Life's a Ball': Ian Liversedge: The Highs and Lows of a Football Physio

Product Information

He was still the same Gazza. Very generous, too generous in fact, and a lovely guy. But he had problems by then, although what I would always say to him is that he was extremely loyal to the people he knew.” Liversedge says: “My dad, Stan, was a journalist at the Sunday People, he was deputy editor of the northern edition, and he wrote numerous books. Joe Royle was set to make a substitution and bring Andy Ritchie on but whilst waiting for the ball to go out of play Neil Pointon popped up to give them the lead in front of 56,000 fans before Graeme Sharp missed a glorious chance go two up. In the end, Mark Hughes wiped it out with a spectacular volley a minute or so from the end of extra time. of the top Premier League clubs now have four to five first-team physios; even many Championship clubs have two or three, each with their own specialities. I loved living in the city. I had some great nights up there, with Terry Mac, when we would go out all the time and mix with the fans.

During the final year of Liversedge’s studies at the University of Salford, Ian cut his teeth by helping the club he is currently employed by from the December of 1981 to the summer of the following year. IAN LIVERSEDGE was part of the new-look Town management team leading the players through their first pre-season training session today.He was a special player. They were all good at that time, but Kevin was a cut above. He was also larger than life, a real character and easy to get on with.”

This is how it works. On Tuesday, the players are brought in for a double training session. If there is no game on Wednesday, they are given the day off. That means that, following training, they are left to their own devices. At many clubs up and down the country, groups of four or five players take the opportunity for a bit of team bonding, and head to the pub for the afternoon. At Oldham, that group numbers as many as 17.

Locations

He said: “We had already made a substitution but Hodge had to come off with his cut. Hoddle played on with padding over the wound and did very well, both from a footballing and bravery point of view. We haven’t quite reached the end of the club season and again we see mass culls of staff, all effecting individual people’s livelihoods. Every now and again we get the bolt out of the blue when physios, much like managers, are dispensed with. example of this is the performance decisions made by the support team need professional acceptance. Key decisions, such as when a player can return, should not be tainted by the opinion of the manager.”