The Bear
03-08-2006, 20:58
Just noticed that along with Ricketts, we now have Jay Bothroyd who has his own mini-site at Icons:
http://www.icons.com/bothroyd/
The last entry though was at the end of last season while he was still with Charlton. You can read his autobiography which has some nice background stuff:
I was born in Islington, North London on May 7, 1982. I got into football at an early age thanks to my dad - he wasn't a player, but his passion for the game was a big influence on me. He used to take me down the park and teach me tricks and moves. He also used to take me to see Arsenal. I grew up very near to Highbury and my family have always been big Arsenal supporters. I remember standing on the terraces at Highbury as a kid.
I went to St John's Primary School in Islington and, it has to be said, I was a little horror in the classroom. I was always getting into trouble. My secondary school was Holloway Boys, which happens to be where the Arsenal legend Charlie George went. I did OK at school but, of course, all of my spare time was spent playing football. I like to think that I would have been successful at anything I ended up doing because I'm so competitive. I hate losing, even it's just playing a computer game. It's been the same since I was a young kid. When I'd lose a game I'd go home and sulk and think about how I could have done things differently.
I was nine years old when I was spotted by a scout from QPR. I was playing for my district at the time. I was at QPR up until I was 12 years old and learned a lot there. I remember my 13th birthday very clearly. My contract was up for QPR and I was playing in a final for Islington Boys. After the game the Arsenal scout, Bill Hollingdale, came up to me and asked if I wanted to join Arsenal. As you can imagine, I didn't think twice. Having supported the club from when I was a boy and living round the corner from Highbury, well, it was a dream come true.
---------------
To be at a club like Arsenal for the most part of my teenage years really moulded me as a player. The facilities at the club were amazing and the coaching staff were second to none - people like Don Givens, Pat Rice, David Court and, of course, Don Howe. Neil Banfield was probably my favourite coach. He was really good to talk to and good at relating to the younger players. I had a great time at Arsenal and one of my proudest moments was scoring the opening goal in Arsenal's 2-0 win over Coventry in the FA Youth Cup in 2000.
I loved Arsenal and I didn't want to leave, I'd been there for so many years and all my friends were there. But the way I look at it now is that it was a blessing in disguise. Because of my performance against Coventry in the FA Youth Cup, Gordon Strachan came in for me and I signed for Coventry a month later for £1million. It's difficult to say what would have happened if I'd stayed on at Highbury. It can be hard for a young player to break into the first team at a big club like Arsenal.
---------------
I've come up through the ranks playing for England at every level except as a full international. Like every young player, my dream is to play in the senior team and hopefully if I work hard I'll achieve that goal.
My best experience in an England shirt to date has to be scoring for the Under-21s in our 3-0 victory over Mexico in May 2001. Jermain Defoe and Malcolm Christie were also on the score sheet at Filbert Street that day. Let's hope I can score many more goals for my country in the future.
---------------
I joined Coventry in July 2000 and thanks to Gordon Strachan - who was manager at the time - I didn't have to wait too long to get some first-team action. I came on as a sub in Coventry's 4-1 win over Preston at the end of September 2000 and a month later I made my full debut for the club against Manchester United at Highfield Road which, although we lost, was a fantastic experience.
I've got a lot to thank Gordon Strachan for in terms of my playing career and I was sorry to see him leave at the beginning of my second season at the club. Gordon Strachan is a real character, but I think he felt he'd done as much as he could at the club and it was time to move on. I'm really pleased that he has did so well at Southampton and that he's now been given the opportunity to manage Celtic.
Roland Nilsson took over from Gordon Strachan as player/manager and thankfully kept faith in me as a striker for the club. It was a big disappointment for all those at Coventry that we failed to reach the First Division play-offs in 2001/2002. The whole team felt we'd let the fans down, but not only that, our failure to finish higher cost Roland his job.
After ending the season on such a low note, everyone at the club's spirits were lifted by the appointment of Gary McAllister as the new manager. To have such a legend at the club was a very exciting prospect for the future.
I was really happy playing for Coventry City. There was such a family atmosphere at the club and the fans were great. I bought a flat in the Midlands and I felt really settled there. Under Gary McAllister I learned a lot and I felt my game was going from strength to strength. But unfortunately at the end of 2002/2003 I was given a free transfer, despite finishing top scorer for that year.
It was a big disappointment but in football as in life you never know what is around the corner. If someone would have said I would be playing in Italy a year ago I would never have believed it. But here I am now, back at Perugia after a loan spell at Balckburn, and I'm really enjoying this chapter of my career.
His posts archive is available as well which has bits of info on there like:
He had a hernia op back in early 2002.
He has a huge tattoo of an angel covering his back.
He has a 3-year old boy called Mace.
His manager at Perugia (Serse Cosmi) nicknamed him 'The Snake'.
When he blacked out in his car last December 12th, he hit a wooden post at about 10mph. (Doctors didn't know why it happened but suggested it may have been because his blood sugar was low).
