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Luton V QPR 14/07/2020 -Programme Piece

by smudge02

Having played close to 600 professional football matches I never envisaged that a global pandemic would bring my football career to a temporary halt. Months just keep ticking by and still no sign of when I will continue my playing career, to say I’m desperate to get back onto the pitch is an understatement as the need to satisfy my competitive edge grows. A big part of my career was my time at Luton Town and the 178 appearances I made for the club. Playing at Kenilworth Road is special, the atmosphere the passion; I loved every minute of it and still do to this day. The commitment I made to the club to move my young family 200 miles away from close family and friends was probably the best footballing decision I ever made. Gary Sweet played a huge part in this; he made me feel wanted as not just a football player but a human being too. I owe him a lot for not only making the move happen but sticking by me through a career-threatening injury that could have easily finished me. To this day I continue my daily life with a metal rod and screws inserted in my right leg however due to the support I received from the club and my own determination I can continue playing the game I love.   The managers I played under at the club I learned so much from them all not least Nathan Jones. Having not had the privilege to come through at a football academy he coached me in a way I had never been coached before and I often think what might have been if I had met him earlier in career. I tend to need a bit of time to win a manager over and I think that was the case with John Still and Nathan. I wouldn’t say I’m the easiest on the eye to watch but I’ve always tried to work hard on my game whilst always giving everything I had.

Part of the reason I never wanted to leave Luton was that I knew more success would be inevitable and I am not dissimilar to most other players in that I hate losing so to be a part of a team pushing for promotion is what I wanted. I also have this inner belief that on my day I am better than anyone so I am quite stubborn when it comes to being told otherwise but as I have got older I have learned to deal with the brutal nature football can sometimes bring. Before I would often get angry and rage and feel like I would need to train harder as I have always had a feeling of needing to prove people wrong. I have learned to try and channel this anger in the right way on the pitch.

Seeing Luton in the championship is fantastic and it’s what the town deserves. Having commentated on the game at Leeds and the game the other day at Huddersfield I could see the fight and desire in the players to keep the club up and I am confident if the players and staff continue to work in this way over the next three games then survival can be achieved. There are still players at the club who I played with during my time such as Danny Hylton, Glen Rea, and Pelly Ruddock and it is great to see these guys competing at this level. Pelly was always one I hated training against as despite being only a young lad when he came he was so much naturally stronger and quicker than me I felt the only way to stop him was to foul him!!! I remember me and Luke Guttridge speaking after a 5 nil win away at Alfreton in the conference we both said with this guy in the middle with us no other team will touch us. Credit goes to John Still for recruiting talent like Pelly and many others. Hylts brings a desire that you need as he’s got this edge about him that you can’t teach and I have mentioned before he is one of the best strikers I have played with.

One of my favorite moments in the famous orange shirt was my full home debut against Wolves in the FA cup 3rd round. We destroyed Wolves that day and with help from the crowd played at an intensity they couldn’t deal with it. I won man of the match but in truth, Andre Gray should have received the award as he ran the Wolves defence ragged that day. The Atmosphere inside Kenilworth road was unbelievable and for sure there was only going to be one winner that day.

Another special moment came for me at Hyde away on the final day of the conference winning season when four months to the day of a potential career-threatening broken leg I made my reappearance back on the pitch. The ovation I received that day still sits with me and I can’t thank the Luton fans enough for that as it was special. The work I had put in through those four months to get back was relentless and to be appreciated like that on the final day meant the world to me. It gave me huge motivation to hit the ground running the following season. Fortunately for me, I haven’t had an injury since that day and bar suspension been available for every single match since through my time at Luton, Stevenage, and Chesterfield. I think that’s why I have played so many games throughout my career as I never miss through injury.

I am currently playing for Chesterfield FC in the national league and still love it. We have a recently appointed new manager in John Pemberton who has a similar style to Nathan and has got the team playing much better football so I am excited to see what the new season will bring. It’s a big club for the level however as most Luton Fans know the national league is brutal and you have to be tough to stand up to the physical nature of the league.

Luton has a tough game this evening against another former Premier League team. Luke Amos plays in the midfield for QPR and is one to watch having played with Luke at Stevenage I know the qualities he has. Three points tonight would no doubt put Luton in a fantastic position going into the final two games so I look forward to seeing if they can get a vital victory.

All the best!

Smudger!

