and welcome to the official AFC Bournemouth podcast coming to you from Vitality Stadium. We're here to bring you closer to some of the personalities connected to the club throughout the course of the season. Now for those who haven't tuned in before, my name is Zoe Rundle and I'm part of the media team here at AFC Bournemouth. I think by now you're probably used to Chris Temple's jet setting. It's not the Euros, it's not the Olympics but it's the Paralympics that he's missing this podcast for, so once again you've got me here in his place. Now then, it wouldn't be an AFC Bournemouth podcast without Mr Bournemouth himself. As ever, I'm joined by my colleague Neil Perritt here at Vitality Stadium. Neil, it's lovely to see you. We're still unbeaten in the league and we've made some exciting new signings across the transfer window. Been a fantastic transfer window, seven recruits coming in, two of them on loan. I think that if you look back maybe two or three weeks ago nobody would have predicted how it finished for us. I think the squad's looking in great shape now, not that it wasn't before, a lot of the younger players doing really well. Like you say, still unbeaten in the league, gloss over the league cup, move on, see where it takes us Zoe. Absolutely, it's going to be a really exciting campaign. Now talking of exciting, we've got a really exciting guest on our podcast today. It's a man who made 145 appearances for the cherries across a four-year spell. He captained us to Premier League promotion in one of our most famous seasons and he's recently taken up a new role at the club. Without further ado, we're delighted to welcome Tommy Elfic onto the AFC Bournemouth podcast. First things first, we want to start with the here and now. Just tell us a little bit more about how that new role came about for you. Yeah, I'm really happy to be back and as I say, I've been out a long time injured now so I've had a lot of time to think about what was next for me. The injury was and wasn't part of the reason why I stopped playing. When you're out injured for that amount of period of time, you think about what's coming next, especially at the age I was. Something that we spoke about for a while, I think ever since I left Bournemouth, I've always maintained a relationship with certain people at the club who are still here, the likes of Richard Hughes, Frano, even up to the managers, Eddie and Jason, to remain in contact. As I say, when you're out injured that long, you continue them conversations and they progress a little bit and one thing leads to another. The club would always ring me if they were looking for a character reference on someone that they were signing that I might have played with and then you end up talking about what could be next. When I was out injured, those conversations progressed a little bit and yeah, just really happy to be back somewhere where I love and hopefully I'm respected and my stock's still relatively high and can get going with the next part of my life. And this new role that you're coming into, just explain a bit more about what you're going to be doing and I understand working closely with Sean Cooper. Again, really lucky to be working with the likes of Coops and Al Connell in the academy, two coaches that are highly thought of at the club. I've had a chance to see Coops and Al work this morning and yeah, the way they do things and the methods they have are really good and I've got plenty to learn from them. I'm like a blank canvas, I suppose. It's like going back to school, so again, back to the club, the fact that they've seen someone that they want to nurture and help progressing their coaching career is something that I won't take lightly and I'm looking forward to do. So just getting my hands dirty and getting stuck in with Coops and trying to develop these younger lads, especially when they jump up and down from the first team, helping with that, because I know mentally that can be tough, especially when you're dropping back down. So yeah, really looking for just coaching really and seeing where it takes us. Sometimes people can forget that footballers and coaches are actually human beings and have a life. Just tell us about the logistics for you. I'm going to imagine that you were settled somewhere in the Midlands, family-wise moving and I think there's been a couple of additions to the family as well. Yeah, so left with no kids and coming back with two girls, one and three, so that's all full on at the moment. So the misses back in you're in Sully Harbour based up there at the moment, so looking to get back and set up camp as soon as possible. But as we all know, the market's crazy at the moment and when there's seven new signings, I think you said Neil, they're all looking for houses. So I'm in a big pond. Yeah, so they're up there. I'll just be back and forth as much as possible, staying down as and when as much as I can really just trying to be, I want to be based around these coaches. There's so many good coaches at the club, even like Academy Below, the 18s and 21s that you can pick so much up from and being around the first team building still and hopefully getting to a stage where you're picking the brains of the likes of the manager and Matt Wells and Gary O'Neill and Fletch, who's been around it a long time now. So the quicker we can get the family down and get settled and set up camp, that'll be good as well. Yeah, so as I say, coming back with two kids, it's a bit more stressful. I think your phone just pinged there. Was that right move again? How difficult is that side of it? Yeah, it's tough. I've always said as a player, it's probably the most underestimated thing. I was actually having a conversation with someone midweek who plays a part in recruiting at Brentford and they've bought a French lad over and he's in a hotel, he doesn't really speak the language and you know, you're trying to get your family over, you're trying to look for houses, then you've got 25 new teammates to meet and you've got seven or eight coaches to listen to and try and take it all in, then you're expected to perform on the Saturday. So these things take a huge amount of time and I think we saw that under Eddie's reign here as well, the way we used to work, it used to take time to pick up. I'm sure it's pretty similar with how Scott's trying to do things as well. You know, you don't just pack a bag and you're down the road and you're playing football, you know, there's a lot more to that and getting these lads and coaches I suppose settled off the pitch is just important and getting them settled on it. I know it's early days but what's it like to be back here? Yeah, brilliant. I mean, yeah, read the messages on social media that you've just informed me about and yeah, as I say, coming back to a player, I've had a long time to think about what the best route is for me. It's something I want to do and we can all sit indoors on the sofa and say, yeah, I want to coach and manage but until you actually go and do it, you don't actually know. It's all sort of a pipe dream, isn't it? And until, you know, I've not been walking around these training grounds and these games with