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Kightly announces retirement from professional football

I wonder who initiated this move?

Was it Kightly returning to pre-season training and realising he didn't fancy it any more or was it Ron telling him Bond didn't fancy him and we were going to pay his contract off, like we had to do with Anton Ferdinand last year?
 
I wonder who initiated this move?

Was it Kightly returning to pre-season training and realising he didn't fancy it any more or was it Ron telling him Bond didn't fancy him and we were going to pay his contract off, like we had to do with Anton Ferdinand last year?

Don't really matter now does it. I wish him all the best. Not his fault he was so highly paid, and as such he shouldn't really get any stick for it. It's an agent/sufc choice and they are the ones who got us in that position.

Happy retirement Michael. Wish I could have retired at that age :-(
 
I wonder who initiated this move?

Was it Kightly returning to pre-season training and realising he didn't fancy it any more or was it Ron telling him Bond didn't fancy him and we were going to pay his contract off, like we had to do with Anton Ferdinand last year?
Speaking of the devil Anton and junior were at last night's game.
 
Don't really matter now does it. I wish him all the best. Not his fault he was so highly paid, and as such he shouldn't really get any stick for it. It's an agent/sufc choice and they are the ones who got us in that position.

Happy retirement Michael. Wish I could have retired at that age :-(

It matters an awful lot for KB's budget for this year.
 
Sounds like he might actually have done the decent thing here, when the alternative would be to stay and take the clubs money. If so, fair play to him.
Either way we’ve had a result. Is Dieng ready for retirement?
 
Best news since finding out I'd inherited $33,000,000 from an African Prince

I love those phone calls. Just wish I had warning time to make a coffee and get a biscuit. I've won so many foreign lotteries, you wouldn't believe it. My first response is ''YIPPPEEEEEEE AT LAST''. Then I really lay it on how happy I am and it's finally paid off(Totally ignoring the fact that I never entered the lottery). They then want me to send them some monies(That's how the Africans pronounce it) for admin so they can release my Millions. The ask for my bank details. Some how they keep getting one digit wrong, as every time they quote my sort code and bank account, I change one digit to drive them mad. I keep having a go at them for getting it wrong, after all, I want my winnings. I kept one on for over 25 minutes once. He got very angry. He said my monies would have to go to a charity. I started to advise him on which charity.
 
Like most reasonable supporters I have been disappointed with the overall performance of Mr Kightly since re-joining us. However I am also disappointed with some of the remarks directed to a professional football player who attempted to reach the same heights as before, without success. I for one would like to offer my thanks for his efforts and to wish him the best in any future career

Did he or was he just going through the motions?
 
I for one want to wish Michael Kightly all the best for the future. He'll always be one of my all time fav Southend players during my 25yrs as a supporter and I hope what ever career path he now chooses that its a success for him.
 
I for one want to wish Michael Kightly all the best for the future. He'll always be one of my all time fav Southend players during my 25yrs as a supporter and I hope what ever career path he now chooses that its a success for him.

Really!? he was distinctly average in his 1st spell dropping into no league after us and then on his return he was actually poor, Wouldn't make my top 100
 
Really!? he was distinctly average in his 1st spell dropping into no league after us and then on his return he was actually poor, Wouldn't make my top 100

Jeez he was 17-19 year old kid, that was slight build , left us, learnt his trade and played for top clubs

Think it says more about the club at the time rather his ability
 
Jeez he was 17-19 year old kid, that was slight build , left us, learnt his trade and played for top clubs

Think it says more about the club at the time rather his ability
Yeah quite possibly but that wasn't my point. My point was that I can't see how he can ranked by somebody as "one of my all time fav Southend players during my 25yrs as a supporter" when he did pretty much zilch in a southend shirt
 
Yeah quite possibly but that wasn't my point. My point was that I can't see how he can ranked by somebody as "one of my all time fav Southend players during my 25yrs as a supporter" when he did pretty much zilch in a southend shirt

Agreed, he's a footnote in our history. Still, why should he care? Kicking a ball about made him a millionaire and he played (briefly) at the top end of the pyramid.
 
