TREQUARTISTA

TREQUARTISTA For Football news, skills and features

MARCH EDITION

ÂŁ2.50

ISSUE

#1 LEARN THE GAME:

Giving you tips and advice for improving your all round football skills

INSIDE NTFC:

We give you behind the scenes access to Sixfields Stadium

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Jefferson Lake talks to us about working in football and covering Northampton Town Football Club

twitter.com/trequartista www.facebook.com/trequartista www.trequartista.co.uk

CONTENTS Page 4 - NEWS:

A look at the latest news in the community

Page 5 - Treq look at the top

ten Trequartista’s currently plying their trade in world football.

Includes Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen and Real Madrid star James Rodriquez.

Page 6 - LEARN THE GAME: Treq’s football coaches take you through how to learn and apply the basic football skills to your game.

Page 7 - SCORE GOALS:

Our football coaches teach you how to strike the ball properly so that you can outscore your mates!

Page 8 - SKILL SCHOOL

Treq’s skills coaches show you how to leave your marker twisted inside out with some moves Lionel Messi would be proud of.

Page 9 & 10 - Interview Lake

Insight from a leading Football journalist about working in the beautiful game.

H

EDITOR’S LETTER

ello and welcome to the first edition of Trequartista magazine! We are delighted to be here and we hope you enjoy this issue along with the future publications. We’re here to educate, inform and entertain you every month.

Inside this issue we will teach you

the basic skills of football so you can improve your game and impress your mates on the pitch! We’ll also be taking you inside a professional football club to see behind the scenes and see what the players get to see on a match-day. If you’re interested in working in football you’ll also enjoy this issue as we have

an exclusive interview with one of the best in the business. Furthemore we’ll have all of the news from the Cobblers, as well as feature articles comparing and reviewing all of your favourite players!

Enjoy the issue and see you again next month.

All the best, Matt.

4

NEWS: WORK ON SIXFIELDS STADIUM TO BEGIN AGAIN SOON

N

orthampton Town Football Club have announced that work is about to imminently restart on the redevelopment of the East Stand at Sixfields Stadium.

The re-development was originally set to be finished by October last year, however a contract dispute with building contractors Buckingham Group meant that workers downed their tools that month and had not returned to the site since.

The renovation of the stadium is part of a £12 million project funded by a loan deal form the Northampton Borough Council, which will also include housing, local retail facilities and a hotel next to the stadium.

Details of the dispute between the club and Buckingham Group cannot be released due to legal reasons, however fans can now be assured that the stadium will be ready in time for the start of next season.

Gareth Willsher, head of media at Northampton Town, says how much of a relief it is for the club to get the dispute resolved. ‘‘It’s huge, it’s dominated the agenda for the last 6 months and has been frustrating for us as well as the fans.

We apologise to those supporters who have been inconvenienced but we can now move on, free form that frustration and just concentrate on the football.’’

Northampton face local rivals Luton on Saturday, followed by another local game against Cambridge United on Easter Friday

The East Stand has had no work done since October 2014 pic credit: ntfc.co.uk

with tickets available on ntfc.co.uk.

NO MORE ADDITIONS TO NORTHAMPTON SQUAD THIS TRANSFER WINDOW Cobblers boss Chris Wilder has confirmed that he won’t be making any more signings to his Northampton squad, with the transfer window closing on Thursday.

The window closes at 11pm and is the last chance for Football League clubs able to add any players before the end of the season.

But Wilder admitted in his press conference on Tuesday that he doesn’t think he’ll make any more additions this month, and believes his younger players can step up to the mark between now and 2 May. ‘‘I don’t think we’ll take anyone. We’ve gone through lists and lists of players and nothing has jumped out at us as someone who can make a difference. ‘‘We still think a lot of Ivan Toney (19) and it was only recently that he helped us win at Shrewsbury playing upfront on his own.

Cobblers’ signings this window have been strikers James Gray and Diego De Girolamo, as well as keeper Shwan Jalal.

pic credit ntfc.co.uk

5 5 - MESUT OZIL

Joined from Real Madrid in 2013. The Arsenal ace has struggled for form since joining the Gunners but he still possesses the quality that made him a star at the 2010 World Cup. Will be looking to pick up his performances now he’ll be flanked by the pace of Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott.

