Proper pro, super fit, lives and breaths the game, gives everything, gees up other players, can mark a key opponent out of the game. Physical presence.
Proper pro, super fit, lives and breaths the game, gives everything, gees up other players, can mark a key opponent out of the game. Physical presence.
Totally agree! Pratley looked 28 not 38. Type of player who turns to coaching and makes a success of it.
Darren Pratley May Be A Precious Fossil From English Football’s Jurassic Age But He Knows The Game Inside Out
News Reporter
DARREN PRATLEY may be a precious fossil from English football’s Jurassic age but he knows the game inside out – raptor and verse.
From bread rolls being tossed around set-piece drills in hotel dining rooms to the manager who jumped into a river to inspire his players, the Leyton Orient captain thought he had seen it all after more than 720 appearances in all four divisions.
But when the O’s face Manchester City for the first time in 59 years in the FA Cup fourth round today, it will be one of the biggest games of his life.
Pratley (below, battling City’s Carlos Tevez in 2011) turns 40 in April, but Father Time needn’t bother sending round the bailiffs to call in his debts yet.
If City, whose £200million outlay in the transfer window was almost more than all their Premier League rivals put together, pitch up expecting a stroll in the park, super-fit Pratley will give them a guided tour of Brisbane Road from box to box.
And the most enchanted day out on the Leyton High Road since Jonathan Tehoue’s 89th-minute equaliser earned Orient a replay against Arsenal 14 years ago is right up his street.
Pratley said: “Apart from Dean Lewington at MK Dons (who is 40), I’m just about the oldest one out there now but I don’t worry about my age.
“I’m still up there in the top group in the bleep tests – maybe I’m not the quickest in terms of sprinting, but my game is based on fitness and I’ve looked after myself over the years.
“It’s going to be a great occasion. The champions are coming to town, nobody expects us to win and it’s a fantastic opportunity for your young players to measure themselves against the best.
“I’m going to make the most of it because I may not get too many more chances to be involved in games like this.
“Football is the only thing I’ve known for 23 years and I wouldn’t have a clue how to start doing another job. Put me on a checkout or in an office and I’d be lost, but I like to think I know my way around a football pitch.”
Pratley has served under a dizzying cast of managers including Brendan Rodgers, Roberto Martinez and Jean Tigana, but none could match the great Mad Dog himself for glorious unorthodoxy.
Martin Allen (left) was the first to pick Pratley on a regular basis when he was on loan at Brentford 20 years ago, and the O’s skipper laughed: “He used to make us sit in the stands with the punters for a couple of minutes as part of the warm-up to show we were playing for them.
“At pre-match meals, he would go through set-pieces in the hotel dining room with a couple of chairs as goalposts and we were chucking bread rolls around. He would do all sorts to try and inspire the team, like jumping in the River Tees and going for a swim before an FA Cup replay at Hartlepool.
“I’m heavily into ice baths and cryotherapy, but I would draw the line at that!
“And his team talks were legendary. He used to take his shirt off at half-time, sit on a chair in the middle of the changing room topless and stare at you or talk to you without blinking. He was absolutely brilliant.”
As for today?
“We need to enjoy the experience against City, but the best way of doing that will be working hard – because application is what makes them such a great team,” added Pratley. “Fortunately we’ve got a group of players who are more interested in doing the basics right than swapping shirts or collecting souvenirs.
“Apart from Wayne Rooney, who I played with for England Under-15s and I got his shirt for my brother, I’ve never been interested in asking for an opponent’s top. We’re here to do a job, not join a fan club.”
My daughter and I still reminisce about the 'Pratley fall' whenever a player buys a free kick by slowly collapsing under the slightest pressure from the opponent.
I’m still a Pratley fan, I think describing him as a “fossil from English football’s Jurassic age” is a bit much.
He was extremely valuable in games where we had none of the ball in the championship - huge nous and experience . He also has some decent games in the middle of a back 3. I liked him less in league one , where his lack of ball playing ability and passing tempo made us quite predictable.
