In this episode we are joined by former Blackpool defender Tom Aldred.
The ex-Carlisle United, Accrington Stanley and Bury centre back discusses the turbulent time he spent at Bloomfield Road, winning the League Two play-off final, and his new life in Australia.
The ex-Carlisle United, Accrington Stanley and Bury centre back discusses the turbulent time he spent at Bloomfield Road, winning the League Two play-off final, and his new life in Australia.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to the Football Fuss podcast, a show about memories of a beautiful game.
00:05In this episode, I'm joined by former Blackpool defender, Tom Aldridge.
00:08So, first of all, how are you?
00:11I'm good, mate.
00:12And thanks for having me on the show.
00:14We've had to arrange through time because I'm currently in Australia,
00:18but it's a pleasure to be on and great to meet you.
00:21Yeah, it's great to have you on.
00:23So, how's life in Australia treating you?
00:26Yeah, no, great.
00:28I'm actually, I turned an Australian citizen this year,
00:32three, four months ago, I think it was now.
00:34So, yeah, it's been a pretty incredible journey.
00:38The opportunity came out of nowhere with, like, what happened.
00:43I mean, I was in Scotland at the time and then just got a phone call from Robbie Fowler.
00:49It's been a fantastic five years.
00:50I'm sure we'll touch on more of it later, but yeah, no, I've loved it.
00:54Yeah, you must be enjoying it to become a citizen of a country.
00:57It's a big thing, big step.
01:00Yeah, mate, it's massive.
01:01It's huge.
01:03When people come to Australia and, like, a lot of people love it
01:08and fall in love with the place and they want to become residents and citizens.
01:12And it's quite a protocol you've got to go through to kind of get these levels,
01:18which are permanent residency and then citizenship.
01:20So, to kind of do it in the timeframe I've done, it's been great.
01:24It's provided family with, obviously, options beyond football,
01:28of potentially staying in Australia, you know,
01:32and living beyond here, like, beyond football, you know.
01:36So, it's been good.
01:38I'm very proud to be an Australian citizen.
01:40So, no, it's kept a pretty special journey, to be fair.
01:47Of course, the season just finished with Brisbane Raw.
01:50Have your thoughts turned to the next campaign yet and where you could be playing?
01:55Yeah, for me now, this year was my last year on my contract.
01:59For me, I'm kind of ambitious.
02:01I'm 33 years of age now.
02:04I've got good years in the game.
02:06And, to be honest with you, when I say I'm ambitious,
02:09I would like to try something new beyond Brisbane
02:12and beyond meaning probably a different country.
02:15I'm in kind of discussions now with potential options.
02:20And, obviously, being in May, I'd say in June,
02:23I would kind of have more of a clearer direction on the goal.
02:27But, yeah, this looks like it will be my last year at Brisbane Raw.
02:31Like I said, I've been the captain for five years at the club,
02:35played in the A-League for five years.
02:37I've played all the A-League games now.
02:39So, kind of ticked a lot of boxes that I wanted to when I came over to the country,
02:43you know, and probably I didn't see myself playing
02:48as many years here and games and captain the club for as long as I have.
02:52But I have now.
02:53And, you know, as footballers, you want to do as much as you can while you can.
02:56And, yeah, I would say the next steps are going to be another change in my career.
03:06Yeah, you mentioned you're open to another country.
03:08And even another club in Australia would be a big move because it's such a big place.
03:12But have you become more open to those kind of moves going a long way
03:16since going to Australia?
03:17Is that sort of a bit of a plaster for you?
03:20Yeah, exactly that.
03:22It's probably a bit, yeah.
03:23Well, when you go from the club I was at, I know I was contracted to Bury,
03:27but I'd spent 18 months at Motherwell.
03:29When you go from Glasgow to Brisbane, it's kind of you're ripping the Band-Aid clean off,
03:34you know, in terms of moving.
03:36It's not like you're moving from Blackpool to Bury,
03:38or I'm trying to think of some other moves I've made in my career.
03:42But you're not moving, you know, from an hour and a half down the road.
03:45You're moving a 24-hour flight away and completely uprooting the family.
03:49So, yeah, like, obviously making this move was huge.
03:54So any move from beyond here is probably not going to be, you know what I mean?
03:58So, yeah, look, I'm at that stage in my career now where I would like to try something new.
04:05Well, we'll get into your football first now.
04:07And the place we always start is, what's your first memory of football?
04:10What stands out to you?
04:12What stands out to me?
04:13What stands out to me?
04:14So I grew up just outside of Manchester,
04:17and I probably first met going into the football community at Man United,
04:22Bolton Wanderers, all the local clubs, just not Blackpool, not yet, it's too far.
04:28But just, you know, just joining with local clubs and playing on the school playing fields, really,
04:34just kind of basic young stuff and just enjoying playing football with my mates.
04:38Do you remember the first time you played?
04:40Did it feel natural, the ball at your feet?
04:42I'm not saying natural, but I just loved it.
04:44You know, I just loved playing football.
04:46It was just part of my growing up, part of my culture, part of growing up in Manchester.
04:51Just everyone loved football.
04:52It was just something everyone did and just loved it, really.
04:57Just kicking the ball around with my mates outside the front of my mum and dad's house.
05:01It was just, it was everything.
05:03Yeah, you mentioned Manchester and how big it is.
05:06Two big clubs there.
05:07Could you feel sort of the importance of a sport in the city and around the city?
05:13Yeah, 100%.
05:14I mean, I grew up in probably the age when Bob were in the Premier League,
05:18Blackburn were in the Premier League.
05:20Obviously, Man United City weren't obviously as big as they are now.
05:25Some huge clubs in the Premier League.
05:27So, it's just, you know, you didn't have to travel very far to go and watch a Premier League game.
05:32And the level was just amazing, you know.
05:34So, no, it was just brilliant.
05:36It was brilliant to grow up in that era as well, where United were what they were.
05:40No, it was just, it was a great, great time in me.
05:43Great time to grow up and kind of watch football, you know.
05:49Was you a Manchester United fan?
05:51Was that the team you mentioned them and obviously what they were doing,
05:54European Cups, endless Premier League under Fergie?
05:57Yeah, 100%.
05:58That was me when I grew up watching that era of players.
06:05It was just amazing.
06:07Loved watching the likes of Scholes, Giggs, you know, Gary Neville, Phil Neville.
06:15No, just, I look back now and think, you didn't realise at the time
06:19how blessed you were to grow up in that era of watching those players.
06:24How big a thing was it for the class of 92 for a young lad,
06:27grew up in Manchester, seeing people who'd come from local clubs
06:31and, yeah, broken through into the first team together?
06:35Yeah, 100%, exactly that.
06:37Like, I actually, when I said before I was doing the football in the community,
06:40I used to go and train at the Cliff Training Ground.
06:42So I used to see some of the players, you know, Rocco and the Cars
06:46and just seeing them and just the heroes that they were.
06:48It was just, it was amazing.
06:49It was just an amazing era to grow up, you know,
06:51and I don't think it'll ever be, it won't ever be done again.
