Espen Baardsen

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LoughboroBlade

LoughboroBlade

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For something completely different, thought I'd just share this small bit from an interview with the ex Spurs and Watford keeper in The Blizzard. Baardsen gave up football at 25 to go and switch careers into finance. The whole piece is interesting, particularly the utter financial madness of Vialli's Watford and the wages the likes of Ramon Vega received: https://www.theblizzard.co.uk/articles/safe-as-houses/

This particular story caught my eye though. He's at Watford, still on his Premiership wages, and Watford are trying to get rid of him. He'd just had an unsuccessful loan with Everton - this is the 2002-03 season. His last season.
  • What was the straw that broke the camel’s back? When did you know you were going to do it?
There was no single point. I knew while I was at Everton that last game I had [Baardsen conceded four in a 4-3 defeat to his former club, Tottenham] was sort of a make-or-break for my career —that if I didn’t play well and get a bit of momentum, my career was only going to head further south into an area where it would be very, very difficult to get out. After Everton, it was pretty much all over in my mind. Then my agents at the time got me to go up in March up to Sheffield United to see… I can’t even remember the guy’s name…
  • Neil Warnock.
Yeah, Neil Warnock. He had a bit of a reputation as a loud mouth. I went up to see him and I certainly wasn’t in good form in training but after the training I went to see him and got offered about £25,000 per year. It was actually quite funny — I think it was £2,000 a month he was going to give me, gross, as a wage, but then he had this interesting theory that, “Oh yeah, but you would get £1,000 per game appearance bonus — which includes if you’re on the bench.” Then he takes a pause, then he says, “But I don’t put a goalkeeper on the bench.” At the time it was almost like I wasn’t sure if he was joking. But actually the money didn’t really make any difference. If I’d really wanted to do it I would have. I walked back to the hotel in Sheffield — and this is after being in a hotel for two months in Liverpool — and I just burst into tears basically. At that moment I just got in our car, drove back to London, and that was it. I called the agent and said, “Forget it, don’t call me back.” So that day there was no going back.
 

Good old Colin.
 
Back in those days there were rumours that such bonus arrangements were of mutual benefit to player and manager. Not suggesting that about Colin of course!
 
Jason Puncheon insinuated it on twitter and got a caution over it after taking some flak from his ex-Manager-turned-radio pundit.

Whilst like many I pine over the good ol' days of this era, I don't miss these sort of arrangements going on at my club.
 
Deadly_D'Jaffo said:
Jason Puncheon insinuated it on twitter and got a caution over it after taking some flak from his ex-Manager-turned-radio pundit.

Whilst like many I pine over the good ol' days of this era, I don't miss these sort of arrangements going on at my club.
Click to expand...

What's your evidence for that going on?

Allison being on the bench a lot?

It's not like he ever came on and scored or created a late winner is it?
 

HillmortonBlade said:
Neither matters if the subject gains results, much like a footballer or indeed a football manager. I wonder how long a stockbroker given before the call made to sack him.
Click to expand...

I understand as a share picking 'monkey' that merely spends all day looking at opportunities for arbitrage, it's 2-3 years...
 
Don't worry Bladesway, I dodged most of the shrapnel, mere flesh wounds (he writes from his hospital bed [not]).

Of current footballers, it strikes me that Spurs striker Eriksen seems to be one of the few with sufficient wit to appear witty, not to say, dry, in interviews. I hear he can strike a good free-kick too, but I wouldn't know anything about that.

I went to see the Bratfud game. As it turned out it was mainly a chance to top up my tan but I noticed 20 men in stripy shirts running around aimlessly on the greensward before me. From the miscues and wayward shooting, might I observe that some of our players seem very nervous which translates into tension and stiffness in the leg, ankle and foot. All control is lost, like it is if you strip the rubber and foam from a ping-pong bat.

I can only think that this is at least influenced by the crowd, I offer an alternative idea to the usual criticism that our support is too anxious and well, critical of the players - though I think that may be correct. I think its IS possible that our crowds are perhaps just too big for some of these 3rd. division men. ( I'm clutching at straws, I know)- they get stage-fright.

That said, the introduction of Ché was revolutionary in terms of the game or at least it would have been if he had had more of a run out. With Done out of the team and Reed kept under wraps like a classic-car to be unveiled only for swanky occasions. If we get there, we may yet prosper in the play-offs......?
 
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