Posted by Ed - 07/11/2008
Q. hi Richard,my strongest position for my team is defense but i want to try upfront what do think i should do?
A. I think you should try up front then! I say that because if you are contemplating the idea then by trying it you'll either decide that you prefer to be a striker and that's the position you want to play, or you might think actually I'm better in defence and I'm more useful to my team in that position. You won't know until you try and to copy the phrase from the Dr Pepper adverts, what's the worst that can happen?! ;)
Posted by soccer9924 - 05/11/2008
Q. hi.. im from canada and im a big fan of yours....I was just wondering what size are the gloves you wear?
A. Thanks, I wear either size 9.5 or 10. I quite like my gloves to be tight but I've found many keepers who I've come across recently who prefer having larger gloves, is all down to personal preference I believe.
Posted by ryan thrussell - 05/11/2008
Q. i think you are a really great goalkeeper and them 3 penalty saves were amazing how did you do it?
A. Thanks, I was given good information on where the penalty takers liked to take their penalties and thankfully it happened to be my day!
Posted by Laura - 03/11/2008
Q. What do you make of Aidy leaving/being sacked? Must say i'm rather shocked and sad about it. Also when did you first find out?
A. Yeah it did come as quite a suprise. I actually received a call from an unknown number and it was some reporter asking for my reaction to the news, which I obviously had no idea about!!
Like most of the lads I am a bit taken aback. He gave me some great opportunities in the past couple of years that I'll always be thankful for.
Change is a part of life though and as when Aidy first arrived there was shock around the place but that soon turned into an incredible season. Hopefully this will have a similar effect, of course only time will tell.
Posted by nick - 03/11/2008
Q. im personally gutted that boothroyds gone, he was a great guy
how did the players react?
whats going wrong at the moment, it seems that luck is against us
A. Aidy did have many great attributes, there was a sense of shock this morning amongst the players, things haven't been going great but we still expect to turn this season around.
It's easy to blame luck but yeah we haven't had all that much of it but I like to believe it will even itself over the course of a season and if we consistantly play well for the remainder then I'm sure luck won't be required.
I'm still very positive, we have some very talented players in the squad and there's no reason we can't turn things around, get on a good run and be challenging at the right end. We just have to keep the faith.
Posted by brad simpson - 03/11/2008
Q. Hi richard, i was just wondering how to improve my catching skills so i get "softer hands" because i may be getting a trial with ipswich and i want to be able to catch better than i can because my goalkeeper coach says i snatch at the ball sometimes. Is there any drills i can do to help with this? Thanks a lot and best of luck for your season.
A. It is natural at a young age to 'snatch' at the ball, obviously you are eager to get hold of it so don't worry about doing this. I guess my best bit of advice would be to trust your hands. Get your tchnique right and trust that the ball will stick.
A very simple drill that I've done all my life and used to drive my family crazy is to just lie on my back and throw and ball up and down towards my face, each time concentrating on cussioning the ball in and getting the perfect 'W'. I would then progress to throwing it up, move my hands down by my waist and return them in time to catch the ball, basically copying what happens in a match situation. Just get used to catching a ball repetitively, it really does help.
Hope that helps and good luck! sure you'll do great and make sure you enjoy it ;)
Posted by madeleine - 02/11/2008
Q. Just a line to say the tide has just got to turn in your favour; keep smiling! We're all rooting for you. x
A. Thanks! much appreciated....
Posted by martin - 02/11/2008
Q. Hi richard, i was just wondering what your secret is to your recent sucess and what would you say is the problem with the defensive la[se at the moment?
A. Is tough to work out why exactly we are struggling defensively at the moment to be honest. The only real explanation I can give is too many individual errors which is obviously very frustrating for all of us. There's very few things in the world that can put you on a major high one week but feel very angry the next week but football certainly can do that!
Every player prepares as well as they possibly can for each game, some days things click and seem to go your way and other days they don't. What I've realised is that whatever happens it's important to keep a level head and approach every obstacle the same way, with hard work and a positive attitude. I'm sure our fortunes will change.
Posted by ed - 01/11/2008
Q. hi richard! great website. Watched u earlier against blackpool ashame we didnt manage to get the win. i was just wandering what normally happens on a match day (e.g before and after matches and at half time?) Good luck for the season. Come on u Orns! Cheers ed!
A. Thanks, We are due to report for home games at 1.30pm, which means resting in the morning before a game and making sure we eat the right things. After reporting we will have a meeting at 1.45pm to go through who the subs are and a few words from the manager. We don't warm up till 2.15pm which means slowly getting changed and any of the boys who require strappings on their ankles etc or a massage to help warm up certain parts of their body will get that done.
After the warm up there will be a few last words from the manager before going out to play. Half time is a chance to run through anything that is going well, or not so well on the pitch in time to rectify the situation in the second half.
Once the game is finished there will be a few words from the manager but we normally leave the debrief until the day after as things can often get pretty heated after a game!
Posted by Robert Hewitt - 23/10/2008
Q. Hi, Recently while playing in goal I managed to make a good save. In making the save Imanaged to bend my right wrist back which ended up in me somehow chipping abone in my wrist. I have been told it will take at leat amonth to heal, but what i want to know is what I should do to strengthen the wrist once it is healed because I don't want to repeat the injury. It was an annoying time to get injured as I was getting some good form together. I am now very jealous when I see you playing in goal, as goalkeeping is what I love to do
A. Sorry to hear that. I haven't ever broken my wrist before so I wouldn't want to offer exercises that went against what a physio told you but whatever exercises you are given I'd recommend you do them religiously and with care and attention. I'd also say not to push anything as the body needs time to heal and it's important you give your body the necessary time.
I remember when breaking my arm my biggest challenge was to be able to straighten my arm again so I'd spend hours lent up against a wall in an attempt to get it straight and I'm very thankful I did because if I didn't then the chances are my career would have been over before it began.
I don't want to sound like it's doom and gloom because it isn't, use this time to study other areas of football and work on other parts of your body and ensure that when your wrist heals that you are fit and ready to hit the ground running!! Good luck!!