“Prove them wrong” - Seb Bassong drops Norwich City, Tottenham transfer reveal | OneFootball

Seb Bassong signed for Norwich City in 2012 from Tottenham Hotspur, and he remained at the club until 2017, when he was released from his contract, and became a fan favourite with the Canaries during that time.

In those five years, Bassong featured 135 times for Norwich, getting on the scoresheet five times during that period. After leaving the club, Bassong bounced around with a few clubs, one of which was Peterborough United, but in 2020 he announced his retirement from football.

Norwich have been labelled as somewhat of a yo-yo club over the last decade or so, and Bassong was a player who had an unfortunate record, having been relegated twice in three seasons. Bassong will have been left cursing his luck aftersuffering his sixth demotion in a decade - which is a record.

Bassong started his career at French club Metz, making his debut in 2005 after coming through the ranks at the club. However, during his three-year spell in the first-team, the centre-back was part of two relegation campaigns from Ligue 1.

Newcastle United came next in 2008, where he impressed but could not prevent the Magpies from going down to the Championship for the first time in 20 years.

Despite Newcastle's relegation, Bassong signed for Spurs in August 2009, but he found first-team chances limited in North London and was loaned out to Wolverhampton Wanderers for the second half of the 2011/12 season.

They were also unfortunately relegated, though. What followed was Chris Hughton, who was the Newcastle boss who signed Bassong in 2008, bringing the defender in once again at Norwich in 2012 and guided the East Anglia-based side to an impressive 11th-placed finish in the Premier League in his first season - his second campaign with the Canaries ended in another relegation.

Sebastian Bassong explains Norwich motivation

Despite those difficult moments in his career, Bassong largely reflects positively on his time with Norwich, and explains how he was motivated to prove people wrong who questioned him on his decision to move from Tottenham.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, via Free Bets, he said: “When I reflect on my time at Carrow Road, and it’s been a minute now, honestly it’s positive.

“I always remember and take the positives out of everything because it’s too easy to be bitter, to say things didn’t go right. Things went very good, I want to emphasise that.

“There are always ups and downs in relationships but my time at Carrow Road, I came there when people didn’t expect me to. I came from Spurs and people were like: ‘What are you doing? Why are you going there?’ “People labelled the move a step back but I said: ‘No, this is a step to the side’. For me, I always saw it as that. I thought that I was going to go there and bring them what I had. What I have gained over the years. “It was a different experience and I am all about experiences. My experience with Norwich was great. My kids loved it, wife loved it, and I achieved stuff and made history with Norwich. Happy days. Amazing time. “In football, it’s all about perception. If you don’t own your own decision and you’re not making your own thought process then you might be pulled left right and centre, up and down. “That wasn’t the case, I knew why I was going to Norwich and it was my decision so for me, yes I was expecting criticism, but it was up to me to prove them wrong, which I did. “When you get put into those situations while it might seem a step back to other people, if that comes to me and effects me then I have problem but it didn’t. It pushed me, it motivated me. “I thought it was a great opportunity to make history with Norwich. To make something happen.

“That’s what I live for - I love to solve problems. That was even better for me that people were doubting my choice and my decision so I could prove them wrong.”

An unfortunate end to Bassong's career

The record for the number of relegations is purely bad luck for a player who was excellent at most of the clubs he turned out for, with those setbacks potentially being a major factor in building Bassong up in terms of his character.

In 2017, Bassong was among seven players to be released by Norwich following their season in the second tier, but not before he became a fan favourite, due to his strength, pace, and being a great organiser.

It's no wonder he became captain briefly and featured in more games for the club than in any other during his career.