Team mates
Best mate? Jamie Mackie. I get on well with him and we room together at away games. He’s a funny lad and lives close to me as well, so we sometimes do stuff away from the training pitch. Most of the other boys live quite far apart, but he’s a good lad. Last to buy dinner? Michael Petrasso. We do team dinners from time to time and we always do credit card roulette at the end of dinner. We put the cards into a hat and get the waiters to draw a card out. That card pays the entire bill for the team. He lost once at MNKY HSE in Mayfair and his reaction said it all! Most lads take it on the chin, but he was particularly distraught. I had to put an arm around him. Worst dressed? I’d have to go with Idrissa Sylla. He comes in with some questionable gear, that’s for sure. He also has this watch that looks like it’s about to fall straight off his wrist, so he needs to get that tightened. He wears some bad gear in general. Dressing room DJ? Joel Lynch or Nedum Onuoha. They tend to alternate but they’ve both got good tunes, crowdpleasers, so it tends to be a bit of everything. It’s mostly R’n’B or hip-hop tracks, but we have some commercial ones in there, too. Late for training? We have quite a prompt bunch and no-one is really late that often. The only incident I can think of was Joel Lynch being late after an international break. We caught an early flight back and I think he went home and slept, but that’s the only incident I can think of anyone being late. Teacher’s pet? Jamie Mackie. He’s the one that’s always talking to the manager but, to be fair, he’ll put across his point. Even if it’s negative, he’ll get it out there in the same manner as if it were positive. As a senior player, he acts as a buffer between the players and the management. First on the dancefloor? Jay Emmanuel-Thomas. He’s got some rhythm, so he gets on the floor whenever there’s a chance. It’s between him and Yeni N’Gbakoto, for sure. Most likely to disgrace himself at the Christmas party? Jamie Mackie – no comment. I cannot divulge any details as to why I’ve chosen him, only that it’s just him. Definitely. Worst tattoos? Luke Freeman has one that says the word ‘beef’, which is a bit weird – must be a private joke… But that’s the most controversial one I’ve seen. I don’t have any tattoos myself. Who will make the best manager? Jake Bidwell or Nedum Onuoha. Jake, on the sole premise that he smashes fantasy football every week, so he seems to know what he’s talking about when it comes to team selection! And Nedum is a born leader, so it’s got to be one of those two.