign for another Championship Club when we were relegated.
Obviously something happened in the back ground that wrangled within the club hierarchy.
He returned to us in 2024 and has made just under half of his appearances for us (222). Was surprised to see he made over 150 appearances for Millwall.
He’s played in League Two, League One and Chamopionship playoff’s and the four top tiers of English Football across his 451 appearances thus far.
Angry Fred is unplayable, like a cheat code, happy Fred is still an amazing footballer. I would say he is a legend for us and has almost singlehandedly carried our attack until Wareham arrived over the last couple of seasons.
We will really miss him when he goes and is close to irreplaceable…amazingly still only 29! He will celebrate his 30th birthday with a hat-trick at Bromley
Lovely posts. I think if there was a vote for “Player to score the winner at Arsenal in the 3rd round of the Cup”, it would be hard to think of a better winner.
Brilliant player, with his key involvements helping to shape the most successful period in the club’s history. Frustrating at times? Yes. But pound-for-pound, he’s given more than most and as pointed out, he’s packed a lot of football into his career already.
We’ve seen different versions and I’ve loved watching every one (OK, maybe not ‘subdued Fred’).
He was a real livewire as part of that loveable loanee-filled side of 2014/15, when the GA spark was lit in earnest. And his stints since are the stuff of modern legend.
Yes, we’ve had bigger characters in our history but Fred easily makes the EFL all-time XI and I hope there’s even more to come.
I think he’s playing his best stint with us by a long stretch. The shining light of this troubled era. Fantastic player. If he wasn’t so multitalented and had more concentrated or unique attributes then he could possibly ‘lock down’ a position in that Wycombe XI. Being multi-positional means he’s probably overlooked. Great player.
As far as I’m concerned he’s a legend for us, he’s been with us through several different eras, and I think he’s always been a fan favourite, especially this season when he’s been playing out of his skin. He’s the player who’s song is sung the most by the fans, and I think this season and last season will have cemented his legendary status once and for all.
