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There’s no rush for Nahki to leave Bradford

A lot has been said this week about whether Nahki Wells should or could go straight into the Premier League now that clubs in higher divisions are taking notice of him after Bradford’s successful run to the Capital One Cup final.I would urge him to concentrate on enjoying the occasion next month when Bradford meet their fourth Premier League opposition, Swansea City, at Wembley and then continue to learn his trade. I was fortunate that when I left Bermuda all those years ago I went straight to West Ham who were then in the top division, the First Division. But I never got to play in a major final at Wembley, I was in the squad but didn’t make the 13 for the 1975 FA Cup final against Fulham which we won 2-0. In those days you only had one substitute.It was disappointing but that’s the way the game goes, you can’t sit and mope for the rest of your life. I was there and it didn’t happen but life goes on. I left the following season but at least I was with a club that won the FA Cup. They treated me as well as everybody else so I can’t complain, those things happen. Some players never get to walk on the turf at Wembley but I was able to do that.I was in and out of the team that season and played in the quarter-finals and by then they have a clue as to what XI they are going to use, barring injury. It was between me and a good friend of mine, Patsy Holland, who I had played in the youth team with. He scored in the semi-final so they took him to the final. You can’t go through life feeling bitter and angry, life goes on.The crowd that day was 100,000 and the new Wembley Stadium, which has a capacity of 90,000, will be close to full capacity when Bradford and Swansea meet. In the last two finals between Arsenal and Birmingham and Liverpool and Cardiff they had crowds of 88,000-something and it won’t matter that one of the teams this year is from the bottom division. Both clubs will be allocated 30-something thousands tickets and I’m sure they will sell them. It will be a fantastic atmosphere and an occasion Nahki and his teammates will cherish.My advice to Nahki right now is to really enjoy being in the League Cup final, it’s a wonderful achievement that is not only great for him and his family but also the country. If I were him I would take my time and learn my trade properly because it is a big difference between the Premier and the division he is playing in right now. He’s got lots of time to get there.The key people are going to be the club who will determine what is right for him and when the time is right to let him go. It’s going to be up to him, his agent and the club. He’s 22 and there is no rush, just learn your craft and just continue to improve and he will get what he deserves when the time is right. He’s got tons of time, a long career ahead of him and lets just look to improve year after year, rather than rushing into things and upsetting your form.If you leave your club and go to a bigger club, bigger is not always better. Kyle Lightbourne can tell you that. Nahki has the ability so lets just let him enjoy where he is right now and lets see what happens from there.As Shaun Goater and Kyle said there are many players who never get the chance to play at Wembley, so he should just bask in the sun right now and enjoy the moment. I’m over the moon for him, I really am. I watched the second match and felt they couldn’t lose because the way Villa came out to play played right into their hands. When you start pumping balls up into the air, those teams in that division played that way week in and week out and know how to handle that. They played right into their hands. Bradford had an excellent plan, to get tight with them, put them under pressure, harass them and they were deserving winners.This week’s other semi-final had some controversy with Chelsea unable to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Swansea as they had midfielder Eden Hazard sent off for kicking the ball from under the body of a Swansea ball boy who, it was said, was trying to waste time. That said, there is no place for that sort of stuff in football, not when you’ve got a little ball boy, even if he was wasting time. I’m sure the FA will deal with.I can understand the frustration but it doesn’t warrant kicking a ball boy. I didn’t see the footage but it is strange when you see a player do something to a ball boy who is there to fetch the ball and get it back into play. You can understand his feeling, his team has a chance to get into a final and he might have held onto the ball but it doesn’t give you permission to kick him.I think it is interesting that Swansea and Bradford are in the final. You have two smaller clubs, whereas normally you have the big clubs so it makes for a nice change. You have the FA Cup this weekend and there will always be upsets in the FA Cup, that‘s the beauty of it. There are big clubs in it that can get upset. My team is out so now we can concentrate on maintaining our league place.