That's it really. Just thought I'd let you all know :D
http://www.icons.com/bothroyd/
The last entry though was at the end of last season while he was still with Charlton. You can read his autobiography which has some nice background stuff:
I was born in Islington, North London on May 7, 1982. I got into football at an early age thanks to my dad - he wasn't a player, but his passion for the game was a big influence on me. He used to take me down the park and teach me tricks and moves. He also used to take me to see Arsenal. I grew up very near to Highbury and my family have always been big Arsenal supporters. I remember standing on the terraces at Highbury as a kid.
I went to St John's Primary School in Islington and, it has to be said, I was a little horror in the classroom. I was always getting into trouble. My secondary school was Holloway Boys, which happens to be where the Arsenal legend Charlie George went. I did OK at school but, of course, all of my spare time was spent playing football. I like to think that I would have been successful at anything I ended up doing because I'm so competitive. I hate losing, even it's just playing a computer game. It's been the same since I was a young kid. When I'd lose a game I'd go home and sulk and think about how I could have done things differently.
I was nine years old when I was spotted by a scout from QPR. I was playing for my district at the time. I was at QPR up until I was 12 years old and learned a lot there. I remember my 13th birthday very clearly. My contract was up for QPR and I was playing in a final for Islington Boys. After the game the Arsenal scout, Bill Hollingdale, came up to me and asked if I wanted to join Arsenal. As you can imagine, I didn't think twice. Having supported the club from when I was a boy and living round the corner from Highbury, well, it was a dream come true.
---------------
To be at a club like Arsenal for the most part of my teenage years really moulded me as a player. The facilities at the club were amazing and the coaching staff were second to none - people like Don Givens, Pat Rice, David Court and, of course, Don Howe. Neil Banfield was probably my favourite coach. He was really good to talk to and good at relating to the younger players. I had a great time at Arsenal and one of my proudest moments was scoring the opening goal in Arsenal's 2-0 win over Coventry in the FA Youth Cup in 2000.
I loved Arsenal and I didn't want to leave, I'd been there for so many years and all my friends were there. But the way I look at it now is that it was a blessing in disguise. Because of my performance against Coventry in the FA Youth Cup, Gordon Strachan came in for me and I signed for Coventry a month later for £1million. It's difficult to say what would have happened if I'd stayed on at Highbury. It can be hard for a young player to break into the first team at a big club like Arsenal.
---------------
I've come up through the ranks playing for England at every level except as a full international. Like every young player, my dream is to play in the senior team and hopefully if I work hard I'll achieve that goal.
My best experience in an England shirt to date has to be scoring for the Under-21s in our 3-0 victory over Mexico in May 2001. Jermain Defoe and Malcolm Christie were also on the score sheet at Filbert Street that day. Let's hope I can score many more goals for my country in the future.
---------------
I joined Coventry in July 2000 and thanks to Gordon Strachan - who was manager at the time - I didn't have to wait too long to get some first-team action. I came on as a sub in Coventry's 4-1 win over Preston at the end of September 2000 and a month later I made my full debut for the club against Manchester United at Highfield Road which, although we lost, was a fantastic experience.
I've got a lot to thank Gordon Strachan for in terms of my playing career and I was sorry to see him leave at the beginning of my second season at the club. Gordon Strachan is a real character, but I think he felt he'd done as much as he could at the club and it was time to move on. I'm really pleased that he has did so well at Southampton and that he's now been given the opportunity to manage Celtic.
Roland Nilsson took over from Gordon Strachan as player/manager and thankfully kept faith in me as a striker for the club. It was a big disappointment for all those at Coventry that we failed to reach the First Division play-offs in 2001/2002. The whole team felt we'd let the fans down, but not only that, our failure to finish higher cost Roland his job.
After ending the season on such a low note, everyone at the club's spirits were lifted by the appointment of Gary McAllister as the new manager. To have such a legend at the club was a very exciting prospect for the future.
I was really happy playing for Coventry City. There was such a family atmosphere at the club and the fans were great. I bought a flat in the Midlands and I felt really settled there. Under Gary McAllister I learned a lot and I felt my game was going from strength to strength. But unfortunately at the end of 2002/2003 I was given a free transfer, despite finishing top scorer for that year.
It was a big disappointment but in football as in life you never know what is around the corner. If someone would have said I would be playing in Italy a year ago I would never have believed it. But here I am now, back at Perugia after a loan spell at Balckburn, and I'm really enjoying this chapter of my career.
His posts archive is available as well which has bits of info on there like:
He had a hernia op back in early 2002.
He has a huge tattoo of an angel covering his back.
He has a 3-year old boy called Mace.
His manager at Perugia (Serse Cosmi) nicknamed him 'The Snake'.
When he blacked out in his car last December 12th, he hit a wooden post at about 10mph. (Doctors didn't know why it happened but suggested it may have been because his blood sugar was low).
That's it really. Just thought I'd let you all know :D
