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By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
Having been forced last week to sit out a game I had been looking forward to for ages, I am now raring to go for another.
When the television cameras panned on to me sat in the stand against Chelsea last Saturday, I couldn't disguise how fed up I was.
Injuries really are the bane of a footballer's life. I hate them, but you have to accept that at some stage you might get injured - they are an occupational hazard.
I'm lucky in that I don't pick up too many.
The last really bad one I had was in January 2002 when I injured my ankle against Manchester United, which taught me a lesson.
I was in the middle of a really good goalscoring trot at the time, and of course wanted to maintain it and jump back in the saddle as quick as I could.
Unfortunately, I came back too early and paid the price.
So when I felt my calf muscle go playing for England against Denmark, the first thoughts that went through my mind were the worst ones.
I know how tricky calf muscle injuries can be and when I was told it was a three centimetre tear, I wasn't very happy as they can keep you out for up to six weeks.
Luckily, the tear was along the grain of the muscle and not across it, so the chances were the fibres would knit together quickly.
When you are injured, you really have to listen to the advice of your physio.
It's no fun sitting around in the treatment room when the others are out training and the biggest danger is that in your boredom you try and do things too soon.
You learn from experience that there comes a time when you have to discipline yourself to just sit things out. It's not easy.
A word about the treatment. For a muscle tear it's all geared towards getting the circulation moving around the injury to increase the blood flow back into the injured muscle.
It's also a time when diet plays an important part.
The club are very hot on diet being an important part of your fitness regime and we have a dietician who maps out the right sort of foods to eat.
He also provides dietary supplements, which are vital building blocks for muscle tissue.
So even what you eat can determine how quickly you recover from an injury, which is good advice for any youngsters reading this.
In the end, the only person who can decide how fit you are is yourself.
You know what your body is capable of, but it's a delicate balancing act.
While you might want to get back in there as soon as possible, you have your team to think of and you won't do anyone any good if you try to come back too quickly.
I was really loking forward to playing against Chelsea, if only to give my old mate Bridgey a kick!
But having missed out on one game I was really looking forward to, hopefully I should be fit for another, next Tuesday's Carling Cup clash with Portsmouth.
It will be the first meeting between the two clubs for ages, and although I've never experienced a south coast derby before, there's a big buzz down here.
It promises to be quite a night.
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Published: 2003/11/28 10:38:57 GMT
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By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
As a striker you take pleasure in every goal you score, but my two this week against Portsmouth were particularly sweet.
I took delight in the fact they ended a bit of a drought for me, and for the team.
We had been struggling to score goals, although I always had the confidence that if we created the chances, I would take them.
But they were also sweet because they came in the derby against our local rivals Pompey.
These days, very few people actually come from the area where they play their football, especially with the influx of players from overseas.
But you would have to be dead from the neck up not to get caught up in the swirl surrounding a derby.
It was the first derby I had ever played in, and I knew how much it meant to the fans and to the club. Even a lad from Lancashire can get swept along by the feeling it generated on the south coast.
We were pumped up, but if we needed any further incentive, I'm afraid a small minority of Portsmouth supporters provided it.
A minute's silence for somebody like our former president Ted Bates should transcend any rivalries in football.
Not to show observe
a silence for him was downright disrespectful, no matter how few there were
who actually did make noise.
But all those few succeeded in doing was winding us up even further and making
us more determined to do it for Ted and punish the disrespect shown to him.
The other talking point came with the penalty and Arjan de Zeeuw's sending off at the end. I have no doubts it was a penalty, and according to the letter of the laws it has to be a sending off.
But, in the context of the game, there was no need to send him off, and a penalty would have been sufficient punishment - but unfortunately referees have no leeway to show any common sense these days.
I had the strange experience of coming up against Dion Dublin last week.
Dion is a striker who has dropped back as an emergency defender to help out his team. He does a pretty good job back there, and I must admit, he played well against me.
Does the fact he's a striker give him an insight and an advantage? I'm not sure.
On another day, I might have taken advantage of certain elements of his game which show he's not a natural defender, but that's not taking anything away from him, and if at times he did stick out a desperate leg at the last moment to nick the ball away, then fair play to him.
He also showed that he's lost none of his striking instincts, and as luck would have it, the ball couldn't have fallen any better for him from my mis-timed header.
But it hasn't given me any inspiration to want to drop into a defensive role later in my career. The lads at the back have it too easy!
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Published: 2003/12/06 12:26:35 GMT
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By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
I will be going
to the BBC Sports personality of the Year awards on Sunday where I've heard
a whisper that I will pip Jonny Wilkinson to the big prize.
That's about as likely as Santa delivering everyone's presents on Shergar's
back, because Jonny must be the most popular man in the country right now -
and deservedly so.
But I did pick up one award last weekend when I was named BBC South's Footballer of the Year.
It's always nice to gain a bit of recognitions and appreciation, but in a team sport any individual award is only the result of a collective effort.
No doubt the goals I scored in the Premiership last term helped me get the award, but I wouldn't have scored them unless other team-mates set them up for me.
