Can
you tell me about your time at Loughborough, highlights and lowlights...
I have loved every minute at Loughborough, it is an absolutely amazing place and I have made lifelong friends here. I can see why people stick around until they are pushing retirement age (not mentioning any names Peteman!!). As for football it has certainly had its ups and downs, obviously playing for the 1st team of the best University in the country is a highlight, however, the lowlight, on a personal note, definitely has to be the BUSA final this year. To play in every knockout game and then miss the final through illness was quite tough to take…oh well at least I picked up a BUSA gold…or did I????? (cheers pies)! But seriously I was delighted that we won and that is the most important thing.
Can you shed any light on your footy career outside of Loughborough?
The typical Loughborough footballers experience really. Played for West Ham as a kid then signed schoolboy forms with Colchester United before moving on to Southend United until the age of 18.
What is the highest achievement in your career so far?
Perhaps not my highest achievement but in sentimental terms, being voted best player in an Ajax Amsterdam tournament at the age of 14 when I was playing in an Under 16’s tournament really meant a lot to me.
And which is your most memorable game for Loughborough?
My most memorable game for Loughborough is probably my debut for the first team for obvious reasons. It was only a friendly but I put in a good performance and after, it must be said, a great through ball from ‘psycho’ Gandrews I chipped the keeper from an acute angle. However, I got a bit of a bollocking from Mr Shotton afterwards for taking my shirt off in the celebration.
Who is your best friend in LSAFC (not including Nick Drew)?
To be fair I have made so many close mates in my time at Loughborough I am bound to miss people out. I am fortunate enough to have good mates throughout the club, at the top end people like Steely, Moycey and Moggy are good lads and then there are the weirdo’s from the fourth team Schmidty and Smithy and the lads in the 12th team Russ and Sweenz. Also boys that no longer play for the club such as Birnie, Sincs, Kinder, Buzza, Collo and Pelly.
Have you any funny tales that you can tell us?
Well, seeing as though I am leaving Loughborough it is quite fitting to have one from the very start and one from the very end. First one comes from the first year which is generally a blur considering I lived with Mr Barkley. Buzz went home for the weekend and left Barks with his keys so that he could use his laptop or watch his TV or probably sleep in his bed knowing Barkley’s nocturnal habits. Anyway Barks and I went out on the Saturday and I randomly ended up in Leicester whilst Barks came home with no keys. To cut a long story short he broke into our halls smashing every glass window in the process and went to bed, I came back to what looked like a bomb site and then with the help of Windy we hitched a plan to set-up Buzz. We trashed his room, hid his laptop and TV and went to pick him up at the station on the Sunday. Upon our return Buzz was met with smashed glass everywhere, all his possessions missing and with a Barkley shrug of the shoulders ‘I must have forgot to lock your room’. Its fair to say that that’s probably where the joke would have ended, however, some Oscar award-winning acting from Windy dragged it our for another 20 minutes in which time Buzz had kicked his wardrobe to pieces and was ready to kill someone. Its fair to say we kept a wide berth from Buzz that night.
The next story comes from last week. With the promise of a guest list to Rain; Barks, McSweeney, Smithy, Buzz, Kinder and myself rocked up at around 9.30, with Rain full to capacity and a queue stretching back to Effes but were rejected for some unknown reason (I personally blame Kinder’s rascal trim). We then decided to go to the Union for End of Term Party but the thought of 300 people and the band 911 was not very alluring so whilst sitting in JC’s we thought we will just jump over the wall to Rain beer garden. Anyway about an hour of commando-esqe preparation ensued before we had had enough drink to go through with it. We got the cabbie to drop us off at Mecca Bingo so as to avoid the bouncers gaze and set about scaling the fence, however, what followed was Kinder cutting his arms to shreds and an Irish lightweight hanging over the wall informing everyone in the garden of what we were planning to do. After much deliberation and seriously considering ditching McSweeney (hahaha) bright-spark Barks tells everyone that he has a platinum card and can get one person in free but can come out a bit later with Harris’ card so that the remaining four of us can get in – a method which would have got us in hours ago! So this is what we did…we played fives to see who would go in and in what order – Barks and Leon went first, then 10 minutes later Barks came out with two cards: Kinder and Smithy went next and they got in fine, then Buzz and I, concerned that the bouncers may recognise us from trying to get in earlier in the night, decided to pay a taxi driver £3 to take us from McDonalds 100 yards to Rain’s entrance to make it look as if we had just arrived. It worked for the first bouncer he waved us in with our card, however, the second one (you all know him the one with the kebab neck) told us that we had to queue as it was after 12!! As you can imagine that summed up the night so whilst the others partied in Rain, Buzz and I had to queue till almost 1 until we could get in – cheers kebab neck!!!
Which team do you support?
Tottenham Hotspur!
Who is your childhood hero and why?
Gazza was an absolute hero of mine as was David Ginola being a spurs fan. However, my all time hero is Steven Gerrard, he has absolutely everything and is by far the best midfielder in the world, let alone one hundred times better than Lamps. He has got the potential and ability to be England’s greatest ever player.
What three items would you take to a desert island and why?
The girls from the new Lynx advert, a massive Cuban and Sweeney or Russ so that I can laugh at their pale skin while I am topping up my tan!
Are there any youngsters we should look out for coming through the ranks?
Little Bradders is a quality player. A man after my own heart likes to get the ball down and play football the way it should be played, he will be bossing it in the 1s next year. I think Rob ‘Crouchy’ Edmans had a good season this year and can be a very effective player for us next year. I have also been impressed with the development of Adam Steventon, he has got himself in the gym and is looking like a very strong, powerful, solid left back. Although the boy with the massive boof Shannon is coming back so there will be plenty of competition in that area!
Who has the most bant in the whole club?
I have to conform with everyone on this one – Peter Barkley, the boy is a lunatic!! He will be a great loss to the club next year.
What’s your preference between these street cred benchmarks:
Lost or Prison Break? Prison Break
Pat Butcher or Pauline Fowler? Peggy Mitchell
Prada shoes or my granddad sandles? Sandles
Peter Crouch or Michael Owen? Owen
Russ Noble or Andy Noble? Jimmy Five Bellies
Pint or girlie bottle? A bit of both
Eddie Izzard or Jimmy Carr? Jimmy Carr
Lastly, what does the future hold for your football career? Do you have a message for the lads at LSAFC?
Well in the near future I have a massive game to prepare for. I am involved in a charity match on the 6th August against Chelsea Legends – I am especially excited about facing up to Glenn Hoddle in midfield, I will let you know if I get anywhere near him!
As for the long-term I am heading out to New Hampshire in the USA to do a masters degree on a football scholarship. So now I am focusing on getting myself in top shape. I must admit I am really looking forward to training everyday again and hopefully if I perform to my best during my two full seasons it may lead to opportunities to pIay professionally out there.