my eyes closed. I've been trying to take in as much as I can and played for some wonderful managers and coaches. Yeah, as I say, the longer I can just sort of watch and see all the likes of Coops and Alcon will plan backwards from a game, plan forwards, especially with Coops, you know, because he hasn't got many games. So to fill them times, to still keep lads engaged, to progress these lads. I mean, we've seen him do such a great job in there now, Connell, to prepare these lads for the manager this season. But yeah, it's been good. An eye opener, plenty of hours to be done and hard graft and hard yards to do but something I'm really looking forward to. Obviously, the training ground was here when you were here. Canford is probably going to be a different environment for you. So has much changed since you were here before? Not really. And it's good to see familiar faces like yourself, Neil. So it's nice even when you go into the canteen to see the likes of Marta and Paul Descheff and SA. It's nice to have that fabric and that DNA of the club still here because then people carry it just as much as the players. And I think Fergie was one of the first ones need to engage on that side of things and to know everybody around the club and bring that together. It's always something I thought I did naturally as a player, as a captain, if you like, as a leader. I was always trying to make everyone feel special and feel like they had a part to play in it. And good people move mountains, Neil. And yeah, when you've got good people in a building, it could be pretty powerful. You obviously, a young player once has much changed, you know, when you go to the academy today compared to back when you were starting out? Yeah, the clubs definitely move forward. And even bringing me back, you know, the club see that there's a long-term future and they want to mould and develop people as well as players. And that's so, so important. I mean, the owner, since he's come in, the improvements that he made very early on when I was here were quite quick and quite drastic, you know, smartening up the stadium, getting that pavilion built. Pitch is always getting better. The player inside of it was getting better. So it has moved on, but it still does have that form of feel that we don't want to lose, which makes this club and this place special. For you, when you go up to Camford compared to your early days as a player, how do the facilities compare? Has technology moved on a lot? Yeah, I mean, it's such a wonderful space in a setting and yeah, I wouldn't be able to tell you how many pitches are up there. So for these kids to have that facility, I remember going up there once to play a reserve game when I was coming back from an injury in the Premier League, first Premier League season. And it has definitely moved on from there. But it's important as well, you know, we want to aspire to be better and keep moving these things forward and making the most of what we have. And there's definitely an intent from the club to do that. So all the while I'm doing what I'm doing, it will be giving everything to try and improve it and help it and aid it towards what Coops and Alcona were doing. When you think back to your playing days, tell us about some of the coaches that you worked under and I'm sure there's a few that stand out. Really fortunate, obviously, you have to start with the manager. Yeah, listen, as I said before, I've been to plenty of training grounds now and play for plenty of clubs to know what good and bad looks and feels and smells like. And yeah, he was certainly up there with the best I've ever had. And under that, you know, because he was so good, sometimes you forgot how good JT was. I was actually talking to Coops about it this morning. He was very underrated in the role that he had and in the sessions that he used to take on top of that. It's great to see Fletch still at the club and still having an input day-to-day. Tinners and Perchie as well. Perchie was such a highly regarded coach with the first team led. So, Mossy, yeah, just really lucky to... And at the end of the day, for me going forward now, that is my school in my grounding as a coach, if you like, because life, my career changed when I was 22, 23, and on the back of the first serious injury. I ruptured me Achilles twice and at that age, I had to think about what if, because I wasn't guaranteed to get back and to play at the level that I wanted to play at. So, I made a conscious effort from that time going forward that I'd sit in a dressing room and I'd have an opinion and I'd have a thought in my head about what I thought was good and bad and try and take in and learn as much as I could from all the coaches I've come across. So, I suppose that has been definitely the biggest influence on my playing career and that's something the lessons that I learned under the likes of Eddie and his team will be, I suppose, what is my starting block, my platform, if you like, as a coach going forward? And coaching now, it seems a lot more scientific than perhaps it was 10, 20 years ago. For you, you know, when you think about that, is it almost a case of, is there an element even of trying not to overload the players and trying not to give them too much information at such a young age? Definitely, and I think speaking to Coops this morning, you know, he's got a great balance of giving these players a structure and a way of working but also giving them the freedom to express themselves because you can go one way or the other.  So, you do sometimes need to walk them through and show them absolutely everything. I'm a firm believer in that but then you don't want to strangle them so much that they haven't got the freedom to show what they're about and bring that personality through. I mean, that's the one thing that sticks with me from my time at Bournemouth, you know, you'd have friends or family come in to watch you and so many times you'd come away from a game and say, I'd have paid to watch that today and we can't forget that this is an entertainment and people love coming and seeing flair and skill and character and passion and that side of the game. So, yeah, we want to give these lads a way of working but not strangle them and give them the confidence to express themselves. We're sitting here overlooking Kings Park, Tommy, and 30 years ago the team would be training outside the cafe there and there's a lot of dog walkers there and someone would normally have to go around and clean up before the training session started. Going back to your very early days, what were your first facilities like when you were when you were starting out? Actually trained on Kings Park as well so yeah, it weren't that long ago but yeah, at Brighton we was a university, yeah, sharing changing rooms with the public, quickly moved that on and we was very fortunate to have the Bloom family come into the club and back the club financially, made that a private part to the training ground. Pitches were always getting invested in, yeah, they improved the gym and the analysis side, we got an analysis room, portal cabins all be it but it was for us, you know, and it was the first sense