SLEEP TO SUCCESS

by smudge02

For the past 15 years of my career, the quality and consistency of sleep have played a key role in my preparation for training and matches. There is no doubt that sleep is an important function for every human being but for athletes it becomes all the more essential. To achieve peak mental and physical performance in football, sleep has to play a huge part in your daily regime and I have noticed this even more as I have got more experienced. Getting enough sleep isn’t just the answer it’s about the quality of sleep you get. It can sound very boring but going to bed and waking up at the same time everyday is important as it improves your mental well being as opposed to erratic sleep which can make you feel tired and fatigued at certain times of the day. For some players getting a good night’s sleep the night before a game they think is enough. However, the sleep they get during the week is helping their bodies and mind recover so staying up till the early hours watching Netflix or playing computer games isn’t helping their performance on a Saturday. I have pointed out previously I have always looked for that edge and sleep is certainly one of them so I make sure I do my best to get it right. By this I try to avoid bright lights like TV or ipads before bed as this can switch on the mind, instead I opt for a calming routine before bed like books or magazines to promote the wind phase.

The major advantages I have found through getting the right amount of sleep are the mental benefits. If my brain is tired there is no doubt this has affected my performance. On a matchday, especially since I have had children I have always woken up early around 7 am for a 3 pm kick off. However, for me, this is too long to be awake for a peak at 3 pm as when the game kicks off I would have been awake almost 8 hours! So I combat this by having a short nap from 10-11.30 am and this routine has helped me throughout my career as once I have got over the initial grogginess I feel switched on and ready to go and come 3 pm I don’t feel tired. It’s the same for a Tuesday night game with a 7.45 pm kick off; I will wake up at my usual time and then have a nap in the afternoon so come kick off I feel full of energy and alert. My general mood also improves if I have had enough sleep and I find I am a nicer person to be around as opposed to a poor quality sleep where I can feel a bit grumpy the following day and this can affect motivation to get the best from yourself. As mentioned in previous blogs your brain is your biggest tool and sleep enhances brainpower!

Photo provided by Tina Jenner

How important is mental toughness?

by smudge02

You will struggle to find a footballer in the lower leagues of the English pyramid who hasn’t at some point been released, transfer listed, told they are not wanted or dropped from a matchday squad. These scenarios can be difficult and sometimes emotional to deal with and to get through these moments and push forward with your career you have to have a level of mental toughness. Mental toughness is the ability to resist, manage, and overcome doubts, worries, concerns, and circumstances that can stop you from succeeding or achieving your goals.

As I know too well football is an unforgiving industry where you are judged on how you perform day in day out in an alpha male environment where you battle with your teammates who are sometimes your friends for a place in the starting XI on a Saturday. It’s not just on the pitch your performance is scrutinised it’s off the pitch too where behaviour is watched closely and it can sometimes feel like you are being monitored 24 hours a day. This battle is a constant one for 10 rigorous months of the year and those who don’t have an inner self-belief sadly fall away and more often than not out of the game.

I have been in the game as a player for 15 years now and there have been times where my confidence has been blown to pieces but other times where I have felt nobody can touch me and fortunately for me it’s the latter that’s occurred more often. For many of the years I have been playing, the end of the season becomes a feeling of anxiety and or worry to see if I would be wanted for the next season by the manager or if I would have to start looking for new employment and this doesn’t only affect me but my family too with my partner often settled in a job or my in recent times my young children in nurseries. Fortunately for me, I have a supportive family who stands by me so I can continue playing the game I love.

In my early career under the guidance of Jim Harvey, the inner thoughts I had were of the constant need to prove myself. I had this edge about me that I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I let this opportunity go by so every time I went on the pitch I had this energy in me that I was able to use positively to produce good performances. This constant drive has stayed with me throughout my career and I believe it’s a big reason why I have been able to play so many games professionally. When at Luton Town I was labelled the ‘heartbeat of the team’ by Hakan Hayrettin and in the Nathan Jones era, there was a joke going around with the coaches that “I’d punch my grandma to get in the team” that’s how hungry I was to play. This is the passion I have for football and I believe that a lot of it comes from the mental toughness I have and the inner self-belief I have.

For the many knocks, I have taken throughout my career I have always been able to bounce back. The question is where does this mental toughness and self-belief come from? In my case, I believe it’s partly down to the way I was brought up by my Mum and Dad who are both very hard working people and have always taught me the value of things. I have also developed it along the way, for instance, my college days where I would cycle to the train station at 6.30 am spend the day at college then train for the Morecambe reserve team at night before arriving home at 11 pm following the return journey back. I didn’t have to do this but I pushed myself to keep my face in the door and grab any opportunity I could. Managers have also taught me a lot, Paulo Di Canio worked me so hard when we won the league 2 title that it built resilience in me that I still use today. John Sheridan my recent manager at Chesterfield tested me mentally without even realising by taking the captaincy off me and playing me in positions I had never played before and it did bother me, but I found a way to carry on working hard and believing in myself.

