The Plymouth manager gives his inimitable views on football and life in general in his weekly column. This week Ollie poo-poos the idea that footballers are playing too much football, but supports a winter break. He also talks about the loss of a star midfielder, being linked with other jobs, superstitious footballers and Ricky and Bianca's return to EastEnders. ANY ENCOUNTERS WITH TRICK OR TREATERS? No they couldn't get through the posh gates on our posh estate! (It's only a rented house, we're moving this weekend). I had a few tricks ready for them as well. I had a bucket of water in the upstairs bedroom which I was going to launch on to someone! Seriously, this trick or treating is like playing knockdown ginger* when I was a kid - it's all over the place. We had balloons full of water and everything - we were ready to go. So we threw them at each other instead.
* Knocking on doors and running away. BEATEN BY PRESTON, LOSING BUSZAKY Plymouth midfielder Akos Buszaky joins QPR on loan, with a view to a permanent deal. That's life. Who are we to think we can go and beat a proud club like Preston? To be fair, they played better on the day. Maybe my lads were in shock that Akos wasn't there, but I still think it was the right thing to do - give the lad a choice.
* Knocking on doors and running away. BEATEN BY PRESTON, LOSING BUSZAKY Plymouth midfielder Akos Buszaky joins QPR on loan, with a view to a permanent deal. That's life. Who are we to think we can go and beat a proud club like Preston? To be fair, they played better on the day. Maybe my lads were in shock that Akos wasn't there, but I still think it was the right thing to do - give the lad a choice.
We offered him a good deal, he thought about his life and decided he wanted to go to QPR. I knew when he went I was up against it, because Gianni Paladini and Flavio Briatore are going to be good company, aren't they? I think he met Rod Stewart and a few of these glamour models on Saturday night as well, so there was no way he was going to come back to me after all of that. It's about commitment and if he didn't feel right about his deal then he's done the right thing. It's as simple as that. But good luck to him, he's been brilliant for us.
FOOTBALLERS PLAYING TOO MUCH FOOTBALL? PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor says footballers are suffering from 'burn-out'. Ha ha ha! I wish they were playing too much football - I didn't see much evidence of that when England played Russia! Personally I think that's absolute codswallop. I used to play Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon and Sunday from the ages of 10-14. My heart bleeds for them - the richest burnt-out people I've ever met in my life. Your career's short - you've got to play as many games as you can. I don't agree with people retiring from international football - you either get picked or you don't. But I know, having spoken to Nigel Martyn, that it's really hard when you give up all that time and you don't get a game. It can be very frustrating, especially when you're away from your family.
FOOTBALLERS PLAYING TOO MUCH FOOTBALL? PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor says footballers are suffering from 'burn-out'. Ha ha ha! I wish they were playing too much football - I didn't see much evidence of that when England played Russia! Personally I think that's absolute codswallop. I used to play Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon and Sunday from the ages of 10-14. My heart bleeds for them - the richest burnt-out people I've ever met in my life. Your career's short - you've got to play as many games as you can. I don't agree with people retiring from international football - you either get picked or you don't. But I know, having spoken to Nigel Martyn, that it's really hard when you give up all that time and you don't get a game. It can be very frustrating, especially when you're away from your family.
What I do think is that we should have a bit of a break around Christmas. Why do you need to play football at Christmas? You should definitely have two weeks off because nobody should be away from their family on Boxing Day. Training on Christmas Day? What a joke! The amount of football that's on the telly these days, it wouldn't do anyone any harm to sit down and watch The Grinch or something instead. They've got a To The Manor Born special on this Christmas, so hopefully I'll get to watch that - she's good, Penelope Keith.
OTHER CLUBS INTERESTED IN OLLIE There's no truth in that whatsoever. Surely my chairman would know about any interest and surely he would then tell me about it? I'll take it as a compliment that some journalist is sat in his armchair on a Saturday night thinking 'who's doing all right? Oh, Plymouth are doing OK, this team or that team might be interested in their manager'.
OTHER CLUBS INTERESTED IN OLLIE There's no truth in that whatsoever. Surely my chairman would know about any interest and surely he would then tell me about it? I'll take it as a compliment that some journalist is sat in his armchair on a Saturday night thinking 'who's doing all right? Oh, Plymouth are doing OK, this team or that team might be interested in their manager'.
Obviously my team is doing very well and everybody's looking at my players, and in some cases buying them. That's what we want, we want to be able to compete. But there's no truth in it, and all it does is upset some Plymouth Argyle fans who think I might be moving. I've signed a contract and until my chairman tells me any different, I'm staying here.
ENGLAND'S 2018 WORLD CUP BID I'll back anything if we're going to get to see some decent sport over here. I can't wait for the Olympics and it'll be great if we got the World Cup. Some of the grounds would have to liven up a bit, but hopefully that will be sorted. They need a ground in the West Country, so I'm hoping the Government will help us finish off our ground. That'd be great. I don't know what I'll be doing in 2018 - I might not still be here the way I'm burning out! I might be burnt out like some of these poor players!
RICKY AND BIANCA RETURNING TO EASTENDERS Good gracious me - do we want them back or not? Rickaaaayy! Biiancaaa! Oh you're joking!
