Football Pre Match Routine - Home Games

Football players have a routine that they use before games to prepare themselves for action and I was no exception. Away game Football match preparations (Gambling, Pornography, Tabloid Newspapers, Greasy Cafes and Hardcore Football Fans) are always slightly different to home game Football match preparations due to the lack of Travel.

My pre-match routine would be similar to the following :



  • Preparation for a game would always start the night before the game. Physcologically I would start to think about the game and also prepare my nutrition for the match. There is a well known technique called Visualization which many top athletes practice. It involves imagining the upcoming event or in more complete terms. Visualization is the process of creating a mental image or intention, of what you want to happen or to feel. An athlete can use this technique to 'intend' an outcome of a race, training session or simply rest in a feeling of calm and well-being. By imagining a scene, complete with images or movies, of a previous best performance or a new desired outcome, the athlete will simply 'step into' that feeling. It is a common technique and proven to be very successful for many top athletes.


  • I would have a regular meal the night before the game and would always take a Carbohydrate Drink to boost my bodies Carbohydrate levels ensuring I was as ready for the game as I possibly could be.


  • If I was carrying an injury or feeling stiff I would do some stretches to help relieve tension in my muscles or perhaps go for a short walk in the evening.


  • I would stay in bed until 9 or 10am the morning of the game. The day of the game is always a bit dull for a player until you actually arrive at the stadium. I always found myself looking forward to the start of the game and getting very excited but you have to wait several hours and so a routine helps to keep your mind off the wait and to reduce the level of tension. I would do alot of pacing around in anticipation of the upcoming football match.


  • Breakfast would always be a bowl of cereal. I would drink lots of water on the morning of the game, maybe 3 or 4 pints spaced out over the course of the morning.


  • Lunch would normally be Beans on toast. I found this to be a light meal that would not "lay" too heavy on my stomach for the game. I would not eat anything after 12pm, apart from a Banana before the match if I felt a bit hungry.


  • I would leave for the stadium with my kit bag and a High Energy Drink, plus a Banana for half time.


  • Arrival at the stadium was always greeted by fans looking for autographs and wishing you well for the match. It is always a much different experience arriving for a home game compared to an away match, as you would be greeted by fans from your team rather than opposition fans.


  • Once at the stadium the players would report to the dressing room and spend the next half an hour or so sitting around waiting for the managers team talk, typically at 2pm.


  • Most managers would announce their team at 2pm, although the players would have a very good idea about the side due to the training session from the day before. If there were going to be any changes the manager would go through them in that training session.


  • Usually in the dressing room would be a board or chart with a selection of set-plays, such as free-kicks and corners (both for and against) designating who would be standing where and which player was your responsibility. As one of the taller players I always found myself marking one of the bigger players in the opposition, which could mean defending against a very large centre half. This always irked me as not only would I have all my attacking responsibilities but due to my size I was useful as a defender when required, whereas my strike partners would quite often get to have a rest on the half way line.


  • After the team announcement we would be free to prepare for the game. Get changed into the kit and then head out onto the field for the pre-match warm up.


  • We would always do alot of running and stretching before the game. It is essential to get your body "revved" up for the game so some long runs to get the lungs and heart pumping were normal. After this I would try to get as many touches of the ball as possible on the field so that I was as ready as I could be.


  • The pre-match warm up could last anything from 15 minutes to 25 minutes and then we would all return to the dressing room for the final team meeting and lots of "geeing" each other up by the Manager, Assistant Manager and Coach. After a bout of chest thumping and back slapping we were ready to go..

Football Finale - Premier League and Champions League Football run in

Ferguson, Mourinho, Wenger, Ronaldo, Drogba and the rest of the premier league circus that inspires us week after week are revving up for the showdown of the century. A finale to the Premier League football season whipped into a tantalizing display of the best footballers and teams in Europe, and showcased by the best new technology of high definition TV, a million different camera angles and a host of media bustling to give us every little titbit we can devour.

I am heading back to England for a few weeks break from Belize, full of excitement to see the Premier League finale and the culmination of the Coca Cola Championship. I have a special interest in the Championship as I lived in Birmingham for 5 years playing for West Bromwich Albion Football Club for that duration. I know the passion and rivalry between Birmingham, Wolves and West Brom, and the tension must be at breaking point. The possibility of West Brom and Wolves playing each other in the Play-offs is incredible for the people of the midlands, especially as Birmingham may be joining them if they cannot secure one of the top spots.

I have often said that I do not believe Footballers deserve the money they earn. Yet when the teams serve up a season of endless possibilities: First All English Champions League final; 2 teams in search of the treble; Premier league and Championship all going to the wire, I can only congratulate everyone involved. The Gladiators on the field, the Generals directing from the sidelines all have played a huge role in creating the end of season spectacle we are now witnessing.

Whether you are a Barnsley, Kings Lynn (my first team), Wigan or Kettering Town (my second team) Fan you will all be picking your favourites for the end of season run in regardless of whom your first football love is. The stars of the show will have the world talking about them in a never-ending barrage of compliments, abuse, admiration, despair, frustration and disappointment. They will be the talk of the town up and down the country and although their salaries resemble telephone numbers, Ferguson, Mourinho and the rest of the premier league crew deserve enormous credit for bringing English Football a season’s finale to be proud of.

The only problem I have is finding a good spot to soak up the last few weeks of football as my family don’t have Skysports…..

More Funny Football Video

Check out the guy doing the step-overs about half way through the video. Hilarious. I also have a sneaky suspicion that 2 of the goals are from games I played in for West Bromwich Albion Football Club.

Football Penalty kick - How many re-takes??

Have you ever seen anything like this?

Football Video Skills and Tricks - Step over heaven

People are compiling some great videos online at youtube. Here is another of Football skills and tricks. It's hard to know how some of these players even do this!!!

Maradona, Pele and Cruyff

Premier league Football Videos - Got a few spare minutes??

If you have a few spare minutes at work, click on any of the Videos on the right hand side of this Blog. Scroll down the page and look on the right hand panel for the "Latest Premier League Video" to view Google Video and Youtubes latest Premier League offerings from their Video Streaming services.

The video will start playing at the top of the blog.

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