And you can bet that when drop-kick hero Wilkinson picks up his award, the first people he will thank will be Matt Dawson who gave him the pass, and the guys in the front row who made it available.
All in all, last Sunday was a pretty good day.
We dug in really deep to chisel out the win over Charlton.
When Scott Parker scored those two screamers, it looked as though Charlton had the momentum to go on and win. But Brett Ormerod came up with the winner.
Ironically, although I didn't get on the scoresheet, a lot of people felt it was my best all-round display of the season.
I never tire of saying that as a striker, it's goals that pay the bills, but these days you do have to offer a little more, and if you're not scoring, you've got to make sure you're doing your best to set them up.
I was just as pleased with the two assists I got for Brett's goals and I always like to think there's a bit more to my game than just scoring.
Mr Eriksson was there again, and hopefully he took note. He certainly wouldn't have been able to miss Parker's display.
The countdown to Christmas has started, but at the risk of sounding like Scrooge, it will largely pass us by.
We've got a crowded programme of vital games coming up, starting with a trip to Bolton on Tuesday.
If we come through that Carling Cup quarter-final, we will have the scent of the Millennium Stadium in our nostrils again.
We've decided to postpone the club's Christmas until January.
There was no pressure from the gaffer, it was something we decided ourselves, as we think the holiday period is so important in terms of shaping our season.
It's not so bad for me as it might be for some of the lads with kids.
We'll be in for training at 0900 on Christmas Day, and as we're at Fulham on Boxing Day, we'll travel up after training and overnight it in a hotel in London.
It means no turkey and trimmings, but you get used to that.
I don't think I've sat down to a full Christmas lunch since I was about 17 or 18, but it's a small price to pay and I'm not complaining.
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Published: 2003/12/12 15:41:22 GMT
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By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
It's somehow comforting to know that in modern football, there is still room for the good old-fashioned bucket.
I've spent a large part of the week grappling with an injury, having turned my ankle over at Liverpool last Saturday.
As you would expect of a Premiership club, our physio staff have access to all the modern ultra-scan equipment and other stuff that wouldn't look out of place on the space shuttle.
But when it comes to treating a turned ankle, one of the methods is still the hot and cold bucket.
You have two buckets, one full of hot water, and the other filled with iced water, and you plunge your injured ankle in them alternately.
Even with all the high-tech equipment, nobody has yet come up with a better method of getting circulation back into an injured joint, and that's the key element to recovery, getting blood back into any injured tissue.
It meant of course, sitting out the Carling Cup match at Bolton, but at least gives me a shout of being fit for our second big derby against Portsmouth on Sunday.
I suppose the Carling Cup clash a couple of weeks ago was a dress rehearsal for this, the first league meeting between the two clubs for 18 years.
Certainly, nobody here will be fooled into thinking that our 2-0 win in that match in any way makes us favourites on Sunday.
The fact that Pompey slipped into the bottom three last week means that both sides want the points desperately for different reasons.
There seems to be a blinkered attitude when it comes to looking at clubs like
us and we always have to fight against preconceptions
After a little slump, two great wins on the bounce have put us right back up there.
The reaction from some quarters to our win at Liverpool was strange to say the least.
We were good value for our win, as anyone who was there will agree.
But the sheer surprise with which it was greeted by some people was a bit galling and, I think, still shows some of the preconceptions we still have to battle against.
As a team and a club, we have progressed beyond recognition in the last five years, to the point where we feel we can go to places like Anfield and bring back the goods.
But in the eyes of many people, we are still just a small club who are there for the likes of Liverpool to roll over.
When we go there and win, it's treated with condescension.
It's never treated as a measure of how good we have become, but always looked on from the angle of low Liverpool have slumped, which isn't fair on either team.
Similarly, we never help but feel when a season starts that we are always mentioned among the teams fancied for relegation.
This is despite the fact that we have been a top flight club for 25 seasons now, and haven't numbered among the strugglers for five seasons.
There seems to be a blinkered attitude when it comes to looking at clubs like us, and Charlton, and we always have to fight against preconceptions.
Having said that, I've even seen and heard talk of us being among those teams who will be battling for fourth spot and a Champions League place.
I'm not so sure about that, we're just happy to be up there in the upper reaches of the table. We're in a good position to push on, and we'll take it from there.
After all, any points we get from now on in are just contributions towards Premiership survival!
Being injured on Sunday meant I couldn't take up my invitation to the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards, which was a shame because I was really looking forward to it.
No great surprises on the major awards, and rightly so. I think there would have been something drastically wrong if the rugby boys didn't sweep the field after bringing home the World Cup.
It's set a nice benchmark for us English football boys to bring something back from Portugal.
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Published: 2003/12/19 14:08:37 GMT
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By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
Happy New Year to one and all, although 2003 did not end on a particularly high note.
Our 1-0 defeat by Arsenal means we have now had a look at all three Premiership title contenders at St Mary's.
Although we were poor on Monday night, Arsenal were probably the best team to have visited us in recent years.