Well, as I said yesterday, I don't think it was lack of effort or willing, but more likely underlying injuries or other issues going on for Michael, which contributed to a distinctly average season for him last year. His first year back with us was good, and he did make a valuable contribution on the pitch, and I am pretty sure he was able to share some wisdom off the pitch. Fair play to him to end his career with us, a season earlier than his contract allows and just as pre-season is starting, which gives KB the opportunity to find a suitable replacement. Overall, he has had a great career, and I am glad that he is leaving us with dignity.

All the best of luck Kights, thank you for your services to Southend, and I hope your next career choice works out well for you.
 
Last season just never happened for him like it didn't for a number of our players. Injuries, loss of form/confidence and a skin tight shirt didn't help. Also reading that his family still lived in the Midlands must have been a factor to.

Wish him all the best. Hopefully KB can find a quality right midfielder rather than sticking a central midfielder or right back there.
 
Can't lie, I was hoping for a lot more from Kightly when he re-joined the club. Unfortunately for all concerned he didn't score enough goals, nor create enough opportunities. Too many injuries over his career perhaps had caught up with him. Whatever people think of his spell at the club, I think it's extremely harsh to suggest he never tried or cared - that would be the one thing you cannot accuse him of. I wish him well for the future.
 
I presume that retirement involves some pay off but is cheaper for the club than paying his wages for the whole of the coming season. Without speculating on how much he was being paid it would be logical to assume that he was one of the highest earners at the club. It really hurts a small club like ours to be paying relatively big money to a player who is not guaranteed to start so it is surely to Michael's credit that he agreed/initiated a course of action which may not have been to his advantage but was clearly in the best interests of the club.
For that you have my respect and I also would like acknowledge your long and distinguished career in the Football League and Premiership.
It was very difficult to watch him last season as he struggled to find any kind of meaningful form, and, there were too many games where he had little or no impact. I suspect it was not as simple as just a loss of form but injuries may also have played a part.
Had KB left him out of the last two games of the season there would have been few complaints from Shrimperzone members but he was selected as a substitute in both matches. In our penultimate game against Burton he was introduced as our second sub after 73 minutes (the much maligned Dieng was the first to be called upon after 67 minutes), and, as soon as he was on the pitch he began to cause the Burton defence all sorts of problems. There was one twisting run down the left wing which saw him almost score from an impossible angle which lives in the memory. I cannot remember if this was before or after the 77th minute when he took a free kick on the right which was headed home by Dieng for what was probably our second most important goal of the season and secured our first win in fifteen games. (Our two most important goals of the season were scored by substitutes which may or not make KB a genius but that may be a subject for another thread!)
Suffice it to say that in what must have been a wretched season for him Michael was able to make a really telling contribution right at the end when it really mattered. For that, your long career, your two spells at Southend and your dignified exit I salute you. You surely deserve better than some of the abuse heaped upon you by some on this site.
He has my best wishes for his future endeavours, and, I also hope his family enjoy him being able to spend more time with them.
 
Can't lie, I was hoping for a lot more from Kightly when he re-joined the club. Unfortunately for all concerned he didn't score enough goals, nor create enough opportunities. Too many injuries over his career perhaps had caught up with him. Whatever people think of his spell at the club, I think it's extremely harsh to suggest he never tried or cared - that would be the one thing you cannot accuse him of. I wish him well for the future.

I agree. No one can say he didn't try or care, it's just that he lost any pace he had and couldn't go past anyone. That was his main asset when playing for Wolves for example. He would sell a dummy, go past and was away. He was fantastic. Without that, he was very poor. He knows it, that's why he's called it a day.
 
I agree. No one can say he didn't try or care, it's just that he lost any pace he had and couldn't go past anyone. That was his main asset when playing for Wolves for example. He would sell a dummy, go past and was away. He was fantastic. Without that, he was very poor. He knows it, that's why he's called it a day.

Nail. On. Head.
 
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