My Indian Adventure

The story so far

After agreeing a contract with Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League (ISL3) I packed my boots and gloves with a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. I headed to South India, Kochi popularly known as ‘Gods own country’ renowned for its spices and fanatical football supporters.  I was leaving behind my 4 children, 2 dogs and wonderful wife.  I headed half way across the world (5,000 miles) to embark on a 4-month journey I was hoping to create memories I would cherish for the rest of my life.

The days prior to signing the contract with Kerala Blasters were stressful putting me on a psychological roller coaster. This led to numerous emotional conversations with family and friends. I had a visit from Martin Allen at my house the day before I signed encouraging me to stay at Barnet. Martin Allen tried his best to persuade me to stay at Barnet FC. Martin  Allen is a man I have immense respect for and someone who gave me the opportunity for my first coaching job as his assistant.  He would have been a huge factor in me declining the offer from India and to continue working alongside him with a group of players I respected and believed in at a club I loved.

The offer came as a relief as I had spent the summer wondering what might be next my family and me.  My contract had run out and I had spent much of the previous season injured.  It was a difficult a summer filled with doubts and pressure of responsibility, as many footballers would have gone through.  I often wondered if my playing days were over and it was time commit to coaching or perhaps venture into a new career.

The offer from Barnet would have allowed me to live at home, drive 30 minutes to training and continue to play a major role in my children’s day-to-day life.  I would have my home comforts, routine and be settled after I’ve spent much of my career around England and abroad. Was it that time again? Maybe it was time for a new challenge and one that I may never get again.

The decision for me to leave for India would mean leaving behind my wife and 4 children. I would miss my wife’s birthday, my son Alfie’s 1st day at school and my son George’s 1st football match.  These are days that make Fathers proud and moments you cherish all of which id be missing out on. Moving to India would not only have a huge impact on my children but also add even more responsibility and pressure on my Wife.

My wife and I set up a personal travel company ROOM442 4 years ago, which she has run independently and brilliantly on her own. We felt it was a big year for our business and knew it would be difficult to juggle so much without having me around. My son George had recently started football and my daughters attend a number of classes including Gymnastics and Ballet.  I assumed that unfortunately for the kids something would have to give but my wife wouldn’t dream of it.  She got organized and more determined than ever and assuring me things would continue as they always had.

The opportunity to embrace a different culture, see a part of the world and a country I had never been to.  It was the chance of a lifetime. The prospect to work alongside Steve Coppell, Wally Downes and Nial Clark as a Goalkeeping Coach as well as play excited me.  I had worked under the Manager as a player during my time at Reading winning The Championship in 2005/06.

The ISL and my teammates

The anticipation of playing in front of 65,000 home supporters who are compared to Dortmund are aptly named “The Yellow Sea” 10,000 of which are in the stadium before the team arrives.  Every fixture is televised on Star Sports the equivalent to Sky Sports that brings even more prestige and publicity.  The huge success of ISL has attracted Bollywood stars, huge corporate companies and cricketing legends such as Sachin Tendulkar one of the co-owners of Kerala Blasters.  I have been fortunate enough to spend time in this great man’s company having lunch and a chat in his suite after a disappointing home loss.  He is an incredible motivator and an inspiration to every player and member of staff.  He speaks with great calmness yet carries intent and purpose.

The ISL has grown from strength to strength and yet is still in its infancy.  The fanatical Indian football fans can be immensely proud of their contribution and I have nothing but praise on how they conduct themselves at games and on social media. They are full of energy, colour and voice making every game an extravagant spectacle.  The League has attracted interest further afield with Atletico Madrid winning the franchise to Kolkata in 2014. This intent from abroad shows a clear message from clubs across Europe to get a piece of the pie.  TV money is set to increase for next season (ISL4) and the introduction of 2 more teams will give each club even more financial clout allowing them to sign some of the best players in world football.The league that has attracted over 429 million viewers in its 1st season the 3rd behind the Premier League and the Bundesliga, average attendances of over 26,000.  This may have been reduced this season due to a number of clubs changing stadia to smaller venues. It has attracted some of the very best players from around the world as well as Managers. Past players include Trezeguet, Anelka and Del Piero more recent additions include Diego Forlan who scored a hat-trick past me recently which certainly wasn’t in the script, Malouda, Risse, and Postiga to name just a few.  It has also attracted ex legends Zico, Zambrotta, Materazzi and Molina who are also currently managing here. 

The format of a 3-month season with an 8-team league has a knock out feel about it.  The structure means games both home and away against every team with the top 4 entering a 2-legged semi final then on to a final. Every team has a Marquee player and at any given time in every game 5 Indians must be on the pitch.  This I assume is to help the development of young Indian players as well as getting the balance of quality, experienced foreign players. 