of almost belonging and this is ours and let's look after it and create an atmosphere and a culture at that place. Obviously, come to Bournemouth after then and yeah, we was getting changed at the stadium, driving out to Campford where sort of the academy are now, sometimes Campford school training there, back in the cars, back to the home dressing rooms or the away dressing rooms at the time, shower, eat upstairs in this room that we're in now. Then obviously the Premier League season was what changed that, you know, the owner invested massively into the pavilion and yeah, great facility, pitches were always improving every year and I'm really lucky to go and play for Aston Villa because it was state-of-the-art and it was a whole new level for me and something I hadn't seen before so I've experienced a lot of different environments and training grounds and something where when you go back up to Campford now it's, you know, these lads are really lucky to have that facility because it's not a bad facility and I remember when I was starting out I never had anything like that but the inspiration is to end up at the pavilion or at an Aston Villa training ground so yeah to say again that's something that I don't take for granted and you know for these lads you have to work hard towards getting something like that. So it's poacher, turn gamekeeper now for you, you've been a player and now you're starting out in coaching. When you cast your mind back to being a player what did you like and dislike about anything coaching related? Did you sort of turn up one morning and you saw that cones were set out somewhere and it was like oh no we're not doing that again or anything like that? I loved coming in and seeing something set up because it means the coaches thought about it and there's a reason behind something that we're doing. Hated time wasting, couldn't stand it if a manager was bringing me back to play head tennis in the afternoon, you know wasting my time like don't do that to me let's if you're going to bring me back let's let's do something that's going to educate me and make me a better player. So I was always one that was as I say the injury changed me a lot because up until that stage when you're a young lad I suppose you're a little bit happy go lucky you do whatever's in front of you but then when I was out about 18 months I had a lot of times to think about the game and think about what my future was and at that point I decided my life in football was always going to be 30 or 40 years never a playing career and move on. So yeah I used to take a lot away from sessions used to think about well where is the manager's thoughts come from what was the inspiration behind that training session what are we gearing up to do not just doing a session for the sake of doing a session at a time for like I couldn't stand coming in and just doing back in the day it was a circle and a fireside again waste of time like yeah we'll get a sweat on and back then it was those just as much for the manager I remember having managers and coaches old school managers and coaches if you like it was just as much for them then it was the players on a Monday come in put a load of layers on sweat the alcohol out from from the weekend you know I mean waste of time having improved as a player but I suppose my youth team coach was was he was a bit of an innovator he was he was a very deep thinker and did get us thinking from from from a young age and yeah and instilled lessons into me that that stood me in good stead for for my career going forward so as I say I've been really really lucky to to have some some really good ones but the one thing I will say you don't appreciate the good ones until you until you have a bad one you learn probably more under the bad ones and you do the good ones just changing subject completely what did you make of the transfer window business the club did it was almost the year we got relegated because of covid it was quite settled in some ways probably wasn't as much business as needed to be done or that was anticipated in being done so it was quite settled but I think this was almost the season where that was going to happen there was a little bit more money flying about maybe players were probably getting a little bit wanting to get back to a certain level wanting to secure futures so I think this season was always going to have a turnover of players as well with a change of manager so I think the club have done great business and and yeah looking forward to seeing how that progresses Sean Cooper and Alan Connell two guys who played a huge role in this club's journey from the lower reaches of league two Sean was the captain of the greatest escape season Alan Connell scored some vital goals like you you also a big tremendous servant to the club played a huge role captaining the two promotions tell us how do you see the dynamic working with those two guys I'm just here to learn it was very important for me that I got off on the right foot with these lads because I didn't actually share a dressing room with them I don't actually have a connection with them apart from playing for Bournemouth so it was very important that they was made aware that I was coming in and what I was coming in to do and again Richard Hughes and Simon Francis played a massive part in that and sort of laying out what the outlook is for me and for them and yeah listen I'm just here to absolutely support them in any way shape or form when I'm asked to give an opinion give an opinion there'll be a time I suppose when I progress as a coach I'm nowhere near ready to go out and take 25 lads like because I just haven't done enough coaching to be in that position so yeah just as I say it's back to school this is the start of my apprenticeship this is the start of my schooling again there's little things stupid things like how you set bibs up how you set cones up that you just take for granted as a player you know you you rock out a better 830 you're in the training round for 930 you've got your breakfast served to you and your sessions in front of you but when you're not that player you have to think and live differently and even since I knew that I was starting you know you just start watching and on youtube having a look at how different managers do things and yes it's one of them I think I've got a lot of characteristics to hopefully be successful going forward things that will stand me in good stead my personality stuff like that so yeah it's now about the process of I think I know and I've been lucky enough to have success in relative to the standard I was playing I think I know and can feel what success needs to look like and feel like but that's all a good idea you need to know the process of how to get there and and how to mould and develop these lads and get them on board and motivate them so yes I'm really looking forward to that obviously I dealt with Sean Cooper when he was a player and I shared a coach back with him recently when he was taking the under 21s and you know it's like half past midnight and he's sitting in the front seat with his coaching manual you know flicking through it and incredible dedication to