Good times and Bad times

One thing is certain in football, it can never be good 100% of the time. Every player will have their ups and downs throughout their career, but hopefully by the end of it you will have had enough highs to feel like it has been a success. At 26 I look back on my career so far as somewhat of a success, but also a feeling of underachieving.
I have always been my worst critic, which can be a good thing as it drives me on to try and improve. But what I have found over my career is that the best players I have played with all have so much confidence in their ability and always trust what they are trying to do. For me self belief has always been an issue and it can affect performance dramatically. When my confidence is high I know I can beat most defenders I come up against for pace and can create chances and score goals for my team. But when confidence is low it can feel like you can't beat a player, and end up doing the simple thing and just passing backwards. For a winger, consistency has always been something that is difficult. Even at the highest level the wingers struggle to play consistently week in week out(Nani, Walcott, Pedro are 3 top level examples), but when they are on their game they can cause so much trouble with direct running and pace. As I have gotten older my consistency has improved but it is still difficult to be dangerous every week, which I know frustrates fans, but I guess it is the enigma of a winger.

I was sent a link to this interesting article (article on Stuart) about ex Queen's Park teammate Stuart Kettlewell(Ketts) earlier today, and it made me think about the good times had at QPFC. Ketts is one example of what was a great QP team back in 2006/07, that won promotion from division 3, who went on to better things. We had an extremely young team and played football the right way for the full season that included beating Aberdeen in the League Cup and winning all 4 games in the divisional playoffs to win promotion. The 4-2 win against East Fife in the first leg of the playoff final was a great night for us, and will always be remembered for 'the picture'(below) that shows how much it meant to us all. Steven Canning had just scored an unbelievable chip from the edge of the area, and it set us on our way to promotion.

from left to right: Paul Ronald, Steven Canning, Alan Trouten, Paul Cairney, David Weatherston, Mark Ferry, Paul Paton

Of that team in 06/07 their has been plenty of players moving on to better things, and it shows how good the team was when you look at the level the players have played at or now play:
Premier League
Stuart Kettlewell (Ross County, 1st division champion with Ross County)
Paul Paton (Dundee United,, 1st division champion with Partick Thistle)
Paul Cairney(Hibs)
First Division
Mark Ferry(ex Raith)
Alan Trouten(ex Ayr, Clyde, Airdrie)
David Weatherston(ex St Johnstone, QOS, Falkirk)
Mick Dunlop(ex Ayr)
David Crawford(ex Ayr)

Most other players went on to other clubs playing second division football, the majority being successful.

Personally I feel like I haven't fulfilled my potential from helping QP to promotion, but looking back so far, I have had decent success in my career. One promotion with QP has been added to with 2 Challenge Cups, 2 Hampden semi finals, and three 3rd place finishes in the 1st division. It isn't great, but it is something I can look back on when I am older. Perhaps I made the wrong choice or choices after leaving QP, but we live and die by our decisions, and I can't change them now. I have certainly had a lot of fun, and made some great friends along the way. Now it is on to the next chapter, wherever that may be, and hopefully I can have more success doing it. I always look back at my time fondly at QP, and I know the rest of the players do as well, because every time we meet up it is always talked about, the great nights at Firhill, Paton's 30 yarder at East Fife and the good times we had a training. It will never be forgotten.



Sooo, enough about me, lets talk about some other sports. Athletics is the big headline grabber this week with all the reports about failed drugs tests by Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay and Sherone Simpson(bbc article).
With the failed tests of another 2 of the fastest sprinters in history, Usain Bolts closest rivals, it again leaves everyone wondering if the best athletes are clean. Ben Johnson, Marion Jones, Carl Lewis, Linford Christie, Veronica Campbell, Justin Gatlin, Dwain Chambers, Butch Reynolds, to name a few, are all top Olympic performers from the last 20 years who have tested positive for some sort of banned substance. It means that Usain Bolt, who is at least 1/10th of a second faster than any of them, is either much better than them all, a complete freak of nature, or something isn't right. We all hope that he is a freak of nature, because it is special watching him running at full speed, and for athletics sake he needs to be clean. If it turns out the poster boy of athletics is another one to turn to drugs for that extra boost, then the reputation of sprinting and athletics in general could be completely lost and the public could lose interest.
 

The hardest part of football

Apologies to those dedicated readers for the delay in this edition,


Summer time for a football player can either be the best time of year, or the worst time of year. If you have a contract and know that you are getting paid whilst on holiday, plus you also know you will go back to pre season with your club then you can have a good holiday and relax whilst you recharge the batteries. On the other hand, if you have been released at the end of the season it is a time to worry about your bank balance and fitness while you try and sort out a new club for the new season.
Last time i was out of contract I had 3 weeks of doing nothing in July except golf, sunbathing(yes it was sunny) and keeping fit before my agent got me into training at Falkirk for a trial. This year however i found out from the manager back in May so I have had time to think about everything in my life. Self doubt is a major problem that I'm sure a lot of players suffer with at this time of year. I like to think I have had an 'ok' career so far, and that teams will be interested, but when days go by without the phone ringing it can be hard. There is always a relief when a manager phones you, no matter what level it is at, and tells you he is interested. It makes you feel better, and you know that you can start getting on with your own fitness and mentally preparing for a new season wherever you decide to go.
It is never easy being out of any job, but in Scottish football at the moment it is very difficult to get a contract anywhere, unless you are willing to take a pay cut. All clubs in Scotland know the players that are out of contract, it is just a matter of waiting to see if any of them want to contact you, or you can get an agent to contact the clubs directly to see if they are interested. Clubs who are interested in signing you will generally offer you a place to train while you make your mind up.

I decided to go in and train at Stirling just to kick a ball again, but also it was good to see some old friends. It is much easier training somewhere when you know some of the other players, and in Stirling there is DC, Fez, Junior, Joe and big Jordan(all footballers have some sort of nickname). Football is strange in that you see your teammates every day, become very close friends with them then suddenly you leave, and most of them never see you again. Only 1 or 2 in each dressing room will really remain friends after, which i always find strange, but I guess you can't be friends with everyone. As my old manager KB used to say, "There is no fu*****friends in this fu***** game, just acquaintances.", he liked to swear a lot.



As a massive sport fan I have to admit to being pretty emotional last week when Andy Murray won Wimbledon. He is so dedicated to being the best at what he does that he is an inspiration to everyone. He works as hard as any sportsmen out there and deserves every credit and trophy that he gets. On top of that he is a proper Scotsman in that he hates England and loves supporting everyone else. I know he is slightly hated by some for his 'boring' personality, but he is a tennis player, who entertains us on the court with some unbelievable play and he doesn't need to humour us off it.

 Ok, so I am aware the most Scottish people find cricket extremely boring, especially the long form of the game, but I love watching the Ashes and hoping that England will lose. Unfortunately nowadays the Aussies aren't quite what they used to be so England will win it this year, and what a fantastic trophy it is to win. I only really learned about 10 years ago that it was the ashes of some old stumps from back in the day. I always presumed it was some old player who had their ashes up for grabs every 2/3 years. I know my big mate Matt will be a keen viewer and I thank him for igniting my interest in the game of cricket. Plus i get to watch him down Poloc cricket club whilst sitting in the sun enjoying a bbq and a game of donkey with my old mates. You can't beat it!