Superstitious tales of beans, socks and and dead skin
It is no secret that footballers, not to mention managers, are a superstitious bunch, but I am sure many of you would still be surprised at some of the rituals we adopt.
Throughout my career, I have come across a lot of strange behaviour in the run-up to a game. Indeed, the best known habits, such as deliberately putting on one sock before the other, only scratch the surface of what really goes on in footballers' minds.
I have never regarded myself as someone who could be classed as superstitious, although there may be some things that I do on a match day or leading up to a match day that could be viewed as falling loosely into this category.
For the most part, they centre around the physical preparation for a game. I like to have a pasta meal and an early night on the Friday before a game, then try to have a lie-in, which, as those of us with young children will know, is about 8am. As for the day of the game, I try to take on as much fluid as possible, listen to music that I know will get me motivated for the match and then have beans on toast as a pre-match meal.
What differentiates this behaviour from superstition is that if we run out of beans, I will not become a gibbering wreck and race to the shop to buy another tin!
While some would argue this is where I have been going wrong all these years, I would hate to become as consumed by superstitions as a few of the players I have come across. Take goalkeeper Kevin Pilkington, my current Notts County team-mate.
During his time at Mansfield, Kevin had to have the same meal on a Friday night - on the same plate and with the same cutlery. This behaviour continued on the day of the game. He had to wear the same pants and the same socks, with the left sock always going on before the right one. We are assuming they got washed!
It seemed to work for him in the season Mansfield reached the play-offs. However, he openly admits that it got to the point where it was becoming more of an illness than a way of preparing himself for a game and he took the bold decision of stopping the bulk of his pre-match superstitions for the sake of his sanity.
I am sure lots of you who have played the game at various levels have come across similar examples that you could share.
What has always troubled me with superstitions is the question of what you do when a period of good form is followed by a bad patch. Do you suddenly ditch the old superstitions that you had and make up some brand new ones? If that was the case, I would have run out of superstitions a long time ago.
Usually, you hardly notice team-mates going through pre-match rituals in the dressing room - you are so wrapped up in your own preparation for the match that you are oblivious to what goes on around you.
However, if you are sitting next to someone like my former Hartlepool colleague, Michael Nelson, whose pre-match routine included filing his feet, the experience of dead skin flying around you week-in-week-out can become a bit irritating.
I am pleased to say I have completed my rehabilitation from my hamstring injury and have been on the bench for our last two matches as an unused substitute. It has been great to be back involved and the next step is to try and get some game time under my belt.
Unfortunately, when you have recovered from an injury, you often have to bide your time to become established in the team again. It is essential to remain positive and focus all your attention on your training, so that when the manager wants to bring you back into the team, you are ready.
Finally I must mention an incident that happened at the Notts County training ground .
Over the years, I have heard just about every excuse that a player can use for turning up late to training (and I have used just about all of them myself). The most common ones are that your car broke down, or the traffic was bad. This week, however, one prominent member of the Notts County squad came up with the explanation that his electric gates were not functioning and he had to wait until the gardener turned up with the key to open it manually.
As far as I know this excuse is a first in League Two. Certainly, I don't know of any League Two player with electric gates at his home, or a gardener for that matter!
As we pointed out to him, the £10 club fine he received could have been no more than loose change for someone in his financial league!
Hello, I'm Gavin Strachan. I describe myself as a "journeyman" player after 13 years in the game as a professional. I'm currently between clubs, having been released by Notts County. I'm also studying journalism and the aim of my blog is to provide an insight into the life of a footballer.
Here are some 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~28~RS~)
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like this Gav. I think there is a huge difference between pre-match preparation and superstitions... eating pasta and beans is good preparation...Mark Hughes story of heading the ball repeatedly against a wall is good "getting in the zone" preparation.....however, Superstitions are funny and highlight people as having mental problems!
What makes me laugh is that these "superstitions" often result in players losing more games than they win... so maybe their superstitions are what is causing them to lose???
bonkers!
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nice post buddy, as a young player in the 90's i saw some strange rituals but the filing of the feet certainly ranks up there. haha nice one
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Some more great work
I love hearing abot superstitions as they are normally so stupid!
Why are you so critical of you abilities when it comes to football? Your not that bad lol
Anyway keep up the good work and i'll look forward to the next one
UTG!!!