the job and I suppose he wouldn't mind me saying I probably didn't see that when he was a player and it's almost similar with Warren Cummings as well if you just said to me is Warren Cummings going to be a successful coach when he was a player I would have thought maybe but I think he might be an agent or something like that but these guys have really really taken to it and you're obviously going to be hoping to follow them it's one of them like when you actually look at the the managers that these lads had it might not be a surprise you know when you when you've worked under managers like Eddie like Sean O'Driscoll they leave a mark on you they've certainly left a mark on me managers like Eddie Gus Poyer coaches like Dean Wilkins, Dean Smith of Villa as I say I've seen some good and some bad ones even a guy I was chatting to Coops about this morning was a guy called Steve Harrison quite a famous coach he's worked for Graham Taylor as assistant manager for England and he used to come in at Villa twice a week and I was just fascinated by the process of what you went through to clip a game up to watch it back for to see what he saw and it's all good and well seeing it we can all see it we've all played the game we all have an understanding of the game you all know what yeah that's right that's wrong but it's then right how can I get that over in a training session or in a in a one-on-one session or how can I get a lad on on board and tuned into what I'm seeing so that's something I'm looking forward to developing and going to war with well we're going to take a little bit of a look back at your career now we're going to go back right to the start so how's your memory not very good well we're going to start all the way back at Brighton how did you end up finding a way to Brighton as a young so just give us a little bit of an insight on that yeah I mean Brighton's one of them places obviously it's the only club in the city it's the only club within 40 or 50 miles so anyone who's got half a chance usually ends up at some sort of Brighton academy you used to go through the processes school football you go and play for Brighton schools and that's where Brighton and Hovalbian used to pick up a lot of their players from so yeah I think I saw when I was about 10 or 11 went through my youth team days was was all right I suppose had a great youth team we actually I think about 13 of us ended up getting scholarships I think we got to the last was it the semifinals or the quarterfinals of the youth cup got knocked out by a good new castle side I think we're still the most successful youth team that Brighton's had set all sort of records and and and yeah that probably still stand seven or eight of us went on to be pros my brother was a couple of years older than me he joined the academy a little bit later at me that sort of 15 16 but ended up a scholar before me so it was great for me to be able to follow my brother through and I had someone looking out for me and looking after me but yeah great great times you sort of talk about facilities and infrastructure now but the one thing that always stuck with me was the group of players that we had to look up to and they just maximised everything they had and when they saw the youngster coming through worked hard they used to take them under their wing and really nurture them and and try and give back to them which is something that I tried to do in in my my career and yeah it was just just fantastic days seven or eight of the lads in my age group went on to make debuts and I think I was I'm sort of the only one still well just come out the game but I was the only one who sort of went on and and I suppose made a career out of it me and Joel Lynch he had yeah quite a good career play some big clubs but yeah times I wouldn't change I look at the youngsters now they have so many different outside influences and it's tougher for these boys and like me being in the role I'm in now you need to adapt and and know what they're going through as well and it's it's not straightforward anymore for me it was hard work give yourself a chance and and if you're good enough you'll you'll sort of you'll get there but as I say so many different influences now to be aware of and and and try and keep these lads on the straight and narrow and and and getting the most out of themselves you say you had a good youth team a strong youth team do you ever keep in touch with any of those lads now a couple likes or when things like this happen retirement and that you get the odd text and yeah you stay in touch along the way but football is such a crazy game you spend all this time with these lads and yeah you sort of lose touch very quickly because you're all in your own little bubble and trying to maximize I suppose what you're doing and you just don't have the time um so yeah it was great days uh we had a we had a great team such a competitive edge from a from a from an early age and because I probably wasn't the best in that age group I had to find a way to win and stay on the horse and and and and yeah stay in the team I suppose and yeah the the older pros they sort of took a shine to that and and tried to take me under their wing and and and yeah taught me some great lessons you mentioned earlier your brother Gary I believe you made your debut uh while Gary was in the team it was a 5-1 defeat a get away to Reading and Gary got sent off in that game am I right in thinking that must have made an interesting family uh yeah it's a strange one because we had me and my brother are so close um we was actually striking up a great relationship on the pitch in the reserves at the time uh we played a reserve game together on the Thursday night and I think it was a Sussex senior cup at a non-league team and it was like an absolute bog middle middle of winter uh went to extra time and penalties and we both played it all and this was on the Thursday and then on the Saturday he was asked to play in a back three on the right side away at Reading he went on to get 100 points that season and score over 100 goals and like if you're ever set up for failure that that was the afternoon so I felt absolutely like horrific for him but yeah he ended up getting two yellows and sent off and I come on and I think I got the assist for the one so yeah a bit a sweet day for the family but yeah listen to to say that we played he should have actually made a living out of the game and if if he had got the right rubber to green and and things had fell for him in a different way I'm sure he would have done but yeah he's had a a strong career at non-league level and yeah it's um it was a weird day for the family that's for sure your memory's not that bad if you can remember the assist yeah Leon Knight scored 3-0 yeah come on and yeah stepped in and played him a ball yeah I won't really an assist it ricocheted off about three different people and he ended up scoring but yeah strange day now all those years ago Brighton was nowhere near as stable as it is now it's a little bit like here you know 15 years ago this club was nowhere near as stable as it is now I know Tony Bloom's been responsible for most of that what was