TREQ RATIING: 3 1/2 STARS

TREQ’S TOP FIVE #10s W

e have scoured the world of football to find who we think is the best play-maker in the game at the moment. At #1 we have Real Madrid ace James Rodriguez... #10’s that didn’t make the list: 6 - Phillipe Coutinho (Liverpool) 7 - Oscar (Chelsea) 8 - Anders Iniesta (Barcelona) 9 - Lucas Silva (Real Madrid) 10 - Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich)

4- CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN

3-FRANCESCO TOTTI

Eriksen has been with Spurs since joining from Ajax in the summer of 2013. At a bargain price of £11 million he’s been the stand-out player for Spurs over the last two season’s. Has won Danish Player of the Year three times.

The ageless Italian is now 38 years of age and still playing in the Serie A for his hometown team. With 240 goals in 520 appearances, Totti will go down as a legend in Rome. He retired from the Italian national team after a string of controversies, including spitting an opponent in 2006.

TREQ RATIING: 4 STARS

TREQ RATIING: 4 STARS

2-DAVID SILVA David Silva has been Manchester City’s most consistent performer having joined from Valencia back in 2011.

Known for his vision and ability to create chances for his team-mates, as well as get on the score-sheet himself on occasions.

Unlucky to miss out on number 1.

TREQ RATIING: 4 1/2 STARS

1 - JAMES RODRIGUEZ The Colombian international burst onto the European football scene back in 2010 when he joined FC Porto. 63 appearances and 25 goals later Monaco snapped him up for £45 million. After impressing in the 2014 World Cup and winning goal of the tournement, Real Madrid made a £70 million bid which was accepted. Now a key player in the Spanish capital, James has his best years still in front of him at the age of just 23.

TREQ RATING: 5 STARS

6

LEARNING THE GAME: Some skills you can use to improve your game

DEFENDING AND TACKLING:

CHEST TRAP:

T

he chest trap is a skill which is effective in all ages of football.

When the ball is below head height and too low for a header, yet too high for you to kick; the chest trap is the perfect way to bring the ball under control. The technique is to keep your eyes on the ball, one foot behind the other, keep your arms out the way so you don’t handball and then relax your chest as the ball is about to make contact. It’s important to relax your chest muscles otherwise the ball will just bounce away instead of stopping dead. The ball will then drop to your feet and you can dribble away.

If you are a defender and are in the team for your tackling skills then this is the perfect skill for you. As the opponent is running at you with the ball, you can use your body to shape him away from your goal. Instead of standing flat footed in-front of the attacker, angle your body so that the man with the ball can only go one way - down the line away from goal. The arrow indicates where you’ll be forcing the player to dribble.

KICK-UPS:

Kick-up’s are a great way of improving your first touch and general control of the ball. Start with bouncing the ball and using the top of your foot to gently kick the ball a yard or two into the air.

Repeat that and include a bounce if necessary. Once you’re confident of doing kick-up’s on your strong foot, practise on your weaker foot too. This will help in matches if you need to control a bouncing ball or a pass to you which is between your ankle and your knee.

RABONA:

The Rabona is a skill which will impress your mates to the max.

It looks tricky at first but after a few practise attempts you’ll be doing them for fun. All you have to do is plant your weaker foot into the ground and then whip your stronger foot around the back with power so that you make a good connection with the ball. The ball will then chip up into the air. This is an ideal skill for wingers especially if you do not trust your weaker foot when putting in a cross.

To watch videos of these skills head over to www.trequartista.com or our Facebook page www.facebook.comtreqfc

SCORING GOALS: Shooting techniques to help you find the net Side-foot shooting is best for: Taking penalties. The ball stays low so that it won’t go over the bar as well as making it difficult for the keeper to get down to the ball in time. and you won’t need much power on the ball from 12 yards.

Outside of the foot shooting is best for: One-on-One finishes past the keeper. When you are bearing down on goal and you have just the keeper to beat, an outside of the foot finish will take him by surprise and the ball will curl around him and back towards the goal and into the net.

Shooting with your laces is best for: shots from long-range. The further out you are; the more power you’ll need on your attempt. If you aim your shot hard and low then it’s very likely that you’ll score as the keeper won’t get down to the shot in time.

