You absolute bell
Our media team totally won Twitter yesterday & fair play to MCFC for stepping in when Nawitch dropped out at the last minute!
NBC Sports in the US Have even written a Match report
I do believe I called this.
Having had it as a nipper I knew how horrific it makes you feel & how long it took to recover.
BBC Breakfast news
not a tweet as such but a nice piece on Bednarek
In principle that’s great news.
Assuming there is ever any football played in the future…
It’s behind a pay wall you muthas…
Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse: It’s not about being first – we must protect jobs
The midfielder tells Henry Winter why Southampton players were happy to lead the way in accepting pay deferrals
James Ward-Prowse has always felt the deepest of respect for the NHS, particularly from personal experience when his partner, Olivia, went through a 36-hour labour giving birth to their son Oscar in 2018.
“There were a couple of complications which needed medical assistance to ensure that Oscar was brought into the world safely,” Ward-Prowse recalls. “Even in that stressful, dark moment, the composure and professionalism of these people was incredible.”
It is one of many reasons the Southampton and England midfield player and Olivia stand outside their house applauding the NHS every Thursday at 8pm during this lockdown. They appreciate the compassion and expertise of the NHS. They know the dedication of those confronting the coronavirus pandemic.
“I just try to imagine putting myself in their shoes for what they face,” Ward-Prowse continues, talking over the phone from home this afternoon. “When we go to work as footballers (before the lockdown), we’re not thinking about anything apart from kicking a ball about. NHS workers are going in and putting themselves right on the frontline and risking a lot to help others. That’s an incredible sacrifice. We can all take courage from that. It’s great to see the recognition the NHS are receiving. They are the real heroes.”
It is why the 25-year-old was so keen to contribute to #PlayersTogether, the fund created by top-tier squads to help all those in the front line against coronavirus. Rivals have united. “When the Premier League resumes, we will be there trying to kick each other and run past each other,” Ward-Prowse says. “That’s the nature of football. When there’s something greater happening in life like this, the sport becomes irrelevant. It is about everybody’s health, looking after family, and #PlayersTogether is a fantastic initiative to be involved with, and one that hopefully will benefit millions of people.”
The scheme was being set up before Matt Hancock, the health secretary, waded into the debate, demanding that players “play their part” in contributing financially to the fight against the virus. “I was aware of what was said,” Ward-Prowse replies. “I take an interest in the news. There’s a big crisis on our hands and we’re all playing our part individually to help out.
“People have a perception of footballers but maybe don’t see the things we do away from it. We know we play our part in the community.”
Ward-Prowse visited Southampton General Hospital last year to see Leon Mooney, a young Saints fan who had lymphoma cancer. Ward-Prowse invited Mooney to St Mary’s when he was in remission. “We are aware of the role we have in the community and how much we are looked up to.
“When I was a young kid, I was starstruck by players. My idols were (David) Beckham, (Frank) Lampard and (Steven) Gerrard, all of the England players. I looked up them and thought I want to be like them one day. To use my ‘profile’ now, to put smiles on other people’s faces and help them through difficult times, that’s the most rewarding thing for me. It’s not about scoring the winning goal, and playing football, it’s the other side of it which we take the most enjoyment from.”
He’s admired within the club for his professionalism, among the first to arrive for training and one of the last to leave after practising free kicks. He cares for all staff and is a poster boy for Southampton’s great academy, having been there 17 years and having played 269 matches.
As vice-captain, Ward-Prowse was involved in discussions that led to the squad agreeing wage deferrals, reportedly 10 per cent for three months. Southampton was the first Premier League dressing room to act. “It is nice to be the first but equally it was a decision that was well thought through by everybody within the club.
“It’s not done just to be the first. It’s done with a purpose, with care and consideration of how our actions would impact the club and the community. We’ve done a very good job so far in making sure that everyone’s well taken care of.”
The deferrals will help pay wages of others at Southampton, ensuring the club did not even have to consider furloughing. “We are in a very privileged position as footballers,” Ward-Prowse replies. “As a squad we felt it was the right thing to do to make a decision that would protect the club and the people within it, and to ensure our local community is in a right place.
“Having been at the club since I was eight, I know Southampton are a family club, unlike any other. It looks after the people within it. It is down to incredibly good values that Southampton have. Right from a young age, I felt the club were a family, a great environment not only to play football in but also to grow up as a young person. They gave me that platform to achieve my dream. When that’s been threatened of late, it was important that we as a team took action and ensured that we are in the right place.
