Highs and lows of Diouf at the Reebok

11:40am Wednesday 30th July 2008

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EXASPERATING and exhilarating in equal measure, the Reebok Stadium is bound to be a much quieter place without El-Hadji Diouf.

The Senegal striker said farewell to Bolton on Monday to begin another chapter in his colourful career at Sunderland, under the guise of an equally tempestuous footballing enigma, Roy Keane.

The Black Cats boss was looking for a player to make his novice squad more streetwise, and there are few players more adept than Diouf at playing the game on the very edge. Indeed, that was part of the appeal to the legion of supporters he built up on the terraces during four years with the Whites.

Even his most ardent fan could not deny that Diouf courted controversy at every turn. On the field, there were infamous spitting incidents, the red card against Arsenal which arguably cost Wanderers a place in the FA Cup semi-final and a whopping 36 yellow cards.

Off it, court appearances, a 12-month driving ban and various other brushes with the law regularly threatened to derail the career which had taken him from the streets of Senegal to the heights of the Premier League.

It would be easy to write off the two-time African Footballer of the Year as a bad penny, but that would only be addressing half the story.

For every report of Diouf’s arrogance, there were three of his geniality. Rarely without a smile, his bubbly personality was recognised as a key tool in the Wanderers dressing room, not least by Sam Allardyce, during the club’s most successful spells.

His charity work, raising money for underprivileged children in Senegal and the UK, added to the Dioufy legend. But most importantly, when the striker was at his tormenting best, he had few equals among his peers.

The image of Diouf marauding down the wing was a most joyful sight for any Whites fan. If his goalscoring record did not quite match his talent, then his ability to create chances for others through sheer tenacity more than made up for it. His main strength, as his new manager Keane succinctly put it, was to be a thorn in the side. Allardyce knew that when he paid around £3.5million to sign him permanently from Liverpool after taking him initially on loan. He once boasted that should he decide to cash in on the flamboyant striker, he could treble his investment.

And, predictably, it was when his oft-quoted “father figure” left the club, that Diouf began to cast his eye elsewhere. He made public his unhappiness during Sammy Lee’s short reign but kept his disappointment in Wanderers’ league position largely in check to help haul them away from the relegation zone under Gary Megson. His goal, ironically against Sunderland, all but ensured the club’s safety.

His announcement, on April Fool’s Day no less, that he would quit the Reebok even if the club remained in the Premier League came as a bombshell, coming as it did on the back of the demoralising 3-2 home defeat against Arsenal. And until Sunderland’s successful bid, it seemed as if it had been somewhat premature.

Diouf won’t find the European football he was looking for, at least not in his first season at the Stadium of Light. He may, however, find a fellow kindred spirit in his manager Keane – and perhaps another father figure to help keep his demons at bay.