They are such a fluent side, everyone is comfortable on the ball, and so aware of their own responsibility within the team framework.
But I still don't think they will win the title.
I picked out Manchester United before the start of the season, and even though they are the only one of the three contenders we've beaten, I'll stick by them.
For all that Arsenal are unbeaten so far this season, and are probably the best footballing team in the country, United are that much stronger when it comes to the long haul.
They have strength in depth, even though they are supposedly ready to add a striker to their ranks now the transfer window is open.
And they just have the ability to be able to churn out the right results at the right time. The mere fact that United have lost this season, while Arsenal are unbeaten, but are still top of the Premiership proves they have the winning habit.
I've no doubt papers will link me with me all sorts of clubs up and down and the country, but there's not much I can do about that.
Chelsea have probably got the biggest and most talented squad of the three, but they might just be struggling to find the right formula.
For all the great players at his disposal, Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri has got to instill the same winning mentality into them that Sir Alex Ferguson has put into his players, before Chelsea can be serious contenders.
Of course, New Year's Day signals the opening of the transfer window, and with it the speculation that in a frantic buying frenzy, any number of top players will be on the move.
With little to survive on during the previous months, it's now open season for newspapers and the media to have us all moving on.
I've no doubt that over the next couple of weeks, papers will link me with me all sorts of clubs up and down and the country, but there's not much I can do about that.
Saturday brings round the Third Round of the FA Cup, and those memories of last May are still fresh enough in the memory to have us hankering to return to Cardiff - and perhaps go one better this time round.
We'll be involved in one of the plum ties of the round against Newcastle, which of course is televised on BBC, but we're confident.
No doubt, there'll be the usual hoop-la with me and Alan Shearer; how I was his apprentice at Blackburn, comparing the two of us, that sort of stuff.
I think we're both fairly used to that by now, and know that all we can do is get on with our own jobs in our own way.
I hope I'm not tempting fate, but Newcastle haven't won in Southampton for something like the last 25 years.
Perhaps they don't like it down here because it's too cold!
Whatever, it will be a nice record to maintain.
New Year's resolutions?
I don't usually make them, mainly because you break them pretty soon after New Year's day.
I suppose I have got one - and that's to score as many goals as I can for the rest of this season. Not too much to ask myself, is it?
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Published: 2004/01/01 15:49:33 GMT
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By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
Halfway through the season, and it's now you start to feel the aches and pains of a tough season.
The question is how you deal with them.
There are some serious injuries which put you out straight away - a broken leg or torn muscle for example.
But there are other injuries which you can play with, if you're prepared to
grit your teeth.
Everybody has a different pain threshold, and it also comes down to how much you want to play.
If you want to play badly enough, you'll ignore the pain and get on with it.
But if you do that, you carry a lot of responsibility.
I honestly don't think I have ever been 100% fit, without any sort of knock niggle or injury and even now I am playing with a collection of niggling injuries, that I've had a while.
I've had a persistent groin injury, which can only be cured by rest, and I play most games with two big ankles; one a result of sprain and the other coming from a kick.
Since our Carling Cup win over Portsmouth, I've also been playing with a couple of cracked ribs.
MY CURRENT INJURY LIST
Persistent groin injury
Two cracked ribs
Swollen ankle from a sprain
Swollen ankle from a challenge
I did it in an aerial challenge with Matt Taylor - it was purely accidental
- but it affects my breathing.
As a footballer, you are probably never going to be in that perfect state, so you compromise to some extent by operating at around 90-95% fitness.
If you are able to do your job effectively at that level of fitness, then that's acceptable.
But you know there is a point where no matter how much you are prepared to grit your teeth and play through the pain, your effectiveness is affected.
You may be able to ignore the pain of a sprain, such as I suffered at Liverpool, or the whacks and knocks that you're always going to take as a striker.
In the end, injuries make you physically tired, and when that happens, mental tiredness follows soon after. That affects your concentration and your technique.
If you're tired, you can look a bad player, and nobody needs to tell me that I haven't been playing at my best recently.
I'm sorry, but I think to a large extent, these things are largely gimmicks
The only person who can really tell you whether you think you're fit enough to do justice to your ability and whether you will be an asset to the team is yourself.
On another note, I see there is another boot innovation on the market - the "pig" - designed by ex-Liverpool player Craig Johnston.
I'm sorry, but I think to a large extent, these things are largely gimmicks.
They may meet their claims to put more spin or swerve into the ball, but boots in themselves will never make you a better player. It's what's inside them that counts.
If some people feel more comfortable and confident in a particular boot and that it helps their game, fair enough.
My boot manufacturer Puma know what I look for in a boot. It's got to be light, supple and the leather has got to be soft enough to enable me to feel the ball.
Sticking all sorts of lumps, bumps and protusions on the top isn't going to help.
But good luck to Craig!
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Published: 2004/01/16 17:35:50 GMT
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By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
Do footballers need a mid-winter break?
Well, as far as I'm concerned, yes we do.
I know a lot of people - television companies, supporters - will be annoyed that the Premiership will shut down, but it will only be for one weekend's fixtures.
