Post by aghast on Feb 2, 2019 14:55:47 GMT
Taken from the other forum (thank you other forum), this is an interesting read.
What a fine fellow he is.
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Sky Bet EFL Q&A: Bristol Rovers' Stuart Sinclair on growing his own vegetables, wanting to play for Sir Alex Ferguson and deep-fried chips
They don't make many footballers like Stuart Sinclair - and more's the pity.
Adored by Bristol Rovers fans due to willingness to go out of his way for them.
He is currently working his way back from his second concussion of the season.
Sinclair talks pony-tails, 'The Good Life', Fergie, Gazza and deep-fried chips.
By IVAN SPECK PUBLISHED: 00:48, 2 February 2019 | UPDATED: 00:48, 2 February 2019
They don't make many footballers like Stuart Sinclair - and more's the pity. The Bristol Rovers midfielder is adored by Gasheads (Rovers fans) because of his willingness to go out of his way for them, popping round to birthday parties if they ask him to or saying hello to someone's mum in a supermarket as a surprise.
And when it comes to the Sky Bet EFL Q&A, his answers at times turn into a stream of consciousness. But it is a stream you're quite happily swimming along with him.
It could have something to do with the fact that after coming through the youth system at Luton, Sinclair drifted into the lower reaches of non-league football with the likes of Cambridge City, Bedford, Dunstable and Arlesey Town before he was picked up by Salisbury City in National League South at the age of 24.
Now 31, it has been a long road, but one which has given him a sense of perspective about the professional game that so few players possess.
He is currently working his way back from his second concussion of the season, just one of the subjects he addresses.
Pony-tails, 'The Good Life', Fergie, Gazza and deep-fried chips. They are all in there. Enjoy.
Describe yourself on the pitch in 3 words.
Energetic. Combative. Hard-working.
Describe yourself off the pitch in 3 words.
Honest. Loyal. Quiet.
Best moment of your career so far?
There are so many. Obviously the promotions have been amazing. I've been promoted four times, through non-league and then from League Two (successive promotions with Rovers in 2014-15 and 2015-16). Climbing the levels has allowed me to achieve my dream that I probably thought would never happen. I'd come to terms with the fact that it was not going to happen.
My League Two debut as well, but also receiving a shirt with my name on again. When I was a kid at Luton, I received a shirt with my name on at 16 and that was an amazing achievement. My squad number was 37 and it had 'Sinclair' on the back. As a kid, that's something you aspire to do, but then to get it again at Salisbury at the age of 25 when we were in the Conference (now National League) was kind of a cool moment.
Then also lots of things off the pitch, like going to visit fans or even just people coming up to you. I had a father send me a message to say: 'I always scream "Sinclair" at my son on a Sunday when he doesn't work as hard as he should.'
It's amazing to think that someone could be affected like that by my hard work on the pitch. He'll tell him: 'Remember how Sinclair works,' and then his boy runs around again.
Who is the hardest opponent you have faced?
There was a lad who used to play for Southport, Scott Brown, when I was playing for Salisbury. He scored a wonderful free-kick against us in the Conference. He was quite combative but technically quite a gifted player.
I think he was at Everton as a young lad. I played against him two or three times and I used to hate playing against him because he was quite similar to me, hard-working but he was technically quite gifted. He was a nightmare to play against.
I used to think: 'How on earth is he playing at this level?'
Coming into that level, I generally had the legs on everyone I came across in the midfield because I worked in fitness. But that didn't seem to matter with him because he'd just wriggle his way out of things.
Most embarrassing moment in football?
There are a couple of those. One lad pulled my hair in a game and my hair fell out. It was up in a pony(-tail), out of the way. He yanked it and it fell out all over the place. That was interesting.
It's not a typical thing for a footballer, is it? I had lost my hair band, but I always try and keep a spare hair band on my wrist. if I lose my hair band, I'm scuppered because my hair goes down to the middle of my back.
I try and keep a spare because it's not the best thing going over to the physio or the gaffer and saying: 'Can I have a hair band?' But I love my long hair. I've had it such a long time.
Which song gets you in the mood for a match?
When Ellis Harrison was here at Rovers, me and Ellis used to have a dance to things like Drake, a track called 'One Dance.' Typical normal stuff. We used to have a dance in the changing room before a game and that was always fun.