06:53I don't think you'll see that many young lads come through at once.
06:56I don't see it ever happening again.
06:57Yeah, it must make you dream seeing those lads go on to win Champions Leagues
07:01and do the treble and stuff like that.
07:03Yeah, just amazing era and just, like, incredible.
07:08You can see why they are, why they do what they do now
07:11in terms of documenting on football because they've got, you know,
07:15they back up exactly what they say on the careers that they had.
07:21Can you remember the first kit you owned and what name would have been on the back?
07:25The Man United kit in 97, 98, I think it was.
07:31No, it wasn't.
07:32Yeah, it was in the 96 kit where they had the collar
07:37and Beckham was the name on the back.
07:39And I think Beckham was actually number 20 then.
07:41So that tells you how kind of old that was.
07:45And obviously you mentioned Beckham.
07:47Did you go with any boots to match Beckham as well?
07:50Yeah, I was one of them when I was that age, like the Predators, you know,
07:53the Adidas Predators.
07:54I always wear Nikes now, but I've done my whole...
07:56Yeah, Adidas Predator was the boot when I was kind of that age.
08:02Was that sort of the black and red, keeping it simple?
08:05Yeah, exactly.
08:06Oh, you know, I didn't have enough hair to style it like Beckham,
08:10but yeah, I love the Barnet, the Brill Cream.
08:15So you mentioned obviously Manchester United at that time.
08:18Was Old Trafford the first stadium you went to?
08:20Was that the first sort of match atmosphere you experienced?
08:23It was actually, yeah.
08:25I can't remember the exact game it was, but I went to a lot.
08:28Me and my dad would go a lot to Old Trafford
08:30and it was tough because to have that as your first stadium appearance,
08:37it's almost like, you know, it's not going to get any better from there.
08:40It's only going to get worse.
08:41So I was spoilt really.
08:43Old Trafford was the first stadium I actually went and watched a football match.
08:48I used to go to a few of the Bolton games,
08:50but even then watching the Bolton games
08:52was just so much different to watching Man United.
08:56Yeah, how good was the atmosphere at Old Trafford?
08:58Was it just something that stood out to you instantly, how loud it is?
09:01Yeah, amazing.
09:02It was like a cauldron.
09:04I watched some amazing games there throughout the year.
09:06Yeah, it was just incredible to see.
09:09And obviously the era they were going through was just brilliant.
09:14So obviously you grew up around Manchester,
09:16but you started your career with Carlisle.
09:18So did you have to move up there?
09:21Did you go up there a few times a week?
09:22How did that sort of work?
09:24At the 12-13 stage,
09:26when I started kind of getting serious with football,
09:28I did the rounds of trialling at a few of the clubs,
09:31Liverpool, Everton.
09:34I went to United.
09:36I was going to sign at Everton.
09:37However, they wanted me there at five o'clock every evening for training
09:41and it was just impossible because I was from Manchester.
09:43There was no way my dad could get me there after school.
09:49So I actually ended up signing with Blackburn Rovers.
09:51I was there for three years.
09:53In my last year at Blackburn, I actually got a knee injury,
09:55which was kind of problematic,
09:57which set me back because I was doing really well there
09:59and was going to be getting a scholarship.
10:01And that's when you go into full-time football.
10:05Anyway, in the final year,
10:06my youth coach left the club to go to Carlisle United,
10:10which is obviously just north of, well,
10:12about an hour north of Blackburn.
10:14And the opportunity came up out of nowhere.
10:17And then from there, I went there as a youth team player.
10:20So that was the start of my full-time football career,
10:24albeit a 16-year-old apprentice at Carlisle United.
10:29And you ended up going on loan to Wickington down the line.
10:33How did that sort of help you?
10:35And did that sort of lead onto your professional debut?
10:39Yeah, 100%.
10:40So I did two years as a YTS, as a youth team player.
10:45I feel like that era then was probably the last,
10:49maybe another year or so after that,
10:52where it was an old-school YTS, like cleaning boots, jobs.
10:56My first away trip with the first team,
10:58and I should have had a bow tie on
11:00because I was literally up and down the bus,
11:01flipping, making tea, hot meals,
11:03like literally everything.
11:05We're down to London from Carlisle,
11:06and obviously that's like a six-hour drive back.
11:08It was just chaos, you know?
11:11And yeah, as a YTS, it was really, really tough.
11:14Like we were just living digs down the road.
11:16We'd have to walk in every morning, in at eight o'clock,
11:19do the first team off.
11:20Then we'd have to have to train and try and be a professional
11:23and try and make an impact
11:24to try and get a professional contract.
11:25But it was really old-school YTS, you know?
11:30We were skibbies at times,
11:32but it was a great upbringing,
11:34a great, real great kind of foundation, you know,
11:39to earn the right to become a professional footballer.
11:42Two years there as a YTS,
11:46and I got a professional contract,
11:47the opportunity came up to go to Workington Reds.
11:50And at the time, I didn't turn my nose up at it,
11:52but I was a bit like,
11:53I felt like I was not better than that
11:56because I don't think in football
11:57you're ever better than any level.
12:00And yeah, the opportunity came up to take that, to go there.
12:04I absolutely loved it.
12:05I spent two years there and it was amazing.
12:09How big a thing was it
12:10when that debut actually came for Carlisle?
12:13And if you like, a lot of hard work had paid off
12:14over what you'd done at Workington
12:16and sort of led up to it.
12:19Well, basically when I went to, obviously up to Workington,
12:22that was like kind of my first exposure
12:24to like first team football, like men's football.
12:28And I always feel now like players in youth teams,
12:32wherever I've been, Blackpool, up in Scotland,
12:36even here, players are playing youth teams
12:38and they don't actually play men's football.
12:40And that for me was the kind of ground I got
12:43playing in men's football, getting kicked,
12:45getting in like, you know, like head injuries.
12:49I'm not saying that's something you need to do,
12:51but just understanding that even just the basics
12:53of trying to compete to earn three points on a weekend
12:56and it gave me kind of that now,
13:00sort of what first team football really is about.
13:03And after three months that I came back,
13:05just such a kind of all round player
13:08in terms of knowing just kind of the ugly side of the game,
13:12which youth team, under 18s, under 21,
13:16you'll never be able to teach here, you know?
13:18And I always advise players now,
13:19if the opportunity comes up to go and take it alone
13:21or go somewhere and play first team football,
13:25you'll gain more experience from that
13:27than you would just, you know,
13:28sat there playing youth development league
13:30or whatever it is, you know?
13:31So that was the real,
13:34and I did really well in that long period.
13:36It was great.
13:37And I came back and when I came back,
13:39the manager kind of saw me in a different light
13:40because I'd played first team football.
13:43You later departed Carlisle,
13:45ended up playing for Watford and then Colchester,
13:48but you didn't make it a few bits of those clubs.
13:50So how frustrating was that being at clubs
13:52and not getting game time,
13:53not having a chance to sort of prove yourself
13:55in first team?
13:56Yeah, that was it.
