May 14, 2020

FC SE7EN's Boot Room Interviews - Frodo

Remember him? Hot off the press, the exclusive Boot Room Interview is here!

First things first… Who do you support?

I don’t currently support a team. I used to support ArsenaI and went to see the Emirates Cup a couple of times… Executive box of course ;) where I spent most the time eating from the massive bowl of m&ms. Burton Albion is my local team and the first match I ever went to see was one of their home games. And although they lost, I had a great time!

When did you start playing?

I started at around the age of 6yrs old. It was a small village team and I stayed with them until I was 17yrs old. I moved around positions, mainly in the midfield but had a couple of seasons in goal. I also played for the high school team, so along with playing with my mates at lunchtime and after school, football was a massive part of my life.

Frodo playing lacrosse at Uni: I’m in white and purple (obviously)

What advice would you give to someone just starting out footy?

Don’t take it too seriously! The majority of people in the UK play and so there are going to be people who are better than you as well as people who aren’t, so don’t get too focused on being the best and don’t get down if you make a mistake. Just enjoy it as it is a great team sport and a good way to socialise and stay fit!

Do you play for fun, fitness, competitiveness or all 3?

I think it’s changed throughout the time I have been playing. Every youngster joins for fun and quite often because all of their friends play. At around 15 yrs old, you start to get very competitive.

I was never as competitive as my friends and I had a few on my team who were playing for junior squads at Burton Albion, Wolves and Nottingham Forest and this is where I started to lose interest because I still just wanted to play for fun.

More recently, after picking it up again, I play for fun as well as fitness. Even playing for a couple of months I noticed a difference in my fitness levels, and it beats going for a run any day!

Turf trainers or studs?

My preference would be turf trainers. I prefer lightweight footwear and I feel studs sticking into the ground can slow me down. I also feel more comfortable playing aggressively as I know people are less likely to get as hurt.

Who is your favourite footballer and why?

I used to love watching Theo Walcott play. Especially, in his early seasons at England. I am so jealous of his speed and quickness of his feet. Gareth Bale is another player who is so quick with the ball. Gigi Buffon is also one of the best goalkeepers of all time… absolute wall!

Who are you most like in football, playing wise?

I see myself as more of a playmaker on the field rather than a finisher – looking for gaps in the opponents defence for through balls and switching the ball from left and right. My fitness helps with this too. So a similar playing style to David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane or Francesco Totti.

Do you think football helped during your quest to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring?

I believe so, as a minimum, physical strength and fitness were tantamount to me destroying THE Ring. Obviously working as a team helped me hugely when it came to my friends Samwise and Smeagol. Having 1 eye on the prize too, are all things which I took from playing footy.

Frodo eager to get playing

In 1 sentence can you describe the difference between 2G and 3G pitches?

I'll be honest, I can't. But I do have a Sports Science BA and I'm quite good at Fortnite.