that like for a young player there when it were things that wasn't really the stability there brilliant because there was hope of breaking into that first team there was a pathway you knew that the club was relying on getting two or three youngsters through a year to to put the team out and to fill the bench so not only did we have a great first team to look up to in terms of maximum they weren't the best but they just got every sort of inch out of themselves you know they stretched the ability that they had tenfold and lads like Richard Carpenter, Guy Barton, Danny Cullip, Charlie Oatway you know there was the bedrock of that team at that time and to see how they acted and and and carried themselves around the training ground was just the greatest lesson but as a youngster you always knew that you had a sniffer get into that first team so yeah wouldn't change it for the world sometimes these academies now like went on especially to to play for Villa the club is so big you have a first team of 23s or 21s or 19s and 18s or 17s you know there's just so many players at these football clubs and you can be probably 20 players away from getting to that first team but when you was coming for a bright and you knew that there was a centre half two centre halfs a backup and you could be next so there was always that hope of it could be me like I need to be getting better and better and give myself a chance and it was a selling club so you knew that if you did get through and you played 50 games in the space of year you'd be moving on to bigger and better things so great club to get my school in and some brilliant coaches the likes of of Dean Wilkins who I said before my intro at Vic Bragg and just give me a great grounding you've always spoken very fondly Auguste Poillet as well just what was it about him yeah just open my eyes to football really I'd Dean Wilkins was our youth team manager and I think there's about seven or eight of us that went on to become pros and he actually ended up in charge and he done a great job we just missed out on the playoffs in his first year and I was flying and they sacked him randomly and then they sort of went they went not backwards but they went to Mickey Adams and they went Russell Slade and it was back to the old school a little bit get as fit as we can get the best players on the pitch and let's see where it takes us whereas Dean was a coach and I've always I've always thrived on being coached and being educated whether and that doesn't matter what style it is whether we're playing long and turning teams again in the corner but let's coach it and do it properly and know what our triggers and our you know patterns are or whether it's splitting out from the back and playing through the third you know it was always right let's educate me I'm open I want to be educated I want to learn and I used to love that and I was sort of missing that for a couple of years and then Gus come into the football club and just open my eyes to football again just give me a philosophy that I've never seen done at that level like considering we was bottom of the league in league one he took us in that season to the cusp of the playoffs and and then we won the league absolutely romped home in the league the next season and just the ideas that he'd give us he used to work loads on numbers used to cut pitches in halves and quarters and if you've got five there where's the other you know it was just crazy the way he used to think and it's like wow yeah this is me like this is football um and yeah just loved every minute playing under him one of the instabilities at Brighton was obviously the the ground and they've got a magnificent stadium now I remember a 1-1 draw against the cherries with Dean in October 2010 now I think if I remember you were given the run-around by Steve Fletcher and you conceded a late penalty for a clear handball which was miles in the box do you love nightmares about that yeah always funny I was I was asked about it the other day but Gus Poyer was one of these managers it was black or white like he was just straight down the line and we had signed Gordon Greer in the summer paid a bit of money for him with the blooms had just taken over and we was having a go at getting promoted and Gordon Greer was signed to be captain um and I remember Gus pulling me and saying he's coming into play with you but he's suspended for the first three games so it was me and another lad who had come through the youth team and I think we were about 10 games on beat and Gigi just couldn't get in the team but before the season started the Friday before the season started Gus sat me in the other lab was called Adam he sat us both down in the office said just so you know I've paid a lot of money for Gigi he's coming in club captain he's coming to play he's suspended for the first three games whichever one of you makes the first mistake you're coming out the team it's black and white don't matter if it's you Tommy or you Adam first mistake because I've got to get Gigi in all right you know what you're dealing with then and we was flying we went 10 games or 11 games unbeaten and then of course we play Bournemouth I think it was an early kickoff I'll give a penalty away 1-1 not really a mistake get to the Friday the next next week and I'm out the team but it's one of the things I loved about Gus it was like it was so upfront and honest that you what you can't go and see him but it weren't even a mistake so it it holds more memories for me at that for that reason than it does yeah that it was Bournemouth and giving the penalty away against big Fletch does Fletch remind you about the time yeah talking of Gigi's yeah I know that you're a horse lover just are you still involved with that it's still involved um for all my sins Neil it's like I always think it's important to have a release whether you're a manager a coach a player you need a release from this game because it's so intense and one thing I do is I immerse myself in in something whether it's a playing project a coaching project now that's that's just me I have to live and breathe and and eat it and and take it to bed with me but you have to get away from it and yeah that's something that goes back years through my dad and and something I've enjoyed and yeah quite recently made a good friend who's training called Oli Murphy so that's where my days are spent on a day off is on the gallops trying to clear a bit of bit of my mind just going back to the football you speak just then so fondly of your time at Brighton was it a wrench to leave there uh yeah it was in the way it sort of happened because uh when I was coming through I had a very good first season and and I was close to leaving I remember sitting speaking to Mitt McCarthy a couple of times I was I was close to going to Wolves um I was close to Derby at one stage um but I decided to stay the owner at the time was was Dick Knight and they just got permission for the new stadium and and and I was the first player to sign a contract into the new stadium and the dream was a local lad leading the team out at this new stadium that we've been waiting for so long um as I say Gus just opened