I love football too much, especially competitive football and I would miss everything that comes with it - the social side of it, the banter (cheese), the football nights out, the team talks and the pure adrenaline of playing competitively. That feeling of euphoria when you are having a great game and you score a wonder goal. Most of all for me I just love the freedom playing football gives me, it's a release from everyday life during that time I am on that football pitch - and it's good for health too, both physically and mentally.
Football brings out the creativity in me and it's a sport that allows me to express myself and it excites me. At 32 years old I know I'm now past my physical peak, but I'm still very fit and I have plenty more left in the tank and although I know for sure I will be playing some kind of recreational football to the day I die - I can see myself playing competitively at some level until well into my 40s.
I play my best football in cooler winter conditions:
I play better during autumn & winter months. My style of play is far more suited for the colder temperatures because I don't dehydrate. My style is all about pace and speed, dribbling at players, dropping the shoulder a lot of it is based on energy. In the summer months when it's hot and humid, I find it hard to play my natural game and if I'm not match fit or having an off game, I find it hard to play my natural game, I get really dehydrated quickly due to the heat, then I have to adapt my game, especially now I'm older and I am not as fit as I was a few years ago. In the humid conditions I pick when to run and I play more of a passing game, but I love being eye catching which is why it frustrates me when I can't play my normal game.
I'm definitely going to carry on playing competitively, I'm one of them players I have a lot of pride, I like going off the pitch and be respected by the opposition, I like to put up a good display, I like to be eye catching and do things differently and when I am fully 100% fit, I do. I am fast and explosive and I still have that, but it seems that last summer after the spring London Marathon I lost a lot of desire for keeping fit and I was drinking far too much Coca Cola and it effected my fitness a lot. For next summer I'm going to cut down a lot on sugar and with me being a member of my resident gym I can get back into some good weight training and also get back into my running training a bit too. When I was at my footballing and physical peak and 100% fit, I didn't have these worries about struggling in the heat of the summer, I was so fit and my endurance was so good I could play my natural game but as you get older and miles on the clock it's harder - I'm just going to have to accept that in the summer months I'm maybe not going to play as well and accept I'm not always going to be able to be eye catching and dribble with the ball as much. As I am coming into my veteran years I am going to have to use my experience more than ever - time to use my brain a bit more and be selective rather relying on my speed and athleticism.
+ all forms of football
APPEARANCES: 896
GOALS: 1,117
ASSISTS: 855
PENALTIES: 22 (of 26)
FREE-KICKS: 3
MAN OF THE MATCH: 61
HAT-TRICKS: 149
CONSECUTIVE HAT-TRICKS: 5
MILESTONES: 23
MOST GOALS IN A MATCH: 7 (official)
MOST GOALS IN A MATCH: 18 (unofficial)
YELLOW CARDS: 0
RED CARDS: 0
BLUE CARDS (5 a side): 1
TEAM HONOURS: 28
INDIVIDUAL HONOURS: 12
TEAMS CAPTAINED: 3
SERIOUS LONG TERM INJURIES: 0
MINOR SHORT TERM INJURIES: 16
CORRECT ON: 11/12/2016
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