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Daily Mail... Joey Barton...
....There were people within the
club – and they know who they are – who embraced me after the sending
off, who said, "We’ve stayed up, that’s all that matters. You were still
a part of it, you played a massive part".
'And then, when
the media drum started beating and the media started demanding that I be
held accountable for my actions, they changed tack.
'I felt they
were using it as a way to get me off the wage bill, and to get people
they wanted in at the football club: "He’s a commodity who’s done his
job, let’s get him out."
'I text the owners after the ban from
the FA and said, "Look, I realise what I have put the club through and I
realise the magnitude of it. If you want me to resign, I will do.
'I
still had three years to run on my contract, but I had got to the stage
where I was wondering if I wanted to keep putting myself through all
this.
Back: Barton (right) is now a regular member of the QPR side as they bid to return to the Premier League
Back: Barton (right) is now a regular member of the QPR side as they bid to return to the Premier League
'I
had a tough season in terms of getting stick from the fans and I had
got to the point where I wasn’t really thinking about anything else.
'I
wanted out of the club and I wanted out of the atmosphere I was in. It
wasn’t for me. I had been loved everywhere I had been, and this was the
first time I wasn’t.
'The owners will testify to this. I text
them straight after the ban, as I was coming out of Wembley. I was
deeply unhappy at the football club in lots of ways.
'But the reaction of the owners is the reason I am still here today.' Daily Mail
AIR ASIA
Behind the scenes at QPR: The life of a football physiotherapist
9 Oct 2013
Physios
are notoriously known as the ‘magic sponge men’, but there’s obviously
more to the job than running on the pitch with a sponge and bucket of
water these days.
Nigel Cox, Head physio at QPR sets the record straight on what exactly the job entails.
“Your absolutely right in thinking that physios are remembered
fondly as the ‘sponge man’. In reality, match day coverage plays
possibly the smallest aspect of our working week! Indeed the match
provides the final piece of the weekly jigsaw in preparing players for a
game, and therefore gives us the most enjoyable aspect of our work”.
However, that’s just the beginning. It’s more or less a 7-day week operation which begins the next day following match day.
“That working week starts usually the following day, normally
Sunday for us, when any injured players from the game report for
assessment and treatment with the Physio. If we have a midweek game, the
whole squad may even be in for what we term a ‘recovery day’, in an
effort to remove lactic acid and waste products from the body, built up
in the game”.
On a typical work day, Nigel divides his
attention between two primary objectives – treating injured players
through rehabilitation and preparing fit players for training. On top of
that, he also provides medical emergency cover pitch side during
training similar to match days.
“We finish our day with a
medical and sports science debrief meeting, followed by the entering of
notes onto an electronic medical record system to meet medico-legal
requirements. So that’s a normal day in the life of a Football Physio.
Add to that the management of a large multidisciplinary team that
includes masseurs, chiropractor, chiropodist, Pilates instructor,
nutritionist, radiographers and physiotherapy students, and you’ll start
to get an idea of the level of support now afforded to our athletes.”
The team constantly travels over the season for matches and
tournaments, and this too involves a lot of planning from Nigel.
“Every other week we travel for an away fixture and sometimes we
have a midweek game away from home also. In the olden days, all journeys
were made on the club bus, but now, we as clinicians get concerned
about the length of time the athlete spends in a seated position for
hours and the effect on shortening of the muscles. As a result we push
as much as possible for train journeys around the country, and even
flights to the further venues. At least, the players can then get up to
walk about the carriage or the fuselage and exercise during the journey
to keep the muscles active, pretty much as AirAsia customers are
encouraged to do so during flight.
Obviously the further we
travel, the more scientific our approach to our players’ welfare
becomes, as we have to start preparing to overcome issues such as jet
lag, travel sickness, sleep deprivation, dehydration and anxiety
issues”.
Matchday mayhem: match day coverage is only a fraction of Nigel’s responsibilites
Matchday mayhem: matchday coverage is only a fraction of Nigel’s responsibilities
As Nigel describes it, the job is full time and full on.
“My
phone is never off (as my wife would testify!). You become much more
than a physio to the lads as strong bonds of trust and knowledge develop
between you. When a player has a long term injury, he may spend more
time with me than his family! I once had a call at 2 am to tell me his
wife’s waters had broken so what should he do…well find your car keys,
get your wife in the car!
When the coaching staff has a day
off, I’m afraid we’re all in because injured players always need
treatment, and in the summer they don’t miraculously get fit, so they
need to be in over the close season working on their rehabilitation”.
With such a huge responsibility to shoulder, and hardly any time off, why does he keep doing it?
“The best part of being a football physiotherapist is undoubtedly
the ‘team spirit’, there’s nothing quite like being part of a team
operating within a sport that has always been a passion within your
life. My father took me as a young boy to regularly watch our local
professional team and nurtured my love of the game, so it was a dream to
get the opportunity to forge a career within it. The banter from the
lads within your camp is incredible, sportsmen and women tend to have a
great sense of humour and camaraderie. The staff are made to feel a real
part of the team and we feel strong in the knowledge that we are all in
it together regardless of the highs or the lows.”
Along
with the rest of the QPR team, Nigel recently visited our part of the
world during a pre-season tour in which they toured the region on their
very own QPR livery!
“We managed to experience the
hospitality of Air Asia on the dedicated Queens Park Rangers aircraft
and I’m delighted to say that the AirAsia staff were fantastic to us and
looked after us so well, that all of the travel worries that I usually
burden myself with were more than adequately taken care of.
The trip itself was truly memorable for us all, as not only the AirAsia
staff’s welcome, but that of every person in that wonderful region was
so friendly towards us, the fond memories will last forever, and we look
forward to the next time!”
Nigel gives us a peek inside the physio’s bag:
Bag of iced water
For effective cooling to place on the injury
Glue and stapler
For immediate wound care if we can avoid wasted time stitching a player
“Maglite” small torch
For torch for checking pupil reaction in suspected concussion
Scissors
These
are usually tied to my bag so that I cannot accidentally leave them
lying on the grass in the heat of dealing with an incident
Then there are the usual essentials – menthol rub to aid breathing,
smelling salts, antiseptic wash, sun cream, deep heat rub, various
immediate medicines, individuals contact lenses and an EpiPen are all in
there as are various dressings and tapes for emergency strappings.
I have a breath mask and various size airways to aid with life-saving techniques in the event of sudden cardiac arrest.
Beyond that it’s the time-saving items that you just might need in a
hurry for a player like spare laces, studs and of course a full kit of
shirt, shorts and socks in the event of a blood injury. You like to keep
the run on bag as light as possible but as you can see, that’s not
always possible! Air Asia
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