Injuries can also be a testing time for a footballer and can affect your mental wellbeing. Luckily for me, I have only suffered one major injury however injuries in football can make you feel worthless as you are unable to do your job what you are paid for. Some players struggle and it’s easy for them to start feeling isolated or fall into a trap of drinking, gambling, or becoming overweight.

Mental strength can certainly be developed and I have worked hard in trying to develop mine. Reading Dan Abrahams’ soccer tough’ book gave me pointers on how footballers can do this along with ex-player Paul McVeigh who talks a lot about techniques and improvements than can be made in his book ‘the stupid footballer is dead’. I recommend both these books to any sportsmen or women reading this. Both these authors outline the same message that footballers don’t work on the mental side of the game enough and if they did bigger improvement in performance would be seen.

In a result driven business Managers and coaches in general work a lot on the physical and technical side of the game but often overlook the mental side. I believe that players and managers that do put more research and work into this side of the game will become more successful and have longer careers in the game. Your brain is your biggest tool!

Photo provided by Liam Smith

Coronavirus won’t stop me

by smudge02

It’s a strange period for everybody at present and footballers are no different. Since the 14th of March football, much like everything else has come to a complete standstill. Only 8 games left of the season and we find ourselves in a situation where we are homebound, we don’t train together and are all just wondering what happens next? The answer is nobody knows but as footballers, we live by a schedule, a routine of what time to meet, what time to train, what to eat, when to go to the gym and when our next match is, this schedule has been completely torn apart so I find myself in a situation where I have to make a new routine to keep my life in some sort of order.

For me, as you may have gathered from previous blog posts that health and fitness have always been an integral part of my life. However, before COVID-19 struck I always had a focus on the next training session or the next match coming up which gives me a structure of how to prepare my week. Since the pandemic and the halt to the football season, my focus has drifted slightly as I don’t know when my next battle will commence. I have my 2 young children who ultimately keep me very busy however sitting around entertaining them every day isn’t enough to keep me mentally and physically sharp and ready for when we do eventually proceed whether it will be in August for a new season or earlier to complete the current season.

To keep myself switched on during this period I decided to set some mini-goals to keep myself in good physical condition as well as staying mentally ready. My first goal is a short term focus and that’s to earn a new contract at Chesterfield FC. I’m enjoying my time under the new manager John Pemberton and believe under his guidance success could be around the corner so I aim to be part of that. I have to come back to training and prove to him that I deserve a new contract. This way of thinking gives me the inner motivation to stay physically fit and not use it as a time to take my mind off the job. How can I use this time to help me earn that contract is what I tell myself each morning I wake up.

My other goal is a long term goal and it sort of fits into the first goal and that’s to earn promotion with Chesterfield FC.  For years the club has struggled with relegations followed by relegation battles and the fans have stuck by the team and it would be great to repay them with a promotion push. I visualise this and it no doubt pushes me to keep working hard and preparing me for the resume of football.

The other reason to exercise is the feel good factor it brings. I’m sure whoever is reading this blog will agree that when they exercise they feel better within themselves and I am no different in that after I have exercise I feel energised. When you exercise you release endorphins which are a type of neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger. They help relieve pain and stress. After 20 to 30 minutes of hard aerobic exercise, endorphins are released and will result in a mood and energy boost for two to three hours, and a mild buzz for up to 24 hours. I certainly feel the uplift so getting my daily dose of exercise is an important part of my day during this time. Food also becomes more enjoyable once I’ve exercised and I enjoy eating healthy portions of food with treats at the weekend which I enjoy with my family.

This might sound obvious stuff but I find it important to recognise what my body needs. Footballers are usually guided by a coach or a manager on how hard to exercise but the Coronavirus has put a stop to that meaning self motivation is required. I believe the players that stay disciplined during this time with reap the rewards later and come back stronger.

Since the pandemic, my exercise routine has been focused on following the government guidelines of exercising once per day but I try to make this exercise intense to make sure my heart rate goes up and my lungs and my kegs get a good amount of work. I need to feel that I’ve worked hard. I go on three road runs a week at a distance of around 5km. I feel 5km at the right pace gives me the work I need, as any further would put too much pressure on my knees and the last thing I want to do is cause unnecessary injury. On the other 3 days, I head over to my local park where I do pitch runs and ball work. This is just to keep me familiar with a football so I put my boots on and do running with the ball. When you have a prolonged period of time without using a football you become a little rusty so I want to keep myself in touch with the football so it doesn’t become alien to me when the balls come back out. During these days I also tend to do bodyweight workouts like press-ups and planks and use the equipment I have at home, again this wouldn’t be for long just short blasts of work. Sunday’s I completely rest. This may all sound a lot but actually, it’s all short sharp stuff, the 5km will take me around 20mins, the pitch work 45mins and bodyweight work 20mins. It’s a small part of the day but I feel good from doing it without risking any injury through overwork.