But nowadays, I'm into Motown and no-one wants to play that before a game, so I listen to my Motown on my way to the game, just the classics and have a good singalong.
What's your guilty food pleasure?
Probably fried food. My mum and dad run a catering business, so as a kid we used to have that occasionally and it just brings me back to my childhood with all my brothers and my family.
Probably something like deep fat fried chips. They used to go to festivals and run a big van there. Or we had a massive sailing lake near us and they used to do powerboat events. We used to run around.
They also run a sandwich van that goes round to different places. One of my brothers works for them, so he's in the business. Food's in the family, so I like to cook.
Which player in history would you like to play alongside - and why?
Paul Gascoigne, without a shadow of a doubt. That Italia '90 moment when he gets a yellow card and he knows he 's out of the final if England get through. Just the emotion of that. I can still remember it vividly. I had it on cassette. It was his ability and the enjoyment he got from playing football, that's just what football is, that raw emotion and the fun, the high you get from it.
And also I'd do pretty well alongside him. I'd just run around, win the ball back and give it to him. How I see him on the pitch is like a massive kid. As a footballer, that's what it is. You are pretty much just a big kid and it takes you back to being able to run around with your mates and just enjoy it.
It's indescribable. There aren't words for it. I've missed that this season because I've had two concussions and I haven't been able to play.
It affects your whole life. Having the concussions has been horrendous, but I wouldn't change it. If someone said to me: 'You can give up football and you won't have the concussions again', I'd still take a chance just for 10 minutes more out on the pitch, in that environment.
Concussions are horrible. The protocols you have to go through, the headaches and the way you try and get back playing, it's not pleasant at all. And not knowing what's happened.
The last concussion I had was on a Friday in training, but I can't remember the whole day. I can't remember going to training, I can't remember getting home. The physio had to drive me home and my other half had to sit with me the whole day with me repeating the same thing over and over again. But I can't remember any of it.
I'm fine now. I played in an under-23 game on Tuesday and I got through it fine, so now I'm back to normal. Hopefully I can play at the weekend and try and help the lads climb the table, which is hugely important.
Which famous manager would you have loved to play for - and why?
That is a hard question. That's tough because there are so many. I think Sir Alex Ferguson. I'm a Tottenham fan, my whole family are Tottenham fans, but I look at Alex Ferguson and just think as a whole, what a manager he is.
An oddball might be someone like Glenn Hoddle because the way he speaks about the game is extremely intelligent, but I think Alex Ferguson because of the success he's had and the winning mentality he put into his team. I'd like to see how he runs the changing room and the way he treated the players.
It was extremely tough and extremely emotional to say goodbye to our manager here Darrell Clarke when he left (in December). The thing is you're just people and I had been with him for such a long time. He had helped me so much and I had so much respect for him because he had helped me achieve so many goals of mine.
Okay I worked hard, but there are lots of players in non-league who work hard when they're young and they don't get that opportunity. Football is opportunity, especially if you have gone out of the game.
So for him to give me that chance at Salisbury and allow me to pursue my dream and trust me, I'm hugely grateful and respectful for that. It was an emotional few days when he left and a real tough moment in my career.
I know from the time that I've been with him that the gaffer will be back and stronger and better for it. But it was tough, man.
What would you be if you weren't a footballer?
Something to do with the outdoors. Probably an ecologist or something. I love being outside, so anything like that I would love to do.
I used to work in strength and conditioning, and I've got qualifications in that, but being outside is a true passion of mine.
Tell us a secret that fans won't know…
I'm really open, so the Rovers fans probably do know most things about me.. I could say something like: 'My beard's not real,' but I don't think I'd get away with it!
I grow my own vegetables. I love to go fishing. I love the natural world and my other half is at university studying conservation. I read quite a lot on that.
But, yes, I grow my own vegetables in pots. I talk to the chef at the club. She's always telling me little tips about it because I've only been doing it for a few years. And my mum's got a next door neighbour who grows vegetables.
We do alright with them but it's amazing because you see vegetables in supermarkets and they don't come out like that when you grow them yourself.
The carrots come out twisted around each other and then you see the ones in the supermarket and they are just straight.
