SEBASTIEN BASSONG: I need to say sorry for that gun picture... I was racially abused last season and Bale won't be taking free-kicks at Real (at least to begin with)



Stunning column from the Norwich skipper

Cameroon defender inspired by Gerrard's two types of captaincy

Defender moved to East Anglia because of Chris Hughton

How Gary Hooper reminds him of Michael Owen

Tickets in Premier League are 'pricey' compared with France

The Norwich captain, full name Sebastien Aymar Bassong Nguena, began his footballing life at the famed French academy Clairefontaine. He has played for Metz, Newcastle, Tottenham and Wolves before arriving at Carrow Road in 2012. A colourful character and accomplished leader, the 27-year-old is no stranger to controversy and tackles some weighty subjects here in his first Footballers' Football Column... And, yes, this is the first time he has spoken about that infamous replica gun picture.



Team-mates: Sebastien Bassong (left) larks about with Gareth Bale during their spell at Tottenham together in 2011

Gareth Bale is all about confidence. I know having played with him at Tottenham. I signed for Spurs in the summer of 2009 and in that season he wasn’t playing.



Then, right at the time he was supposed to go out on loan, Benoit Assou-Ekotto got injured. There were no more left backs so Gareth had to stay and play in that position. I was next to him in defence.

And then, wow. He changed. When Harry Redknapp gave him the confidence he needed, he went flying. He just got better, and better, and better, and better.

Phew. He was bombing forward, taking people on, doing crazy stuff. He could have played on his own down that whole left channel; he was covering all the ground. We saw in training what he was capable of – there was no pressure, he could express himself.

The thing about him was confidence. He’s kind of a shy boy, he wasn’t talking a lot.



We knew he was really talented but it needed something to wake him up. Harry realised how good he was, changed his position, and now he is the player he is.

The Real deal: Bale unleashes a fierce shot in athletic style to score past West Ham in November 2012

It’s going to be different if he goes to Madrid. It is one of the biggest clubs in Europe. He is going to arrive in another atmosphere and hang out with proper stars, so he has to create space in the dressing room and earn their respect.



His prospective price tag is not going to help him out. Now he has to be really strong. He’ll learn a lot but I don’t think it will be easy for the first couple of months.

He has to settle down. British players don’t like to move abroad – so for the few ones who are doing it, you’ve got to be strong. He is moving to a big club, so there is big competition. His team-mates might not help him out. Some of them may. It’s a team, but full of individuals. There will be rivalry.

He needs good people around him on his bad days, and believe me, he will have some bad days. If he starts scoring goals in his first few games it will build his confidence and then he will fly.

But he can’t take the free-kicks. Not straight away. I remember when my Cameroon team-mate Geremi was playing at Madrid, he was telling me for a free-kick there was him, Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos, Luis Figo, and Raul. All of them would be around the ball saying, ‘Who is going to take it?’

Gareth isn’t the kind of character to fight like that. At Spurs, yes he would take the ball and say, ‘I’m taking the free-kick.’ But Madrid is a different level. I don’t think personality-wise he will say, ‘Please, stand aside, I am taking the free-kick.’

Picture storm: Bassong apologises for posing for this picture of him with a replica gun

I want to say sorry. I was fined by Norwich after posting pictures of myself posing with a gun on my Instagram page. I must explain.



At that moment I forgot I was ‘Sebastien Bassong Premier League player’ – being watched. In my head I was ‘Sebastien Bassong from Paris’.

Here’s what happened. I was in my garden in Norwich, playing with my friend from Paris. I had a fake gun. We were just posing, nothing aggressive but I wasn’t thinking. I was being silly imagining something like James Bond. My friend took pictures and he posted them on Instagram, then I posted them. They were not cool pictures but just different.

On the caption I wrote, ‘Practising for the defence of my little girl’. She is two and it was supposed to be a joke about protecting her when she gets older.

A friend of mine saw the pictures and told me I could get in trouble. I hadn’t realised. Then the gaffer pulled me in his office and told me off. He was angry. I told him straight, ‘Listen boss, this wasn’t planned.’ But I take the blame.

I deleted the images but didn’t comment because I just wanted to let it go – this is the first time I am talking about it. I keep saying sorry to people in the street who come and talk to me.



Even my dad, Raymond, he killed me. He keeps saying to me, ‘Don’t forget you are a Premier League payer.’



If I was in front of him he would have slapped me. He said: ‘People will talk about you for the wrong reasons and think you are a bad guy for holding a gun.’

The fine is correct. I shouldn’t have done it. Kids are looking at us. If tomorrow a kid goes and holds a gun, thinking, ‘Oh I’m doing this like Bassong’ that is not good at all. So I totally understand why people were really angry and I am open to talk about it.



When people come up and say, ‘What is this gun story?’ I tell them, ‘I forgot, I’m sorry, I’m human, but I’ve got responsibilities.’ That’s why I took the fine and then hopefully you can move on. You can give me stick but please don’t reduce me down to that one incident.