my eyes to football again and I was loving it so much but on the final day of uh we won league one on the final day I actually ruptured me Achilles um so I missed out on playing at the Amix as such um and had that year out so there was an emotional attachment in terms of yeah I'd love to to get back and play at this fantastic new stadium but I knew for my career I needed to get out and re-establish myself because I'd been out quite quite a time um and the rest is history as they say isn't it absolutely and you come to Bournemouth how did that move come about when did you first hear about the interest and and why did you decide to come to Bournemouth so I went back to pre-season I had a setback with my Achilles out to have another operation I'd missed the whole year I think it was about 14 months from from game to game um went back that pre-season things move on um we had a young centre half coming through Lewis Duncan who's obviously gone on and done some unbelievable stuff at Brighton captain there now we had Gigi myself and and Adam at labs I was one of four going into that pre-season I knew I'd have to buy my time and train well to to get sort of back in the mix and I've come back I had a good pre-season and I remember sitting down with Gus and at that time you could go out on loan for quite a short period and he said to me I think it's a good idea just go out on loan for three months get some games get 10 games come back and we'll have a bash at it sort of try get back in the team again I was in the final year in my contract and one of the teams that wanted to take me I had about seven or eight teams that wanted to take me on loan in in league one Pompeo I remember Bournemouth Coventry MK Dons there was a few and Bournemouth were the ones that were coming on quite strong I remember driving down to meet the um meet the manager at the time Paul Groves and just yeah just felt right um had a good conversation with him about how he was trying to do something there was a bit of a transition period at the club I wasn't quite aware of I suppose the unease in the stands at the time I'd got rid of Lee Bradbury I think it wasn't Paul and Sean Brooks as it was were the youth team coaches you sort of got pushed up and yeah it was all a bit sort of but I wasn't really aware of that and Paul presented to me really well and I drove away and I thought yeah this is going to be a right fit for me not too far from home a nice family feel about the club as Neil said previously it sort of reminded me a little bit of Brighton and you know there was a bit of money coming in with with Max coming to the club and a bit of investment and they was looking to progress things and move things forward and I just thought yeah this is this is the right place for me and I remember driving away from from meeting Paul and I got to Roundham services I got through the forest got to Roundham's and my agent rang me he said how did it go blah blah blah yeah all we said I'll just just to let you know they want to sign you permanently so I said all right Brighton I've got a price Brighton are big on stats and the stats equal a price so they got a price from from Brighton and Bournemouth were happy to pay it and I thought yeah let's let's go for it I could secure my future for for three years off the back for serious injury that was a big thing for me take my time getting back from the injury and and and see where it took us I remember driving back on my way home I had to go past the stadium and Gus was at the stadium he rung me to see how it went and popped into the stadium to see Gus he was doing a fans sort of evening with them we spoke about things I said you know what I think it's the right thing for me he agreed to to sort of not stand in my way and and yeah that was out of come about really was there any sort of doubts in your mind at all because obviously you go there thinking I'm going to go online I'm going to play 10 games and then I'm going to come back and try and fight for my place in this team and then all of a sudden on the way back you stop at the services you pick up a phone call and suddenly you could be going permanently no I'm quite impulsive like that when something feels right and when it's time to move on yeah I don't want to outstay my welcome and it felt right I'd sort of when you're the the young local lad coming through a team sometimes you can always be looked like looked upon like that my dad was always pushing me to be in the school of thought you need to get out Brighton's a funny place you know it's everyone knows everyone's business and and it's quite yeah it's quite on top of you and he always thought the making of me would be getting out of the city and becoming a man as he said although I wasn't moving very far it was the making of me as I said such a great time there I got promoted with my hometown club and yeah the club that a lot had gone on since I'd been out injured we'd moved to this new stadium we was moving into a new training ground and it just felt right when you came to Bournemouth you scored two goals in your first three games we thought we'd signed the new Sergio Ramos yeah it wasn't it wasn't an easy time to come into the club I remember playing my first game I think oh there's not many years that's quite uneasy in the stands like what what is going on and it's not until you start digging in with your new teammates like what's the story like how's all this come about and it's oh I've made a bad decision here and I'm not scared to say it like it was at the time I'm I was worried I think we went 11 or 12 without winning plenty of draws yeah we was just lost for direction really had such a talented squad I remember sort of I took an interest in Bournemouth when Cookie come here on loan and Charlie Daniels funnily enough because he had the same agent as me and my agent said to me Bournemouth are trying to have a go at just keep an eye on things because I've got a good relationship might be something down the line for us so you sort of take an interest in it yeah and you can see that was bringing the likes of Frano Cookie, Harry R, Charlie Daniels, good players already at the club and yeah it was sort of when I got in I'm looking around I think we're not doing what we should be doing here like what is going on and just didn't feel right do you know what I mean it just didn't have that connection it didn't know everything was fragmented there was lads like who were they were looking to move on there was lads who had just signed and there was no sort of glue to bring it all together and I'll come on to what actually ended up bringing us together but yeah we was just lacking a bit of sense of direction and too much talent for where we were at that time really I think a polite way of describing it is that the club was in a transitional period under Paul Groves the man you've spoken fondly about how he sold the club to you clearly an excellent coach Harry Rednaps took him everywhere he went he'd clearly got all the coaching credentials but the results just weren't there just wasn't there Neil um yeah and listen I don't know what sort of external factors was going on but like you go about