When Spencer Prior was playing for Cardiff City, he was often a subject for the ‘boo boys’ in the crowd. This was largely because he was paid a large wage to play for the Bluebirds, based on his solid reputation at the time. Regrettably, though, he underperformed at the Welsh club and the fans didn’t take to his performances all that well. Instead, they heckled and jeered him, making clear that he needed to up his game if he was to win them over and be taken seriously as one of the players in the long-term.
Instead, he struggled to settle in England and then went to the press to claim that the reason that he was booed by the crowd at Ninian Park was that he was English. His lack of self-awareness obviously didn’t work to enhance his reputation after his departure from Cardiff. That is before you even think about the fact that the likes of Peter Thorne, Michael Chopra and Gareth Stoker all settled perfectly well at the Bluebirds and were welcomed with open arms by the Cardiff City faithful, with their nationality never being a factor.
A Defender Who Struggled To Defend
Spencer Prior’s career as a defender began at Southend United, where he caught the eye of Norwich City at some point during his 135 games for the club. The move to the Canaries resulted in him playing Premier League football, getting on the pitch for 74 league matches. He then made the move to Leicester City, allowing him to continue his Premier League career, which also took in spells at Derby County and Manchester City; admittedly before the Citizens became the sports-washing operation that they are nowadays.
It was from Man City that Cardiff signed him, meaning that he headed to the Championship with a big reputation. Reports suggested that he was paid between £6,000 and £8,000 a week by the Welsh side; not a huge amount by modern standards, but a decent chunk of money at the time. He was somewhat error prone during his time at Ninian Park, which is why the crowd struggled to take to him and would often let him know how unimpressed with his performances there were. They even booed him when he was on the sidelines waiting to come on as a substitute.
Even so, he did play 81 times for the club in the league, scoring two goals. Eventually, he got a move to Southend United as his career began to come to its natural conclusion. He later moved into management, earning his stripes with the Australian Ladies before becoming the Technical Director of Tasmania and then working with Thailand Ladies before taking on the same role at Port FC. At the time of writing, he is in the dugout for semi-professional outfit APIA Leichhardt FC on the outskirts of Sydney. Not that he’ll ever be forgiven by the Cardiff City supporters for some abject performances.