" Vale Cardiff City training today "

Today I was lucky enough to be invited to watch the players train at the Vale at the pitches in the lower level where the general public are not allowed.

The players usually train here before a match and will run through formations.

Malky was not there today and we had a questions and answer session with David Kerslake and I would like to thank him for the warm welcome we received.

Firstly we went into the pavilion and into the players lounge and canteen and it was great to see the togetherness of all the players and staff including the kitchen staff and the cleaners and the respect all players gave to the non playing staff.After grainy we had lunch with the players and really can't say enough of what a great bunch of lads

Regarding the training about 28 players there in total however no HH Bellamy or Gunnarson

HH was rested but in question and answer session with Kerslake he said that HH just amazes everyone in training and he will put his head in where most would not put their feet

Craig is carrying an injury but did not say what and Gunnarson was not well Hudson was running but did not take part in any ball work but talking to him he said he would be ready for Tuesday. Maynard was training but again no ball work and the club have no intention of rushing him back this season.

In the 6 aside small pitch games they played both Noone and Mutch were on fire and really stood out for the five of us there . Kimbo also looked very impressive along with Mcphail who still looks a class act in training The team trained for just over an hour and then have lunch.

We were told some players were going to do yoga and some were going to boxing training after lunch . We could not help ourselves and asked about the difference in the training from the Jones to Malky era. Well the big difference is discipline and respect for all staff.When they first arrived players were turning up late and disrespectful to staff. A small fact is that player now clean up after themselves at lunch, where before players would just leave dishes around and expect others to deal with it . Now I know that does not make them better players but it just shows the discipline that now makes our players play for each each and not as individuals

I was impressed by the training but most of all the the warm welcome by the club and players and the fact that the players did not seem in anyway to put themselves above others

Interesting, thanks for the info

Another thing that was funny was before Malky made sure they had a separate pitch at the lower level when he arrive Cardiff use to train on the top pitch Brendan Rodgers told Malky that he would send a scout to sit in the Car park and watch us train and see what formations we were planning for the game against them .Funny but unbelievable for a professional club

Top read that!!!

Fair play

How did you manage to arrange that then? Would like to see if I could arrange a visit with a couple of school pupils

i was lucky enough to win it at a league managers dinner They held an auction an five of us bid for it However my feeling is if you asked the club that they would do their best to arrange something The club has a much friendlier feel about it these days Email me your details as I am expecting some contact with the organizer in the club soon and I will mention it to her I can promise but will let you know

Sorry milky bar but they have been using the bottom pitches for years its only recently they been using the top pitches ....also when they do go down the bottom they are ok with supporters watching .except for training sessions the day before a match ..becouse as you rightly said they do tactic stuff on the day before matches which malky likes to keep secret...enjoyed your post im sure you had a good time as all the players are really very friendly

Great post thanks.

I noticed the change in players attitudes in the vale gym almost immediately when MM came in.

They used to wander around aimlessly, just messing about and then leave all their stuff all over the place (I got a couple of tops out of it though, still got Jon Parkins jumper, makes a great tent for the kids! )

Nowadays they are like robots in there.

no wonder darcy got the boot

no wonder darcy got the boot

We asked about the difference it was said that Darcy had 15% body fat and the rest of the squad were approx 8% Gerrard was also up around 15%
It was said that both these players were no prepared to put in the effort required by Malky to be a member of the squad

i was lucky enough to win it at a league managers dinner They held an auction an five of us bid for it However my feeling is if you asked the club that they would do their best to arrange something The club has a much friendlier feel about it these days Email me your details as I am expecting some contact with the organizer in the club soon and I will mention it to her I can promise but will let you know

Cheers, thanks for the info!

Great insight! I've been a couple of times and it is really good down there.

Probably one of the most professional teams I have seen/heard of, all down to Malky an his dedicated Staff and players!

Great news on Huds