On the pitch we are a team from all parts of the world a mix of various languages, different religions and from different cultures.  This can be difficult but we have made it work.  We have created a team spirit and a unity that has seen us win 3 games from our 4 wins coming from a goal behind.  We have all made sacrifices to get here and all want the same thing, to be CHAMPIONS!

The Indian players are very humble and grounded and have the ability to light up any room with a smile. They have a fantastic work ethic, energy and enthusiasm matched with a desire to succeed. They are very inquisitive and often ask for advice and question why and how we do certain things.

What the players lack in technical ability, strength and game management is understandable due to the lack of quality training facilities and qualified experienced coaches.  This along with a huge shortage of funding into grass roots football and very few academies’ mean players develop far later.  It is also important to remember Cricket is more ardently followed than football in India and with more traditional sports like Kabaddi and Hockey close behind football is now following suit. Unlike in England where being a professional footballer is every young boys dream.

A Special place

During my travels across India I have been treated like royalty from one 5* hotel to the next. I have stayed in stunning suites in every hotel, been fed like a king and been received around the country as a superstar. I have been fortunate to experience so many amazing places.  The back waters of Alleppey on a house boat, The Derby at Kolkata race course, Casino boats and beaches in Goa, I Celebrated Diwali in Delhi, visited an Orphanage in Kochi and seen the most breathe taking churches and Temples. I have managed to arrange a Staff v Players cricket match watched by hundreds of local people on wasteland near our hotel in Delhi, Unfortunately Sachin was unavailable so it was left up to me to open the batting building a partnership between the creases with Wally, we hit the Indian pace bowlers all round the place. It was in stark contrast to the England team who were getting hammered in the Test match against India at the time.  At least we restored some pride.

In stark contrast I have seen some eye opening things that have made me humble and extremely grateful.  I will never forget seeing a young bare footed boy in Delhi at a set of lights on a major junction cradling his younger sister who could have only been months old.  He was waiting for the lights to turn red before laying her in the middle of the road while performing cartwheels over her.  He would then pick her up and walk in between cars begging for money to feed them. I have seen people asleep in central reservations and under motorway bridges.  I have flown over and driven through the slums in Mumbai.  I have seen an entire family on one moped including parents with 3 children none of which had a helmet on.  The experience of a taxi ride or trip on a tuk tuk is almost unexplainable, it has its dangers often being split seconds or inches away from a crash at every turn, it is however the most exciting and easiest way to get around the chaotic streets.  My biggest frustration and surprise is that India has the fastest growing economy in the world with huge corporate business’s operating here. It is highly populated with over 1.3 billion people living here, that is 18% of the worlds population it cant be easy to manage.  Despite its problems I have been blown away by the warmth and kindness of the people here. It is clearly a country with so much potential and the driving force behind it is undoubtedly the people.

Groundhog day

The days can be long, training starts at 9.00am due to the heat and humidity meaning we tend to be back at our hotel for 12.00pm.  We travel to training accompanied by our daily police escort and have a security guard and integrity officer with us at all times.  We train at a private school half an hour from our hotel. This means the players have a lot of free time most of which is spent preparing for the next game or recovering from the last which is normally 5 days apart.  In-between games, travelling and training I often pop to the shopping mall that has a Costa Coffee.  Our Hotel doesn’t sell alcohol so the occasional beer has been replaced with a caramel Macchiato.

My social life is non-existent and I didn’t want to waste time watching box sets, and films.  I wanted to be more pro active and use my time productively.  I decided to record all my GK sessions, started a strength and conditioning course with the help of Nial and spent hours on end in the gym.  Late nights face timing family and friends, watching premier league, champions league and football league games are about as exciting as my evenings get.  This also has its challenges as there’s a 5 and ? hour time difference.  The use of Social media has allowed me to stay in touch with goings on back home and also allowed me to let people see my journey so far through pictures on Instagram and tweets.

The Ultimate Question

Has it been worth it?

It’s to early for me to say, there is 1 game left with us possibly only needing a point to qualify. What I do know is that I am grateful to have had the opportunity and not once regretted being here.  I came with the intention to be successful learn, and experience things I would never get the chance to do.  I have done 2 of the above and it won’t be until or unless I have achieved the 3rd I can answer honestly.  I am due back to England in December and there wouldn’t be a better present than being picked up from the airport by my family with a Gold medal around my neck!

Lets hope like any fairy tale it has a happy ending!

To be continued, I hope you enjoyed it!

Stacky

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