Talking from personal experience, a mid-winter break is just what the doctor
ordered.
I had got to the point where I really needed a break. Not just physically, but mentally as well.
As we were out of the FA Cup, our boss, Gordon Strachan, could give me a few days off and he was good enough to do so.
I used them to just take myself off and get completely away from football for a few days.
I know people outside the game think we have got an easy life, but the pace at which the game is played is furious.
The pressure on players to perform consistently at the top level is intense, both physically and mentally.
It is in your face constantly and it is impossible to switch off unless you take a complete break.
From my experience, not having to think about the game for just a few days really charged up my batteries and I certainly feel all the better for it.
Of course a mid-winter break will benefit players, as long as it is not abused.
Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea all managed to shell out big money for
players who will perk the squad up at just the right time
The object of the break will be completely negated if clubs use it simply to set up lucrative overseas friendly matches.
I got back in time to take part in our friendly against Bayern Munich - which was arranged to fill in the blank week because of our FA Cup exit, before anyone asks!
We had a crowd of 28,000 to see the German stars, and even though it was only a friendly, they gave glimpses of what a good side they are.
Michael Ballack is a top-quality player, and he will be one of the stars of Euro 2004. Hopefully, England won't come up against him before the final!
There have been some interesting moves during the transfer window, some of which only reinforce the difference between the mega-clubs and the others.
Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea all managed to shell out big money for players who will perk the squad up at just the right time.
Scott Parker's move from Charlton to Chelsea has raised a few eyebrows, not
least because Charlton are only one place below the Blues, who already seem
to have an embarrassment of midfield riches.
I don't think Scott will have any problems making his mark at Chelsea, and I think that he will play as many games as he would have done at Charlton.
What is interesting is that Juan Sebastien Veron is out for the rest of the season, so just like that, Claudio Ranieri is just given £10m to go and buy a replacement.
It's a bit different at clubs like Southampton. We've built up a decent squad over a period of time, but when we lose a player for the season, like Matthew Oakley, we have to cope with that within the squad.
There certainly won't be £10m to spend!
But that's football life, and you have to get on with.
The move that probably brought the most talk was Louis Saha's transfer from Fulham to Manchester United.
Stories have appeared in at least one national newspaper that I blasted Saha for his conduct during the move.
I'll put the record straight on that - I never did any such thing.
How Louis Saha conducts himself is of no concern to me. I was asked about his move, and I said that I personally would not have done it in a similar vein.
I'm sure he would have got his move eventually.
But I certainly didn't - and wouldn't - blast somebody for doing something differently to the way I would do it.
Story from BBC SPORT:
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Published: 2004/01/30 15:01:21 GMT
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By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
Strikers up and down the country should be rubbing their hands with glee, because it looks like open season has started in front of goal.
Ruud van Nistelrooy's winning goal at Old Trafford last week has opened up a real can of worms.
Now, this isn't a pop at Ruud or a witch hunt against Manchester United. I'm
not even having a pop at the officials on the day, because they have their instructions
on the new offside interpretations.
But if this is supposed to be a way of tidying up the offside law, it's way off the mark.
Van Nistelrooy is a canny striker who plays right up to the limit of the law. Nothing wrong with that, and everybody should do it.
He's cottoned on pretty quickly to this interpretation and he will test officials to the hilt.
But if any striker stands where he did when the ball comes in, I don't think there's any way he can be ruled inactive, not interfering with play, or however you want to term it.
You can't tell me that had the initial cross reached Van Nistelrooy, he would have left it alone.
Sorry, but any striker six yards from goal doesn't think "wait a minute, if I touch this I'm interfering with play, so I'll join in with the next phase of play".
For a start, you don't have time to make evaluations like that. Secondly, it's instinct, you stick it in the net. No striker worth his salt would leave such a cross.
RUUD'S CONTROVERSIAL GOAL
Ruud van Nistelrooy scored the winner as Manchester United beat Southampton
3-2 on Saturday at Old Trafford.
The goal left Saints manager Gordon Strachan fuming because he thought the Dutchman
was offside and interfering with play.
Even though van Nistelrooy took up an offside position, the ball didn't reach
him as it was crossed, so he wasn't interfering with play.
Unluckily for the Saints, when the ball did break to him the second time, he
scored.
You can't help putting the ball away, it's almost the same feeling as when you
see a wet paint sign, you have to touch it.
So this weekend, the first since Ruud's goal, it will be interesting to see what strikers up and down the country do.
As our boss Gordon Strachan said, what's to stop anyone standing on the edge of the opposition penalty area? If all he's got to do is show that he's not interfering with play, why not take out a deckchair and read a book until the second phase of play catches up with him?
The problem will come, of course, when the flag goes up and a goal is disallowed against somebody who scores and was offside earlier in the move. And that will happen, because this new interpretation is a minefield of inconsistent decisions.
The job of referees and assistants is difficult enough as it is, but their lot has not been improved by this.
I normally speak to Dean Richards at least once a week but haven't had a chance to catch up with him yet.