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Surely you have to tell us which player has the electric gates! I'm guessing Delroy Facey or Mike Edwards.
Great blog as per usual Gavin. Hope to see you back in the team soon, I'd put you and Richard Butcher as our best 2 central midfielders... Lets hope Charlie agrees!
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Nice post really enjoyed reading it. I had my own little rituals as a youngster, such as being the last one to leave the changing room needing to pee before a game hehe.
It seemed to work but as I got older I soon realised it was not really the case, but it worked for a time....
Now in Africa and here you cannot believe what players do from their little funny things right down to witch docters and all....hilarious!! Good luck with your continued recovery/return to form.
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I had a team-mate who always had to be last out of the changing room before kick-off, at half-time and even after the game!
Actually, it might not have been superstition but just bone-idleness!!
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I do have a random superstition; it involves wearing exactly the same kit, making my bed before leaving the house and also when getting to the game doing a full proper warm up rather than just having a kick about.
Maybe if I stuck to this a bit more our team might win a few more games.
Are superstitions though merely a psychological tool? As in if you forget to do them your mindset will immediately become one of "oh no, I forgot to do them, I'll now lose". On the flipside, they could also serve as a positive one, in that if you believe you're using your superstitions to your advantage, you believe you are going to win.
And we all know, belief (or lack of) is sometimes the difference between winning and losing.
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Supporters can be the same though, a couple of seasons ago on our good run to the end of the season I didn't wash my home shirt when we won, which was a good few weeks. Now I've managed to limit myself to just going through the same turnstile at home games.
Great Blog Gav, keep it up.
ps I'm guessing Michael Johnson for the electronic gates
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I used to cringe thinking about Paul Ince's penchant for coming out onto the pitch with no shirt on. I think that was less a superstition and more of a chance to pose.....which I never really got because he was a fat little s*d anyway!!!!!! :D
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Great blog again Gav,
The one that always made me laugh was not shaving while you were on a winning run. I remember Alan Cork looking like something out of ZZ Top!
My guess is Jamie Clapham??
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Great blog again Gavin!
I always make sure i get an early night, take on lots of fluids and have a decent feed before a match as well!...might be a little different to yours though!
My routine usually consists of 8-12 Pints of Lager (Fluids), Chicken Kebab Meat and Chips (Food, lots of protein!) and getting to bed around 5am (Nice and early!) ;)
I think a lot of players superstitions verge on the border of Obsesive Compulsive...as clear Kevin Pilkington realised!
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It's got to be Jonno!! What a legend that man is!
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hey Gavin!
excelent blog as usual.
going from fletchers blog, what were your experiences of getting into pro football?
was it quiet easy due to your old man or did you need to proove your self at perhaps a local sunday league team as a kid before being accepted onto YTS?
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Good blog Gavin, another interesting read.
Totaly off subject.. well not totaly, but when i get home from work, frst things i do are get changed and have a wee, but i have to get changed first. Even if i am absolutely busting for a pee, i will hold it in and get changed as fast as i can. Is that strange? Its a bit strange isnt it, and theres no real reason for it, no good form to keep up, im just strange.
Anyway man gd stuff.
Oh and on another totaly random subject.. where is Chris Charles?? aint seen any of his stuff for weeks
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Beans before a match? really?
must get really windy when you're on the pitch Gav...
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Good read as always...
Supporters do have their ways to my dad always uses the same turnstile, pops to the loo at exactly the same point in the 1st half and puts his (lucky) hat on as they come out fo the 2nd half!! It also extends into my work life - if we have a good day (eg achieve target) I have to wear the same perfume make up etc the following day! I know it makes no difference but well you just never know.....!
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When I play football I don't think I have any superstitions, although I always eat pasta before a game. Cricket, however, I always have to tap the bat at my foot three times during the bowlers run up.
Superstitions don't just apply to playing though. When I'm watching a game I have to be careful what I'm wearing. I bought a shirt a while ago, wore it to the game and we lost, I've never worn it on match days since.
Equally, on the day of a match, I won't walk over three consecutive drains!
I know deep down my actions make no difference, but I'd be so annoyed with myself if I did something I considered bad luck and we lost!
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I once played for a pub team, and it wasn't superstition but perhaps a ritual - every match day we would turn up, play rubbish and get a good beating.
