Roozegate

[JW90]

Hair transplant Wazza has a few bevvies which will keep us all "entertained" on the station. Cundy says he does no wrong, Saggers says he does no right, usual journalist defends the paper, Big Al will ask how good the venue was as he's probably nivver bin.

Only a couple of days until the Premier League is back so make the most of this scandal/ outrage/ betrayal.

[Zippy]

They've discussed it on every show. Absolute nadir of this worthless station. Who genuinely gives a fuck.

[kancutlawns]

The same argument applies to the outrage that Southgate wasn't given the permanent job yesterday right after the match, as if we can't wait another five months when the national team falls off the radar in any case.

[sjbarca]

They've discussed it on every show. Absolute nadir of this worthless station. Who genuinely gives a fuck.

His wife.

[JW90]

I doubt she's as bothered as Darren Lewis appears to be. "Why would you give your sponsor branded England shirt to a fan?"

[JimmyDee]

I heard Clever Adrian and the Barnsley Baffler bringing the piercing gaze of their mighty intellects to bear on this important matter. I loved the assumptions that:
a) footballers can't possibly go a few days without going "on the lash" (Adrian's words, not mine)
b) the bride and groom would be only too delighted to have a bunch of pissed-up footballers making someone else's wedding all about them.

[sjbarca]

I doubt she's as bothered as Darren Lewis appears to be. "Why would you give your sponsor branded England shirt to a fan?"

Well he was drinking till 5am and Weddings are good places to get a quick one??!!

[robm]

5 am drunk or not most people would look bleary eyed.

[The Ghost of Alex Higgins]

The sun sets the agenda from here on

[JimmyDee]

What we have here, gentlemen, is a non-story that TS will flog as though it was one of Quinn's horses, dead through being deprived of proper nourishment.
It's what they do.

[SeanNW8]

The yorkshire idiot has just compared Rooney going on a bender to F1 drivers spraying champagne on the podium post-race.
A wonderful addition to a non-story. Tremendous radio.

[JimmyDee]

Lucky old Steve Redgrave, eh? He could get blind drunk for FOUR YEARS between Olympics and then stop three days before his first event. That would obviously work.

[tennisman]

Lucky old Steve Redgrave, eh? He could get blind drunk for FOUR YEARS between Olympics and then stop three days before his first event. That would obviously work.

ha ha

And he hadn't done as much for charidee as our Wayne.

Or been under so much stress.

Or had a few red wines and found he'd had one or two too many (D. Murphy).

Or been damned if he did (go out and have a few) or damned if he didn't and stayed in and got pissed at someone else's wedding.

PS Dungham has revved up his disbelieving and patronising stance towards callers who will all 'have their view', although all will be stupid ('Think it through people - UNBELIEVABLE')

[tennisman]

PPS Djokovic has now got the best part of 2 days before he plays his Semi on Saturday.

'Right Boris, where's the nearest Strengfellows - Let's get a few down us' (Rubs hands and other body part together).

[wyongho]

Remarkable, unbelievable, can't get head round it.
Really?
This show needs dumped

[JimmyDee]

EVEN IF it made no difference to their sporting performance; they're not very bright, are they? English footballers, I mean. Five minutes off, and all they can think of doing is going out on the piss, as a way of preparation.

This is why, in my opinion, we're good at qualifying, but bad at tournaments; too many thickos. Even on a qualifier to Azerbaijan it's three days away from home: one day going, one day playing and one day back. Once they're out there, though, it's days and days in an hotel, and they go mad with boredom, because they have no interest in anything outside their narrow lives. Can you imagine any of them settling down to read a book?

Take South Africa ... they were offered a visit to Nelson Mandela's cell on Robben Island, but chose to have a day's banter playing golf among themselves. You don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Tennisman, how do the likes of Laura Robson cope with being away from home on a more-or-less constant basis? Not that Important Football has anything to learn from lesser sports, but I was just wondering.

[JimmyDee]

This show needs dumped

A pedant writes: here in England it either needs dumping, or needs to be dumped. There is no third way.

[The Ghost of Alex Higgins]

Remarkable, unbelievable, can't get head round it.
Really?
This show needs dumped

I'm intrigued by that fella

[ccreds]

Wonder what position Goldy will take.

[Northern Troglodite]

[quote="ccreds"]Wonder what position Goldy will take.[/qu

The total opposite to Cunty ... apparently this makes for "classic" radio

[Zippy]

They've discussed it on every show. Absolute nadir of this worthless station. Who genuinely gives a fuck.

His wife.

The girl in the pic looked err...too young for Wayne??!!

[tennisman]

EVEN IF it made no difference to their sporting performance; they're not very bright, are they? English footballers, I mean. Five minutes off, and all they can think of doing is going out on the piss, as a way of preparation.

This is why, in my opinion, we're good at qualifying, but bad at tournaments; too many thickos. Even on a qualifier to Azerbaijan it's three days away from home: one day going, one day playing and one day back. Once they're out there, though, it's days and days in an hotel, and they go mad with boredom, because they have no interest in anything outside their narrow lives. Can you imagine any of them settling down to read a book?

Take South Africa ... they were offered a visit to Nelson Mandela's cell on Robben Island, but chose to have a day's banter playing golf among themselves. You don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Tennisman, how do the likes of Laura Robson cope with being away from home on a more-or-less constant basis? Not that Important Football has anything to learn from lesser sports, but I was just wondering.

