Clarke Carlisle's Blog by Clarke_Carlisle

Well, who'd have thunk it!! I don’t know about the next man, but a 4-0 home defeat to Reading was the last thing I expected when I turned up at Turf Moor on Saturday! As seems to be a recurring theme for my blog, refereeing decisions played a massive part in the game, two penalties (one given and one not) and a red card showing how involved the man in the middle was. I don’t think we can make any complaints about Leon Cort’s dismissal, or about the penalty decision that went against him, but in not awarding a penalty when big Chris Iwelumo was bundled over in the box the referee made a match changing decision.

The lads didn’t play very well, that was plain to see, but if you can nick a goal against the run of play and go in 1-1 at half-time, it can do your confidence the world of good. You don’t have to go chasing the game from the start of the second half, leaving yourselves vulnerable to the counter, you can just relax and continue to try and play good, flowing football and wait for the chance to come your way. I’m not going to lie to anyone, Leon’s sending off gives me a fantastic chance to get straight back into the side, which is great on a personal level. But it cuts off my nose to spite my face when it comes at such a great cost to the team. Winning the game 5-4 would’ve been the perfect result for me, a good chance to get back in the team and still 3 points on the board, but life’s never perfect!

It’ll be interesting if there’s a 50/50 challenge between Duffo and myself in training, we’re both sensible with our tackles in training, but when there’s a place up for grabs, it’s very much dog eat dog! I ventured down to Bristol this week to do some punditry for the Sky match between City and QPR and I very much enjoyed it. In answer to your question Alice, I am beginning to feel a lot more comfortable in front of the cameras now, and that’s down to a little advice I received from Andy Hinchcliffe. I bumped into him at Radio 5 studios in Manchester and he gave me a little appraisal of what he’d seen me do thus far. It was all helpful but what really stuck with me, was to never be unprepared. It can be so condescending when pundits don’t even know the names of players on the pitch, let alone what their current/past achievements are, so always do your homework and you’re ready for any eventuality.

It annoys the wife that I spend a few hours reading team sheets, match reports and player profiles, but it’s the least the professionals deserve if I’m going to attempt to critique them! Finally, your statement made me laugh Oghan! I wouldn’t believe all that you read on message boards. I was once spotted talking to a rival manager and looking for houses in that area, but my wife and I were 3500 miles away in Dubai!! With regards to Portugal though, we are like a bunch of school kids whenever we go on a trip and a few tricks were being played after a good relaxing break! And to set the record straight, I encountered my problems with alcohol some 8 years ago now. Going through rehab and counselling over 3 years of sobriety helped me discover the reasons why I was doing what I was, and gave me the tools to move forward with my life. I may have a pint with the lads once or twice a year, but it’s never to the same level or for the reasons that I used to, and I’m happy with that! Have a great week and many blessings