Portsmouth FA Cup great mocked after leftfield late-night outburst from former Arsenal, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur man
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But Pompey’s FA Cup-winning captain found himself in the firing line of some light-hearted stick from some of his old team-mates, after a late-night Instagram post.
Campbell rolled out a graphic using data from the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons when he was at Fratton Park, to highlight his claim to be one of the game’s speediest footballers.
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Hide AdThat’s despite the centre-back being in the twilight of his career when the information Castrol Football Index used to calculate players’ speeds was gathered.
The list has Campbell behind Theo Walcott as the Premier League’s fastest players, with Walcott said to have clocked a high of 22.72mph to the Londoner’s 22.5mph.
Others on the list include Didier Drogba (22.27mph), Nicolas Anelka (22.05mph) and Cesc Fabregas (22.05mph).
Writing at gone 2.30am, Campbell proudly highlighted his lofty position, compared his speed to Olympic legend Usain Bolt and called for recognition for his efforts.
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Hide Ad‘Bolt hit a top speed of 24.04mph,’ he posted on Instagram. ‘You have to remember I did this speed when I was 34 YEARS OLD imagine the pace I could generate at the age of 23 friends facts and figures #invincible respect is due!’
There wasn’t necessarily agreement from Campbell’s England team-mates, with Rio Ferdinand questioning Fabregas’ place in the running.
He replied: ‘Sol, I’m sorry to kill your vibe but Cesc being on this list makes this bit of data null and void. Cesc’s game was brain, passing and angles not speed - and Cesc would tell you that.’
Andy Cole chimed in with ‘Easy Sol man’, while Phil Neville referenced Campbell conceding a penalty which ended Arsenal’s Invincibles undefeated run in 2004.
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Hide AdHe said: ‘Still give us a penalty at OT tho Sol’, before adding ‘love you still Solman’.
A Pompey team-mate who undoubtedly possessed searing pace in Sylvain Distin also had his two pennies to add.
Campbell’s Blue defensive partner wrote: ‘Cesc as fast as Anelka???? Really????.’ A reply came as the 48-year-old stressed he wasn’t the source of the date, before Distin added: ‘Nico at 45 would still be faster than Cesc at 21. We both know that. Great player but speed wasn’t one of his quality (sic).’
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