Eddie Mitchell was the one who essentially paid for me and signed me so I'll always be forever grateful for him um yeah I remember being in the dressing room one half time the owner was walking in like oh this this isn't quite right do you know I mean this is this is not what success looks like so as much as Paul and Sean were great coaches yeah just didn't you know what it feels like it just it just wasn't right something wasn't quite right underneath at all and I remember we used to be like sort of we used to train at Canford we used to get changed here train at Canford come back shower and we'd be sitting around till three or four o'clock sort of not really doing anything but just being around I don't know whether it was to try and create that sort of togetherness to try and yeah show that we was working hard but like I said before I get annoyed when my time is being wasted if we're going to be back at three or four let's let's go to work like let's go out on a training pitch or let's get in a video room let's try and educate ourselves where this is all going wrong and I remember going to Sheffield United I think we lost five two I think I scored and the bus broke down in the car park um and I think I think Paul saw a sort of opportunity to address the group on the coach about come on lads like what is this all about I had only been at the club sort of two minutes you know I didn't know the next man sitting sitting next to me to the one in front of me behind me I didn't have that relationship with the lads yet and I just give my opinion on things and I just said look we got to start looking after each other I'm not bothered what's going on on the pitch or on the training round but as a group we have to come together got to drop these egos like we've all come here for a reason because we've had setbacks in our careers if we want to get back to where we should be and where we all think we should be we need to come together and give ourselves a chance of doing that um yeah whether that stuck with with some of the lads I'll never know soon after that Sheffield United game I hate to remind you went to Swindon and I was at the echo giving marks out of 10 in that game and I think that the star man got three out of ten just for putting his boots on the right was that me no but one player who you will remember from that day on the opposition team became a teammate eventually in a and a star of the promotion what were your memories of that Swindon game that Swindon game I remember going there and they had Matt Ritchie on one wing um I think they had the little lad who's at ferry maybe on the other wing um and they was just bringing two attacking fallbacks there was probably the best team in division and we played with a diamond one way to play in the opposition's hands um yeah so it was a real real tough afternoon I just remember looking around in the dressing room thinking I think this could be the end here something's got to change um dressing room had gone you started having people in corners which is never good too many people having an opinion um and it was tough real tough what did you think when Eddie Howe walked through the door in October 2012 yeah I mean at least I was going to talk about the glue that brought it all together but then foundations were were being set in the background we was giving ourselves I thought we was giving ourselves that chance and someone who I thought was massive in that is Richard Hughes who's now obviously doing the job he's doing at the club but um we had a little coffee club to go in fee for nights um some of us used to like a game of cards them little things were just starting to break the barriers down in in the dressing room and bring us all together um and then obviously the club decided to to to go in a different direction and as soon I remember Cole Robinson was favorite for a while um and again because we were spending a bit of money on the playing side of things it was really a really attractive job because we couldn't get no work so he was only going one way um but then there was whispers of of obviously Eddie returning and Hughes he was the man in the dressing room who knew the manager so well and we was like is it going to happen Richard what's he like and Perch he was still around he would worked under him Josh McCoy'd um so sort of picking these lads brains about what could it look like what's he is he good is it work like and yeah the minute you walked in um breath of fresh air yeah again like let's talk about Gus opening my eyes to football but but this man took it to a new level can you give us any anecdotes of Eddie's early days here things that we might not know if you like just remember his first day really um come in give a really good presentation about the structure of how he likes to work and what a weaker look like and what he expects from from us as as as people not really getting going as the players yet we had plenty of that to get on to but we went for a walk down to um down to the beach which Eddie was used to like doing uh he just with with JT and and and I think Chris Hargreaves was still at the club as a coach then as well and we just sort of got chatting and and he knew a quite a bit about all of us already combat to the to the training ground um at a light session and that home going going home and and we all got a text that evening about could we all bring 20 pound in the next day so we all put all bought 20 pound I think what's this all about and and say there was 20 of us we all put 20 pound into a pot that morning he drew up four teams and it was a tournament and the winners were going to get the money Kevin Bond actually was brought in to to judge the player at a tournament as well so there was different prizes but he taught us how to win um nothing groundbreaking yet just taught us this is how you win a game of football this is what it means this is what it needs to look like going forward this competitive edge this is what we this is our spirit now and it was from that day on you can start getting stuck into to someone and you find a motivation you find a common goal um yeah and then week by week we were layering it it was getting better and better and one week it might not go right it bring it back a couple of weeks we'd layer it again and yeah before you know we're top of the league Eddie came in he soon appointed you as the captain he was always very particular about his captain so you must have been absolutely made up when you know he had that conversation with you yeah made up but it's one of them for me at the end of the day it's an armband you know I mean I always carried responsibility and I always sort of led when I was at school so I wasn't going to put an armband on and change or anything stupid like that of course I take massive pride and it was a massive honor to captain the club and do what we've done but I didn't want to all of a sudden change overnight and start shouting at people to do things and finding people that right it's cobblers um I believe you made captain for a reason so don't change just carry on what you're doing and it was just nice to be tight with Eddie on on that level from from day