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I think the gates are Ben Fairclough's (during his paperound)
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I coach a semi-pro club and I have a superstition. I wear the exact same kit on the touchline until we lose a game. Then I change something.
So earlier in the season when we went 11 unbeaten I was having to wash dry and iron on a much to frequent basis!!
Alternatively we've lost 4 of the last 5 and 3 in a row so I'm now finding it difficult find alternative clothing each week!!!!
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When I was on a schoolboy contract with Newcastle, and had to clean Rob Lee's boots, there was always a very weird smell off them. When I once asked him what it was, he told me had been putting cinnamon in his boots all season.
No explanation why, but I cant pretend I didn't do the exact same thing the next week. We lost 5-1 to Barnsley. Never did that again!
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Great blog Gav, u never stop. Anyway am not a pro-footballer though but it's about the only sports i can partake in whenever i am called on and i have my little superstition.I tryy to chew gum bfore and during the game cos' i bear in mmind that i won't fag out in the course of the game since the glucose in the gum produces energy. I once had fried rice, chicken, burger,ice cream&banana about 2hrs b4 a competitive match and when i got on the pitch i threw a gum in my mouth, your truly i was a shadow in that game:-) couldn't run to get the ball and even when it came to me i was just too heavy for game.
Hope u recover fully Gav...Peace to y'all
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Lest i forget my team lost the game...................
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Oh, and in the days before iPods and such exciting things, when Pavel Srnicek's discman scratched his copy of the ABBA cd he always listened to, he turned the air blue, in 2 languages, until one of us younger lads ran to HMV to get him a new copy!
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Not so much a match day thing but I refuse to get a name and number on my QPR shirts now because of my record.
The first one I bought was '9' Tony Thorpe who scored 2 in his first 3 games and never again after I bought the shirt and got released.
Second was '10' Kevin Gallen who from top scorer ended up released again.
My last one was '10' Akos Buzsaky who has had 2 career threatening injuries since my shirt was printed and played about 5 games in between.
So that's why I just refuse to get the shirts printed now! Nice work and created a good discussion Mr Strachan!
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When I was a season ticket holder one of my mates who came occasionally had an amazing record; he hadn't seen us lose for a year.
Obviously every home game I would be trying to convince him to come.
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#25
I have a similar story to that
I got mark hughes 10 on the back of a Man Utd kit... he consequently left!
Then Lee Sharpe 5 (dont ask me why) he left....
Then Beckham 10... He changed to number 7!!!
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Nice blog Gavin
I've seen some strange superstitions in my teams changing room, our keeper will put on his left glove, then his right, the take off the left and take off the right then flexes his hands and puts the right glove back on and wont put the left one on until he's stepped out of the changing room.
i have to admit i will always turn up to our matches in a forest shirt, no particular season's i have 14 so one of those will do, but i did take to wearing a goalkeeper shirt underneath my team's strip whilst i was playing as the first time i done this on a cold day i scored a screamer, however i havn't scored since so the goalkeeper shirt has been left at home for a while
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Another Great Blog Gavin.
I thought i had heard all the superstitions but Pilkington wearing the same socks, the other boy from Hartlepool filing his feet are class.
As for the excuses for being late - i'm always late for college as it is- i always use the dentists or doctors as an excuse but in my time i've never heard of automatic gates not opening
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Good blog Gav!
My dad was a YT at Hull City in his younger, not so bolder days and his superstition was simple never to keep a ball on the day of the game before kick off.
Durting the warm ups, if anyone passed to him, he'd leave it and let his team mate go get the ball.
I play amateur RL and prefer to stay well away from this type of behaviour. As long as I'm organised and have everything I need, i.e. pads, boots etc I am fine.
Whilst superstitions are rife in sport, my problem is with worry. I worry I have not eaten enough, eaten too much, not warmed up properly, not stretched out right.
I wonder what Andy Goram's 'superstitions' were...
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Gavin,
I'm sure you're not sitting on the bench; you were, and remain, the most enthusiastic warmer upper I've ever seen during your time at Coventry. I wonder if blogging about recovering from your injury will help to get Ian McParland's attention and remind him that you're ready for action again?
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Good blog. Often superstitions like these arise because we humans are too good at finding patterns, looking for causes for the effects we witness. If we see something happening that was preceded by an event that sticks in the mind, we ascribe causative powers to it. Unfortunately, we are much better at remembering positive correlations than we are at rejecting ones which have proved unsound, and so we only remember the times where the cause was followed by the effect we expect, and come up with excuses as to why it didn't happen on other occasions despite repeating exactly the same process.