7

SHOOTING WITH YOUR SIDE-FOOT:

This technique will help make sure that your shot is accurate. By opening up your foot and placing your standing foot alongside the ball, you will connect well with your shot and it will go in the direction that you’re aiming in. This shot will also keep the ball on the ground so it’ll be harder for the goalkeeper to get down to save.

SHOOTING WITH YOUR OUTSIDE OF FOOT:

This technique helps take the ball away from the keeper. The spin on the ball will keep the ball out of reach from a diving save as it’ll continue to spin away. It’s a more difficult technique. You have to reverse the motion used for the side-foot but becomes easier after practise.

SHOOTING WITH YOUR LACES:

This technique is all about generating power. If you’re not worried about accuracy and just want to score with brute force, then this is the shot for you. Make sure you have your knee over the ball when striking as this will stop you from leaning back and clearing the bar by 10 yards.

8

A

bove is the players dressing room at Sixfields stadium. This is where the players get changed 10 minutes before kick-off. It’s also where manager Chris Wilder will give his pre-match team talks and discuss tactics with the team on the various white boards located around the room. This is a new changing room and was built in the summer of 2014. The dressing room also includes a new gym and a plasma television.

INSIDE NORTHAMPTON TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB

The Boot-room. This is where the players pairs of boots are stored. Each player has at least two pairs of boots each, which between them allow them to play on any type of surface. The boots are labelled with the players’ initials so that they can be identified quickly. as a lot of the players are sponsored by the same brands. Irish defender Brendon Moloney’s boots are featured in the picture on the right. It’s very colourful in here!

9

THE PLAYERS WALK AND TUNNEL E

ach player currently under contract at the Cobblers has their own picture canvassed on the wall in the players tunnel. This is what the players see as they walk out of the dressing room and towards the pitch.

Sixfields Stadium was built in 1994 and opened it’s doors for the first time that October. The current capacity is 6,000 however with the East Stand redevelopment that will increase to the 9,000 mark.

The Chairman is David Cardoza and the club are currently managed by Chris Wilder, who joined from Oxford in January 2014 and led the club to Football League safety. This season has been a better one for Wilder as the Cobblers are now just 5 points from the play-off positions with eight games to go. The Club captain is defender Lee Collins with the vice-captain being Marc Richards, who is also the club’s current top goalscorer (17).

BIG RESULTS IN THE CLUB’S HISTORY Liverpool 2-2 Northampton (NTFC win 4-2 on pens) Manchester United 3-0 Northampton Fourth Divison Play-Off winners beating Shrewsbury 2-1

Current Northampton squad: MANAGER: Chris Wilder Assistant: Alan Knill GOALKEEPERS: Matt Duke, Shwan Jalal DEFENDERS: Brendon Moloney, Ryan Cresswell, Lee Collins, Evan Horwood, Tom Newey, Ben Tozer, Ross Perry, Zander Diamond, Sam Warburton.

MIDFIELDERS: Joel Byrom, Jason Taylor, Darren Carter, Lawson D’Ath, Rickie Holmes, John-Joe O’Toole, Chris Hackett.

ATTACKERS: Marc Richards, Ivan Toney, James Gray, Billy Bodin.

STAT: Marc Richards is the current top goalscorer for Northampton with 17 goals so far this season.

10

Jefferson Lake tells us about working in Football

Jeff interviewing NTFC manager Chris Wilder in 2013

J

eff started his career in football with local newspaper the Chronicle & Echo. He was appointed in 2005 and has been there ever since, as well as working for the BBC and Sky Sports News.

In those ten seasons there has been multiple highs and lows for the Cobblers, and Jeff has experienced all of those first hand. ‘‘Without doubt the best part of what I do is that you are being paid to watch football - I’ve never under-appreciated what a privilege that is and I think that’s because for a long time I was a fan and I’d paid to watch games. It’s a great buzz being around a club as well, talking to players and managers and being part of the whole match-day experience. The worst parts are the long hours and the poor pay so you’ll just have to get used to both of those!’’

