EFL players: Nine untold stories – training with Lionel Messi, a Liverpool rollercoaster and a Happy Gilmore diehard
Sky Sports+ brings you 31 live games from across the Championship, League One and League Two live on Tuesday night; here, we pick out some stories from the EFL, including the Stockport star who has trained with Lionel Messi and the Morecambe player who was on a Liverpool rollercoaster
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With 31 EFL games live on Sky Sports+ on Tuesday night, we take a look at some untold stories with nine different players from the Championship, League One and League Two.
Harris and a tale of two goals
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Oxford striker Mark Harris talks through two VERY different goals he scored in the Championship this season
It was a tale of two very different goals for Mark Harris at Oxford United on his way to winning the Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month award for August.
One an absolute banger against Blackburn from 35-odd yards, the other very much midriffed in from close range at Coventry.
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For the striker, they all count the same.
“You enjoy them all, every single one of them,” he tells Sky Sports.
“Obviously some look better than others, but to me it’s another goal and that’s what I’m here to do.
“It was quite lucky, but it’s about being in the right place at the right time I guess!
“I think I watched back the Blackburn one a little bit more, but not too many more let’s say…”
Weimann on Blackburn staying ‘unbitten’
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Andi Weimann chats to Sky Sports about the ‘biting’ incident for Blackburn against Preston and his tweet in the aftermath
A mad moment from Milutin Osmajic of Preston led to a tweet of epic proportions from Andi Weimann.
The Preston forward appeared to bite Blackburn player Owen Beck, and Weimann took to social media to respond…
“I misspelt the tweet and corrected it underneath,” Weimann says with a smile – who wrote on X he was happy Blackburn had managed to stay ‘unbitten’.
“It was obviously meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, but obviously it shouldn’t happen on a football pitch that kind of thing, it’s why I put a tweet out.
“To be honest I didn’t see it happen on the pitch, but when we got into the dressing room after the game, Owen said he’d been bitten and you could see the bite mark on his neck.
“He was a bit shaken up, and obviously it’s not funny because you wonder what goes through someone’s head.”
- Championship: Fixtures | Highlights | Table
Millar: Rooney was my hero growing up
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Liam Millar tells Sky Sports about how he idolised Wayne Rooney as a kid… and was too nervous to speak to him when Hull played Plymouth this season!
Growing up in Canada, there was one player Liam Millar loved above all others.
“I know I played for Liverpool in the academy, but I was a big United fan,” the Hull winger says.
“I used to love Wayne Rooney, he was my favourite player growing up. I had his boots, his shirt, everything possible.
“I remember watching the bicycle-kick goal against Man City on TV with my dad and I had goosebumps.
When Hull headed to Home Park in August, Millar admits he was a little starstruck by the Argyle boss.
“When we played against Plymouth and I saw him in person I was like, ‘oh my god it’s Rooney’,” he continues.
“Obviously I didn’t say anything to him because I was a bit nervous, but it was a surreal moment to see my childhood hero in front of me. So it was quite cool.”
Barry: I trained with Messi!
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Louie Barry looks back on his time at Barcelona’s La Masia academy and the time he got to train with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez
It is easy to forget Louie Barry is still only just 21.
Currently tearing it up in League One for Stockport County, the Aston Villa loanee is famous for being the first Englishman to be part of Barcelona’s La Masia academy – when he joined the Spanish giants in 2019.
One time, he even got to train with the big guns…
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“Yeah, Messi and Suarez were there. I trained with them once but it was a very low standard set-piece kind of thing.
“I’ve trained with Messi and I can say that!
“I have got a few photos with them on my phone. Obviously it has to be professional when you’re in a work mode, but when you’re away from it they’re really good to be fair.
“A lot of the lads would ask for photos and they were great with it.”
Marriott: Adam Sandler next, please…
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Wrexham’s Jack Marriott has played in front of some famous faces of late… but he’d love Adam Sandler at the Racecourse
Jack Marriott has played in front of some famous faces for Wrexham – in particular David Beckham and Tom Brady at Birmingham in September. And of course the owners of his club, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
But if he could pick anyone from Hollywood or beyond to come to the Racecourse, who would it be?
“It’s a tough question, that!” he says.
“I’m a big comedy fan so someone like Adam Sandler.
“We share the same birthday, which I discovered the other day. But the way he’s been through his whole career, I’m a big fan of his.”