Dean was in the Tottenham team that lost against Manchester City in the FA Cup despite leading 3-0 against 10 men.
They say lightning doesn't strike twice, but you wouldn't want to stand next to him in a thunderstorm.
I won't bring up the subject of Spurs' defeat unless he wants to talk about - the memory of being on the receiving end at Tranmere is too painful!
All I can say to Korean dog owners is 'lock up your Labradors'
On Southampton's Chris Marsden's switch to the Orient
You only want that sort of thing to happen once in your career, but Deano played
for Southampton that night at Prenton Park, where we surrendered a 3-0 lead.
Momentum is a strange thing in football. At 3-0, you think the game is dead, even at 3-1, you're still in control. But if it goes to 3-2, a tremor sets in that's hard to stop.
We said goodbye to Chris Marsden this week. He's off to play in South Korea, and good luck to him.
You can never say never in football, but Korea isn't the sort of place I could see myself playing. But Chris is ready to give it a go.
It must be difficult enough playing somewhere else in Europe, but if you went to France, Germany, Italy or Spain, you could at least pick up the language relatively quickly. Out in Korea he'll have to tackle a completely alien alphabet for starters.
We took him out for a meal to send him off and, in the absence of any Korean restaurants in Hampshire, the nearest we could come up with was Chinese.
There wasn't any dog on the menu, which was probably just as well. I've seen Marsden eat, and all I can say to the dog owners of Busan is, "lock up your Labradors".
Story from BBC SPORT:
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Published: 2004/02/06 12:35:56 GMT
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By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
The dust is settling down and we're trying to return things to an even keel following Gordon Strachan's departure.
We obviously knew he wasn't going to continue beyond the end of this season, but it was still a bit of a shock when he left early.
As players, we're usually the last to know who is coming in as manager.
There's obviously been a lot of speculation as to who the new man will be.
Glenn Hoddle's name has been strongly linked, and there has been a fair amount
of stuff flying around about how it would affect me if he should come back.
I don't know if Glenn is coming back, if he is favourite for the job, or whatever. The chairman will make the right decision on that front.
But if Glenn does come back, I won't be slapping in a transfer request, as I've seen reported in some places.
I haven't made any comment on the speculation on whether he is coming back or not, and the quotes from me that you have seen have been dragged up from more than two years ago.
A bit of a myth has sprung up about my relationship with Glenn.
I never had a problem with Glenn, and I certainly have no axe to grind with him or grudge to bear.
I've always had the highest regard for Hoddle's coaching ability
James Beattie
Yes, he did try to sell me to Crystal Palace when he was at Southampton, but with the wisdom of hindsight I can see why he might have wanted to have done it.
I was a raw, young striker who had not established myself in the first team and he had agreed what he thought was a good price for me with Palace.
I told him I didn't want to go, and he said: 'fair enough, let's work together.'
I've always had the highest regard for his coaching ability.
He spent a lot of time with me on the training ground and I learned a lot from him.
I had my first real good goalscoring run under him in the 2000-2001 season when I scored 10 goals in 10 games.
So if he was to return, I would have no problems and certainly be able to work
with him.
But as I say, that's a big 'if' because nobody knows who the chairman in going to appoint.
Whoever it is, we all start with a clean slate and will have to impress him.
Until the new man is appointed, we'll give Steve Wigley all our support.
He's been put in charge in the meantime, and we all know Wigs and his coaching abilities.
Of course things are going to be a bit different around the training ground because he and Gordon are completely different characters.
I certainly haven't given up hope of making the England squad for Euro 2004
James Beattie
But Wigs has tried to make sure the training and preparation for the game against
Everton has been as seamless as possible.
It means I've got to impress him to get my first-team place back.
It was a bit tough watching the England game on Wednesday night and not being involved, but I can't really complain.
If I'm not paying for Southampton's first team, I can hardly expect to be in the England squad, and after Gordon gave me a bit of a rest, Brett Ormerod and Kevin Phillips haven't really done anything to warrant being dropped.
But I certainly haven't given up hope of making the England squad for Euro 2004, and I won't until it's impossible.
There's a lot of football to be played between now and June, and a lot can happen.
All I can do is make sure I get back in the Saints first team, and then start scoring goals again, and then, who knows?
Story from BBC
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Published: 2004/02/19 16:52:17 GMT
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By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
It was good to be back in first-team action against Everton last Saturday and to be back among the goals.
Nine games without a goal is a long time for me, but when we were given a penalty, I couldn't get hold of the ball quick enough.
There was no question in my mind of not taking it, even though I had been out of the first-team for a few weeks.
I've never lacked confidence from the spot and as far as I was concerned, it was a perfect chance to get back on the goal trail.
I never think about missing from the spot, I have a set routine that helps me
focus, and I always know where I'm going to put the kick, although I don't give
the keeper any clues.
We mounted a great fightback in the second half, and we certainly needed to as we were dire in the first 45 minutes.
Managers and coaches always get stick when things go wrong, so it was nice to see our stand-in boss Steve Wigley get a bit of credit when his substitutions got things right in spectacular fashion.