My Grandad loved 'The Good Life' and I still watch it now on Dave. It's a great programme.
What a fine fellow he is.
-------------------------------------------
Sky Bet EFL Q&A: Bristol Rovers' Stuart Sinclair on growing his own vegetables, wanting to play for Sir Alex Ferguson and deep-fried chips
They don't make many footballers like Stuart Sinclair - and more's the pity.
Adored by Bristol Rovers fans due to willingness to go out of his way for them.
He is currently working his way back from his second concussion of the season.
Sinclair talks pony-tails, 'The Good Life', Fergie, Gazza and deep-fried chips.
By IVAN SPECK PUBLISHED: 00:48, 2 February 2019 | UPDATED: 00:48, 2 February 2019
They don't make many footballers like Stuart Sinclair - and more's the pity. The Bristol Rovers midfielder is adored by Gasheads (Rovers fans) because of his willingness to go out of his way for them, popping round to birthday parties if they ask him to or saying hello to someone's mum in a supermarket as a surprise.
And when it comes to the Sky Bet EFL Q&A, his answers at times turn into a stream of consciousness. But it is a stream you're quite happily swimming along with him.
It could have something to do with the fact that after coming through the youth system at Luton, Sinclair drifted into the lower reaches of non-league football with the likes of Cambridge City, Bedford, Dunstable and Arlesey Town before he was picked up by Salisbury City in National League South at the age of 24.
Now 31, it has been a long road, but one which has given him a sense of perspective about the professional game that so few players possess.
He is currently working his way back from his second concussion of the season, just one of the subjects he addresses.
Pony-tails, 'The Good Life', Fergie, Gazza and deep-fried chips. They are all in there. Enjoy.
Describe yourself on the pitch in 3 words.
Energetic. Combative. Hard-working.
Describe yourself off the pitch in 3 words.
Honest. Loyal. Quiet.
Best moment of your career so far?
There are so many. Obviously the promotions have been amazing. I've been promoted four times, through non-league and then from League Two (successive promotions with Rovers in 2014-15 and 2015-16). Climbing the levels has allowed me to achieve my dream that I probably thought would never happen. I'd come to terms with the fact that it was not going to happen.
My League Two debut as well, but also receiving a shirt with my name on again. When I was a kid at Luton, I received a shirt with my name on at 16 and that was an amazing achievement. My squad number was 37 and it had 'Sinclair' on the back. As a kid, that's something you aspire to do, but then to get it again at Salisbury at the age of 25 when we were in the Conference (now National League) was kind of a cool moment.
Then also lots of things off the pitch, like going to visit fans or even just people coming up to you. I had a father send me a message to say: 'I always scream "Sinclair" at my son on a Sunday when he doesn't work as hard as he should.'
It's amazing to think that someone could be affected like that by my hard work on the pitch. He'll tell him: 'Remember how Sinclair works,' and then his boy runs around again.
Who is the hardest opponent you have faced?
There was a lad who used to play for Southport, Scott Brown, when I was playing for Salisbury. He scored a wonderful free-kick against us in the Conference. He was quite combative but technically quite a gifted player.
I think he was at Everton as a young lad. I played against him two or three times and I used to hate playing against him because he was quite similar to me, hard-working but he was technically quite gifted. He was a nightmare to play against.
I used to think: 'How on earth is he playing at this level?'
Coming into that level, I generally had the legs on everyone I came across in the midfield because I worked in fitness. But that didn't seem to matter with him because he'd just wriggle his way out of things.
Most embarrassing moment in football?
There are a couple of those. One lad pulled my hair in a game and my hair fell out. It was up in a pony(-tail), out of the way. He yanked it and it fell out all over the place. That was interesting.
It's not a typical thing for a footballer, is it? I had lost my hair band, but I always try and keep a spare hair band on my wrist. if I lose my hair band, I'm scuppered because my hair goes down to the middle of my back.
I try and keep a spare because it's not the best thing going over to the physio or the gaffer and saying: 'Can I have a hair band?' But I love my long hair. I've had it such a long time.
Which song gets you in the mood for a match?
When Ellis Harrison was here at Rovers, me and Ellis used to have a dance to things like Drake, a track called 'One Dance.' Typical normal stuff. We used to have a dance in the changing room before a game and that was always fun.