13:57I seen obviously at the back of the working.
13:59I actually got into Carlisle's first team
14:01and played five games
14:02and as a 19-year-old centre-half,
14:05I did really, really well.
14:06I played against big teams, Leeds, Charlton
14:09and done great, you know?
14:11Probably did too well in all, in honesty,
14:13because I was out of contract that year
14:15and obviously clubs just needed to pay like a,
14:19what's it?
14:20A compensation fee to get me out of Carlisle
14:22and because I'd done well,
14:23clubs were willing to do that.
14:24And as a young lad,
14:25you feel an opportunity comes along like Watford,
14:29you didn't want to turn it down, you know?
14:31But looking back now,
14:33I've always said that, you know,
14:35I needed to play 50 to 100 games before I go out
14:37and now I'm ready to go to take that move.
14:41So that kind of explained the reason
14:43why I never really had an opportunity at those clubs.
14:47Yeah, looking back,
14:48I think it was frustrating
14:49that I never got that bit of luck
14:51and got that chance to actually show
14:53and feature and do well.
14:55As a centre-half, you need to play games.
14:57If you don't play games,
14:58you can so easily be forgotten about
15:00and kind of just spat out the system,
15:03if you know, if that sounds...
15:06Yeah, it was a tough period,
15:07but it was kind of a nomadic start
15:10after having started so well at Carlisle,
15:11do you know what I mean?
15:12So after that sort of,
15:13maybe a stop-start period for you,
15:16how important was the move to Apprington
15:18where you did get consistent game time
15:20and you could sort of prove yourself?
15:22Yeah, massive.
15:23Like I was then about 22 years of age
15:25and kind of a few loans,
15:27but it was all fits and starts.
15:29It was never like I'd gone and played 50 games,
15:31never gone and played 100 games
15:32and properly proved myself as a first-team regular,
15:37you know, and that was the stage for me.
15:40It was the first step on the ladder
15:44and the opportunity came up to go to Apprington
15:46and I just felt right because it was back home,
15:49back where I'm from.
15:51And as soon as I went in there,
15:53I didn't go in there to initially play.
15:55It was just to kind of be a backup
15:57and then an injury happened.
15:58I got the right look and I got in the team
16:00and I never looked back.
16:01I played, I think it was just 94 games,
16:06just on the spin every minute.
16:07I played every minute for that amount of games,
16:09so it was almost like a two-year period.
16:12It was an incredible, good group of lads
16:16and went through some tough periods
16:18in terms of relegation battles,
16:19but again, it grounded me
16:20and made me rough around the edges
16:22and made me the first-team player
16:26that I felt was the reason Watford
16:28paid that money for me,
16:29was the reason I'd played in Carlisle United's first team
16:31at such a young age.
16:32You know, it was kind of my potential
16:36that was actually being showcased
16:37on a first-team stage.
16:42You mentioned coming back up north.
16:44Was that a big thing for you,
16:45feeling a bit more comfortable at home?
16:48You'd been down south,
16:49may have been isolated at times,
16:51you weren't playing,
16:52so was it good to be back near home?
16:55Massive, yeah.
16:56I think that's one of the things,
16:57looking back,
16:58or not even looking back at the time,
17:00you know, you take things for granted
17:02or you think, oh, I'm moving to London at 19.
17:05Like, it's just to move away.
17:08I mean, I'd already moved away from home,
17:09going to Carlisle,
17:10but to move so far south on my own again
17:13and to try and settle as a 19-year-old,
17:15but it was tough, really.
17:17I'll be honest, it was tough.
17:18It didn't settle.
17:19And when you're not playing first-team games,
17:21then you can kind of get into the wrong habits
17:26of going out,
17:27not doing the right things off the pitch
17:28in terms of just...
17:30And then before you know it,
17:31you're kind of in that routine of not playing
17:34and you're not around people like your family.
17:36I couldn't see my family every week.
17:37I couldn't just go round to my mum's for a cup of tea.
17:40And they're the things that I really found hard,
17:43really, really struggled,
17:44to be honest with you,
17:45probably with homesickness.
17:47And also I'd left a club in Carlisle
17:50where the youth team manager
17:52had took me as a young lad.
17:54I'd almost built a family up there,
17:56so I'd left that family as well.
17:57So it was tough.
17:58It was really, really tough.
18:00And to be honest with you,
18:01mentally, to get through that period
18:03at such a young age was hard
18:05because I've seen...
18:06Throughout my career now,
18:08I look back at so many players
18:09that have been in that scenario
18:11and not playing in a way...
18:12And before you know it,
18:13they're out of the game.
18:15So many, because it's tough.
18:17It's tough to get through that
18:18and then find a club where you're going to go and play
18:21and show what you're about.
18:23As hard as it was,
18:25did it sort of set you up for the moves
18:27you've later taken in your career
18:28to make those big moves, like we said?
18:31I feel like, obviously,
18:32like I said,
18:33I've made moves geographically
18:35that I'd done at 19.
18:37So when I got older and wiser,
18:42yeah, it definitely wasn't much of an issue.
18:44You know what I mean?
18:45So yeah, I would say so.
18:48But even just as a human being,
18:49and obviously I've captained clubs,
18:52I'd say that period of time
18:54or period of my life I went through
18:56just made me grow up, if you know what I mean,
18:58because when you get thrown in a deep end on your own,
19:01you either stand up or you sink,
19:03you know what I mean?
19:04Or you sink or you swim, or you sink,
19:06should I say.
19:08When did you realise you had what it takes
19:10to be a captain to lead a club?
19:14Well, I captained the youth team at Carlisle
19:16and that was something I felt like
19:18I had leadership qualities.
19:21When I started playing regularly at Ecclington
19:24and I started to show what I was about on the field,
19:28I also felt like once I'd proved that part,
19:30I could then show myself in the dressing room as well
19:33and be a leader and help lads
19:36and have conversations with people
19:39on a personal level and from a team perspective.
19:43So yeah, probably my period at Ecclington,
19:46especially as I started to play more and more games
19:49and got more and more experienced,
19:50it was like now I've got all the qualities
19:54as well as just playing, you know?
19:57Obviously after impressing at Accrington,
19:59your move to Blackpool came.
20:01Originally on loan, so how did that come about?
20:04Yeah, it kind of annoys me that I went on loan,
20:07to be honest with you,
20:08because the only reason I went on loan
20:09was because Blackpool were at the time
20:12in the Championship and I think they were playing Bright
20:14on the first weekend and the manager
20:16wanted me to be on the bench.
20:18So to get me on the bench, I had to sign on loan
20:20for them to sign permanently the following,
20:22you know what I mean?
20:23So yeah, it's a bit of annoying
20:25because I think Blackpool did pay a fee
20:28to Accrington.
20:29I don't know what it was or what it was,
20:31but it was in that January window.
20:33And yeah, there was a few clubs interested,
20:37but when I knew Blackpool, again,
20:39geographically it works, I could stay,
20:41I could live in my home that I was from.