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i have been wearing green pants, since the 1999 treble; I wore them quite by chance the day we won the league, so made sure they were worn for the two finals, to make up the treble.
the original pair were sacrificed in the wife's food processor after three losses in a row (including a humilliating 3-1 to city)
the relacement pair are now getting rather threadbare (it's a long time since we lost three in a row!), but alas, no suitable replacements can be found out here in cyprus! the wife attempted to dye some white ones for this season, to avoid the embarrassment of the lucky pant being on the washing line when guests arrive, but the magic just is not in them!
you can actually look at united's results this year, and spot the day i gave up on the dyed ones and returned to wearing the threadbare pair...
it works purely on numbers; thousands of footy fans wear lucky pants on match-day, but there's more united fans, so everybody elses lucky pants cancel each other out, leaving mine as the only truly lucky pants!
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i had to buy the wife a new food processor too, as the elastic waistband burned a bright green stripe into the bowl.
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I once heard that Eric Cantona had a bare concrete room at Old Trafford where he went to warm up by himself pre match.
This rumour came from a friend who went on the Old Trafford stadium tour in the late 90's.
I have been trying to verify it for years.
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A group of us supporting different clubs go to England games together, and we have more superstitions than you can shake a stick at. Examples include:
1. Not eating the last main meal before kick off (makes things tricky - and messy - for the upcoming 5.15 KO against Slovakia).
2. Always take a leak at the loos at the bottom of the steps outside Wembley Park station (sadly no more after the rebuilding) - probably more out of necessity than superstition - accompanied by a rendition of "sing when we're ****ing, we only sing when we're ****ing".
3. Loud and raucous renditions of Jerusalem and Land of Hope and Glory while walking up Olympic Way.
4. Always walk up the left ramp over the car park - even though we usually sit in the old scoreboard end so it would make more sense to walk up the right ramp.
5. Never, ever be in our seats for the national anthems (again, probably more a case of not taking up VDT, although it can be traced back to one of our number who missed the first five minutes of the Holland game at Euro 96 because he was searched five times on his way into the ground).
Compliance has mellowed in recent years (some of them were specific to Wembley and have not been brought back to the new stadium). However, I do think we were bordering on OCD for a while.
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Great blog Gavin,
I've got a pair of shinpads that i love playing in though they are passed it and need replacing, can't decide whether the comfort and familiarity (i was a better player in my youth, though that's hard for me to admit) makes me play better, or i subconciously think they are lucky though...
Has anyone witnessed Jens Lehmann's bizarre pre-match ritual?
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I play on Sundays and my mate I travel with has to have a McDonalds breakfast before every game. He claims it gives him more energy. I tried it once and felt sick for 90 minutes...
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I don't know who it was, but there was a player back in the seventies who had a lucky teabag.
Before every match he'd make himself a brew from it, then hang it out to dry ready for the next match.
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Great blog as ever Gav
Its quite amusing to read about superstitions of players and i wonder how much effect they actually have on a players performance.
Great to hear about Micky Nelson as im from hartlepool and a fan of the club its good to know some of the personal things about them any more dirt on the rest of the dressing room. And if not micky nelson what is the worst superstition ritual you have encountered in your career
All the best with your playing mate hope your in the starting lineup soon mate
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I think boomshakalak makes a good point about the distinction between preparation and superstition.
It's probably a good thing to mentally prepare yourself before a game, getting into a positive, confident frame of mind. I read somewhere a while back that David Beckham, before he took a free kick, would visualize the ball going where he wanted it to. He'd replay this in his mind, over and over - I guess almost convincing himself that's where it's going to go. There is a real value in this.
Superstition is merely people pretending they have control over events that they can never have. This doesn't mean it won't work. There could be some sort of placebo effect.
I can't think of any unusual or weird footballing superstitions - can't wait to read peoples comments though... :-)
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My families superstition is a rather weird one, whenever we have taped a Man Utd game they have always, and I do mean always lost! So now we never record the game, doesn't stop Utd loosing occasionally but at least we know that it is not because we have recorded it!!
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#10
It's funny that you mention this. In the NHL in america, in the teams that make the playoffs, almost 90% of the players refuse to shave until they get put out. Its hilarious when it gets to the Stanley Cup final, as everyone of them has facial growth that would make Santa proud.