But nowadays, I'm into Motown and no-one wants to play that before a game, so I listen to my Motown on my way to the game, just the classics and have a good singalong.
What's your guilty food pleasure?
Probably fried food. My mum and dad run a catering business, so as a kid we used to have that occasionally and it just brings me back to my childhood with all my brothers and my family.
Probably something like deep fat fried chips. They used to go to festivals and run a big van there. Or we had a massive sailing lake near us and they used to do powerboat events. We used to run around.
They also run a sandwich van that goes round to different places. One of my brothers works for them, so he's in the business. Food's in the family, so I like to cook.
Which player in history would you like to play alongside - and why?
Paul Gascoigne, without a shadow of a doubt. That Italia '90 moment when he gets a yellow card and he knows he 's out of the final if England get through. Just the emotion of that. I can still remember it vividly. I had it on cassette. It was his ability and the enjoyment he got from playing football, that's just what football is, that raw emotion and the fun, the high you get from it.
And also I'd do pretty well alongside him. I'd just run around, win the ball back and give it to him. How I see him on the pitch is like a massive kid. As a footballer, that's what it is. You are pretty much just a big kid and it takes you back to being able to run around with your mates and just enjoy it.
It's indescribable. There aren't words for it. I've missed that this season because I've had two concussions and I haven't been able to play.
It affects your whole life. Having the concussions has been horrendous, but I wouldn't change it. If someone said to me: 'You can give up football and you won't have the concussions again', I'd still take a chance just for 10 minutes more out on the pitch, in that environment.
Concussions are horrible. The protocols you have to go through, the headaches and the way you try and get back playing, it's not pleasant at all. And not knowing what's happened.
The last concussion I had was on a Friday in training, but I can't remember the whole day. I can't remember going to training, I can't remember getting home. The physio had to drive me home and my other half had to sit with me the whole day with me repeating the same thing over and over again. But I can't remember any of it.
I'm fine now. I played in an under-23 game on Tuesday and I got through it fine, so now I'm back to normal. Hopefully I can play at the weekend and try and help the lads climb the table, which is hugely important.
Which famous manager would you have loved to play for - and why?
That is a hard question. That's tough because there are so many. I think Sir Alex Ferguson. I'm a Tottenham fan, my whole family are Tottenham fans, but I look at Alex Ferguson and just think as a whole, what a manager he is.
An oddball might be someone like Glenn Hoddle because the way he speaks about the game is extremely intelligent, but I think Alex Ferguson because of the success he's had and the winning mentality he put into his team. I'd like to see how he runs the changing room and the way he treated the players.
It was extremely tough and extremely emotional to say goodbye to our manager here Darrell Clarke when he left (in December). The thing is you're just people and I had been with him for such a long time. He had helped me so much and I had so much respect for him because he had helped me achieve so many goals of mine.
Okay I worked hard, but there are lots of players in non-league who work hard when they're young and they don't get that opportunity. Football is opportunity, especially if you have gone out of the game.
So for him to give me that chance at Salisbury and allow me to pursue my dream and trust me, I'm hugely grateful and respectful for that. It was an emotional few days when he left and a real tough moment in my career.
I know from the time that I've been with him that the gaffer will be back and stronger and better for it. But it was tough, man.
What would you be if you weren't a footballer?
Something to do with the outdoors. Probably an ecologist or something. I love being outside, so anything like that I would love to do.
I used to work in strength and conditioning, and I've got qualifications in that, but being outside is a true passion of mine.
Tell us a secret that fans won't know…
I'm really open, so the Rovers fans probably do know most things about me.. I could say something like: 'My beard's not real,' but I don't think I'd get away with it!
I grow my own vegetables. I love to go fishing. I love the natural world and my other half is at university studying conservation. I read quite a lot on that.
But, yes, I grow my own vegetables in pots. I talk to the chef at the club. She's always telling me little tips about it because I've only been doing it for a few years. And my mum's got a next door neighbour who grows vegetables.
We do alright with them but it's amazing because you see vegetables in supermarkets and they don't come out like that when you grow them yourself.
The carrots come out twisted around each other and then you see the ones in the supermarket and they are just straight.
My Grandad loved 'The Good Life' and I still watch it now on Dave. It's a great programme.
