Richard Lee's BLog

Inactive In Austria

info@impaktmedia.co.uk — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We’re back in the UK after what was, for most, a gruelling week in Austria.

Unfortunately this wasn’t the case for me. Within a couple of days of training over there I woke up to feel that my knee was stiff and quite swollen. It’s a problem I’ve been dealing with for some months now; it meant that I trained very little towards the end of last season and it was just a case of doing enough to get by without aggravating it.

Being at the start of the season I don’t want to go down that road again as it can be tough to hit top form when doing minimal training and the physios have advised against that anyway.
This, though, means that I’m likely to be a couple more weeks out with this while the swelling goes down and I strengthen the knee, therefore there’s a good chance I’ll miss the start of the season. Not ideal at all but thankfully the boss has been understanding and it’s been made clear to me that I’ve got to get my knee right before resuming training.

It makes sense because, as much as I hate sitting on the physios bed, I do realise that I could have 10 more years ahead of me, so if it means taking a few weeks to rehabilitate my knee then I’ve got to do it. I’ve been told I am in danger of having an arthritic knee and, to be honest, I don’t really fancy walking with a limp in a few years time!

The trip itself though was very good; the hotel was excellent, great food and plenty to do. The trip was also good for Jon Harley to integrate himself into the squad and he seems to have settled in very quickly.

The weather was very similar to England out there, to be honest, nice one day then raining for two days! I managed to watch a few films on the rainy days, including Transformers and Lord of War - for anyone who hasn’t seen these I’d definitely recommend both!

The lads did take part in some water rafting on Wednesday, again unfortunately my swollen knee meant a day in the hotel for myself but by all accounts everyone had a good day. There was also a friendly arranged against a local team out there on the final night. We came out 1-0 victors, it was quite a comfortable game though, in truth, and many positive signs for what is ahead regarding the style of football we will be playing.

On that note we did have several meetings regarding our style of play and all the lads are in agreement that this could be a very exciting season if we can perform it well and it's something I’m sure the fans will take to warmly. For a goalkeeper it means more variation in terms of distribution, something I am excited about.

We arrived back at Heathrow mid-Saturday afternoon and have been given the Sunday off. I’ve also been given Monday off and told to rest. I will be coming to the game on Tuesday night but only as a spectator. Hopefully the swelling in my knee will subside and I’ll be well on my way to recovery by the time I write next week. Fingers crossed.

(Be sure to check the photos as I’ll be adding a few from Austria in the near future)

Postcard From Austria

info@impaktmedia.co.uk — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

First week of pre-season under our belts, four more weeks until our first game away at Palace.

It's been a tough week as expected; those who are familiar with the bleep test will understand that's a tough start to any week. There were also many other speed and endurance drills to check the level that we are all at and to make sure we haven't let ourselves go over the summer break.

Everyone has come back in decent shape and the results were, on the whole, very good which as anyone will tell you makes pre-season a lot more bearable.

We've also had a few small-sided games as well as various possession games which means plenty of running but also a lot of touches with a ball, a great way to get fitness back both technically and physically.

The keepers generally don't join in with the possession drills and we'll go off with Alec to perform some handling and agility drills in order to gain the type of fitness needed to be a goalkeeper. Again, they are very understanding at Watford in the belief that different positions require different drills and by goalkeepers doing long runs it doesn't really help our game, whereas short sharp powerful drills can be just as hard and a lot more beneficial.

Unfortunately I've been feeling some pain in my knee the past day or two which is a problem I've had from the end of last season. All being well, a few days rest and I'll be back training at full capacity.

I'm currently writing this from Austria; we're staying at a lovely hotel up in the mountains and training on a pitch only a few minutes away by coach. Once training is finished we then head to the stream which we use as an ice bath to cool the muscles down. With the weather being very hot, for the first couple of days this is actually quite a nice way to finish training.

We've also just been informed that Steve Kabba has joined Blackpool on a six-month loan. Although things haven't been plain sailing since his move to Watford he is a popular figure in the dressing-room so I'm sure we all wish him well. Little else regarding transfers but once again it's still early days.

I guess that wraps things up for this week. I've been doing little more than eating, training and sleeping - although I have managed to watch a couple of good films already, for those who haven't seen 'Transformers' I highly recommend it!

At times the trip may not the most entertaining, it is a great way to get back into shape and ready for what lies ahead. Bye for now.

The Week Before We Return

info@impaktmedia.co.uk — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

With pre-season round the corner it meant a tough week's training in an attempt to prepare myself for the five or six weeks ahead. I reported to the training ground along with a few other lads to do some work in the gym and to do some light goalkeeping work.

I'm also in the process of moving at the moment so spent most of Monday and Friday packing up my house preparation - not the most enthralling of tasks!

Once more, very little to report on the football front, barely any rumours to get excited about either...I'm sure that'll change very soon as pre-season gets underway.

I also had a couple of player appearances this week, the second of which was to be in goal for a penalty shootout in order to hopefully help raise a bit of money for the school. It was at Downley Primary school, near High Wycombe and, in fairness, although most of the boys and girls were young the standard of penalties was very impressive and gave me quite a workout!

I probably wasn't best prepared facing the penalties in flip-flops but I managed to save a few. It of course goes without saying that a few of the parents had a go and smashed some balls in my direction. I guess the temptation of getting to take a few penaties is too hard to resist whatever age you are!

I'm just as bad; I remember on a holiday to Malia a couple of years back there was a penalty shootout stall and I became slightly addicted. Two euros for three shots, score three and you win a bottle of champagne. Well I say champagne but I use the name loosley as it was quite possibly the worst thing I've ever tasted in my life!
Fortunately my friend Daren, who came with me, enjoyed it so I won him a couple of bottles (his penalties left a lot to be desired so was unlikely to win it himself!)

So, in short, although not the most pleasant of ordeals having balls smashed at you from five yards when you are wearing nothing more than a T-shirt, cargo shorts and flip-flops, I could fully understand the attraction!

As I said at the start, this was the final week before pre-season so will be back next Sunday in Austria with the squad to give you the details on how the first week has fared and hopefully more to tell you on the football front! until then...