20:46And it just, I visited Blackpool
20:49as a young lad growing up in Manchester
20:52and I just loved it.
20:53I know the club had been in the Premier League,
20:55I knew the stadium, I was just like,
20:57I'd actually played a lot of games
20:58there in the Reserve League when I was at Carlisle.
21:00And as soon as I found out the interest,
21:02I was buzzing to be fair.
21:03And yeah, I couldn't wait to get there,
21:07albeit a time when Blackpool was probably
21:09in the worst situation it's probably ever been in,
21:12you know?
21:13Because I remember actually signing
21:15and it was almost like I was a victim
21:18of the situation the club was in
21:20because there was, you know,
21:21they're in the championship,
21:22they're signing someone from Accrington,
21:24it probably doesn't look good on paper,
21:26they're at the bottom of the championship
21:27struggling and they're signing a League 2 player,
21:29do you know what I mean?
21:31So yeah, it probably didn't...
21:35Obviously there was fans optimistic
21:37because I was still a young player
21:38and it was Eamats as like a signing for the future,
21:41but still I just felt like I couldn't have signed
21:45at Blackpool when the club was in a worse position,
21:48you know what I mean?
21:50Yeah, how soon did it sort of hit you
21:52that you're thinking the direction we're going in
21:55isn't great at the moment
21:56and all the things that were happening around the club
21:58with the fans and the ownership
22:00and this disruntlement between the two?
22:03Well, I'm watching from afar
22:05before obviously I'd signed
22:06the weeks leading up to me signing,
22:08I knew the situation,
22:10I watched the games,
22:11the pitch was a shambles,
22:13I remember the pitch that year
22:15and thinking, what is going on here?
22:18And also just,
22:20I knew the obvious thing with the owners
22:22and all that type of stuff
22:24and it was tough to be fair,
22:26it was tough.
22:28And also the amount of players they signed,
22:30like I remember that year
22:31they'd signed like 50, 60 players,
22:33which is just, you know,
22:34if you're doing that,
22:35that's just chaotic for any football club,
22:37like there's no consistency,
22:38it's just, you're just bringing in players
22:40like it's almost like a flipping rotation system,
22:44like a bell at the airport,
22:47just suitcases going around it,
22:49that's what it felt like.
22:51And I was kind of one of those,
22:52you know what I mean?
22:53But out of all those that year that signed,
22:56there was probably only myself
22:58that kind of lasted the next two years,
23:00you know what I mean?
23:01So through it all,
23:03I could see the toughness of the ownership,
23:06but I also felt that it was a club
23:08that if things got right,
23:10we could achieve something
23:11and that's why I went there to play.
23:14Yeah, how determined was you
23:16to sort of get things on track
23:18for the club,
23:19obviously in a bit of free fall,
23:21or was you always determined
23:23to turn things around
23:24and try and do your very best to do that?
23:29Yeah, so I think I played
23:30five or six games in the championship
23:32and then I got an injury.
23:33So obviously once I got the injury,
23:34I was just kind of,
23:35I've never ever got an injury
23:36and kind of been happy,
23:37but in that period,
23:38I actually was happy.
23:39I was just like,
23:40let me get myself out
23:41of this championship situation.
23:42I was at the game
23:43when the fans got on the pitch,
23:44which was crazy.
23:46And rightly so,
23:47to be fair,
23:48they had their opinions
23:49and there's only one way
23:50to voice them and to be heard
23:51and that's by causing chaos at a game
23:53and that's exactly what they did.
23:54So fair play to them for that
23:57in terms of,
23:58you know,
23:59if you're going to tell an owner
24:00what you think of him,
24:01that's probably the best way to do it.
24:02So yeah, I got my injury right
24:06and then I was just like,
24:07right, next season,
24:08come back in league one
24:09and just hit the ground running
24:10and that year in league one,
24:12I honestly feel that like,
24:14I look back at my career so far,
24:16probably like 10 full seasons now
24:19in the game.
24:20I mean, like playing every game
24:21and playing every game that season
24:24and that's probably the league one year,
24:25probably one of the best
24:27I've ever played as an individual.
24:30And we actually got relegated.
24:31I remember,
24:32I think we kept like 15 clean sheets that year.
24:34We were defensively quite solid.
24:36We just didn't really score enough goals
24:38for what we were
24:39and we missed out.
24:40I know league one's like a trap door.
24:42If you end up falling down there,
24:44you can get hurt
24:45and that's exactly what happened.
24:47So yeah,
24:49like it was a tough year
24:51from a collective point of view in league one,
24:53but I felt like that was probably
24:55one of my best seasons in my career.
24:59So yeah,
25:00I look back on that year with a bit of pride
25:02and I know there was some games
25:03where I would probably be one of the ones
25:06that copped it as like the leader.
25:08I remember one game,
25:10I felt like fans were frustrated at the club
25:12and sometimes the players would wear that,
25:14but a lot of the players in that year
25:16would give it everything,
25:18and that was a frustration for me
25:20is that I felt like I was giving everything,
25:22but sometimes the fans,
25:23because they were frustrated at the club,
25:25they would be more directed at the players,
25:27which I could understand from a fan perspective,
25:29but it was frustrating
25:30from the player's perspective,
25:31you know what I mean?
25:33What's your relationship with fans like now?
25:35If you was to meet a random Blackpool fan in Australia,
25:38what do you think the interaction would be like?
25:41Oh, great.
25:42I've met some over here, to be fair,
25:43in the various stadiums
25:44and they'll make themselves aware
25:46and I've given shirts away to Blackpool fans.
25:49I'll always say hello
25:50and just respect the fact that,
25:51you know, that I've played there
25:53and, you know, I was once there
25:57and now I've got a huge respect
25:58for obviously the club
25:59and I'm actually very proud to say
26:02that I played the amount of games
26:03I did for Blackpool.
26:05Do you think it's a shame sometimes
26:07when you look back
26:08and you think,
26:09I can't have the relationship
26:10that maybe I would have
26:11in a different period at my club?
26:14Yeah, I mean,
26:15the way I left Blackpool was,
26:17I'll be brutally honest,
26:18it's like, obviously,
26:19we got promoted the next year,
26:20the year I'm talking about,
26:21in League Two
26:22and that year we beat Luton
26:24in the semi-final
26:26at, obviously, their place and our place
26:29and went on to beat Exeter,
26:30but I look at our squad that year
26:32and we had five or six
26:33very, very good players.
26:35Like, for me,
26:36the frustration was,
26:37and this is one of the reasons I left,
26:39is because I knew Blackpool,
26:41as a club,
26:42would not keep that group together.
26:43I knew that when people's contracts run out
26:45or when players were coming to the end
26:47they would either sell them
26:48or, you know,
26:49they wouldn't let people,
26:51like, they wouldn't keep hold
26:53of their assets
26:55and, like, I felt that
26:56when I was negotiating
26:57they made me a very, very good offer
26:58to stay after the League Two year
27:02and, without going into real detail,
27:05because it's probably too much information,
27:08it was just, like,
27:09it was only small things
27:10I was asking for
27:11and it never got done
27:12on those small things
27:13and I just felt
27:14if we weren't going to move
27:15on small things at that time,
27:16like, I felt like
27:17I was going to be captain
27:19for the following season,
27:20I'd just captain the side at Wembley.
