NIGEL QUASHIE
December 30, 1995: Ray Wilkins gave 17 year old, Nigel Quashie his QPR debut byagainst Manchester United at Old Trafford. (QPR lost 2-1. Dichio scoring for QPR). Quashie played 11 consecutive games before coming down with Glandular Fever while QPR just simply went down.
Soccernet Nigel Quashie
Quashie earned a reputation as a quality midfielder after beginning his career in London with Queens Park Rangers. His League debut came on the grand stage of Old Trafford, as QPR went down 2-1 in December 1995. He was used sparingly for the remainder of that campaign before bursting into the starting side on a regular basis in the 1997/98 season. After winning England Under-21 and 'B' honours there was always talk of a move to a bigger club. Quashie was sold in August 1998 with Rangers looking to bring in funds, with the side now playing the First Division. He joined Premiership side Nottingham Forest for a fee of £2.5million but struggled as they were comfortably relegated. Portsmouth paid a cut-price £600,000 to take him to Fratton Park just prior to the start of the 2000/01 season and he soon became an important player. Quashie was due to be the club's skipper for the 2002/03 season, but after Paul Merson was snapped up from Aston Villa he had to settle for the job of vice-captain. The influential left-sided midfielder, who can play out on the wing or in the middle, was a vital player as Pompey won the First Division championship in 2003. His 2003/04 Premiership season was hit by injury. After missing six weeks due to a knee injury at the start of November, he then sustained ligament damage to his other following his comeback game - ruling him out for almost two months. Quashie returned to fitness to be an important player once again, and he also earned a call-up into the full Scotland squad. His debut came in Estonia, and he bagged a goal in his second game - a 4-1 win over Trinidad & Tobago. The midfielder moved on in the transfer window in Janaury 2005, following former Pompey boss Harry Redknapp to Southampton. He signed for arch rivals Saints for £2.1million. Quashie played 163 games for Portsmouth, scoring 14 goals.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/print?id=5362&type=player&cc=
Wikipedia
Nigel Quashie, (born July 20, 1978 in Nunhead), is a Scottish football (soccer) player, born in Peckham. He currently plays as a midfielder for English club Southampton F.C.
Quashie began his career in London with Queens Park Rangers F.C., making his League debut against Manchester United F.C. at Old Trafford in December 1995, impressing despite his club's 2-1 defeat. He was used sparingly for the remainder of that campaign before breaking into the starting side on a regular basis in the 1997/98 season.
After several impressive performances for QPR Quashie was awarded with England Under-21 and 'B' honours.
Quashie joined then FA Premiership side Nottingham Forest F.C. for a fee of £2.5million at the start of the 1998/99 season, but struggled as they were comfortably relegated.
Despite settling into the team, and providing some good performances, Nottingham Forest missed out on promotion the following season. For the next season, (2000/01), Portsmouth F.C. paid a cut-price £600,000 to take him to Fratton Park and he soon became an important player. He was a vital player in the 2002/03 season, during which Portsmouth won the First Division championship. During the season Quashie was the club's vice-captain.
Despite missing three months of the 2003/04 Premiership season, Quashie remained an important player as Portsmouth claimed 13th place. His assured performances also had the Scottish national football team taking note. Eligible for either the Scottish or English national sides, Quashie opted for the Scots, and made his debut against Estonia. He scored a goal in his second game - a 4-1 win over Trinidad & Tobago, which cemented his place as a first team regular for both club and country.
On January 17, 2005 Quashie rejoined former Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp at Southampton for a fee of £2.1m. After the transfer of Jason Dodd, he became the club's captain, and is still in this capacity as of the 2005/2006 season.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Quashie