Rhodes has found happy place on top of the world at long last
Scotland outcast hardly stressed by snub as Premier League beckons with ‘Boro
HERE did it all go wrong for Jordan Rhodes? The 26-yearold will marry his fiancée Emma at a ceremony in Ipswich in a month’s time, with the pair jetting off for a sun-drenched honeymoon in the Maldives shortly afterwards. The lovebirds have only just moved into a swish new house within easy striking distance of Middlesbrough’s training ground, where he will turn up each day next season as a Barclays Premier League superstar, having started to repay his exorbitant £9m transfer fee from Blackburn Rovers in January with six priceless goals as ‘Boro returned to the big time for the first time in seven years. Let’s just say all this has softened the blow somewhat when it comes to his non-inclusion in Gordon Strachan’s Scotland squad for the friendly double header against Italy and France.
“I’m getting married in about a month’s time, I’ve got a honeymoon booked, I’ve got the Premier League to look forward to and I’ve just moved into a new house,” said Rhodes. “Life at the moment is pretty good.”
The Scotland question has followed Rhodes around for so long that it is understandable if the player would rather talk about other, happier things. Others, though, are likely to continue the debate on his behalf.
The nation’s all-time Under-21 leading scorer, Rhodes – who was born in Oldham but threw his lot in with us under the schooling rule – has three goals in 13 appearances for the full team, a better record than it looks considering that only two of them have been starts. A victim of Gordon Strachan’s preferred 4-2-3-1 shape, he hasn’t featured since the 6-0 win against Gibraltar in Faro in March and his name hardly came up during this week’s squad announcement. A bit like his one-time Scotland Under-21 colleague Leigh Griffiths at Celtic, though, his claim could become irresistible if he begins banging the goals in for Middlesbrough in the Premier League. Particularly if he is the only Scottish striker in there. But after all those long years plugging away at Barnsley, Ipswich, Huddersfield, Blackburn and now Middlesbrough, Rhodes reckons reaching the top level of the English game is less a means to an end than an end in itself.
“The Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world,” he said. “Even if I only get one or two minutes next season, I will be achieving a lifelong dream. “Playing Championship football or League One football is never anything to be sniffed at,” he added. “Coming through the ranks at Barnsley or Ipswich, my aim was just to play in their first team.
“Did I ever think in my wildest dreams that I would be playing for a club in the Barclays Premier League? No I didn’t. But I have worked hard to get myself in a position where I find myself in the Premier League, so I guess my dreams have come true. It will be a fantastic year next year and something that for me personally will be completely different. Life in the Barclays Premier League is not normal life. I will just try to soak it all up.”
Rhodes was only “six or seven” when the likes of Juninho and Fabrizio Ravanelli strutted their stuff in the shadow of the Transporter Bridge but ‘Boro could be the most successful team in the North East next season and the manner of their promotion could hardly have been more dramatic. Rhodes was a second-half substitute as they got the nervy last-day draw they needed against season-long foes Brighton and Hove Albion. He soon found himself besieged by joyful fans at the Riverside Stadium at the final whistle.
“I don’t know what the precise minute was when I came on,” he said. “But I came on and then there were eight minutes of stoppage time. So a simple cameo turned into a 26-minute one! But you know what, I would rather have been in the thick of it, running about, than sat on the sidelines. The time didn’t kick on very quickly, but somehow we managed to hear that final whistle.”
The drama didn’t start there, though. Justifying the £9m outlay for the last piece of the club’s promotion jigsaw was one thing, but two of Rhodes’s six goals in 13 league starts for his new club gained crucial last-minute points against MK Dons and Bolton Wanderers. Promotion allowed former clubs Huddersfield and Blackburn to receive generous additional slices of cash.
“Obviously I only joined halfway through,” said Rhodes. “The type of player they were attracting at the time was significant, so to join halfway
I have worked hard to get myself in a position where I find myself in the Premier League, so I guess my dreams have come true