27:22I was like,
27:23I just felt like
27:24the direction of the club
27:25was not one to,
27:26right, let's keep everyone going
27:27and let's get out of League One
27:29and go into the championship,
27:30you know, at that time
27:31and that was kind of
27:32the main reason
27:33I went to Bury,
27:35if I'm brutally honest.
27:36It was more,
27:37and what I predicted unfolded,
27:39you know,
27:40they let Brad Potts go that year,
27:41Bright, Assay, Samuel left,
27:43a lot of the group
27:44that was there
27:45kind of filtered away.
27:48It was only kind of
27:49down the years
27:50where, obviously,
27:51Blackpool got back
27:52to the championship,
27:53but that group that beat Luton,
27:55I look at Luton's side
27:56and they kept their team together
27:58and, obviously,
27:59they've gone on
28:00to do amazing things
28:01and go into the Premier League.
28:02Obviously, they've added
28:03to what they had,
28:04but a lot of those players
28:05that did play
28:06in that League Two game
28:07or a good amount of them
28:09were on that journey
28:10with them to the Premier League,
28:11you know.
28:13How strange
28:14were your final games
28:15with Blackpool?
28:16Of course, you mentioned
28:17playoff semifinals,
28:18Wembley,
28:19but, obviously,
28:20not many fans there to see you up.
28:23Yeah, to be fair,
28:24the semifinal,
28:25the second leg,
28:26is probably the best game
28:27I've ever played
28:28in my career.
28:29Like, it was just
28:30an amazing game.
28:31Like,
28:32obviously,
28:34Kenilworth Road,
28:35like, the atmosphere
28:36there is incredible.
28:40Like, mental.
28:42And that night,
28:43obviously, the way
28:44it all panned out
28:45and we ended up drawing,
28:46I think it was three all
28:47on the night
28:48and just we scored
28:49in the last minute
28:50of the game.
28:51It was just, yeah,
28:52like I said,
28:53the best game I've ever played
28:54and, obviously, to lead
28:55to Wembley,
28:56it was brilliant.
28:57It was,
28:58obviously, the Wembley,
28:59we only take,
29:00whatever,
29:01we take 6,000 fans
29:02to Wembley.
29:03Sad, because realistically,
29:04we should take 30,000 fans
29:05to Wembley
29:06and, obviously,
29:07we got the job done.
29:08So, that was frustrating,
29:09but, again,
29:10it was the club's way,
29:11the fans' way
29:12of saying
29:13their opinions
29:14to the owner,
29:15which, like I said before,
29:16they did it on the pitch
29:17and they did it there.
29:18So,
29:19I can understand
29:20where they came from
29:21in terms of
29:22wanting to, like,
29:23their ways
29:24of showing
29:25what they thought.
29:27For you to captain a side
29:28in a League Two final,
29:30how enjoyable was that?
29:33Obviously, you went off injured
29:34in that game,
29:35but the day as a whole,
29:37what was it like
29:38stepping out at Wembley?
29:40Oh, no, it was amazing.
29:41It was just,
29:42like,
29:43I wasn't actually the captain
29:44that year,
29:45but as time went on,
29:46Danny Puleff,
29:49Taylor,
29:51what's he called?
29:52Taylor,
29:53I don't know,
29:54I do know his first name,
29:55but it'll come to me.
29:56Sorry,
29:57I'm trying to think of Martin Andrew.
30:00Tails,
30:01I call him Tails,
30:02that's why.
30:03He got injured
30:04and obviously I was then made captain.
30:05So,
30:06it was,
30:07yeah,
30:08it was like to lead a side
30:09out at Wembley,
30:10you'll take that
30:11with you forever,
30:12you know?
30:13So,
30:14it was incredible.
30:15Yeah,
30:16like I said,
30:17I was kind of injured
30:18in the semi-final
30:19and knew I wouldn't last
30:20in the final.
30:21You didn't know,
30:22but I knew my body that just,
30:23I think I played 55 games that year,
30:24so it was a long season.
30:25So,
30:26they kind of thought
30:27that hurdle was tough,
30:28but we got the job done.
30:30But yeah,
30:31to lead a side out at Wembley
30:32is a proud,
30:33proud,
30:34massive honour.
30:35There are not many players
30:36that can say
30:37they've done that
30:38and not many people,
30:39not many Blackpool captains
30:40will be able to say
30:41they've done that
30:42in their history.
30:43So,
30:44yeah,
30:45to do it was amazing
30:46and obviously put our part
30:47in Blackpool history
30:48in playoff finals,
30:49which they're usually
30:50very good at.
30:51Were the celebrations weird?
30:52Like you mentioned,
30:53you know,
30:54it wasn't,
30:55but it weren't.
30:56So,
30:57I love the celebrations
30:58at full time.
30:59We were lifting that trophy.
31:00Obviously,
31:01not the noise
31:02you'd normally expect.
31:03Yeah.
31:04To be fair,
31:05I thought Gary Bowie
31:06that year
31:07did a real good job
31:08of giving us
31:09that siege mentality
31:10knowing that we weren't
31:11going to have
31:12the 15,000 fans
31:13in Bloomfield.
31:14We knew we weren't
31:15going to have
31:16the kind of support
31:17that Blackpool should have.
31:18Albeit,
31:19I thought on the road,
31:20we travelled very well.
31:21Like,
31:22when we go to state,
31:23I don't know
31:24whether that was kind of
31:25to, again,
31:26voice an opinion
31:27to the owners.
31:28I don't know.
31:29But, yeah,
31:30it was always that
31:31siege mentality
31:32of knowing
31:33that we're not going
31:34to have the fans
31:35to back us.
31:36And so,
31:37going into the final,
31:38it was almost like
31:39we know we're probably
31:40going to be outnumbered
31:41by Exeter fans,
31:42which should never
31:43happen ever.
31:44No disrespect
31:45to Exeter,
31:46but it's nothing
31:47like the size
31:48of Blackpool Football Club.
31:49So,
31:50it was that
31:51siege mentality
31:53that we've got enough
31:54to get the job done.
31:55But what I would say
31:56is the fans
31:57that were there that day
31:58were very good.
31:59So,
32:00you mentioned
32:01when you left Blackpool,
32:02moved to Bury.
32:03That was a club
32:04that had their problems
32:05as well.
32:06So,
32:07they went out of business
32:08eventually.
32:09So,
32:10what was that like
32:11around the place then?
32:12Yes,
32:13the opportunity
32:14came up
32:15obviously
32:16leaving.
32:17When I was leaving
32:18Blackpool,
32:19there was a few clubs
32:20in Scotland
32:21and Bury was one
32:22of the ones
32:24in England.
32:25And
32:26it just kind of made...