I play junior football in Scotland and there are thousands of crazy superstitions that people have. I have to always wear my thermal cycling shorts (no matter how hot the weather is) and spray deep heat on my ankles. Its strange but i just don't feel comfortable playing if i haven't done either of these.
One of my team mates always has to "do a number 2" before a match. It's not a good superstition to have as some of the facilities we have changed in are disgusting.
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@ 35
The Cantona thing is kind of true. What actually happened was that he told Fergie that most continental teams had a warm up room, as well as a changing room. Fergie converted a section of the changing room into a warmup room for the team after that, to help them prepare for the matches. I don't know if it was only him in there or not, but judging by some of the waistlines in the team back then I'd say it was fairly accurate.
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does everybody's superstition combined have an effect on the outcome of everything? If every player and every fan has some sort of little superstition to make sure they have good luck, which one will be the one that works? Or is every moment or incident throughout a match affected by the collective superstition? weird.
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In my long since gone playing days, I'd always put my left boot on before the right and the shorts went on last. Also, even though I played in midfield and occasionally as a striker, I always wore a number 5 shirt. It came from when I was a very very young, I scored my first hat-trick wearing that number so I wanted to make sure I had it every time.
Strange things these superstitions.
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cynicall Sid, I was the same with a number 6 shirt...dunno why as I never scored a hat trick...But I would have to shotgun the number 6 shirt every time, and would border on the insanely violent if I didnt get it!
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Apparently there was this bloke called Strachan who used to eat seaweed before a game....
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Most of us have superstitions at some times. This story might help some people who have a "lucky" charm.
Many years ago I had a 'lucky' penny and a 'lucky' key ring attachment. When I was going through a period of unhappiness (or bad luck) I decided to pass these 'lucky' charms on to someone else. I spent the penny and deliberately lost the key ring. My luck changed for the better and stayed that way.
Many years later a colleague confided in me of their feelings of bad luck and I asked whether they were hanging on to an item they regarded as lucky. When they said yes, I told them of my experience and suggested they pass on their bad luck by losing their charm. They took my advice and their life changed for the better.
So anyone with superstitions or charms who are feeling that things are not going their way - ditch the charm. It's probably an unlucky charm. They do exist!
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post 15 . seeing as I am not the quickest , I am looking for a little turbo boost!.
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post 18 . I can relate to that superstition.
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post 19 . I like that , will text him straight away!.
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post 31 . That is my plan!.
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post 48 . I suppose I should clear this up . The little fella had seaweed tablets . Did not want people to have visions of him chewing away on raw seeweed!.
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Good blog again Gavin.
Though surely a pasta meal would have more benefit if it was eaten before the game, as pasta produces slow-burning energy through its carbohydrates?! or so im lead to believe. Though if you had the beans before going to bed i doubt the missus would be too thankful.
I dont have any superstitions as such, at least not any more. I hate wearing our teams designated keeper top when i play, simply because its far too heavy, (and its grey) so instead i use the number 16 shirt from our second kit. Thankfully the rest of the team rarely use it as our first kit is pretty distinctive (and even if we did need to wear it some of the guys would refuse, as its quite small and a little unflattering on the larger gent) but i get a bit narky if anyone else decides to wear number 16 outfield. Thats only because they do it on purpose though.
43: There are a couple of guys who like to "release the hounds" before a game in my team too, and i can fully empathise the nasty changing rooms they insist upon doing it in. There was also one guy who ate a packet of skittles before every game.
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Many fans have footy superstitions too.
Between Xmas and New Year, I wrote all forthcoming Bristol City fixtures in my diary until the end of the season.
This corresponded with an ubeaten run in the Championship which only ended this week after a 1-0 defeat at Donnie. Checking my diary the next day, I noticed that I hadn't put this Tuesday night match in - so it's my fault they lost.
The fact they played like a bunch of frozen turkeys has nothing to do with. My sincere apologies to all Bristol City fans - it won't happen again.
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ok had to mention it. has nobody else noticed the 2 "and's" in the title?
seriously though gav what are your thoughts on #13?
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Thanks for explaining the seaweed thing Gavin! Another great blog, too.