Tennis players don't like it anymore than anyone else. They try and travel in groups or, if they've got the money, in entourages with coach, parent, agent etc for company.

These days, they probably take ipads, phones etc and sit on them in their spare time.

At tournaments, as long as they stay in, they have a routine of eat, practice, rest, play, eat, practice etc etc

As you've intimated, its all down to individuals' attitudes.

Ben Haran was a young Brit travelling at the lower ends of the circuit and once came out with the 'it's hard travelling all the time' line.

I asked him if he'd prefer to pack it in and start getting up at 7am every day and commuting into London on BR (leaves on the line etc).

Which type of travel would he prefer?

He looked at me and said, 'I've never thought about it like that'.

[JimmyDee]

Ben Haran was a young Brit travelling at the lower ends of the circuit and once came out with the 'it's hard travelling all the time' line ...

As a matter of interest, how old was he at the time, and who made his travel arrangements? I'm guessing that he had to take a lot more responsibility for his own life than even minor Premier League footballers do, but maybe I'm way out.

I ask that because, apparently, Jose Mourinho was trying to blame the FA for not locking Rooney up out of harm's way, rather than blaming Rooney for what he chose to do, of his own free will. It may well be "deflection" or somesuch old bollocks, but I wonder if "keeping it in the dressing-room" isn't a bad thing in the long run. Astonishingly, Rooney is married with children, not a child himself. Managers constantly making excuses keeps them in a state of perpetual adolescence, until such time as they're no longer any use to the club, at which point it's "naff off, nobody" and they're left to flounder.

[kancutlawns]

Trust Dungham to turn a negative such as Rooney getting bladdered at 5am whilst representing the national team as captain into a positive by saying he got rid of the image of a detached player and that the guests would have been so happy seeing him.

Fucking remarkable.

[tennisman]

Ben Haran was a young Brit travelling at the lower ends of the circuit and once came out with the 'it's hard travelling all the time' line ...

As a matter of interest, how old was he at the time, and who made his travel arrangements? I'm guessing that he had to take a lot more responsibility for his own life than even minor Premier League footballers do, but maybe I'm way out.

I ask that because, apparently, Jose Mourinho was trying to blame the FA for not locking Rooney up out of harm's way, rather than blaming Rooney for what he chose to do, of his own free will. It may well be "deflection" or somesuch old bollocks, but I wonder if "keeping it in the dressing-room" isn't a bad thing in the long run. Astonishingly, Rooney is married with children, not a child himself. Managers constantly making excuses keeps them in a state of perpetual adolescence, until such time as they're no longer any use to the club, at which point it's "naff off, nobody" and they're left to flounder.

Players at the top end like Murray are likely to have a person / people doing their travel arrangements for them. This may be someone from their management agency or another member of their entourage.

This daily / weekly work will be done within the framework of some sort of annual plan which most players from top to bottom will have planned at some point as a new year comes up.

For players on the ATP Tour, this schedule will follow the tour as it weaves around the world based on the Slams.

Lower down, for example, one of my former pupils, Nick Nugent is doing a year or 2 on the tour to see if he can make it (he has a University place on hold).

He does the planning and booking himself supported by his parents who both work.

These days, whoever does it probably takes advantage of internet booking. back a while, there would have been more calls to airlines or travel agents.

Nick is doing mainly UK and European events, the ones on what is called the British Tour and the next level up, which used to be called Satellites but are now called Futures.

There will be those going further afield and there have been a few articles that come up written by players giving an idea about the daily grind of booking flights, hotels etc as they make their way to and from events.

Ben Haran would have done the planning and the booking himself.

the support staff do it themselves. Jaimie Delgado, who is on Murray's team now, played on the tour for nearly 20 years until recently and he would have done all his own travel.

PS On the topic of drink, whilst my 60's and 70's Tennis Fantasy Camp Legends like Newcombe, Stolle and Emerson had quite a hard drinking culture, not all of them did. Rosewall was a tea drinker not a lager man. Laver didn't drink.

Emmo would get pissed but would be up at 6am running it off. Despite being a drinker, Roy was regarded as being the fittest player on the tour in the mid to late 60's.

The way they trained, a system used by the Harry Hopman academy (now the Saddlebrook resort in Tampa), was based on exhausting 2 v 1 routines where one player would be working flat out at a time after which, players would rotate positions.

As a recreational player enjoying a holiday prior to discovering the Tennis Fantasy Camp, I did a few days at Hopmans and I've never been so exhausted. You played 2 x sessions of 2 and a half hours each. Although you were done by 3.30pm, you were DONE.

They'd always ask if anyone wanted to play on afterwards - I never took up the offer, choosing to return to my room to find food, even before having a shower. I was exhausted and starving.

Like the England footballers, they probably liked to go out, have a drink and be on the party scene like all people of their age.

As time has passed, whatever harder drinking was the norm has gone in my experience.

Whilst a coach and living in Wimbledon between '93 and 07, at Wimbledon itself, I went to a few player parties in bars in the village and it was all remarkably normal. In fact, it was a bit dull.

Players still in the tournament wouldn't be drinking.

Those knocked out might but unless they were on top prize money, they watched the pennies.

I sat with Kevin Ullyett, a top doubles player one evening and he had 2 glasses of wine.

If anything food is more important to tennis players and having dinner with fellow players or their entourage is the priority not getting bladderated as the 2 Mikes might say.