davieG Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 'You don't want to be taking the mick and going out every other night' It is lunchtime at the Leicester City squad’s pre-season hotel, booked so the players can eat and then sleep between the day’s two sessions, although for one member of the squad the idea of a siesta is as alien as letting an opposition defender dawdle on the ball. Jamie Vardy, the striker who never rests, the non-league footballer turned England international, and the top Englishman among Premier League goalscorers last season, is strolling round the lobby. As lean as ever, he has enjoyed his first full summer off in five years and we are on the lookout for a member of staff with a laptop who can call up his pre-season fitness statistics. Continues here - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/08/09/exclusive-jamie-vardy-interview-still-have-three-red-bulls-double/
StanSP Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 Can't say it enough how much of an icon and a legend this guy has become for us. A record-breaker for Leicester in the Premier League. Hope we see him get 100 PL goals. All with us as well, of course. The best striker our club has had in my lifetime at least.
Sol thewall Bamba Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 Can someone with a subscription rip the whole article please
Qwerty Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 Just now, Sol thewall Bamba said: Can someone with a subscription rip the whole article please Exactly what I was thinking!
OntarioFox Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 Awesome article, but I'm getting mad deja vu here - I swear to god I read exactly that opening paragraph in a similar article last year, right down to the bit about siestas and not letting the opposition dawdle on the ball. Someone help me. 19 minutes ago, StanSP said: Hope we see him get 100 PL goals. All with us as well, of course. Crazy to think he could do it this season if he hits that magic 20 goals mark - he's on 80 according to the article. Legend.
Guest ttfn Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 It absolutely pains me to see “double-espresso” in a national newspaper.
davieG Posted 9 August 2019 Author Posted 9 August 2019 It is lunchtime at the Leicester City squad’s pre-season hotel, booked so the players can eat and then sleep between the day’s two sessions, although for one member of the squad the idea of a siesta is as alien as letting an opposition defender dawdle on the ball. Jamie Vardy, the striker who never rests, the non-league footballer turned England international, and the top Englishman among Premier League goalscorers last season, is strolling round the lobby. As lean as ever, he has enjoyed his first full summer off in five years and we are on the lookout for a member of staff with a laptop who can call up his pre-season fitness statistics. They do not lie: at 32 he has recorded his fastest-ever pre-season performance, beating by 21 per cent his score in 2012 - the summer he joined Leicester. There was a personal best on the cycle ergometer test which measures the heart’s response to varying demands. Monitoring has revealed his lowest heart rate response on record. His body fat is at 7.5 per cent. His GPS unit has registered sprints in training of 9.3 metres per second, close to his high of 9.6. The sports scientist’s notes conclude with the observation that “whilst Jamie might be getting older, the majority of players can only dream of running that quick.” A reserved character, with a dry sense of humour, Vardy has been honest in the past that his early non-league days were often played under a hangover but that “having-a-party” persona has been old hat for some time now. These pre-season results were no coincidence. He has always adhered to the close-season fitness programme that Leicester tailor for all players. He has long since installed a cryotherapy chamber at his home to protect fatigued muscles and spare himself the agony of the post-match ice-baths. “You don’t want to be taking the mick and going out every other night,” he says. “It is not going to help your performances. If we have a day off after games there is no harm in having a couple of drinks. My couple of drinks will be sat at home. Hopefully there will be something on TV and that’s me sorted. Jamie Vardy of Leicester City celebrates scoring his sides second goal during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Leicester City and Atalanta at The King Power Stadium on August 02, 2019 Vardy has been honest in the past that his early non-league days were often played under a hangover CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES Follow your club now for first access to all our news, views and analysis Leicester “When I first came into the professional game I wasn’t young but I was living like I was. It was a learning curve. I am glad it happened the way I did because I am here in the situation I am but it’s just one of those things as you get older.” He sits back and reflects. “To be honest, I don’t think further than next week – even that’s probably too far.” His hunger for the game is undiminished. It was just eight years ago he quit his job in a factory and went full-time with Fleetwood Town in the Conference Premier. Since then he has won a Premier League title, played at a World Cup finals and scored 80 goals in the top-flight across five remarkable seasons. Under Brendan Rodgers, Leicester look like the best bet to challenge the top six and Vardy remains central to how they play. He is one of the most famous footballers in the country, his story an everyman dream of getting to the top from nowhere and he appreciates it more than ever. There are also ways that he has stayed resolutely the same. The same friends who knew him when he was playing non-league still fit their own jobs around watching him, and they were there for a pre-season friendly at Scunthorpe. When his agent John Morris jokes that his eating habits have improved since his arrival at Leicester, Vardy shoots back that there was nothing wrong existing on a diet of Domino’s pizzas. He is joking this time. He has adapted but he does not want to lose that raw pace and aggression that make him a unique player. “The good thing about Leicester is a lot of the onus is put on ourselves. We know if we don’t do it [close-season] then it will probably backfire on us. So everyone just gets on with it. I never do gym. I don’t see the point in changing. I am a bit worried if I put on a bit more muscle mass it would make me a bit slower. I would be annoyed. Who knows? In a few years when the legs start going, and I have to play defensive midfield, I might need to put a bit of timber on. Until then I am alright. Still fine at the minute - and the speed will still be there.” We chat about the price of fame, in his case a trip to Euro Disney with his family that ended up being anything but a treat. He does not mind the picture requests but he draws the