Foolishly the opposition had assumed that “The Blues” played in blue and so had arrived with a yellow strip. On two occasions this season, against West Brom and Norwich, they have been obliged to play a home game in their red away kit. When representing your country everyone expects you to dig to the very depths of your resources, to go through pain barriers and drive yourself to exhaustion, Scotland will even use the film Braveheart before a game to help you squeeze out every extra bit of energy. We are asking some of these lads to peak upwards of 60 times a season and often three times in one week. It is also worth asking any top track and field athlete how often he can “peak” in any one season, it usually isn’t more than half a dozen times.
Wednesday might have been the glamour of the Azzurri in Rome and Saturday you have to get yourself mentally attuned for a dour away trip against a team of scrapping relegation strugglers. It is almost impossible to get your body back in peak condition in time for Saturday’s game.
Psychologically it isn’t always easy either. Travelling itself is tiring, and if you have come back overnight from a hard-fought Eastern European tie on the Wednesday, you will not get to bed until 5am or later on Thursday morning. I have to take Chris’s word.”The Second Division’s most keenly contested fixture will be Bristol’s 82nd League derby – which takes place amid bitter memories of the crowd trouble at the last meeting between City and Rovers, at Ashton Gate in December.
“Bradford City is my main concern and I do have a good relationship with Chris and I would not want to jeopardise that. The former England forward failed to turn up for City’s journey to Berkshire yesterday.
“I spoke to Chris last night and this morning, and he said he’s still being physically sick,” Chris Kamara, the Yorkshire club’s manager, said last night. Bradford have stopped Forest signing Waddle, who wrongly thought his contract could be torn up if a Premier club came in for him, on a free transfer. Instead, Bradford City’s newly appointed captain lies on his sick bed, unable to help the Valley Parade club’s battle against relegation from the First Division at Reading. Chris Waddle had hoped to spend today enjoying a return to the Premiership with Nottingham Forest, writes Rupert Metcalf.
