{"id":569871,"date":"2020-10-17T13:24:51","date_gmt":"2020-10-17T17:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=569871"},"modified":"2020-10-17T13:24:51","modified_gmt":"2020-10-17T17:24:51","slug":"james-collins-retires-from-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/10\/17\/james-collins-retires-from-football\/","title":{"rendered":"James Collins Retires From Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Premier League<\/a> footballer James Collins<\/a> has today announced his <\/span>retirement<\/span><\/a> from professional football.<\/span><\/p>\n

James Collins Makes Retirement Announcement
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Social media, as seems to the be case for most modern-day footballers, has proved Collins’ choice of a press release. He took to his personal Instagram <\/span>account<\/span> to announce that he is retiring.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an Instagram post<\/a>, Collins said: “This will not come as a surprise to most people, as I haven’t played for a season now.<\/span><\/p>\n

“But today with a heavy heart I’ve decided to officially retire from football.<\/span><\/p>\n

“After a lot of thought, I believe this is the best thing to do so I can draw a line under my <\/span>20-year<\/span> career and move on to my next chapter in life.”<\/span><\/p>\n

It has most definitely proved to be a rich career.<\/span><\/p>\n

How It Began<\/span><\/h3>\n

Collins – although born just down the road in Newport – began his career as a trainee at Cardiff City<\/a>. At the time, Cardiff were languishing in the old Divison Three (now League Two<\/a>), the bottom tier of the English Football League<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

November 19, 2000, is a date that Collins will never forget, as this date marked his professional debut. He played in Cardiff’s 5-1 FA Cup<\/a> first-round victory over Bristol Rovers<\/a>. However, few of the Cardiff City fans who witnessed Collins’ debut could have predicted that he would later become a household name<\/a> in Wales<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout the remainder <\/span>of the<\/span> 2000\/01 season, he continued to be <\/span>integrated<\/span> into the Cardiff City first team. Collins made a further five appearances<\/a> that season.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In total, Collins made 57 appearances<\/a> for Cardiff before West Ham United<\/a> came knocking for his services. In the summer of 2005, they signed Collins; he would become a fans’ favourite<\/a> during two spells at the East London club.<\/span><\/p>\n

By 2009, Collins was on the move to Aston <\/a><\/span>Villa<\/span> in a \u00a35 million transfer<\/a>. He made over 100 appearances<\/a> for Villa before leaving in the summer of 2012. He would return to West Ham, who paid \u00a32.5 million<\/a> to Villa to re-sign their former defender.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is fair to say, that West Ham pulled-off quite a deal. Not only was it half the original fee that Villa paid them, but Collins would be a vital signing for the Hammers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Special Mention<\/span><\/h3>\n

It is now over two years since Collins left <\/span>West Ham<\/span>, yet he enjoyed his time so much, that he reserves a special mention for their fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Collins added<\/a>: “I spent 11 years at this wonderful football club (West Ham)<\/em> and still think about it <\/span>every day.<\/span><\/p>\n

“A club where I had the best time of my life for such a long time and gave my all <\/span>every day<\/span>. Without West Ham and you amazing fans, my life wouldn’t be what it is today.”<\/span><\/p>\n

After leaving West Ham<\/a> in January 2019, Collins joined Championship<\/a> club Ipswich Town<\/a>. However, he was unable to help Town’s appalling season, as even before his arrival, Ipswich were seemingly doomed to their eventual relegation to League One<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of the 2018\/19 season, and upon Ipswich’s relegation, he departed the club. He has since failed to agree a contract at any other club, hence the 37-year-old has finally called time on his professional career. A career that also includes 51 caps<\/a> for the Welsh National team.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>