[WillieJohnstonsGreenhouse]

Tranmere's former Wales midfielder Jason Koumas has announced his retirement at the age of 35.

Koumas, who won 34 international caps, started his career with Rovers before a £2.5m switch to West Brom.

After five years with the Baggies, he joined Wigan for £5.3m, but had two loan spells with Cardiff before his return to Prenton Park in 2013.

"I know my own body and this is the right time for me to hang up my boots," he told the Tranmere website.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33479191

Thanks for the memories JK - always be a legend in my eyes.
Frightening how short a football player's career is.

[Dingle-Dingle]

Seem to remember he`s a regular pundit on the Beeb as well as playing!! DD

[4evaabaggie]

Enjoyed watching him play for us, some great memories a very good player memory slightly tainted by the play-off final against Derby. May be my old mind but I felt a few players played for themselves not the team hence the defeat, and I feel he was one of them. Still, no hard feelings, wishing him good health and a happy retirement.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

All the best, Jase. Definitely an Albion cult hero, and had the potential to become a legend, but I suspect that would have been too much like hard work...

[silverbaggie]

All the best, Jase.  Definitely an Albion cult hero, and had the potential to become a legend, but I suspect that would have been too much like hard work...

That sums it up nicely Ska.

He could have achieved so much more than he actually did.

Thanks for the memories Jason. Hope that you have a healthy and wealthy retirement.

[drewks]

Really talented guy, but like a lot of naturally and hugely gifted players, he didn't make anything like the most of it, Reminded me of a typical Chelsea player in the late 60's/early 70's, he would've fitted in well in that era!

Really enjoyed watching him though and glad we had him for the time we did

[BaggieMan]

I wonder if Koumas ever regretted leaving West Brom......

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

I wonder if Koumas ever regretted leaving West Brom......

In all likelihood, probably not.  The word on Koumas from those close to him was always that he hated football, and saw it purely as a chore he had to perform to get his (generous) salary every month.  Imagine Gordon Ramsey choosing to spend his time cooking people microwave ready-meals, or Salman Rushdie knocking out dirty limericks for joke books, and I think you'd have Koumas's attitude to the sport he was so prodigiously talented at in a nutshell.

I'm glad he deigned to help us out with that talent when he did, but really, you can't help but shake your head and wonder what's worse: the waste of an insanely promising career, or the fact that he never even seemed to care that it was being wasted.