No-nonsense: Bassong sends Samir Nasri flying during last season's clash between Norwich and Man City

... But Nasri gets narky: City midfielder squares up to Bassong following the challenge (top)

I felt I was racially abused twice last season. Once at the ground when we played away at Swansea and once online after I had scored a late equaliser at Everton.

At Swansea a man in the crowd made a gesture I considered racist. When it happens, you don’t even realise straight away. It takes you a couple of seconds to go, ‘This is for real’. Then the anger is coming out of you. I was fuming, thinking, ‘What is going through his head to do such a gesture to me?’



The other occasion was different. It was a young guy, 17, on Twitter in late November.



After it had been reported he said he was really sorry and sent a couple of letters to the club. I forgave this one. I sent him a tweet and said: ‘All right.’ He is young, he’s never going to do it again.



Before that, I’ve never faced anything like that in England. I don’t think this country has a problem.

There are some stupid people all around the world – France, England, Spain, Cameroon. Everyone is trying to get rid of it. Eventually it will disappear.

I joined Norwich after Chris Hughton got in touch with me last summer. It was a big step for me and in truth if the manager were not Chris, who I knew and admired since working with him at Newcastle, I don’t think I would have come. But I took the decision in a split second.



I rang my agent saying, ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes. I’m going.’ He told me, ‘You have to be at your best.’ I told him, ‘Do your stuff and I’ll do mine.’ I’m a confident player.

I knew we would be battling relegation. I like the challenge. At the beginning of last season most of the media thought we would go down. So that has been my motivation. For me there was no chance we would go down. I would have not let it happen.

The manager has been a defender, and his main objective is to defend well first. Last year was the manager’s first year so he didn’t want to go crazy, he wanted to keep us safe. This year he has brought some more attacking players in and he can develop the team. He has added quality to the squad.

Nathan Redmond is a good young English boy. He is very lively and in training you just want to take him down because he is always running about. He has pace, can keep the ball well, has good skills and he’s still young so he can improve. He’s a good lad, bringing something different that we didn’t have last season.

Ricky van Wolfswinkel has great movement. He still needs time to get used to the Premier League. It’s a different pace to Portugal and Holland and is more physical.



For a striker it doesn’t come all of a sudden, he needs to analyse his game. But he’s done well, creating things, is always in the box, and making good runs at the right time. He scored a great header so I think he’s settled well.

Nathan Redmond Ricky van Wolfswinkel Martin Olsson Johan Elmander

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Leroy Fer is a defensive midfielder but likes to go forward. He brings quality, he has talent, you can see. As a Dutch player he has knowledge of football, passing and moving. He’s got it. I really like the way he plays. The way he keeps the ball, plays the game in the right way. To be at his best he needs time. We have to give new players time to establish themselves.

Gary Hooper is a pure goalscorer. He’s not loud. When I play against him in training he hides then shows up when he needs to score a goal. He definitely brought something else. He reminds me a bit of Michael Owen, who I played with at Newcastle. Michael was always in the right place to head the ball or use his feet. Gary is kind of the same.

Johan Elmander has experience and is a real worker. He’s 32 but still in good shape, full of running, and works the channels. He can hold the ball and knows about the Premier League. He’s not going to let himself get depressed if he’s having a bad time in a game. He’s a bit similar to Grant Holt. If we want to go long he’s another option in the air.

And Martin Olsson knows the Premier League. He is really aggressive, and has a great left foot.

I was honoured to be named player of the year in my first season. I’m really thankful for that. It means the fans loved the work I did.

Eastern promise: Norwich defender Bassong has settled well in the East Anglian city

The fans are the most important people in a club. They’re the ones who give me my wages so we’ve got to give them something back. That’s something we’ve always got to keep in mind. They are paying a lot, a big amount of money to come see us play. So the minimum we can do is to work our socks off.

This season I’ve been named team captain while Russ Martin is club captain. It’s a way to give responsibility to both of us. Russ has been there since the League One days, he knows everything about the club, from the gardener to anyone.

It is just a mark, someone’s got to wear it. I don’t think it will change the way I am. Whenever you’re a leader you like to talk to people. That’s something me and Russ have always been doing and we will still do that no matter who’s wearing the armband.



Captains fantastic: England skipper Steven Gerrard (left) and Bassong playing for Cameroon (right)



I’ve listened to Steven Gerrard talking about captaincy, he was saying there are different types. Some people shout and scream, others are more laid back, showing their stuff on the pitch. What matters is that you are performing on the pitch. You’ve got to know how to talk to your team-mates, you don’t talk the same to everyone. Some need a stick, some need an arm round them.

To be captain you’ve got to get the best out of everyone.

We’ve got to try and make Norwich an established Premier League team. We’ve not yet reached the level where we can say we can dream.

We have to work really hard using the principles Norwich has been employing for years. This season is going to be even tougher than last year because all the teams are getting stronger, even the ones at the lower end.