ENGLAND'S 2018 WORLD CUP BID I'll back anything if we're going to get to see some decent sport over here. I can't wait for the Olympics and it'll be great if we got the World Cup. Some of the grounds would have to liven up a bit, but hopefully that will be sorted. They need a ground in the West Country, so I'm hoping the Government will help us finish off our ground. That'd be great. I don't know what I'll be doing in 2018 - I might not still be here the way I'm burning out! I might be burnt out like some of these poor players!
RICKY AND BIANCA RETURNING TO EASTENDERS Good gracious me - do we want them back or not? Rickaaaayy! Biiancaaa! Oh you're joking!
I have to say Albert Square, Walford and all that isn't really my cup of tea. I know a lot of people believe in it, but let me just tell you something....IT AIN'T REAL!!! Someone's writing it and they're ACTORS!!! I like Doc Martin. We went to the little place where it's filmed - Port Isaac - and it's wonderful when you've actually been there. Now when we watch it we say "Ooh we've been there - and there." And there's something about the Doc's personality that reminds me of myself.
PUNTER'S QUESTION I Nichman: "Chelsea have won their last two games, 6-0 and 4-3. Is it harder to pick the players up when they've had a total thrashing, like Manchester City, or when they've given it their all and got nothing, like Leicester?" I think you'll find sometimes a good thrashing does you the world of good - and I don't mean it literally...I can see where some people's minds are going! Sven-Goran Eriksson obviously sat down his players after their hammering, like the England rugby team did, talked about it and moved on. And they won 1-0 on Wednesday against Bolton.
PUNTER'S QUESTION I Nichman: "Chelsea have won their last two games, 6-0 and 4-3. Is it harder to pick the players up when they've had a total thrashing, like Manchester City, or when they've given it their all and got nothing, like Leicester?" I think you'll find sometimes a good thrashing does you the world of good - and I don't mean it literally...I can see where some people's minds are going! Sven-Goran Eriksson obviously sat down his players after their hammering, like the England rugby team did, talked about it and moved on. And they won 1-0 on Wednesday against Bolton.
As for Leicester, they were 3-2 up and they lost 4-3, that's the hard one. But at the end of the day, nothing to do with football is really hard. I watched this programme called the Dog Whisperer the other night. There was a girl on it with cerebral palsy and her family said when she walked they'd get her a dog. And she managed to achieve it, against all the odds. I was crying my eyes out because this girl was so chuffed that she'd walked her dog 20 paces down the road. As for these footballers with burn-out - ask her how she felt when she got back. We haven't got any problems, any of us. That achievement puts us all to shame.
PUNTER'S QUESTION II 14Fraz14: "What a great time to be green, hey Ollie! Got us loving every minute. Just wondering what superstitions you and the players have before kick-off? I have Barry Hayles down as the superstitious type." Hayles, superstitious? Get out of it! Our goalie, Luke McCormack is, though. He always cuts off the bottom of his socks. Brand new pair every week - it must be costing us a fortune. He wears some white socks and then puts the ones with no feet in halfway up his shins, and then he tapes them on so it looks like they've got white bottoms.
PUNTER'S QUESTION II 14Fraz14: "What a great time to be green, hey Ollie! Got us loving every minute. Just wondering what superstitions you and the players have before kick-off? I have Barry Hayles down as the superstitious type." Hayles, superstitious? Get out of it! Our goalie, Luke McCormack is, though. He always cuts off the bottom of his socks. Brand new pair every week - it must be costing us a fortune. He wears some white socks and then puts the ones with no feet in halfway up his shins, and then he tapes them on so it looks like they've got white bottoms.
I watch him every week and he's got a little routine. I haven't asked him about it yet, but it's got to be a superstition. Apparently the ridges on some of the team socks are quite uncomfortable but then they're just totally pampered, these boys, aren't they? I should fine him for abusing our socks. Barry Hayles, though, he couldn't be superstitious if he tried. He just gets on with his life, Haylesy, but he moans about absolutely everything. I was trying to referee him in training this week, it was an absolute joke. No wonder he gets booked. I don't know about this superstition, to be honest. You get bad grounds, you get lucky grounds but at the end of the day, how much can a pair of socks affect your performance? It's a good job we're not actors, at least we can say 'Macbeth'!
PUNTER'S QUESTION III Bexleytoad: "Hi Ollie, I'm rather concerned that a man of your calibre was wearing such a dodgy tracksuit at The Valley. It was two sludgy shades of grey and the top resembled an offcut from an old duvet. Oh dear, surely Plymouth can come up with something more stylish?"
PUNTER'S QUESTION III Bexleytoad: "Hi Ollie, I'm rather concerned that a man of your calibre was wearing such a dodgy tracksuit at The Valley. It was two sludgy shades of grey and the top resembled an offcut from an old duvet. Oh dear, surely Plymouth can come up with something more stylish?"
I know it's a bad tracksuit, but I have to say I look the absolute dog's jogs in it. How dare he say I didn't look good in it? I saw a photo of me from the other night at Charlton and I thought it was arguably the best I'd ever looked. And then he goes and slaughtered me. I reckon he's jealous of my new-found muscles and my big fat head, because I'm working out now - believe it or not. I'm pumping iron. Unfortunately I worked so hard the other day, I couldn't open the door to get back out of the gym!
Ian Holloway was talking to Chris Charles.
Ian Holloway was talking to Chris Charles.
Source: BBC Sport
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