Everything has been going well over here since my last blog.
We spent a lot of time preparing for England's game with Spain, a game which was very fulfilling. It was a proper win. To see an England team perform so well against a nation as well-respected as Spain was gratifying.
Stuart Pearce's tactics were spot on in the 2-0 win over Spain
It possibly went England's way because Spain haven't really caught fire in this tournament. They clearly found it difficult to cope with the pace and power England possess.
Everyone knows all about the England players but there is also a fantastic back-up team working behind the scenes. In my job it's not the norm to stay in team hotels so I am getting a bit of an insight into how things are put together and see how hard they all work.
It's great that England are through with one game to spare but Stuart Pearce will be keen to keep the momentum going against Germany.
Martin Tyler
Quotes of the week
Germany U21 v England U21
7pm, Mon, Sky Sports 1 & HD1
It gave me the chance to meet up with an old friend, Dave Galley, who is England's physio. I used to play up front with Dave in the commentators' team about 20 years ago. We enjoyed a fruitful partnership and have been boring everyone with tales of the goals we scored!
Dave will be linking up with the England senior squad next season. He was with Wigan until Steve Bruce left and could have followed to Sunderland but is going back to Liverpool - where he previously worked - to become chief physiotherapist at the club's academy, so it's exciting times for him.
Dave played a big part in getting Micah Richards ready for the Spain game, for which all 23 players were fit for selection, and Micah repaid him with a man-of-the-match display. His next assignment is to get Gabriel Agbonlahor back to full fitness.
Scout-standing
The backroom staff here is almost as many as the players, with team administrators, fitness specialists and scouts all playing a big part.
David Geddis, who played for Ipswich when they won the FA Cup in 1978, is one of the scouts, as is John Marshall, who had a long career with Fulham, and Jimmy Gilligan, who played for Watford and has been around the coaching scene for some time.
Scouting is very high-tech these days; there are laptops everywhere. The days of scribbling down on a notepad are gone!
Another guy who never stops working is the kit man, Pat Frost. From training kits to having all 23 shirts ready on matchday, he is kept very busy. And of course there's always the chance Stuart Pearce might throw on the odd goalkeeper up front!
Pat has everything up to speed, which can be difficult in a hotel that is very pleasant but isn't exactly a hub of industry. The pace of life here in Varberg is much slower than what surrounds the England football team, but they're doing their utmost to keep up with Pat's demands. I wouldn't be surprised to find him washing the kit with his bare hands!
On the move
We're an hour south of Gothenburg and an hour north of Halmstad, where everyone else is based. I'm calling this the 'E6 Tournament', which is the name of the motorway we're always travelling on.
As what has been reported in Andy Burton's widely read and critically-acclaimed blog, there was one small hiatus when I slightly forgot that I was driving on the other side of the road. I held my hands up in apology to Andy and also the other driver.
As Andy scribed, he was late that morning but not dramatically so. I needed to fill up with petrol on the way to the training ground and just as the yellow light came on to inform me I made the mistake.
But it's not true what Sky Sports News were saying about Andy and myself being so important that we mustn't travel in the same car in future!
The day before the England's game I travelled to the Gamla Ullevi Stadium to watch Spain train. It's a wonderful ground and an absolute delight to work in.
If you talk about the youth of this competition, well this stadium is young as well, and I came across a great marketing initiative by the Swedes where it costs youngsters just 21 Krona to attend games, which works out at less than two English pounds.
Having a Butchers
I bumped into Terry Butcher at the Spain game. He's out here with a number of managers and coaches, including Rob Kelly, the former Leicester City manager who now works at Preston.
They're doing their Scottish Pro-Licence, and considering they're two Englishmen it was suggested that it must be easier. But Terry produced a filofax with notes on individual players and was quite protesting that it wasn't easy.
It was good to see Terry again, who actually made his U21 debut in Sweden and of course wore that head bandage in a World Cup qualifier here in 1989. He's currently sporting a beard, which is coming on quite nicely, but he was still unmistakably Terry Butcher.
Terry would have been impressed with England's performance against Spain. It really went to plan, including Stuart Pearce's plan to spring Theo Walcott and Fraizer Campbell off the bench. He recognised Spain's recent form, which suggested they tire in the last half hour. The scouting reports were spot on.
But what impressed me was that when we got back to the hotel there were no extreme celebrations. The players came in and had something to eat and just went to bed. This is not perceived as having anything done yet. They've matched the achievement of last time but they want to do more than that.
Momentum
It's great that England are through with one game to spare but Stuart Pearce will be keen to keep the momentum going against Germany. They would like to win the group because that means they can stay at their current base for the semi-final.
If Germany win England would have to travel to Helsingborg, which is only an hour away but is still on the wrong side of the UEFA regulation. England have to be there 24 hours beforehand. That's another incentive for Stuart to try and make it three wins from three.
Tyler's teaser
As regular readers will know, I usually fill my page with football facts and stats and your questions. Well for the duration of this tournament, we thought we'd turn the tables and ask YOU to do the work and come up with the answers!
In my last entry I asked you to name all of the players from England's 2007 Under-21 European Championship squad to have played for the senior side since that tournament. The answers were Joe Hart, Ashley Young and Scott Carson. David Bentley has also been capped at senior level but dropped out of the squad before the 2007 tournament through injury.
Some of you suggested Kieron Richardson and David Nugent - but they earned their senior caps BEFORE the tournament. James Milner and Gary Cahill have also been included in the full squad, but neither have yet been capped.
Comments (3)
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Sheik ahmeed Alhateem (Barnsley fan) says...
martin this is very good my frend:) keep up the hard work an england will too
Posted 01:37 23rd June 2009
Scott Howells davies (Manchester City fan) says...
this is the first time i have read this page/article and would like to say how interesting and informative it is. congratulations martin, if more people were aware of just what it takes to make a great team and help them win trophies perhaps they wouldn't get on the backs of the players so much during or after games. Football is a love so thanks to all back room staff for all they do !
Posted 12:27 22nd June 2009
Milan Marinkovic (Liverpool fan) says...
Congratulations, Martin! This article is a great way to explain to common football fans how important the work behind the scene is, at least equally important as one which is done on it.
Posted 12:14 20th June 2009
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