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My boss used that excuse the other week, he couldn't come into work because there was snow blocking his electric gates. We just about managed to refrain from asking why he didn't just get Jeeves to dig them out :D
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Great blog are you gordon strachan's dad as you seem to look like him. I understand it must be hard moving through the lower divisions of english football but what i want to know is how does the qualilty differ from league 1 and league 2.
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Gordon Strachan's Dad???!!!! WTF?
Also, @9 - Paul Ince was NOT fat as a player, for God's sake he was like a whippet!
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"Gordon Strachan's dad"!!
Man that's funny!
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I used to have a pre match ritual, at least that's what I told my girlfriend so we could spend "quality" time together, ahhh bless her. Good times, now I need a new excuse!
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I can hear the chants now at Meadow Lane....
Are you Gordon,
Are you Gordon,
Are you Gordon Strachans dad...
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#64
does this not now link back to last weeks "chants" blog?
Great continuity work, "pimms-o-clock"!
you've made our day!
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"What has always troubled me with superstitions is the question of what you do when a period of good form is followed by a bad patch. Do you suddenly ditch the old superstitions that you had and make up some brand new ones?"
I reckon that when this happens most superstitious players try to rationalise it in some way.
"I must have put the right sock on first, and now the whole thing is ruined.."
Or they think that the first time it worked, there was some key element to the ritual that they can no longer remember.
One season we had this guy that was so convinced he was the reason we won 4 games in a row, when we finally lost he was sure it was because he messed up his preparation.
The funny part was he was convinced it would take another 4 weeks of crazy-town rituals before we would get another win..
I can't say anyone was all that upset when he failed to turn up the next season. Most of us reckoned he was still at home, trying to figure out the missing step..
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I have a superstition that I can't wear my England rugby shirt on days that England play because whenever I do they play horrendously badly.
My fiance has been trying to talk me out of this superstitious behaviour. When he was younger and a near-obsessive Man Utd fan, he had a superstition that when watching United play, he had to sit with a certain leg crossed over the other, but he could never remember which leg it was supposed to be! Cue agony and misery whenever they played.
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to #67 - I dont think its your shirt that makes them play that way, I think its the fact that they are rubbish! Hi from Wales ;)
Sorry, only playing. They are still better than I ever was :)
I played footy for a team at a decent level 5 years ago, the same team I now manage. Our keeper had a great superstition - he used to suck every one of his fingers in order before he put on his gloves. The opponents thought he was nuts as he did this on the pitch during warm up.
Then they would start taking shots at him and realise he was reaching EVERYTHING - they soon stopped laughing! He was a truly excellent goalkeeper and with a bit more luck could easily have played professionally. That and not smoking 15 a day...
I must admit I am still guilty of left sock and shoe before right, but that is not even just football that is every day before work as well.
Great blog as always Gav, and good to see you back fit. May you have many more years as a pro!
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Super blog Gavin.
Can't be long before Chilesy gives you a run out on the MotD2 couch.
I remember reading programme notes about a striker who used to play for Limavady in Ireland, Pat Moran, who was driving to a cup final and saw two magpies on the road.
He told his passengers his luck was in and that he'd score a hat-trick.
He was wrong - he got four.
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#56 EasyZyder
If we beat reading tomorrow, then your forgiven
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i would like to apologise for my type-o on post 60 i meant gordon starchan's son which i now know u are. im sorry if it caused any offence.
Glad it made some laughs do.
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too late mate, the chant is written and ready!
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I no longer wear Lotto sportswear because
a) When i was a kid I got knocked over whilst wearing a Lotto tracksuit and broke my arm
b) I tore ankle ligaments in my first match with Lotto boots
c) Nearly a year to the day later I broke my leg wearing a different pair of Lotto boots for the first time - which was incidentally my first game back after (b)
Call it superstition if you want but I prefer to have full use of my limbs thank you very much
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Interesting post.
Some see superstition as disorders like OCD and sometmes they can be right.
OCD and superstitions do have a definitive line of definition between them but there are some that don't.
OCD is where you do something over and over again until you are satisfied even though you know it isn't necessary to keep on doing whereas superstition is based on ritual paths of activity, some of which do get repeated, therefore can at times lead to OCD if the person is not careful.
Superstition is down to mentality.
OCD is down to stress relation.
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Thanks for the feedback on the chant. :-)
I was thinking of another, but firstly I want to make it clear I think Gavins blog is great and I always read them. But from the last blog he was telling us how he got some stick about them from some fans. So here's another chant to the tune of Winter Wonderland....