Jeff wasn’t sure what he wanted to do after University until he contacted the Chron, and was given an opportunity on the Sports desk. He discusses what may have been had he not been covering the Cobblers. ‘‘I like to think I’d still be a reporter of some kind. When I made the decision a couple of years after university to try and get into journalism and it wasn’t specifically as a sports journalist. I’d have been just as happy doing news so I like to think if I wasn’t in football reporting, I’d be in news.’’

Northampton fans will also know Jeff from his Twitter page - @JeffersonLake - where he breaks the very latest Northampton Town news. ‘‘Some of the quotes you get from the managers are hilarious, and sometimes unintentionally. And I do love the interaction with the fans on Twitter, which can be very entertaining and amusing, although it can have its dark side as well, when people cross the line of what is acceptable.’’

‘‘I think just write as much as possible. It’s easier to be published. Get your name out there.’’ - Lake Having started out himself just after finishing university, Jeff passes on his wisdom to any of you who are looking at the same career path... ‘‘I think just write as much as possible. It’s now easier than ever to get your work ‘published’ because the rules of publishing have changed - years ago you’d have to had typed something out on a computer, print it out, post it to a fanzine editor and then hoped they’d like it enough to publish it. Now you can set up a blog and have your work online, to a vast potential audience, in minutes. So just write as much as you can and get your name out there.’’

This season is actually Jeff’s last at the football club as he looks to develop his career further. Everyone here at Trequartista wishes him all the best!

TEN YEARS AT NORTHAMPTON: Jeff shares his memories from the last decade covering the Cobblers

E

arlier this season Jeff completed his tenth year covering Northampton Town for local newspaper the Chronicle & Echo. He talks exclusively to Trequartista to share his experiences with the team from Sixfields.

What has been both your favourite and worse memory over the last decade with Northampton? ‘‘They’re probably from the same day - the League Two play-off final. It was great to part of the build-up to a final at Wembley and doing all the extra work we did for supplements etc, and there was a really good vibe around the club

and the supporters. Then the game started and they just got destroyed. It was hard to watch.’’

Who has been your favourite manager to cover whilst you’ve been with the Cobblers? ‘‘All the managers have been quite different. Chris Wilder is excellent for a quote and they were successful under Colin Calderwood but my personal favourite might be John Gorman. He was only there for six months but he was a great guy and he even used to ask me for my opinion on potential signings, which was a unique and slightly bizarre experience.’’

Where do you see yourself in ten years time? ‘‘It’s difficult to say! It’s obviously sad leaving the Cobblers after ten years, and it’s been a fantastic privilege to be here. Hopefully my next venture will be just as rewarding, and all being well I’ll be there for the next decade or so! We’ll see what happens in the future but I’ll still definitely be in journalism because I love writing.’’

NTFC were at Wembley in 2013, but lost 3-0 that day to Bradford

Who has been your favourite player to watch over the last ten years, and why? ‘‘Martin Smith. He was a bit in decline when Northampton had him but he was still very skilful and had superb technique.

His style didn’t always fit the way they play in League Two but he was still a joy to watch more often than not and he’s the only player that I’ve ever known to have been given a 10 out of 10 rating by the Chron by my predecessor in the Cobblers reporting job.’’

Just how painful was the 3-0 playoff defeat to Bradford City? ‘‘It was very painful. Not just as a result but because you knew the team would never survive such a bad experience, no matter how good the season had been. For many of the players, that was their final Northampton game and also the beginning of the end of manager Aidy Boothroyd, who made lots of changes to his squad as a result of the loss and it all completely backfired.’’

11

TIMELINE: 06/07: An impressive 9th place finish in League One, just 10 points from the play-offs to the Championship.

07/08 Agony as NTFC are relegated by just 1 point back to League Two. 09/10: A season of reconstruction, Town do well to finish 11th and just 5 points from another the chance of getting back to League One. 10/11: Northampton stay up after a relegation scare thanks to Gary Johnson taking the reigns midway through the season.

11/12:Another relegation scare as Town escape relegation by just four points.

12/13:Boothroyd leads the Cobblers back to the land of the play-offs, but are cruelly torn apart

by Bradford.

13/14: Boothroyd sacked and Wilder comes in to save NTFC from relegation on the last day of the season.

14/15: The Cobblers are currently just 5 points away from another potential tilt at the League Two play-offs. They also beat Championship side Wolves 3-2 at Molineux earlier this season in the JPT.