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I was working last week in Dubai and to my big surprise found myself staying (with my family) in the same hotel as our team. Though I was working every day in daytime, I found myself having breakfast and sundowners with the team and bumbing into (stalking) QPR players and staff everywhere! I have to say that all players (even Bosingwa! see more below) appears very professonial and open to chatting/taking pictures and have certainly learned (or just naturally) comes accross as open and approachable.
I can make a longer up-date later, many small observations and conversations with players, but here are a few very subjective (non-scientific) points based on observing and chatting with quite a few players.
1. Team spirit. Maybe this is new-normal in big clubs, but the squad appears very fractioned. The true old-school "heroes" (Mackie, Hill, Derry) hang out together most of the time. This trip just underlined what I have felt all the time. These are players we can be proud off. You can speak to them, they appear honest and hard-working. I hope they stay when we go down, these are the once that can bring us up again and create the spine of team pulling in the same direction. I think Warnock has a point, he created a great and united dressing room. Hughes dismantled it and split it. The French speaking players (Samba, Remy, Taraabt, Traore etc.) seems to hang out together, and so does the Brasilian/Portuguise club (Cesar, Fabio, Bosingwa etc.). The two korean boy-scouts where first down for breakfast every morning and appeared isolated and very quite - even together. To make Park captain is one of the biggest jokes in life, you can see miles away he is not a leader and prefers to live life quitely far away from any problems. He might be a good and hard working pro, but not a leader. I don't think the new Korean speaks any English - or very little. Looked like Bothroyd, Jenas, Nedum, SWP stick a bit together, while Zamora seems to on his own...
2. Bosingwa. Keept an eye on this guy. Admit, I am very biased. I do like him. Been like that since we signed him. To much Chealsea, to much Russian noveau rich arrogance, to much Ronaldo attitude. He did not change my perception. Appears 10 times more arrogant off the pitch than on the pitch. What irritated me the most was that he appared to have a great time! At the pool, in the bar, with the girls etc. While no players seems to have wifes or girlfriends along, Bosingwa had those two great looking little brunette and blondine around him (see pictures). I do not know what happended on the training pitch, sure he has given his all like everyone else and how they recover from hard training I basically do not care. The team did leave early every day for training, but this guy did not look like someone that knows he needs to work his #### off to win back respect of team mates and supporters, maybe he does it with the blond bird at night time
He really looked like enjoying his stay, together with the Brasilian camp. My Danish mates all week tried to talk me into "sorting him out", however being a family man, and having my two young sons + wife with me, I decided to go for a more behaved approach. Daddy being kicked out of the hotel (and into UAE jail) for offending a prof footballer of my favorite team might have looked a bid odd on my two sons... So I behaved. However, I told my story to a few players (no names), that my mates wanted me to give Boswinger a kick in the balls etc. They all just smiled Nobody actually tried to talk me out of it! The arrogant ***** certainly does not seem to have much sympathy and when I asked around (no names) why he was in the squad they appeared like a ?
3. No sign of Harry, think he stayed in a different hotel. Joe Jordan and other staff stayed there. All in all, really great experience to stay with the team. A big thank you to all (also Bosingwa) for being so approachable. I have probably been a big nuisance to them, taking hundrends of pics, but they all took it very nice/professionally.
NB: After seeing the players for "warm down" in the pool after training, my wife suddently became very interested. Samba in very tight Speedo's (!) did the job! I will up-load a few of her photoes too (maybe) !!
Best,
Torben
I can make a longer up-date later, many small observations and conversations with players, but here are a few very subjective (non-scientific) points based on observing and chatting with quite a few players.
1. Team spirit. Maybe this is new-normal in big clubs, but the squad appears very fractioned. The true old-school "heroes" (Mackie, Hill, Derry) hang out together most of the time. This trip just underlined what I have felt all the time. These are players we can be proud off. You can speak to them, they appear honest and hard-working. I hope they stay when we go down, these are the once that can bring us up again and create the spine of team pulling in the same direction. I think Warnock has a point, he created a great and united dressing room. Hughes dismantled it and split it. The French speaking players (Samba, Remy, Taraabt, Traore etc.) seems to hang out together, and so does the Brasilian/Portuguise club (Cesar, Fabio, Bosingwa etc.). The two korean boy-scouts where first down for breakfast every morning and appeared isolated and very quite - even together. To make Park captain is one of the biggest jokes in life, you can see miles away he is not a leader and prefers to live life quitely far away from any problems. He might be a good and hard working pro, but not a leader. I don't think the new Korean speaks any English - or very little. Looked like Bothroyd, Jenas, Nedum, SWP stick a bit together, while Zamora seems to on his own...
2. Bosingwa. Keept an eye on this guy. Admit, I am very biased. I do like him. Been like that since we signed him. To much Chealsea, to much Russian noveau rich arrogance, to much Ronaldo attitude. He did not change my perception. Appears 10 times more arrogant off the pitch than on the pitch. What irritated me the most was that he appared to have a great time! At the pool, in the bar, with the girls etc. While no players seems to have wifes or girlfriends along, Bosingwa had those two great looking little brunette and blondine around him (see pictures). I do not know what happended on the training pitch, sure he has given his all like everyone else and how they recover from hard training I basically do not care. The team did leave early every day for training, but this guy did not look like someone that knows he needs to work his #### off to win back respect of team mates and supporters, maybe he does it with the blond bird at night time
He really looked like enjoying his stay, together with the Brasilian camp. My Danish mates all week tried to talk me into "sorting him out", however being a family man, and having my two young sons + wife with me, I decided to go for a more behaved approach. Daddy being kicked out of the hotel (and into UAE jail) for offending a prof footballer of my favorite team might have looked a bid odd on my two sons... So I behaved. However, I told my story to a few players (no names), that my mates wanted me to give Boswinger a kick in the balls etc. They all just smiled Nobody actually tried to talk me out of it! The arrogant ***** certainly does not seem to have much sympathy and when I asked around (no names) why he was in the squad they appeared like a ? 3. No sign of Harry, think he stayed in a different hotel. Joe Jordan and other staff stayed there. All in all, really great experience to stay with the team. A big thank you to all (also Bosingwa) for being so approachable. I have probably been a big nuisance to them, taking hundrends of pics, but they all took it very nice/professionally.
NB: After seeing the players for "warm down" in the pool after training, my wife suddently became very interested. Samba in very tight Speedo's (!) did the job! I will up-load a few of her photoes too (maybe) !!
Best,
Torben
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