Tag: Luton Town

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!

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

ADDED SUGAR, NO THANKS

by smudge02
Picture from https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1558189

Throughout my early career, I loved a full packet of jaffa cakes, a chocolate Yazoo milkshake and spraying ketchup on virtually every meal I ate. However, after lots of research into sports nutrition and at the ripe old age of 28 I decided to cut added sugar completely from my diet.

It took a lot of will power and discipline but almost immediately I felt healthier. I quickly became obsessed with checking food labels and it came to a point where food planning became an important part of my life. I swapped tasty fruity yogurts for natural Greek yogurt and jaffa cakes and milkshakes were replaced by fruit and nuts. Pasta sauces had to be replaced by freshly made ingredients and I purchased a Nutri bullet to help me make fresh smoothies. Having a high metabolism means I need lots of calories so I searched the market for flavourless protein powders to boost my calorie intake.

You’re probably thinking it seems like a lot of effort but I will never forget my first game after I’d cut sugar it was Crawley away for Luton Town and I felt amazing both mentally and physically. The performance I put in that day had me hooked and I’d no doubt in my mind I was going to continue with it.

Away trips became a challenge. Teammates would get on the bus with their bags of sweets and fizzy Lucozade drinks and offer them around the coach. I stayed strong and came prepared with my no added sugar porridge and my pre made pasta dish. In the evenings at the hotel apple crumble and custard would come out for dessert but I’d resist the temptation and snack on fruit and nuts in the room later. In the back of my mind, I felt I was getting the edge and even if having some apple crumble and custard wouldn’t have done any harm, mentally it felt satisfying to have a healthier alternative.

Added sugar provides calories but with little to no nutritional value. Let me make an important point that athletes do need sugar. The best way to get these sugars is through naturally occurring sugars which are found in fruit and vegetables. I began to start eating foods I had never even heard of such as Chia seeds, flaxseed, kale and goji berries. My morning porridge was being stacked with blueberries and seeds instead of jam or syrup. I also enjoyed making classic dishes like chilli con carne and spaghetti bolognese from scratch with fresh herbs and spices. Within weeks I had become a top chef! Well in my eyes anyway.

The no added sugar diet has certainly helped me think more clearly. I feel more focussed, less stressed and sleep better. According to a recent UCLA study “sugar forms five radicals in the brains membrane compromising our nerve cells ability to communicate this causes a ‘foggy’ feeling” (www.lifehack.org).

Playing football with a potentially ‘foggy’ brain as mentioned above can no doubt affect performance so cutting added sugar from your diet can help you think more clearly and produce better performances on the pitch.

Over my career i have always been susceptible to the odd yellow card (13 in one season) due to my combative, competitve style. However following the start of this diet I managed to go 14 games without a yellow card! Maybe it was concidence or more likely I was thinking more clearly and not rushing into silly challenges. I put this down to my improved diet.

Football and life, in general, has lots of ups and downs. I have experienced many of these throughout my career however since I improved my diet I have been able to recover from the lows much quicker. The best way to combat these low moods is to have steady, regular meals with a balance of protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables. I eat plenty of complex carbs such as whole grain rice and pasta as well as oily fish at least twice a week. The fruits and vegetables I eat supply me with the vitamins and minerals I need and ease digestion.

Research has shown stress and food are closely linked. From a footballer’s point of view, the body is constantly getting put under physical strain. To keep the mind sharp and fresh it’s important to keep our diets right off the pitch. I always felt the challenge of travelling distances on the road meant it would be easier to stop off at a service station for some fast food however I learned preparation was vital in getting ahead of the game. Making extra from last night’s dinner to take the next day became a habit for me meaning I knew I would be getting in the right nutrients especially after a hard session.

I encourage you to give the ‘no added sugar’ diet a try. Maybe start gradually in trying to cut out certain things and replace them with healthier alternatives. You will see a difference both physically and mentally and once you get going it will become a normal part of your daily life. You will feel great!