32:28Like,
32:29I'll be honest with you,
32:30it wasn't something
32:31that really,
32:32really appealed to me
32:33because I loved Blackpool,
32:34was the captain
32:35at that time
32:36and was settled
32:37and I loved all
32:38the teammates
32:39had just been promoted
32:40and all that type of stuff.
32:41So,
32:42it was...
32:43To leave Blackpool
32:44was something that...
32:45It wasn't something
32:46that I desperately
32:47wanted to
32:48if I'm brutally honest.
32:49But Bury provided
32:50the opportunity
32:51because
32:52it was signed
32:53a lot of players
32:54that had championship...
32:56A lot of championship games,
32:58a lot of big names.
32:59Jermaine Bedford
33:00went there at the time.
33:01They trained at Carrington,
33:03which was really close
33:04to where I lived.
33:06So,
33:07geographically,
33:08it worked.
33:09Really good facility there
33:10where City used to train.
33:11So,
33:12there was a lot of boxes
33:13it ticked
33:14and it would just...
33:15Like I said
33:16on the conversation
33:17I had before
33:18with Blackpool
33:19when negotiating
33:20a new contract,
33:21it...
33:22It just felt like...
33:23Because they couldn't...
33:24I always said like
33:25if they weren't going
33:26to get to that,
33:27I would move on
33:28because it just wasn't
33:29meant to be.
33:30I felt like that was the reason
33:31it wasn't meant to be.
33:32So,
33:33yeah,
33:34Bury provided that opportunity.
33:35They were signed a lot
33:36of big name players,
33:37went into preseason.
33:38It was crazy.
33:39There was 30 players.
33:40All of...
33:4120 of them could have
33:42probably played
33:43well over 100 games
33:44in the Football League.
33:45So,
33:46a lot of profiles
33:47and obviously
33:48a lot of money
33:49spent from
33:50Bury Football Club
33:51and
33:52it was one of them
33:53where going into preseason
33:54it was either
33:55we're going to win
33:56the League One
33:57by
33:5820 points
33:59or it was going to go
34:00the other way
34:01just because it was
34:02that heavy loaded
34:03with too many players.
34:06How soon
34:07did you realise
34:08at Bury
34:09that things were going
34:10in the wrong direction?
34:11That there's trouble looming?
34:15Probably
34:16into about
34:17the turnover period
34:18just results
34:19weren't great.
34:20Sometimes performances
34:21were great,
34:22results weren't great
34:23but it kept
34:24getting worse and worse
34:25and worse
34:26and to be fair
34:27we had some really good players,
34:28really, really good players
34:29that just weren't
34:30fitting to our system
34:31and you know there was
34:32really good players
34:33when you look now
34:34at some of the careers
34:35that some of them players
34:36have gone on to have
34:37like
34:38they went on and did well.
34:39You know,
34:40it wasn't like
34:41they fell out of the game.
34:42A lot of them went on
34:43to do really well.
34:44So,
34:45there was
34:46Chris Maguire
34:47went to Sunderland.
34:48Jay O'Shea
34:49who's actually
34:50he came here with me.
34:51He's a really good player.
34:55Smudge
34:57is at Sheffield
34:58Wednesday now.
35:00The names go on.
35:01I could sit here all night
35:02and tell you 10 players
35:03that actually went on
35:04to have a good career.
35:05So, there was good players
35:06in the Bury changing room.
35:07It just
35:08were just so heavily loaded
35:09and
35:10it just kind of
35:11got to the stage where
35:12probably in October,
35:13November
35:14and I was playing a lot.
35:15I played near enough
35:16every game for them.
35:17In fact,
35:18we played at Blackpool
35:19and it was horrible that night
35:20because we got beat
35:21and I didn't really want to
35:22go and play against
35:23all my mates
35:24and it was
35:25it was horrible
35:26to go and literally play
35:27at the club
35:28that I kind of love
35:29not
35:30with the players
35:31that I loved
35:32and the club
35:33that I'd like
35:34just been promoted with.
35:35Do you know what I mean?
35:36So,
35:37it was tough
35:38but yeah,
35:39no,
35:40look,
35:41like
35:42respect for Bury
35:43to actually having that go
35:44and unfortunately,
35:45it just
35:46you push too much
35:47to get into
35:48the championship
35:49and that's why
35:50kind of what happened
35:51from there
35:52we all know,
35:53you know,
35:54and it's unfortunate
35:55and sad for Bury
35:56but hopefully
35:57they can come back
35:58and be the club
35:59that they once were
36:00because it is
36:01it's a well-supported club
36:02in a good area
36:03of the world
36:04in the North West.
36:05Whilst at Bury,
36:06you went on loan
36:07to Scotland.
36:08So,
36:09yeah,
36:10what was that experience
36:11like going
36:12north of the border?
36:14Yeah,
36:15so I got
36:16into the
36:17January period
36:18and
36:19I just kind of
36:20Bury were in a position
36:21where they needed
36:22to offload players
36:23simply because
36:24they were too,
36:25like I said,
36:26heavily loaded
36:27and Luton was an option
36:28for me but
36:29I didn't really want to
36:30I wanted to try
36:31something new
36:32and
36:33trying something new
36:34was
36:35was
36:36what
36:37Movewell provided
36:38Scotland,
36:39SPL
36:40they were a good side
36:41at the time
36:42in the cup final
36:43so
36:44I went up there
36:45and just literally
36:46loved my time.
36:47I'd gone from kind of
36:48a negative
36:51environment
36:52at Bury
36:53where we were losing games
36:54and it wasn't going well
36:55and in a relegation battle
36:56to a thriving environment
36:57at Movewell
36:58where they were
36:59competing for top six
37:00competing in
37:01cup competitions
37:02and
37:03it was fantastic
37:04loved
37:05the group of boys
37:06up there
37:07the management was great
37:08and
37:09yeah,
37:10we really competed
37:11and
37:12this year
37:13I went up there
37:14we got to the
37:15Scottish Cup final
37:16and we beat Aberdeen
37:17in the semi-final
37:183-0
37:19and
37:20in the cup final
37:21we got
37:22we got beat by Celtic
37:23unfortunately
37:24which was
37:25which was a very
37:26very good Celtic team
37:27I must add
37:28like
37:29Dembele
37:30Scott Sinclair
37:33James Forrest
37:34there was some
37:35real good
37:36Odds and Edwards
37:37there were some
37:38real top players
37:39in that team
37:40and
37:41to go up there
37:42and kind of
37:43have the impact
37:44I did in
37:45the team
37:46that had the impact
37:47on the league
37:48was great
37:49fantastic experience
37:50and I was glad
37:51that I kind of
37:52got the opportunity
37:53to go up there
37:54and play
37:55Obviously when people
37:56talk about
37:57Scottish football
37:58Celtic and Rangers
37:59are the two
38:00that get discussed
38:01most
38:02but did you discover
38:03that there's so much
38:04more to it
38:05than just
38:06those big two teams?