If I hit the jackpot with that penalty, it was nothing compared to Bournemouth's
James Hayter
We certainly owed Steve that second-half performance, and it's always interesting to see how momentum in a game affects a team.
Some of our first-half defending was uncharacteristic, as we backed off and allowed Everton to run at us and get shots in.
But as soon as we started to get a head of steam going, it was a completely different story. Suddenly it was Everton who were nervous and edgy.
I wouldn't take anything away from Fabrice Fernandes' brilliant strike, but Everton boss David Moyes wouldn't have been happy at the way his team went into their shell, and backed off to give Fabrice the shooting room.
If I hit the jackpot with that penalty, it was nothing compared to Bournemouth's James Hayter, who scored the fastest Football League hat-trick.
Congratulations to him. It was a fantastic achievement that cannot be dismissed by the fact it was in Division Two. To score three goals that quickly is a real feat.
My sole Premiership hat-trick to date against Fulham last season came in 26 minutes (broken up by half-time) and I was pretty pleased with that, so I can imagine how James felt.
There's no bigger jackpot in football than the Champions League and I think
all the English teams are still in with a big shout.
Arsenal and Chelsea are probably strongest placed as they will be bringing back wins.
But Manchester United certainly aren't out of it, especially with an away goal under their belts.
Lastly on the subject of jackpots, it's my birthday this week, and among my presents was a one-armed bandit.
It will sit in my den at home, comes fully filled and has a jackpot of £250!!
That's well worth winning, and I'll have to make sure nobody else gets a chance to win it, so I'll be keeping any guests off it.
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Published: 2004/02/27 15:27:02 GMT
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By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
I won't get my chance to meet our new boss Paul Sturrock until Monday but I'm already looking forward to it.
As we haven't got a game this weekend, we were called in for training early on Thursday morning, and given the weekend off when we finished.
So we'll all pitch up on Monday for our first meeting with him.
There's always a little trepidation when a new manager comes in, but I've heard lots of positive things about him.
He supposedly shares a lot of the qualities that Gordon Strachan had, besides
being Scottish, so that won't be a bad thing.
I believe the chairman has made the right choice for the club
We've heard that he's a bit of a taskmaster on the training pitch, but that's nothing we fear because we know the benefit.
Gordon turned us into one of the fittest teams in the Premiership and we reaped the rewards as we finish lots of games stronger than the opposition and it's no coincidence the number of games we've won or saved in the last 15 minutes.
The new boss is also said to be big on team spirit, which has been another of our big strengths in recent years under Gordon.
If the new boss does some offbeat things like take us canoeing for a day, or have us abseiling off of the roofs of buildings, it won't be a bad thing; a change is as good as a rest.
It won't be a coincidence if the new boss does turn out to be a lot like Gordon. We were successful under him and the chairman will have looked for somebody who can continue in as near to the exact vein as possible.
Before Gordon left, he called all the players together and said that somebody is going to walk into one of the best jobs in the country; a well-run club with a fantastic stadium and a good squad of players.
Paul Sturrock is that man, and I believe the chairman has made the right choice
for the club.
The chairman takes a lot of stick at times, but I think he's done a fantastic job.
Supporters who have a pop at him should go back four or five years or so, and remember what their thinking process was at the start of every season. At that time, they were gearing themselves up for another relegation scrap at the cramped Dell.
Now they're moaning because we're in the bottom half of the table! But that shows how our performances have raised their expectation levels.
I also applaud the chairman's bravery in appointing a manager from the lower divisions.
The Premiership can be a bit of a closed shop at times and it does need fresh managerial blood.
Hopefully, this will pave the way by showing other Premiership clubs that the
coaching talent is there in the lower divisions
The next generation of coaches has got to be given the opportunity to coach at the highest level.
The trouble is that very few Premiership clubs want to be the vehicle for them to gain the experience. They would prefer a promising coach get his experience elsewhere in the Premiership first before considering him.
But Rupert Lowe is not afraid to take decisions like this.
If he thinks somebody has the right qualities to take the club on, he doesn't bother where he has come from, and that sort of courage deserves the backing of the players.
Who knows, if - sorry, when - Paul Sturrock proves to be a success it will pave the way by showing other Premiership clubs that the coaching talent we're all told is down in the lower divisions, is not a myth.
Story from BBC SPORT:
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Published: 2004/03/05 15:58:39 GMT
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By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
So what's new boss Paul Sturrock like?
Well, in many ways he's like Gordon Strachan.
It's not just because they're both Scottish, they both share similar traits on the training pitch.
But he's also his own man. At the moment, he's assessing all the players he's got at his disposal, but eventually he will stamp his own personality on the team.
What he has made clear from the word go is that he wants more goals from elsewhere in the team, especially midfield.
The first week's training was really bright and bubbly and I think all the players responded tremendously to give him the perfect start with a win over Liverpool.
Our first-half performance against Liverpool was a bit iffy, to say the least. But he also showed during his first half-time team talk that he means business.
