Bodymoor Heath visit.

[olaftab]

I along with my two nephews visited Bodymoor Heath today. It is part of normal routine that Club prepares for half term holidays.
This the first time I have been to our Training ground and whilst I have no reference point to compare the facility with anything similar I have to say I was very impressed.  I compared it with other world class establishments in my industry and I would say that the set up is as good as it gets.

I don't need to describe in detail as to what goes on there as most of you know but the impression of total dedication and professionalism shines through. The whole thing from training pitches to changing rooms, from medical facilities to indoor training is organised on an industrial scale.

There an aspirational aspect to it all by the way juniors progress through to better and better facilities as they make progress with the final output to gain a first team squad number and enter into the highest rank at Bodymoor.

I did not expect any first teamers to be there today after the game yesterday. However they were all there including Richard Dunne having his injury assessed. Heskey, Keane, Gardner, Petrov, Cuellar etc were in the gym and the youngsters saw them there going through their routine with instructors. They all smiled and spoke briefly to the boys.

Rest of first team squad were outside with Kevin Mac driving them hard.  It was very noticeable how competitive they all were in a 5 a side game that was going on a shortened pitch interrupted with multiple sprints. Ireland was particularly enthusiastic!

They all stopped for autographs after they finished and the gym squad came by later to offer further autograph opportunities.

I spoke to Jack AVTV and Alex a little bit about the match yesterday and that will remain private. Fair to say that Alex has not lost his sense of humour so far because when a photo call was made for a picture  with him my two lads were not  bothered, as they were more interested in players training, he said "well I guess they are the protesters"

The staff were great all wonderfully organized by Nicola Keyes.

The only problem now is to work out a name to the scribbled signature in the autograph book!

[Percy McCarthy]

Sounds fun aftab. Glad you and the kids enjoyed it.

It's a great facility that will be an asset to the club for decades. Thanks Randy.

[LeeB]

Sounds fun aftab. Glad you and the kids enjoyed it.

It's a great facility that will be an asset to the club for decades. Thanks Randy.

Yeah, but it means nuffink if the teams shit, and da manager is shit, he used to manage the Blues you know, Lerner should piss off back to America etc. etc......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

[SoccerHQ]

Used to go there loads when I was younger, every half term and summer holidays.

Can't be bothered now. You can't watch them train and there's a back door exit which players who don't want to sign autographs for the fans can slip through.

[Chipsticks]

That was good to read, I think this post is a breath of fresh air from the doom and gloom being spouted on here for the last few days. I haven't visited myself but the facilities do seem to be of a really high standard from what I've seen/heard on here, I'll make a point of getting down there soon - probably in the summer.

[Mike Jeffries]

Yeah good to read that, thanks for posting it.

[PeterWithesShin]

I've always wanted to visit BH, but have heard it's a total mare to get to if you don't drive.

[Dante Lavelli]

Thanks Aftab.  Good to read something positive.

[The Left Side]

I asked the General if I could pay a visit with my old man as I was back in the country and it was a great experience, fair play to the club because they don't need to do it but they made us feel welcome and appreciated. It is a shame they don't train near the gates any more but they are superstars, right!

[villarob]

It is a shame that they train away from the public access but you can understand why...when John Gregory was manager you could access all areas of Bodymoor. If you were the opposition just turn up the day before the match to see our team and tactics. I remember the game after Yorkie left we played Boro at home, I was at the training ground on the Saturday morning when JG used the reserve centre half Ricky Scimeca as centre forward, I put a few quid on him as first scorer as he was something like 100/1 - he didn't score but started as centre forward. I tried to get my mates to bet but they wouldn't believe me that it would happen.

[eastie]

used to pop down regularly when big ron was manager and we could watch training and have a chat with the lads afterwards if jim paul was in a good mood-guess security is the name of the game now though.

[SoccerHQ]

It is but it's wrong some players use the back door to escape when most fans just want an autograph and quick photo.

Infact I was there a few times to see some players speed past when another player was signing autographs and nearly running over some fans * cough Gabby and Vassell* Disappointing when your "own" do this.

[Legion]

The next time I get an invitation for a tour due to Cameron being on their books, I'll post it in GM. It's well worth attending.

[littlevillain]

biked it there a few times in late 70's early 80s from chelmsley with my mate. We got to mix with the players and get all the autographs. Even managed to snatch some of the old screw in studs from a cup with andy gray written on it. The only player who was moody towards us and wouldn't sign an autograph was mcnaught . Happy days