Without fanfare following Tranmere Rovers’ relegation from the Football League, Jason Koumas announced his retirement from the sport this week, bringing the curtain down on the career of one of the most gifted Welsh players of his generation.
The Wrexham-born playmaker was one of the talents who came through the ranks at Tranmere Rovers during the John Aldridge era, along with Andy Parkinson and Alan Mahon, at a time when the Birkenhead club still held its own in the second level. Whereas Parkinson went on to a respectable lower league career and Mahon never quite lived up to promise (poor career decisions early on perhaps) and would enjoy a brief return to Tranmere, Koumas was the one player who might well have done it all. And that is where opinions are split – he is either the sort of player who is just a joy to watch, or too much of a ‘luxury’.
After making his debut in the 1998-99 season, Koumas’ star gradually rose. Tranmere reached the League Cup Final in 2000, although he did not play in the final. While Tranmere were relegated the next year, Koumas was one of the team’s shining lights and his stellar performances drew attention from clubs higher up the league. A move to West Bromwich Albion took place in 2002. Then managed by Gary Megson, not a name associated with flair in any case, Koumas did not look out of place in the Premier League, but could not keep Albion up, though he was integral in winning back promotion.
However, he fell out with Bryan Robson who replaced Gary Megson, and Koumas went on loan to Cardiff City in 2005-06. The following season, Robson himself was replaced by Tony Mowbray, who got Albion playing far more to his (and everyone else’s) liking. The Baggies won plaudits for their football, but fell short in the play-off final (only to win promotion the following season), and Koumas would be sold to Wigan. Unfortunately, he did not show the same form for them in the Premier League as he did at his previous clubs, and even spent a second loan spell at Cardiff City. When he was released in 2011, it seemed his football career was as good as over.
After two years without a club, Koumas returned to Tranmere. He would play regularly but could not save the Rovers from the indignity of two consecutive relegations. He at least got the chance to end his career where it all began, but one is left wondering what could have been with such immense talent.
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Also eligible for England and Cyprus, Koumas represented the country of his birth, Wales, where he recorded 34 caps and a very credible 10 goals. Apart from the Euro 2004 qualifiers in which they narrowly missed out, Wales could not make much headway until recently.
Too often football talent is not matched by attitude and application, and this may have been the case with Jason Koumas. But it cannot be said that he did not make it worthwhile. On the contrary, Koumas at his best was a joy to watch, football needs to have more and not less of his ilk.
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