The Secret Footballer

[aussieowl]

Some interesting comments from the secret footballer in regards to fans, cheating, diving etc.

Q - Are players hurt more by media criticism, pundits’ opinions and fan chants than they make out?

A - Fan chants I've always hated. I never read papers unless I play well. That may sound egotistical but, psychologically, it is a tremendous boost reading great things about yourself. It helps me greatly. When I don't play well, I don't read the papers. Simple.

I have never read fans' forums. Ever. Totally pointless. I know more than any fan in the country about how football should be played and what it takes to win matches, so I am not going to read anything that they say about what happened in a match or how I or my team-mates are playing. I know when I've played well and what went right, and I know when I've played badly and what went wrong. If I need help, I'll ask my coaches. That's what they're paid for.

It is the kids who are affected more than any other set of players. Young first-y

[Rotherhamowl10]

Interesting read Aussie.

Have you ever read the book?

Mate fetched it on holiday and I read a couple of chapters, some very interesting stuff.

I've heard some pretty interesting stories from a mate who started out at SWFC, nothing like the secret footballer who was obvious a top player for a number of years.

You watch characters like Jimmy Bullard and can't help think what stuff they got up to you.

Love this comment:

'You have to be brave to play there. You have to not care what the fans think of you, you have to be confident that eventually somebody will make the right run and you will find him. And then you have to be prepared for the striker to get all the glory from the fans. Those are the players I want in my team.'

How many players have you seen at Hillsborough down the years who didn't want the ball? I can think of quite a few.

Another great point about players that can only tackle - seen a few of them down the years.

[redgreggie]

I listen to talksport between 10.00-01.00, Jason Cundy and Adrian Goldberg, I cringe when I hear Jason go on about 'looking' for contact in the oppositions penalty area so you can go down and get a penalty.

you see it all the time now, it's awful.

I remember when I was young and I'd watch an English team in the European Cup, it was always the foreign players that were the cheating, diving, spitting and committing the cynical fouls, then we fill our clubs with them ...and guess what...yes, our game is full of it...not to mention the (alleged) corruption.

Bach then I would always be cheering the English team, no matter who they were, now I don't give a toss, they're basically all foreigners now.

why are they all foreigners...simple.. ...UEFA/FIFA outlawed the game the way we played it, the beefy challengers, the crunching tackles, and went for the tip-tappy continental (boring) style of football to make sure we couldn't compete as effectively.























ray...in Batley.

[aussieowl]

[quote="Rotherhamowl10"]Interesting read Aussie.

Have you ever read the book?

Mate fetched it on holiday and I read a couple of chapters, some very interesting stuff.

I've heard some pretty interesting stories from a mate who started out at SWFC, nothing like the secret footballer who was obvious a top player for a number of years.

You watch characters like Jimmy Bullard and can't help think what stuff they got up to you.

Love this comment:

'You have to be brave to play there. You have to not care what the fans think of you, you have to be confident that eventually somebody will make the right run and you will find him. And then you have to be prepared for the striker to get all the glory from the fans. Those are the players I want in my team.'

How many players have you seen at Hillsborough down the years who didn't want the ball? I can think of quite a few.

Another great point about players that can only tackle - seen a few of them down the years.

[Rotherhamowl10]

It's a good read Aussie.

The thing that fascinated me the most was a chapter about money. The Secret Footballer and friends went to the races and put a few grand each on a horse. A table next to them, of older upper class, made a comment about them betting what they can't afford.

The horse won and they got the winnings (which was quite considerable) and put it in a champagne bucket and set the lot on fire, while placing it on their table saying: "that's how much we can afford", before walking off.

[hirstyboywonder]

It's a good read Aussie.

The thing that fascinated me the most was a chapter about money. The Secret Footballer and friends went to the races and put a few grand each on a horse. A table next to them, of older upper class, made a comment about them betting what they can't afford.

The horse won and they got the winnings (which was quite considerable) and put it in a champagne bucket and set the lot on fire, while placing it on their table saying: "that's how much we can afford", before walking off.

Think that tells its own story.
While the people that support the teams that these players play for spend most of what they can afford and sometimes more on watching them, they have so much money and so little regard for it that they can afford to do something as crass as that. ****ers.

[braggyowl]

It really p!sses me off when you see poor kids in other countries starving to death and footballers acting this way over here...Send them your cash you c""ts instead of burning it or gambling it away!!!!