He warms the bench when he's fit,
He writes a blog, and it's s***,
We wanna know, when he's next on loan,
Walkin' in a Strachan wonderland.
Love the blogs Gavin - keep it up. ;-)
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It would be quality to see both Gordon and Gavin's reaction to reading post #60... haha made me laugh anyway.
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Great blog again! Wonder what Ben Fairclough's reply to your text (posts 19 and 52) was?
Hope everyone's superstitions work tomorrow and it's 3 points at Bury - good luck!
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I played with a guy who had to urinate on the field before every match, home or away. He would arrange himself so that everything was sort of in the ready, then bend down and pretend to tie his shoes, or pick some grass or stretch. Just a little was enough for the ritual to work but the thing is is that for this ritual to work, it had to be in the centre circle of the field. I remember once when for whatever reason he didn't have the opportunity before, he actually went out and adjusted the ball for the opposition, looked up and said something like 'Just checking the ball'.
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I completely understand why professional footballers have meticulously planned pre-match routines, but I’ve never understood why some are superstitious in the build-up to matches.
Gavin, your preparations sound completely logical and seem to be underpinned by sports science knowledge. Your pre-match routine makes perfect sense from a nutritional and psychological perspective and I imagine that it contributes towards ensuring that you are prepared for a game as best as possible. Establishing a set pre-match routine which includes consuming the right foods at the right times and ensuring that you have enough quality sleep are important nutritionally and physically in the build up to a game. Equally, a set match-day routine which may include drinking a certain amount of water/sports drinks, listening to music and having kit and equipment organised where it can be found quickly can all be seen as ways to ensure the best possible physical and psychological preparation for an individual player.
However, I do not understand why some players look into the finer details of their pre-match routines, at factors which will not have an effect on their performance e.g. worrying if you lost your ‘match-day socks’ or if you forgot to ‘file your feet’ before the game! I’d love to ask these players why they think that these superstitions are so important and how they can impact on their performance! I’d suggest that players with superstitions - that have no influence on their performance - put more energy into worrying, instead, about making sure their physical, tactical, technical, psychological and nutritional preparations are the best they possibly could have been. You can bet that even players at the highest level can always improve on at least one of those elements in preparation for a big game.
Gavin, do Notts County employ sports science personnel at the club? Maybe I could come and work for the club and help out with players’ psychological preparations for games!?
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cant believe my superstition hasn't surfaced : 1 for sorrow 2 for joy : my mates and I actively sought out magpies on the way to notts home and away games and I'm really "annoyed" if my son and I see an odd number of magpies on match day : can see the chant being a goer though .... are you gordans , are you gordans , are gordans strachans dad .... quality : have been to a few games at stevenage borough over the last few years .... never seen them drop a point , am open to sponsorship from either ncfc or sbfc
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I play for a Sunday League pub team as a striker having joined them in November but have only managed 2 goals in the 7 or so games we've played. However, both those goals have come when this french girl called Audrey (who knows the pub landlord i.e. team manager) turns up to watch.
She's only turned up to two games, and i've scored in both of those games.
I don't really know if that's a superstition or not, but I always make a point of asking the manager if she's going to come and watch us play! ;)
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My favourite excuse for being late for a (albeit bottom-of-the-ladder sunday morning football) match was my pal declaring that he had had to dig up his potatoes from the allotment as there had been a frost. I'm no gardener but it didn't Alan Tictchmarsh to tell the rest of the lads that a pie of porkieness was being offered!
As for superstitions, the same lad in the team insisted in taking a shower BEFORE each game, even if there was a threat of late kick-off. Where that started in his head I've no idea, but more than once (being the type who offered feeble excuses for being late) he took a shower in full kit and started the game looking like he'd been run ragged by Giggs for 90 mins already!
I've got a question too......if I'm allowed.....just watching Inter v ManUtd.....do good pros like yourself watch games like there and sit amazed as I do at the incredible (we almost take it for granted) first touch and speed of passing at the Champions League level?
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If the gates do belong to Mike Edwards, after his brilliant header into the path of Bishop last Saturday, he may wish to remain behind them..............for sometime.
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The gates must be Nat Wedderburns cos you wouldn`t want to let him loose without knowing where he was going!!
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