I just love the Ben Wilson story. It is quite life affirming.
Although in his late 20's, before coming to us he had only played about 50 first team games . He was always just a loyal bench warmer. The loyal bit is very important. He kept up that role with us by being 2nd fiddle to Marosi. Marosi was not up to Championship standard so Wilson earned a few first team games at the end of 20-21, but was promptly usurped by the aquisition of a new 1st choice, Simon Moore.
Wilson went back to being loyal bench warmer. But he gets a second chance when Moore commits some real (and expensive) howlers. So suddenly at a relatively late age Ben Wilson gets the thing he has probably been craving for well over a decade - 1st team football, at a very high standard in front of big crowds. There must have been many times when he thought he would never get his chance to experience that.
But it gets better. This time he keeps the shirt, the club challenge for promotion and he goes on to set a record for the number of clean sheets. And then to cap the lot he scores a goal, and what's more it's an absolutely vital one in the last minute (editor's note: most goals scored by keepers are probably in the last minute).
Even if a better keeper is recruited in the summer, for the rest of his life Ben Wilson will always have season 2022-23 and Blackburn away to tell his family about.
That's the just reward for quiet loyalty, and one way or another he will definitely have a few more years on decent wages.