He gave us a bit of a dressing down, and rightly so. Anybody who might have thought that a manager who came from a Division Two club might be a bit overawed coming into a Premiership dressing room was quickly disabused of that notion.
What he said, worked and we went out in the second half and turned in a much
better performance.
We got a couple of goals and I was particularly pleased with the finish for mine.
Now when you get into a situation like that, facing the goalkeeper, you have to make a decision.
What the goalkeeper does can help you make that decision, and as Jerzy Dudek came out, he went down to spread himself, and in doing that, made it easier for me to decide to clip it over him.
Contrast that with Michael Owen. He took a lot of stick for a miss in the first-half when he found himself with only Antti Niemi to beat in a similar situation to me.
In defence of a fellow striker, and also in praise of our keeper, Antti made it more difficult by standing in front of him, making himself as big as possible for as long as possible and not commiting himself early.
That way, he forced Michael into making the first move, and that gave him a split second to be able to read his intentions and stick out a leg to block.
It's in one-on-one duels like that where confidence plays a big part.
We
are up for this game big style
By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
You've got to have the confidence to hold your nerve, and generally the one
who blinks first, misses out.
Last Sunday was an example of what can happen when a striker's confidence is low. Michael was going through a bad patch, and including the penalty, missed chances he would normally put away in his sleep.
But he looks to have come through that, and took it out with two goals in midweek against Portsmouth.
It goes without saying that I would be more than happy to do likewise tomorrow.
It's the third meeting between us this season, and we've won both the previous
meetings at St Mary's.
The atmosphere promises to be electric and the temperature is turned up a notch by both teams need for the points.
Pompey have dropped into the bottom three and desperately need the points.
But they don't have the monopoly on desire. Make no mistake, although the win over Liverpool put us closer to the magic 40-point mark, we are up for this game big style.
The gaffer has made it abundantly clear to us that he wants to reach safety as soon as possible, so that he can then have a look at all the players in the club.
Obviously, in addition to the three points, we want to make it three wins out of three over Pompey in a season.
I know the fans would love it, but so will we, as well. It will certainly give me plenty of ammunition to give my mate Matthew Taylor plenty of stick.
Story from BBC
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Published: 2004/03/20 12:04:42 GMT
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By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
I think we managed to pay off a few debts with the win against Tottenham, or at least part of them.
We knew we owed quite a bit to all sorts of people after the defeat at Portsmouth.
It's hard to put your finger on exactly why we didn't perform at Fratton Park, but we know we let the supporters down and just as importantly, we let ourselves down.
We understand that supporters feel the pain in a derby defeat, but I can tell you, it's not as much as the pain we feel.
So it was good to have the chance to put it right against Spurs and I think we managed to redeem ourselves in the supporters' eyes.
The win over Spurs means that we're effectively safe, with eight games to go. So what is there left to play for this season?
Well, the answer is there is plenty.
As a club, we've still got a lot to go for. You always have to be positive and although some people might laugh, we're only seven points off a Champions League spot.
There will certainly be no easing into the summer for me
Unlikely as that
might be, you can never say never. And if we don't make the Champions League,
we wouldn't mind another dabble in the Uefa Cup.
There's a lot of prize money at stake these days, and I think our win on the
last day of last season was worth something like £2.5m as it leapfrogged
us up into eighth place.
So I'm sure the chairman won't allow any slacking off!
On a personal note, there's still plenty to play for as individual players.
For a start, there's a place in the team. It was made abundantly clear by Paul Sturrock when he came into the club that everyone starts with a clean slate.
He's also said he wants to have a look at as many people in the squad as he can, which is good, but nobody wants it to be at their expense.
The manager has been as good as his word in that respect and he's already given a go to Yoann Folly, one of our young French players.
He came in for his debut against Spurs last week and did a good job. He's only 19 but we all know at the club what a good player he's going to be.
He was called into the French Under-19 squad, and we all reckon he will play
for the full French team one day.
He's a defensive midfield player in the mould of Patrick Vieira and Claude Makelele
- so he's certainly got a couple of tough guys to ease aside!
But he's one to watch for the future.
You always want to be in the team and playing, so you've got to keep up a good level of performance, so that's one good reason for not easing off.
Personally, I've got to keep believing I can still make the England quad for Euro 2004.
My chances might be looking slim now, but the only way I am going to get into the reckoning is to have a really strong end to the season.
We may have eight games left, but I might not have that long to force my way into Mr Eriksson's attentions again, so there will certainly be no easing into the summer for me.
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Published: 2004/04/02 17:05:31 GMT
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Dealing
with the commodity market
By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
There are times when what happens in football is inexplicable.
We came off the back of good wins over Spurs and at Wolves to produce a performance at Middlesbrough which was...well, I don't think I could use the word on the BBC website.
It was frustrating and left us all scratching our heads, not least boss Paul Sturrock.
The season is winding down but although we're safe, we've still got plenty to play for.
The chairman certainly wouldn't be happy if we put our feet up now and started to think about our holidays, and quite rightly when there is a lot of prize money at stake.