line when he is with his children. Most people understand but this was an exception. Some of the attitudes he encountered took some believing, he says. “You get people who say ‘Well, give your kid to your missus then’”. It still amazes him how far his story has spread. Playing for England against Brazil at Wembley two years ago he caught Neymar on the ankle when he thought the ball was there to be won. “When we came out for the second half I just said to him ‘Oh, soz about your ankle’. He [Neymar] went, ‘It is what it is - swap shirts after?’” Vardy was pleased to do so, although he was reluctant to tell his friends in the players’ lounge afterwards. “I’m not one of them … you know you see a lot of people constantly asking to swap a shirt. I don’t really ask.” Jamie Vardy of Leicester City photographed at the Marriott Hotel in Leicester The Sheffield lad from the wind-blasted non-league pitches of the north could still be underestimated CREDIT: ANDREW FOX The recent Manchester City Amazon Prime documentary featured Sergio Aguero seeking out Vardy for his shirt on behalf of his son after the Argentinian scored four against Leicester last year. “He’s a phenomenon,” Aguero explained with a shrug. Vardy is looking through pictures on his phone to remind himself where he hung Neymar’s shirt in his man-cave at home. He thinks it might be on the sloping ceiling. Either way, everyone’s shirt, from his Championships days to the Brazil No 10, get the same treatment. Leicester’s third game of the season is away to Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, or as Vardy – a lifetime Sheffield Wednesday fan - likes to call it, “Abuse Vardy day”. “I can’t wait for that,” he says. “It does not bother me at all. At away games I get dog’s abuse and if anything it just spurs me on a bit more. You would think the fans would realise to stop. I might not play as well.” He was on the bench for a League Cup game at Bramall Lane two years ago and relished the hostility. “I made sure my celebrations were very over the top when we scored,” he says. “It’s all looking like that will be a good day.”
stripeyfox Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 Fabulous player who has improved with age if anything. My all time favourite player
Danizen Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 I'd go as far as to say our best, most important player ever. I wish we could bottle his work rate.
Izzy Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 3 minutes ago, davieG said: he has recorded his fastest-ever pre-season performance, beating by 21 per cent his score in 2012 - the summer he joined Leicester. There was a personal best on the cycle ergometer test which measures the heart’s response to varying demands. Monitoring has revealed his lowest heart rate response on record. His body fat is at 7.5 per cent. His GPS unit has registered sprints in training of 9.3 metres per second, close to his high of 9.6. The sports scientist’s notes conclude with the observation that “whilst Jamie might be getting older, the majority of players can only dream of running that quick.” No doubt we'll still get the old "he's lost a yard of pace" or "his legs have gone" comments from some during this season
StanSP Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 4 minutes ago, Izzy said: No doubt we'll still get the old "he's lost a yard of pace" or "his legs have gone" comments from some during this season Proper Danny Murphy comment that is
stripeyfox Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 13 minutes ago, ttfn said: It absolutely pains me to see “double-espresso” in a national newspaper. Even more painful is them calling Disneyland Paris "Euro Disney" - a name that was used for only two years before being abandoned 25 years ago!!!
RumbleFox Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 Yeah, our best player ever. He has to be. I was also in two minds whether to have him in my FPL team as I try and not play with my heart but fvck it, he's triple captain week one. X
Simoken Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 20 minutes ago, davieG said: He was on the bench for a League Cup game at Bramall Lane two years ago and relished the hostility. “I made sure my celebrations were very over the top when we scored,” he says. “It’s all looking like that will be a good day.” reminds me of West Brom
Stuntman_Mike Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 13 minutes ago, seanfox778 said: I really hope he scores at Sheff Utd. Nailed on.
Steven Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 11 minutes ago, Stevosevic said: Our best ever player Not even close in terms of skill for example. However he is now my favourite player after Frank Worthington and if only Frank had paid as much attention to getting the best out of himself that Vardy has well ……
Jattdogg Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 One of my favorite city players of all time. Keep banging them goals in!
Gwyn Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 I grew up idolising Lineker (as I was also a striker) and nobody ever came close to him in the years after, until my all time favourite player Jamie Vardy. IMO he will always be synonymous with us, as we will be with him, like cus demarto is to Mike tyson Ps, I will be naming my first daughter Vardy in the coming year
mancunianfox Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 The longer he plays for his the bigger the distance is getting between him and everyone else. Embodies everything that I like about sports. Work rate, pace, teamwork and somehow still under rated ability with the ball. Absolutely love him.
Charl91 Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 38 minutes ago, Izzy said: No doubt we'll still get the old "he's lost a yard of pace" or "his legs have gone" comments from some during this season He has lost a yard of pace though - actually he's 3 yards a second off his fastest pace But seriously, I think that he doesn't quite has the legs that he used to (not that they've gone, but he's not at his peak) and I stand by that. There's been a few foot races that I think Vardy of old would have won, and you notice he conserves his energy a bit more; he doesn't quite chase down literally every ball as much as he used to, even if he does still work ridiculously hard. It doesn't really matter though - he's still ridiculously fast compared to most players, plus he's adapted his game, and improved it in other ways. He's still lethal in front of goal and an incredibly intelligent footballer. But it's not a slight on Vardy to say he's not quite as fast as he used to be. Time waits for no man, and he'll be 33 this season. Like others have said, would absolutely say he's the most important player in our history, bar none.
Wortho Posted 9 August 2019 Posted 9 August 2019 The bloke is an absolute legend. I will be delighted if he reaches 100 PL goals this season, hopefully he will take the penalties.
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