“Southampton’s values are that honesty, that good care, that willingness to help. They do things a lot differently than any other club. There is always the thought of the people first, rather than the business side of things. It is such a community-driven club. Having recently become an ambassador for Saints Foundation, I regularly get to see the great work that Greg Baker (the foundation’s head) and the team do within the community. It helps so many people within the community.”
In response to the pandemic, the Saints As One campaign cooks and supplies 1,000 meals a week to the vulnerable locally, staff are calling the elderly to check on their well-being and the club have also pledged a minimum 1,000 free match tickets for NHS staff and their families when football returns.
That bond with the community reflects the bond within the club, seen powerfully when board and dressing-room stood strongly behind the manager, Ralph Hasenhüttl, after that 9-0 humiliation by Leicester City on October 25.
“That game was a massive turning point,” Ward-Prowse says. “From that moment on, we’ve been not only a totally different team but a club. That gave us the kick we needed to ensure that things were different. There is that feeling of togetherness around the club at the moment.
“The manager has restored our identity. Before he came in we were a little bit lost. We didn’t know how we were going to play, what team we were, what club we were. The way we play now has regained that identity. Since that result against Leicester, everybody has stuck with the ways we are training with, and we are really seeing the benefit of that.”
Hasenhüttl often does well in fans’ polls of manager you’d most like to have a beer with and have alongside you in a fight. “I can see that!” Ward-Prowse laughs. “He is incredibly passionate about what he does, and he has great belief in the way he wants to do things. It’s very powerful as a leader, whether in business or sport, if you can get everybody on the same page. Everybody firmly is.”
Hasenhüttl, fitness staff and sports scientists are all in touch with the players during the lockdown. “The club have handled it very well. We’ve all been sent individual physical programmes to fulfil, sprinting on some days, long-distance runs, leg weights and upper body weights, just ensuring we are in a peak physical condition.
“The weather’s been all right lately, so I’ve been out in the garden practising my short game for the golf! Most of the time it’s man-marking Oscar!” Fatherhood’s changed him. “For sure. It took a lot of pressure off me. I used to think football was the most important thing in the world, but I’ve got a son who is the most important thing now. The football doesn’t really matter.”
Asked whether he’d rather be known as a good father or good football player, Ward-Prowse instantly replies, “a good father, for sure. This (lockdown) has given people time to reflect on their lives, reflect on what’s important, and health of family and friends is the most important thing.”
He misses playing, and such was his form that there was talk of making England’s squad for the European Championship finals (now postponed to 2021). “Hopefully, I get that call one day,” he says. “That’s always the target for me. If I can play well for the club, consistently well, then that will come. It is strange to think about football so far ahead when there are a lot of pressing issues we need to focus on now.
“What’s happening at the minute is horrible for everybody. One thing is you do spend a lot more time with your family, to see Oscar 24 hours a day, is keeping me on my toes. It’s precious time.” And he knows that the NHS are out there, fighting to keep everybody safe.
Saints at home going live on FB shortly (check Twitter or FB for link. Was kinda sweet last week, MLT & Oriel
Well, that escalated quickly.
What a mess
This is the tweet anything else could be a legal nightmare
Claims he got girl pregnant, she refused abortion, he slipped her an abortion pill at 20 weeks. Baby was born did not survive. He was at a theme park in France when baby was buried. All allegations
A BBC Sport article, not a tweet per second.
Best team to finish bottom of the EPL.
I Know, all the shit of that season, but we are not last!
Premier League: Who’s been the best team at the bottom of the table? - http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/52328974
Nope.
Boredom isn’t setting in at all.
Redz started it. Chelski getting pelters from every team now & Ingsy joined in
I have no idea what’s going on here Phil, what have Redz (Redmond?) or Chelsea got to do with Danny Ings’ tweet? I need some context
Chelsea Tweeted.
Missing this place & a pic of Stamford Bridge.
Redz replied with a pic of him celebrating scoring there
Then Rashford
Then Ings did it to Leicesters post
Etc
Ah gotcha.
Caption competition:
Anyone: ‘Jack, man on!’
Jack:
Pelle tweeted aswell.
Shame his first name isn’t Wot.