by Pool and Darts »
24 Oct 2007 21:27
I used to work as a physio assistant/on pitch assessor for the academy from 1999-2001. During my time there I also helped look after the U17 and U19 teams, working alongside Brian McDermott and Brendan Rodgers. Was the U14s physio asst when Simon Cox was in that group. Also got to work with the reserve team on several occasions, including the Reserve cup final where Nicky Shorey missed the decisive penalty. Remember in the dressing room at half time Pardew coming in and ABSOLUTLEY RIPPING them apart because they were losing and playing sh*t. Then later, he was stood in front of me at one point during the second half when one of our players mis-controlled the ball and it went out for a throw to Norwich, and I had to move to look around him. As the ball went out I 'tut'ted really loudly, and he turned round and gave me a right angry look because he thought I was having a go at him for being in the way!! That night I treated Barry Hunter and Darren Caskey.
During my time at the academy, got to chat with quite a few people, including Kevin Dillon (his twins were at the academy at that time) Mad Dog, Teddy Sheringham, Phil Parkinson.
I still keep my letter from then academy director Nick Hammond, thanking me for the two years work!
I was in Utopia

, and Caskey was trying to pull my bird.
He was in there with Swales, Mautone and Elroy Kromheer and Peter van der Kwaak!!.
Had a great chat with Gilksey at the premiership promotion celebration party in the After Dark. What a thoroughly nice guy he is!
I was once sat in TGI Friday in Reading with my girlfriend at the time, had just promised to not talk about football for five minutes, and in walk Barry Hunter and Jim McIntyre (who was absolutely w**kered) and sat on the table right next to me!!
Also got locked in a pub with Barry Hunter near Kings Cross on the way back from a game when the police closed some pubs down because some trouble had kicked off nearby.
And...
Got a postcard from Tommy Burns from the pre-season tour of Holland because I had planned to go with my mates, but work sent me on a course that I could not get out of, so my mates got him to write me a postcard taking the piss out of me for not being there.
and finally, had a good chat with John Madejski outside the Riverside Stadium on our first trip up there, and he took the piss out of a mate for being a bit 'overweight'.
Edited to add, I also once had season ticket number 3 on the South Bank. Always wanted to find out who had numbers 1 and 2!