There is no doubt we all miss football but in this current dark reality of the country trying to tackle this virus that’s spreading through the world like wildfire; I suppose that sport doesn’t really matter. There is still a sense of sadness amongst football fans I speak with, that the game is being missed and the entertainment it provides to the millions of people each weekend would be a welcomed relief at the chance to turn on the TV and watch something other than a news update. I look forward to getting through the other side and returning to the pitch and with the preparation I have done I feel I will return strong.

Image from http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk

I won’t be broken

by smudge02

Boxing Day 2013 could have been a defining moment in my career for all the wrong reasons. Playing for Luton Town against Barnet at the Hive on 36 minutes I suffered a horrific injury which at the time was labelled by doctors as career threatening. I broke both bones in my right leg after a clumsy tackle from behind courtesy of a Barnet striker. I was in agony and required a serious operation to repair my leg along with my career. I’d been having a fantastic season at the time as a team we were riding high at the top of the league and I was an ever present in the engine room of Luton’s midfield.

Strangely led alone in that London hospital dosed up on morphine and other strong painkilling drugs I already knew I was going to come back stronger from this. The drive inside me to get back from this injury had already started even before I’d had the operation. The op was successful and to this day I play on with a metal rod and pins inserted in my leg.

I received amazing, unforgettable support from family and friends and not least the phenomenal Luton Town fan base. Stacks of get well cards arrived as well as presents, I was sincerely touched. I could feel that people were eager to keep my spirits up however they didn’t need keeping up as I was ready for whatever this challenge would throw at me. I had a motto I religiously stuck by right through my rehabilitation which was “if it doesn’t make my leg better don’t do it”. I set up a mini gym in my house and my diet was flawless. I immediately upped my calcium intake to aid my bone healing and made sure I got lots of rest.

I had a personal target to get back before the end of the season in 4 months. I knew it could be done as I’d researched previous athletes who had experienced the same injury and how long it took them to return. Physios and doctors told me to be realistic and aim for next season stressing that I should take my time and be ready for the summer. This advice went straight over my head, I had a target and nothing was going to stop me from getting back for those last games.

The hard bit for me was seeing the team continue to win while I was totally out of the picture 200 miles away in my home in Preston. During this time I got in touch with previous players that had gone through the injury and come back. Every detail or tip they gave me I used to my advantage and worked hard every day to get my muscles strong with my return always sitting in the back of my mind.

Doctors gave me ankle mobility movements to do once or twice a day as the ankle can tighten up with this sort of injury, however, I didn’t take that advice instead of doing those movements once or twice a day I would do them nine or ten times a day. I had to learn to walk again, I was moving with a limp so to combat this I headed to the swimming pool and walked up and down the pool as in the pool there’s no impact on the leg.

I met a specialist in the field a few months in and he scanned my leg and having seen the results he declared he “had never seen healing like it”. He joked had I been living off milk, I laughed but he wasn’t far wrong.

During my rehabilitation  I had trouble getting tendons and muscles working properly in the lower part of my leg. I had to find a solution to getting these “dead” muscles going again. After more research and networking with medical individuals in the game, I came across barefoot running shoes by Vibram. I got told to wear these only when exercising as they are not the most supportive of your feet. They are not trendy or cool and if you Google them you will see what I mean. I wore them day and night with the key being you don’t get the usual support of a normal running shoe so your foot doesn’t become rigid hence your feet start moving more naturally. This meant my muscles in the lower leg started working harder building back up again. I got nicknamed by friends as the frogman as for months no matter where I was I was wearing these shoes. I did not care in the slightest as I was willing to do anything to hit my target.

26th April 2014 and I was back in the Luton Town matchday squad. My target had been hit and I was ready to get back on that pitch again. I had been training for a couple of weeks and was determined to prove I was ready to play again. I came on for the last 10 minutes in the season finale 4 months to the day of the injury. It was a special moment, the standing ovation I received from the Luton Town fans that day was something I will never forget and lives long in the memory. We won the league and I lifted that trophy.

Being the way I am my thoughts immediately turned to the next season. Most players spend summer relaxing in the sun; I spent that summer undertaking a gruelling training regime still in my barefoot shoes. I was determined to come back to pre season training as fit and strong as I’d ever been.

The following season, exactly a year to the day of the injury I scored one of the goals of my career at Wycombe in a top of the table clash (see below!). I also won four player of the year awards that year at Luton and a result was offered a new three year contract from the club. My drive and determination had got me to where I was and I continue to this day to play 40+ games a season with the same resolute attitude. The big thing I did learn from all this was to set targets as they give you something to aim for and if you want it hard enough you will make those targets a reality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_Luton_Town_F.C._season