Spotlight on Andre Bikey

So who is Andre Bikey ?

Or to give him his full name:- André Stéphane Bikey-Amougou. Can’t see too many people having that on the back of their shirt.

Andre was born in Douala in Cameroon on 8th January 1985, and is 6 foot tall. Between 2006 and 2010 he made 25 international appearances for Cameroon, scoring once against Mautitius. He also played in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

He does appear to have somewhat of a “short fuse” on him. One bizarre incident saw him sent off against Ghana in the 2008 African Cup of Nations for shoving a stretcher bearer, who he perceived to be taking too long to get Rigobert Song off the pitch towards the end of the semi-final. This piece of petulance cost him a place in the final with Cameroon picking up a $5000 fine.

His normal position is either as a right back, a defensive midfielder, or in the centre of defence, and as a bonus he also has a triple somersault in his “celebration locker”  Note to other players-don’t get in his way if he attempts this, he’s a big unit.

Aged 16, his professional career started at Espanyol in Spain in the 2001-2002 season, but he failed to make the first team there. This was followed by a move to Marco in Portugal where he spent the 2002-2003 season making 13 appearances, scoring once. The following season found him at F.C. Paços de Ferreira in Portugal, making just two appearances before making the short trip to Clube Desportivo das Aves where he stayed for the remainder of the 2003-2004 season making 14 appearances.

The 2004-2005 season saw him at União Desportiva de Leiria, also in Portugal, except you probably wouldn’t have seen him, as he failed to make an appearance, and in 2005 another move was made. This time to Russia where he signed for FC Shinnik (also known as Khimik) based in Yaroslavl, which is about 160 miles Northeast of Moscow, making just 11 appearances with one goal. Whilst there, he clearly caught the attention of the bigger teams and on 1st July 2005 he was snapped up by Locomotiv Moscow.

The move to the Russian capital ended unhappily in 2006, with Andre claiming racial abuse having played just 14 games. A move to the UK then followed where he joined Reading, initially on loan, making 15 appearances in the 2006-2007 season, despite being sent off in his final trial game for heading butting an opponent against the Swedish team Örgryte Idrottsällskap. Reading had initially spotted him during the 2006 African Cup of Nations competition.

Reading had the option to purchase him, and that’s exactly what they did in 2007 where he signed a three year contract for a fee reputed to have been over £1 million. Whilst at Reading, Andre made a further 47 appearances, scoring a very healthy 6 goals. His Reading career went sour after he first of all gave a penalty away against Burnley in the Championship play-off semi-finals, and was then sent off for stamping on Robbie Blake (probably not the only player who wanted to do that), and then proceeded to stomp around the pitch, ripping his shirt off. This tirade bought him a 5 match ban.

Burnley were obviously impressed by his antics, because in August 2009 they signed him for an undisclosed fee on a three year deal, where he went on to make 70 appearances scoring 3 goals.

Towards the end of the 2011-2011 season, and now known as Andre Amougou, a loan move to the relegation threatened Bristol City was made. They eventually survived relegation from the Championship, not losing a game during his 7 appearances there.

At the start of the 2012-13 season, Glasgow Rangers “came knocking” on Burnley’s door, but it appears negotiations broke down over personal terms, and a free transfer to Middlesbrough followed, where he remained for the remainder of the season, making 33 appearances and scoring just the once.

At the end of the 2013 season, Middlesbrough had a massive clear out of the dross, and Andre, Nicky Bailey and 7 other senior players were on their way out, with his very large suitcase being packed yet again. There have been so many Clubs involved, you have to wonder if he ever unpacks it. He certainly keeps Joel Essomba, his Agent, very busy.

A proposed move to Spain with the 2nd division outfit Centre d’Esports Sabadell Futbol Club near Barcelona didn’t materialize in 2013 after training with them, but he found more success in Greece where the 2013-2014 season was spent at Panetolikos Gymnastikos Filekpaideutikos Syllogos, where he made 23 appearances scoring twice.

Whilst it appears that he will be keeping Referee’s busy, it just might bring something different to the team, who haven’t had an “enforcer” for a number of years. Let’s just hope that the new number 15 can keep his temper under control.

The Bexley Bodger.