FOLLOWING THE SALTMEN

Generally speaking, I am not a superstitious person. I don’t avoid walking under black cats and frankly I have no interest in the number of Magpies I see when I open the curtains – unless they are Notts County fans, but I’ve never had a problem with them making a mess on my car windscreen. I am still to be convinced of the benefits of knocking on wood or crossing fingers and if I started throwing salt over my shoulders then the current Mrs Steve would go apoplectic!

However, this scepticism changes when it comes to matchday. I am a firm believer in the “Six Ps.” Bear with me, please….this is not a smutty reference to diurectic habits but stands for Proper Preparation Prevents Particularly Poor Performance. As devout subscribers to the principle of Chaos Theory you will be aware that water spouts off the coast of Sicily are almost always caused by butterflies flapping their wings on Amazon and not (my lawyers beg me to say) the result of organised crime syndicates pushing a button on a slightly iffy businessman. Anyway, the principle also applies to my activities on matchday having an unforeseen affect on the outcome of the game. So I can’t leave anything to chance.

I like to make sure I am properly rested and tend to get out of bed quite late but usually in the morning. A light breakfast is then followed by some steady exercise to loosen up. I find darts ideal for this purpose. By the time the old joints have finally freed themselves it’s usually time for my pre-match meal. It is critical that a balance is struck between the correct intake of carbs while ensuring this does not end up with a feeling of bloatedness. So I tend to stick with pie and chips and a couple of cans of pop.

As any sports psychologist worth their salt will tell you, mental preparation is an absolute must. To focus my mind on the task ahead I find the following three pieces of music to be essential pre-game listening:

Hurry Up Harry – Sham 69

Bodies – Sex Pistols

The Boat I Row – Lulu. Something for every eventuality there…..

The only thing left to do is make my way down to Kingys in good time for kick off. I usually drive down but this must be timed correctly in order to avoid an accidental bump with one of the players or, worse still, the match officials (see Chaos Theory above). Once at the ground I ensure I am properly hydrated and can then enjoy the match safe in the knowledge that I have prepared carefully and left nothing to chance.

It’s a big game at Kingys this afternoon. Hope you follow your own pre-match routine and I’ll see you there

Cheers

Steve #UTS