One to Watch – Jimmy Bullard

On loan Ipswich Town midfielder Jimmy Bullard has been identified by Vital QPR as the One to Watch as QPR welcome The Tractor Boys to Loftus Road on Tuesday evening.

Name: Jimmy Bullard

Date of Birth: 23/10/78

Former Clubs: Gravesend & Northfleet, West Ham United, Peterborough United, Wigan Athletic, Fulham

Appearances (Goals): 305 (42)

Funny man Jimmy Bullard will be looking to help Paul Jewell to a seventh game unbeaten after taking over at Ipswich, after missing out on Saturday`s game against Hull. An experienced midfielder, with plenty of zest and leadership qualities, the QPR players will have to step up their game to keep the 32 year old quiet.

He initially started his non-league career with Gravesend & Northfleet, scoring 7 goals in 30 league appearances for The Fleet. In 1999 he completed a £30 000 move to West Ham United, however first team opportunities failed to materialise and he eventually signed for Peterborough United after a 3 week trial period.

Bullard`s reputation soon blossomed at London Road where he went on to spend 2 years at Peterborough, making 66 appearances and scoring 11 goals. His impressive form earned him a move to Paul Jewell`s Wigan Athletic in January 2003. Bullard quickly established himself in the Wigan first team and was named in the PFA Division Two Team of the Year for 2002-03. He then helped Wigan secure promotion to the FA Premier League in the 2004/05 season.

He went on to make 145 League appearances in his four years at the JJB Stadium, before moving back to London to sign for Fulham in a £2.5m deal in the summer of 2006. A cruciate knee ligament injury saw him miss virtually the whole of his first year at Craven Cottage but he returned in time to help the club win their battle to stay up. He only managed 39 league appearances for Fulham, before completing a £5 million move to Hull City.

Bullard made his Hull debut against former club West Ham, and upon scoring his 3rd goal for the club against Manchester City he imitated Hull manager Phil Brown`s on-pitch team talk from the same fixture the previous season. He went on to make only 23 appearances for The Tigers before completing a loan move to Ipswich Town in January 2011.

Having already scored one goal in his two appearances for Ipswich, Bullard still certainly has the quality and enthusiasm to compete at Championship level and if QPR want to continue their promotion push Jimmy Bullard is certainly the one to keep quiet.