I’m still a Pratley fan, I think describing him as a “fossil from English football’s Jurassic age” is a bit much.
He was extremely valuable in games where we had none of the ball in the championship - huge nous and experience . He also has some decent games in the middle of a back 3. I liked him less in league one , where his lack of ball playing ability and passing tempo made us quite predictable.
He had a bad habit of shirt pulling as an opposition player ran past. Often resulted in a booking.
He played for Brendan Rodgers in a pure passing Swansea team, so isn't just a runner and clogger
He's still an immense athlete when he's pushing 40. At that age, he was an absolute monster which more than made up for this lack of technical ability.
Comments
Type of player who turns to coaching and makes a success of it.
Darren Pratley May Be A Precious Fossil From English Football’s Jurassic Age But He Knows The Game Inside Out
News Reporter
DARREN PRATLEY may be a precious fossil from English football’s Jurassic age but he knows the game inside out – raptor and verse.
From bread rolls being tossed around set-piece drills in hotel dining rooms to the manager who jumped into a river to inspire his players, the Leyton Orient captain thought he had seen it all after more than 720 appearances in all four divisions.
But when the O’s face Manchester City for the first time in 59 years in the FA Cup fourth round today, it will be one of the biggest games of his life.
Pratley (below, battling City’s Carlos Tevez in 2011) turns 40 in April, but Father Time needn’t bother sending round the bailiffs to call in his debts yet.
If City, whose £200million outlay in the transfer window was almost more than all their Premier League rivals put together, pitch up expecting a stroll in the park, super-fit Pratley will give them a guided tour of Brisbane Road from box to box.
And the most enchanted day out on the Leyton High Road since Jonathan Tehoue’s 89th-minute equaliser earned Orient a replay against Arsenal 14 years ago is right up his street.
Pratley said: “Apart from Dean Lewington at MK Dons (who is 40), I’m just about the oldest one out there now but I don’t worry about my age.
“I’m still up there in the top group in the bleep tests – maybe I’m not the quickest in terms of sprinting, but my game is based on fitness and I’ve looked after myself over the years.
“It’s going to be a great occasion. The champions are coming to town, nobody expects us to win and it’s a fantastic opportunity for your young players to measure themselves against the best.
“I’m going to make the most of it because I may not get too many more chances to be involved in games like this.
“Football is the only thing I’ve known for 23 years and I wouldn’t have a clue how to start doing another job. Put me on a checkout or in an office and I’d be lost, but I like to think I know my way around a football pitch.”
Pratley has served under a dizzying cast of managers including Brendan Rodgers, Roberto Martinez and Jean Tigana, but none could match the great Mad Dog himself for glorious unorthodoxy.
Martin Allen (left) was the first to pick Pratley on a regular basis when he was on loan at Brentford 20 years ago, and the O’s skipper laughed: “He used to make us sit in the stands with the punters for a couple of minutes as part of the warm-up to show we were playing for them.
“At pre-match meals, he would go through set-pieces in the hotel dining room with a couple of chairs as goalposts and we were chucking bread rolls around. He would do all sorts to try and inspire the team, like jumping in the River Tees and going for a swim before an FA Cup replay at Hartlepool.
“I’m heavily into ice baths and cryotherapy, but I would draw the line at that!
“And his team talks were legendary. He used to take his shirt off at half-time, sit on a chair in the middle of the changing room topless and stare at you or talk to you without blinking. He was absolutely brilliant.”
As for today?
“We need to enjoy the experience against City, but the best way of doing that will be working hard – because application is what makes them such a great team,” added Pratley. “Fortunately we’ve got a group of players who are more interested in doing the basics right than swapping shirts or collecting souvenirs.
“Apart from Wayne Rooney, who I played with for England Under-15s and I got his shirt for my brother, I’ve never been interested in asking for an opponent’s top. We’re here to do a job, not join a fan club.”
decent games in the middle of a back 3. I liked him less in league one , where his lack of ball playing ability and passing tempo made us quite predictable.
Surprised he didn't try and sign him when we let Taylor go