Day at the Training Ground

Just some quick thoughts...

About 13 months ago, I had the opportunity to head down to Sparrows Lane to hang around a bit, ask some questions and mingle with the players as a result of a Charlton Upbeats auction. It was great. The players and staff were willing to talk, and the likes of Paul Benson, Scott Wagstaff and Simon Francis were very happy to speak with us. That being said, the visit coincided with a run of four consecutive defeats and the atmosphere was not ‘buzzing’. There were obvious factions within the squad and people were eager to get away from Sparrows Lane as quickly as possible with no real sense of team bonding.

Fast forward to 2012, and due to a winning bid with Bromley Addicks, I got the chance the compare and contrast with @Plaaayer to see how things have changed. Obviously having already secured promotion, there was a definite more relaxed feel around New Eltham and the banter was flowing. Training was totally inclusive between first team, squad, and youth team players with mini matches taking place on a rotation basis. Training was led by Damian and Alex whilst Powelly took a watching brief. There was still a certain amount of intensity in the training with a healthy amount of swearing and encouragement from all. We even saw Mikel Alonso score a 25 yard belter into the top corner – seriously.

As Ben Hamer, walked off to get away from the rains he intimated that many of the players were still recovering from some lengthy (and expensive) celebrations over the weekend. We went in for some lunch where Chris obliged signing some of his fist pump prints for me and had a general chit chat. Scott Wagstaff and Chris Solly remained the most personable characters in the room, willing to chat about anything and everything, but the difference from last year was amazing. There was music pumping out from the changing rooms everyone was chatting with one another, having a laugh and there was a real sense of togetherness. Yann was the only quiet and unassuming character, spending time with his son (I think) rather than mixing with the crowd.

Everyone else was hanging around and having a chat and people seem to be looking forward to Vegas (that Powelly didn’t let on he knew about), talking about how one midfielder put a hole in a defender’s ceiling over the weekend with a golf club, and how many girls Evina (thinks he) gets every week…

Overall a top day, you always get well looked after down there – Bob even gave us a lift back to the pub because it was raining. Top bloke.

How things change in a year eh?

(and yes, it is Nike next year).