Unsurprisingly it was one of Sandler’s sports-themed classics that was a favourite of Marriott’s as he grew up. His Happy Gilmore video nearly turning to rubble.
And he is buzzing for the sequel.
“I think I probably watched the original one well into the three figures, so I can’t wait for the new one.”
- League One: Fixtures | Highlights | Table
Erhahon: A cool head in the feisty League One world
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Ethan Erhahon tells Sky Sports how he keeps calm as a defensive midfielder for Lincoln in the hectic League One environment
The middle of the park can be a hectic place in League One, and it takes a cool head to stay calm.
Ethan Erhahon is the shining light of how the third tier has changed in recent years as he controls the play at Lincoln City.
“As a six with the way we play for me it’s all about trying to calm things down and excel in what I do, and read the game well,” he says.
There can still be the odd throwback game, mind.
“This league can be carnage at times and I think that brings the best out of me,” he adds.
“It’s all part of the game, though. I relish the feisty moments as well, it’s all about trying to keep a cool head, but also playing off the feisty moments and the crowd.”
Williams on his Liverpool rollercoaster
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Rhys Williams tells Sky Sports about his experience being thrust into first-team action after an injury crisis at Liverpool
In 2020, Rhys Williams was a teenager learning the game on loan at Kidderminster Harriers in the National League North.
The next thing he knew, he was thrust into the Liverpool defence after an injury crisis ruled Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez out of contention.
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But he was brilliant. Forging a makeshift partnership with Nat Phillips, he helped them win their final five games of the season, including a 4-2 win at Manchester United, to steer them to Champions League qualification.
“I didn’t really have much time to think about what was going on!” Williams says of that crazy stint at Anfield.
“It made it a bit easier when you’re playing with some elite players, because we had in my opinion one of the best squads in the world.
“Going into it being young I don’t think the expectations were that high of me, because obviously I’d not had much experience.
“It was a rollercoaster of a journey, but I took everything I could from it to try and use it to this day. It was probably the best experience of my career so far.”
Injuries have hindered his progress since, and he now finds himself at Morecambe in League Two as he tries to get back to 100 per cent and rediscover his form.
McGoldrick: Vardy’s cryotherapy chamber and CR7’s doubters
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Notts County striker David McGoldrick tells Sky Sports about how he’s remained passionate for playing as he reaches 36 years of age.
At the age of 36, David McGoldrick is still fit and firing in League Two. He already has four goals to his name for Notts County this season.
But how does he keep in shape? Does he use the same trick as Jamie Vardy, who told Monday Night Football earlier in the campaign that he uses some rather impressive facilities at home to stay young?
Perhaps not…
“Jamie Vardy’s got a little bit more money than me! I haven’t got the Cryochamber in my house,” he joked.
“But I go to the gym all the time, I enjoy working out when I’m not playing. I look after my body and I know when to rest.
“Whoever you are in the world you get doubters, even the Lionel Messis and the Cristiano Ronaldos get people doubting them. But you see Ronaldo in Saudi and he’s still scoring goals and breaking records.”
But could McGoldrick see himself joining Ronaldo in the Middle East one day?
“I think I missed the boat,” he says with a smile. “I think they’re looking for a little younger or a more high profile. I’m sure they could get hold of my number… but nah I’m alright!
- League Two: Fixtures | Highlights | Table
Vernam and a goal-of-the-month stunner
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Charles Vernam reflects on his stunning strike for Grimsby that won him Sky Bet League Two Goal of the Month
We started with talk of goals… so let’s finish with one, too.
It was some hit from Grimsby’s Charles Vernam against Cheltenham in August. A brilliant effort from outside the box saw him clinch the Sky Bet Goal of the Month award in League Two.
But how quickly does your mind wander after such a brilliant strike from the back of the net to what might soon be sat atop your mantlepiece…
“That’s a good question,” Vernam says with a laugh.
“You know when you’ve scored a good goal. After the game someone showed me it as I was walking back to my car, and I thought it was a really nice goal.
“My dad messaged me after as well and said: ‘what a goal’. It was a nice moment.”
Even when your goal comes from the fourth tier, if it is a little bit special it now gets seen everywhere.
“With social media now it blows up a little bit, and it’s great to get that recognition and know people are seeing it,” adds Vernam.
“It’s definitely one I’ve watched back a few times… although it would be nice to score a few tap-ins too.
Sourse: skysports.com