38:07Yeah,
38:08I mean look
38:09the huge
38:10fan base
38:11incredible
38:12you'll go and play
38:13at Celtic on a Tuesday night
38:14and 65,000
38:15fans in the stadium
38:16it was just
38:17unbelievable
38:18so
38:19yeah
38:20they're two
38:21huge clubs
38:22obviously very strong
38:23but yeah
38:24not when you're
38:25playing against
38:26some of the
38:27other sides
38:28in the league
38:29it's a good league
38:30it's a crazy league
38:31at the time
38:32you'll play against
38:33Hamilton in front of
38:341,000 fans
38:35and then the next week
38:36you're playing against
38:37Rangers in front of
38:381,000 fans
38:39it was good for me
38:40at the time
38:41when I'd played
38:42in the League 1
38:43League 2
38:44and had a taste
38:45of the championship
38:46and I was ready
38:47to try something new
38:48I'd probably played
38:49250 league games
38:50then in football league
38:51it was now time
38:52for me to go
38:53and try something new
38:54and I felt
38:55in an 18-month period
38:56I did that
38:57and leaving
38:58Blackpool
38:59for that initial
39:00six months
39:01when I joined
39:02Bury
39:03was tough
39:04like I'd left
39:05all my mates
39:06I'd left the club
39:07and it was tough
39:08to think I'd walked
39:09away from that
39:10but in the end
39:11the silver lining
39:12or the light
39:13at the end of the tunnel
39:14was that I got
39:15the opportunity
39:16to go and play
39:17in Scotland
39:18for 18 months
39:19which is probably
39:20something I might
39:21not have done
39:22if I'd stayed
39:23at Blackpool
39:24so that was
39:25the opportunity
39:26that came
39:27from that
39:28and it was
39:29a fantastic
39:3018-month period
39:31I again played
39:32all the games
39:33and we competed
39:34and played
39:35some really good
39:36matches
39:37at Motherwell
39:38so I know
39:39it was a good time
39:40Obviously then
39:41a big step
39:42from Scotland
39:43to Australia
39:44you mentioned
39:45Robbie Fowler
39:46approached you
39:47so what was
39:48Vinny's reaction
39:49when that offer
39:50came in?
39:51Yeah so I was
39:52kind of in the
39:53March, April
39:54period of
39:55the season
39:56where you
39:57don't know
39:58what you're doing
39:59for the following
40:00year
40:01I was speaking
40:02to another club
40:03in Scotland
40:04and it was
40:05a club
40:06that I
40:07knew
40:08and I
40:09knew
40:10that
40:11Robbie Fowler
40:12was
40:13interested
40:14in me
40:15and I
40:16said
40:17well
40:18I need
40:19to know
40:20more
40:21that was
40:22it really
40:23and that
40:24night
40:25I think
40:26he was
40:27doing one
40:28of the
40:29Champions League
40:30games
40:31and I
40:32googled
40:33his name
40:34and I
40:35was like
40:36wow
40:37this looks
40:38pretty cool
40:39place to
40:40live
40:41and it
40:42went from
40:43there
40:44and we
40:45met
40:46in
40:47Preston
40:48I met
40:49Robbie
40:50there
40:51and he
40:52sold me
40:53the dream
40:54and it
40:55was the
40:56dream
40:57that he
40:58sold me
40:59because
41:00some
41:01managers
41:02will tell
41:03you
41:04that
41:05Robbie
41:06was
41:07the
41:08man
41:09who
41:10sold me
41:11the dream
41:12and I
41:13was the
41:14one
41:15who
41:16sold
41:17him
41:18the dream
41:19and it
41:20was
41:21the
41:22dream
41:23that he
41:24sold me
41:25the dream
41:26he sold
41:27me
41:28the dream
41:29but
41:30it was
41:31Was it better in a way that it had to be done quickly?
41:34Did it have any time for doubt or, you know,
41:36what could go wrong?
41:37You just had to make that decision
41:39in a split second, really.
41:40And I'm guessing your family had to be like,
41:43you just had to speak to them,
41:44but were they all for it straight away?
41:48I wouldn't say for it straight away,
41:49because we had a dog and we had, obviously,
41:52we had a house and things like that.
41:54And we didn't have children at the time.
41:56So that was the only thing that kind of wasn't a problem.
42:00But yeah, probably the fact that it happened so quickly
42:04was just, yeah, it was like,
42:06it probably didn't make us think about it
42:08as much as probably you would do.
42:09So you just kind of, we just got on with it
42:11and just did it.
42:12And yeah, that's how it worked.
42:15And yeah, and then obviously, in time,
42:21it was a great decision, you know?
42:23But at the time when you make these types of decisions,
42:25you never know, you know,
42:26moving to the other side of the world for football,
42:27you never know how it's going to pan out.
42:30And I was well aware that if I came here
42:32and it didn't work out,
42:33like what position it was going to put me in in England,
42:36going back to England or Scotland,
42:37I would kind of be walking back on my tail
42:39between my legs.
42:40So as someone who grew up in the 90s,
42:43a Manchester United fan,
42:45was it strange that Robbie Fowler, a Liverpool legend,
42:48was the man who convinced you to make such a big step?
42:51Yeah, it was.
42:51I mean, like, obviously when Robbie Fowler rings you,
42:53you know he's a legend.
42:54Like it's just, it was when I first got his number
42:57and I was checking his WhatsApp picture,
42:58I was looking at it going, flipping heck,
43:00this is actually Robbie Fowler.
43:03But no, I met him in the tickle chat,
43:05like I said, when he was, I was waiting,
43:06and I'm like, I couldn't believe
43:08that he was actually going to walk in.
43:09Do you know what I mean?
43:10It was one of those, not starstruck,
43:11but a bit like, yeah, he's well aware that he's a legend.
43:15But no, there was no,
43:16I gave him a bit of banter
43:17about the Man United connection and stuff.
43:19So, but he loved it.
43:20And yeah, no, I had a good relationship with him.
43:22And he was a good guy and good manager.
43:26How quickly did things click in Australia for you?
43:28How quickly did you feel at home?
43:30Of course you came captain quite soon
43:32after joining Brisbane.
43:33Yeah, no, I mean, what happened,
43:35so here in Australia,
43:36season actually doesn't start until October.
43:38So you've got a long pre-season.
43:39So you kind of get back in July
43:41and you've got like a three to four month pre-season
43:43where you have a cup competition in that period.
43:45And yeah, we just hit the ground running.
43:47The good thing was is he'd signed the five foreign players
43:49he'd brought over, all British.
43:51So players that had played in the football league,
43:55so it was kind of just like playing
43:57for a league one championship club in Australia,
44:00you know, and it just helped us settle in so quickly.
44:02So it just felt like I was just at another good club
44:05with another good bunch of lads,
44:06but in the sun and in paradise.
44:08And it was amazing, fantastic place to live.
44:13And just, yeah, I just, I worked hard in pre-season
44:16and again, showed kind of leadership qualities.
44:18And the manager said to me before I got there
44:20that he kind of earmarked me
44:21as one of the candidates for captain
44:23and four months down the line after pre-season finished,
44:26he made me captain, it was an honor.
