Quincy rejects Russian roulette

Quincy wants to stay in England to play He gave Russian roulette his best shot, but Quincy Owusu-Abeyie is happy he has cut his losses and returned to the English Championship with Cardiff City.

 
The 22-year-old signed for the Bluebirds on loan from Spartak Moscow last Friday in a six-month loan deal. And he is grateful for the chance to rebuild his career after a frustrating 18-month spell in the Russian capital.

 
"It was a gamble to go to Moscow," said the Amsterdam-born Ghana international.

 
"It's somewhere I never thought I'd be playing football, to be honest. When I was at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger told me they were interested and I thought I'd give it a try.

 
"It was an adventure for me and I spent a year-and-a-half there, but that was long enough.

 
"It wasn't the best move for me. I didn't like the football and I found the people a bit stuck up.

 
"So while I'm still young enough, I thought I'd come back to the UK and show what I can do.

 
"Coming to Cardiff is a good move for me and I'm happy to be here."

 
Owusu- Abeyie – known as Quincy or, simply, 'Q' to his team-mates – was on schoolboy terms at his native Ajax before joining Arsenal as a 16-year-old.

 
He played just five games for the Gunners in three seasons.

 
Like another former Arsenal youth player, his new City team-mate Jay Bothroyd, Owusu-Abeyie has found it difficult to settle since leaving North London.

 
His spell in Russia saw him feature 21 times for Spartak, scoring once, before loan spells with Celta Vigo in the Spanish Segunda Division, and latterly, Birmingham City.

 
"After six months, Birmingham had to send me back to Moscow because they had to reassess their wage bill," he added.

 
"The next option that came up for me was Cardiff."