Darkness and Light by Joe Thompson

Author:Joe Thompson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pitch Publishing
Published: 2018-11-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Survival of the fittest

IT must have been a peculiar sight for the staff at Manchester’s JJB Soccerdome to see a couple of professional footballers meet up for a casual game of five-a-side. The season was over, but the sun was out, which meant it was time for me and the boys to have our annual summer fixture. Danny Simpson had gathered a group of lads on one of the pitches a couple of miles away from Old Trafford, where the two teams exchanged pre-match verbals and limbered up for battle.

It felt cathartic to play purely for fun in a game where there was no pressure to retain a starting place or satisfy thousands of fans who had paid to watch us play. It took me back to a simpler time when I used to kick a ball around the school playground or the local park. Back then I did it for the sheer enjoyment of playing and to escape to a happy place where I could forget about all my problems at home. When football is your job, and I know I’m lucky to call it that, at times you can lose the fun factor and forget why you fell in love with the game. I know I’m not the only player who feels the same way. In previous years Danny Welbeck, Micah Richards and Nicky Blackman have also joined in our small-sided games. Deep down, we all secretly loved being kids again.

There were no points at stake or fans watching on, except for a few bemused onlookers who had gathered to double check that there were indeed two professional footballers in a cage having a kickabout, but the game was still fiercely contested. Danny has been in the headlines a few times for the wrong reasons over the years and you might think he’s a bit of a playboy, but he is without doubt the most competitive player I know. He’ll happily smash you into the fence or put you over the hoardings, because he desperately wants to win at everything. If you’re dribbling towards him he’ll goad you to put you off your game. ‘Come on then, come on then, run at me!’ he shouted at me on this particular afternoon. ‘It’s five-a-side mate, why do you care so much?’ I laughed.

Although he was never a regular at Manchester United, it’s no surprise to me that he made a few first-team appearances and was accepted inside a dressing room run by Roy Keane because he has the same animalistic drive to win. It’s a trait that’s within all players to a certain extent; we’re testosterone-fuelled beings who never grow out of that childlike hatred of losing. It’s also probably one of the factors that separates those who make it and those who don’t. If you’re not emotionally invested in the outcome of a game then you can never match the intensity of a team-mate who is willing to do anything and everything to avoid the humiliation of failure.

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