As a player you have to accept you are a commodity to be bought and sold like
any other
But I've no doubt
between now and the end of the season, there will be some people playing for
their futures.
Having come in when he did, and with no threat of relegation, puts the gaffer
in a good position to assess his squad.
He'll be casting a good eye over everyone over the next few weeks and like any manager who wants to do things his way, he'll be forming an idea of the players he wants to keep, and those he might want to move on to make way for new blood.
I would like to think that we're a settled, well-established squad which wouldn't need too much in the way of additions to improve.
But in the end, it will come down to the manager and chairman to decide.
It's a fact of football life that clubs like us will always have players that other clubs want, and as a player you have to accept that, to an extent, you are a commodity to be bought and sold like any other.
Let me say from the word go, that I'm more than happy here at Southampton. I
think that we're a club on the fringe of doing big things with perhaps the additiion
of a couple of players.
But only last week my name was linked to Glasgow Rangers and as far as I'm concerned
that was mere newspaper speculation.
But I've no doubt that over the coming weeks as the summer transfer window opens, my name, along, no doubt, with the likes of Antti Niemi, Michael Svensson, Anders Svensson and others, will be linked with other clubs.
You have to live with that sort of speculation and shrug it off.
A club makes a commitment to you by offering a contract, and you make a commitment to it by signing it, and I'm a great believer that once you commit yourself to something, you see it through.
If Mr Eriksson has a gap left in his squad for a striker, he knows where to
look
Speculation will
also surround England's Euro 2004 squad until such time as Mr Eriksson names
the players.
But I'm going to say a word on behalf of the little fellow who plays alongside
me.
Kevin Phillips is on fire at the moment, he's scored six goals in eight games and if there's a more in-form striker in the country at the moment in terms of goalscoring, I'd like to meet him.
He's tremendous to play alongside, and I don't think it's any coincidence that my form has returned since he's been back playing regularly.
Without blowing our own trumpets, I would think we're among the best striking partnerships in the country at the moment.
I've no doubt if we were playing for the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool, we would get a lot more publicity for our goalscoring than we get.
Mr Eriksson has reportedly got a gap or two left in his squad, and if at least one of them is a striker, well, he knows where to look.
Story from BBC SPORT:
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Published: 2004/04/16 16:55:19 GMT
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Finding
the Gunners' weak link
By
James Beattie
Southampton and England striker
and BBC Sport Online columnist
First thing I have to do this week is put my hand up and admit I got it wrong.
I forecast Manchester United would win the Premiership this season, and have stuck by them all the way through - until last week.
Fair play to Arsenal, the best team have won it and I'll be the first to take my hat off to them.
They're a great team, and play the game in the right fashion. They've been a great team to watch this season - except when you're playing against them.
Of course Thierry Henry is simply on a different planet to the rest of us.
Such is the nature of football that people will be looking for weak spots in the Arsenal line-up they can take exploit to try and beat them.
Opponents will continue to stand in front of Lehmann and try to wind up
The first area most will be looking at is goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.
People have worked out pretty quickly that he doesn't like it when an opponent stands in front of him, and last week's incident when he conceded a penalty against Spurs has been waiting to happen all season.
There's nothing in the rules that says a striker can't stand in front of a goalkeeper, and different keepers have their own way of dealing with it.
In a way, he might have been the architect of his own downfall.
But if a keeper's reaction is to shove and push and generally get wound up by it, you're going to take full advantage and make sure somebody stands in front of his every time.
That might not have happened if he had let it go early on.
Up until last week, it didn't have a great deal of impact because every time he'd got involved, the ball wasn't in play.
But last week, he got into a tangle with Robbie Keane and the referee had no
option but to give a penalty. On a different day and under different circumstances,
that might have been very coslty to Arsenal.
Opponents will continue to stand in front of Lehmann and try to wind up, even more so, now. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has to find a way of getting Lehmann to calm down.
In my opinion, goalkeepers are a bit mad anyway, but the Germans have had their
fair share of characters between the sticks down the years.
You can go back to Harald 'Toni' Schmuacher who was the villain of the 1982 World Cup semi-final in Spain, while Oliver Kahn has had his moments as well. And add to that list, Jens Lehmann.
Our team at Chelsea might include one or two unfamiliar names as injuries start to bite.
A couple of very good young strikers, Dexter Blackstock and Leon Best will have
me looking over my shoulder before long
We've got a few lads - Jason Dodd, Graeme Le Saux, Matt Oakley - who are out
for the season, and others like Michael Svensson and Marian Pahars who are also
struggling.
But it's a good situation for boss Paul Sturrock to have a look at players - particularly the youngers.
We've got some good ones at Southampton. Yoann Folly has had a good run in the first team, and Martin Crainie, England's Under-18 captain and a good prospect, will be involved at Stamford Bridge.
There's also a couple of very good young strikers, Dexter Blackstock and Leon Best, who will have me looking over my shoulder before long.
Story from BBC SPORT:
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Published: 2004/04/30 16:41:03 GMT
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