44:28And yeah, look, it was fantastic
44:32to not just be made captain of the club,
44:34but when a legend like Robbie Fowler
44:36gives you that type of status, it's, you know,
44:39it's, you're honored.
44:41What's football like in Australia?
44:43Because of course there's a big competition from cricket,
44:45rugby league, Aussie rules, rugby union.
44:48There's a lot of other sports out there that are huge.
44:50So what's the, how's football growing?
44:53Yeah, I mean, I could be here all night on that topic,
44:56to be honest with you.
44:58What I would say about the league here is,
45:00it's kind of, when I went to Scotland,
45:02you get that people from England think
45:04that Scotland's not as good a level as it is.
45:06It is, it's a really good level.
45:08And it's same here,
45:09like the levels are actually really, really good.
45:12It's hard to, when people say compare,
45:14it's almost impossible because the football here
45:17is kind of everyone wants to play total football,
45:19complete football.
45:20You won't get much long ball.
45:22Albeit, you know, like you're doing
45:24in some of the lower leagues in England.
45:28Some very good players,
45:29like a lot of the players that played
45:31in Australia's national team in the World Cup
45:33were players that played in the A-league.
45:37You get some very good foreign players out here,
45:39played against the likes of Nanny out here.
45:44A striker called Ola Teuvenen,
45:46who's in the Swedish national team.
45:48Obviously Adam LaFondreau is here.
45:52We had Charlie Austin at our club.
45:53So there's been some very, very good foreigners
45:57that have played in the league.
45:58Morgan Snyderlin was at Western Sydney.
46:00So it's a league that probably doesn't get the credit
46:03it should do from a football's perspective.
46:06In terms of growing, as you say,
46:09that it's competing with other codes,
46:10like AFL, like NRL, but it's growing.
46:15I feel like the Women's World Cup
46:17and the Australian team doing as well as they did
46:20has showcased Australia as a nation in football,
46:24but it's probably got a way to go
46:26to overlap those codes, if I'm honest.
46:30But like I say, it's a good level.
46:32A lot of players have come out here
46:33and actually failed in terms of this.
46:36So when Brisbane signed myself and the other four lads
46:39that were British lads, and we did quite well,
46:41a few of the other clubs kind of tried to do that also
46:44and recruit from England and it didn't go as well for them.
46:48So it's not a league that people always come here
46:51and do well.
46:52It's quite a tough league.
46:54What I would say about the Australian players
46:55is they're very good athletes.
46:56They run all day.
46:58And when you throw the conditions in as well,
47:00because you're playing through the summer here,
47:03it can get really, really hot.
47:04And obviously conditions-wise, it's tough.
47:08So fitness-wise, I would say it's probably fitter here
47:11physically than I was back in the UK,
47:13because you just need to be.
47:15You mentioned your future might not be in Australia now.
47:18So what countries, all the considerations were,
47:21would you think about going?
47:24So obviously with me achieving my Australian citizenship,
47:29that does kind of open up doors in Asia.
47:31So countries like Korea,
47:37there's Thailand, Malaysia.
47:39There's all these various Asian countries
47:40that have big soccer leagues.
47:43And with me being an Australian citizenship,
47:45you go in a different quarter of the Asian player,
47:48if that makes sense.
47:51So what teams usually recruit so many foreign players
47:54and then one or two Asian players.
47:56And I would come under that Asian player with my passport.
47:59There's also India as well,
48:01which is a league that's kind of growing.
48:03There's a lot of good players going there.
48:05And I feel like now football worldwide is these countries,
48:08especially with big finances,
48:12one of our big leagues and grow their game there.
48:15And yeah, look, I'm at a stage now
48:17where those options are potentially on.
48:22There was another club in Australia that wanted to take me.
48:26But right now it's just,
48:27I feel like I'm ready for something new
48:29in terms of a new league
48:30and to try something different,
48:34especially at the age I'm at now, at 33.
48:36Not being old, I feel great.
48:39Feel as good as I ever have.
48:40But if I'm going to try something new,
48:41I feel like the timing's right now to do that.
48:44Could you see yourself ever returning to England
48:46for one last dance in the EFL?
48:51You can never say never in football.
48:55But like I just said there,
48:56I feel like it would have to be probably the right club.
49:01You know what I mean?
49:04Like I know what the football league's like now
49:06and there's various clubs,
49:07but obviously it would come down to kind of logistics
49:10and geographically and the right club
49:12and the right opportunity.
49:13I would never say no.
49:15I feel at 33, people, maybe you would say,
49:19oh, I'm senior now,
49:21but for me, I've got still good years ahead of me.
49:24Fitness-wise, I feel great.
49:25I've played every game for the last two seasons
49:30and feel like I could definitely go
49:31into playing 50 games a year again.
49:33So we'll see.
49:34We'll see, mate.
49:35We'll see what kind of comes up,
49:36but yeah, you never know.
49:38In terms of your personal life
49:40with your Australian citizenship,
49:41do you see sort of a long-term future
49:43of you and your family in Australia
49:45or would you return to England
49:46when your playing career's over?
49:50Yeah, to be honest,
49:51I feel like I've been here still at the 11th of time.
49:54We have been here.
49:56We've kind of grown up a network of good friends,
50:01a lifestyle here,
50:03and I do see a potential here to grow the game
50:07especially at like kind of that youth level
50:10and help players to kind of become first team players
50:15in whatever league or level that is.
50:18So I do feel like there's a potential here to do that.
50:20And if I was to stay here beyond football,
50:22that would be the line of kind of work I would go down.
50:25So getting the citizenship
50:27gives us that platform to do that.
50:29And so, yeah, it's hard to say right now in football,
50:35but for me,
50:35I definitely could see us here
50:38beyond my years of playing for sure.
50:43And we've got one final question,
50:45and that is if you could change any of your football firsts,
50:49anything we've spoken about, what would it be?
50:51I look back at my time at Blackpool
50:53and what frustrates me is the fact
50:56that I went through that period
50:58when the club was in that stage of its life.
51:04And obviously I can't say too much
51:07regarding the owners or whatever,
51:09the fans have got their own opinion on that.
51:11But to go through that stage,
51:12I feel like I achieved a lot of my time at Blackpool
51:15and it was just kind of frustrating
51:19to not have the Blackpool and the fan base
51:22that should have been there at that time.
51:25You know what I mean?
51:25And they were going through a period with the ownership
51:27and I get that.
51:30So yeah, no, I'm very proud
51:32and happy to have played the amount of games
51:35I did for Blackpool.
51:38It's just, I think I definitely played
51:39over a hundred games in all competitions.
51:40So to do that was great.
51:42And yeah, it's just kind of not a mark on it,
51:47but just annoying that the club was at that stage
51:51when I was there, because it's a great football club.
51:53And yeah, I wish them all the very best,
51:56obviously, in the future.
51:57And hopefully they can get back
51:59into the championship next year.
52:01Well, thank you very much for joining me.
52:03It's been great chatting to you.
52:05No worries.
52:06Cheers, mate.