one really and yeah be looked at I suppose as his man in the dressing room and when you've got such a good leader in the manager whose directions and instructions are so clear it's just so easy to follow and for you from the depths of league league one to promotion all in the same season it must have been such an incredible feeling for you and and the rest of us just tell us about those two games at the end of the season Carlisle and Tramir so many memories from that season even the Christmas night out that season like as stupid as it sounds like I talk about Hughes you bring in the dressing room together with different things cards we all like to have a bet on the cards you know I mean on a Friday it just brings together we'd be up sort of till nine o'clock playing cards as you know Eddie would probably freak if he had a bird but it was bringing us all together um and I remember the Christmas night out always remember went to a club up in London called Rose Club and just having such a great time with lads that you know we was breaking them barriers down we was actually becoming friends and becoming close um and it had a bit more feeling towards it and we was all of similar ages as I said before we all had setbacks whether it was injuries or a club rejected us and we all needed it that was the bottom line we all needed to get to a level where we could make a living out of the game and that that I always remember that Christmas night out is probably the biggest thing for us that season in creating a team spirit and a bond and for me it did mean a deal more because I took not a risk but I dropped down a level and I wanted to get back to that level and coming back like 18 months earlier I was down and out and done like I was touch and go whether I'd play another game let alone go and get some sort of relative success so I think from that day on yeah you just I was one to never take it for granted and that bond that you talk about off the pitch did it bring you so much closer on the pitch did you you almost wanted to win for each other I suppose yeah 100 percent and I was chatting before but good people move mountains like I'm a massive massive believer in good people and lads that give themselves a chance you know and uh yeah the bond we add it's it's it's something that you just can't walk into a football club and create it takes time it takes energy um it takes an openness um but once you've got that it's so so powerful when you dig it in with five or ten minutes to go and you're one new up away from home and you've got someone next to you cares for you and wants to see you do do as well as they want to do and you're all living your life's right you're buying into it you know you're on board with the manager and I suppose it's something I've craved since I've left and never quite got which is disappointing in some ways because that's what you start to think normal is um and you think it's easy to get but that can't be underestimated L dressing room can be so powerful you obviously had a great bond with the lads inside the dressing room but away from the dressing room you won supporters player of the year that season and you always had a good rapport with the supporters and that's even been seen you know recently with your announcement to come back I think supporters buy into honesty don't they and and yeah people who want to work hard and and and give their all listen we're all extremely privileged to to be playing football or making a living out of football so the least you can do is give everything possible for that and as I said before I'm someone who immerses myself into something can I always used to play on my emotions I thought it was a powerful thing um sometimes too powerful sometimes it could get the better of you but I'd rather be that way than someone who's a bit calculated and you know trying to play up to the game so it was it was it was always genuine it was a love they they they did rescue me this club did rescue me from a really bad injury when and took a punt on me when some others didn't want to they only wanted to take me on loan so I'll always be grateful for that and yeah struck up a great bond now can you not when we had four years like we had so as I say to come back now and and to revisit all that is is quite special back in the championship a league that was littered with teams who've been in the Premier League and you know not falling on hard times but struggling everybody wants to get back there Bournemouth but perhaps written off as as they always were but 10th in that season flirted with the playoffs as well what were your memories of that I suppose my stand-up memory was QPR at home um growing up against Harry's team that was littered with stars I remember getting pumped early on in the season by some good teams Watford going up to Huddersfield getting done I think five but that that game against QPR I just felt like we was getting going at the level it felt like we was comfortable at the level again and teams were actually starting to worry about us and yeah after that game I always thought we'd set ourselves up so well for for the next season Eddie was always big we'd always sit down preseason and write pros of cons of us being in that division what are we up against what's going for us and I think after we did start supportly um teams were probably taking us for granted a little bit but under the radar we was slowly slowly getting it going again adding to the squad um yeah finished with real momentum that season that obviously spilled over into the next one you said your memory was a bit hazy but QPR you actually scored in that game so you remember that game Rick Neal yeah yeah things like that helped to remember stuff didn't it but that was the game I remember coming in we was quite near the end of the season I think QPR were fighting for the top two I think Gazzoneal might have even been playing for QPR that day um but I remember coming off I think we've batted these and these are going to go up this year um and yeah I always thought that was a real catalyst for for gaining some momentum going into the end of the season and taking it into the next one 10 men at the end 10 men yeah yeah you'll have to remind me you've got sent off Neil Harry Arter did he there's a shock now the following season the promotion season we could write a book about that what if you wrote a book what would you title it misfits I suppose no yeah we we was we was a bunch of misfits that just fell into place and genius of a manager that that sprinkled his his sort of yeah his way and his philosophy on us and and yeah it's just yeah we could we could write a book 10 times over and never got bored of it when did you think that promotion dream could become a reality in that season I think going back to that QPR game the season before we made some really shrewd signings we lost Lewis Grabbin that season which was a big hit um to Norwich but replaced him obviously with Wills I think gozzo come in that summer and so did junior and I always said it's like probably well documenting there probably has been books that have quoted me saying I remember going for a coffee one afternoon with gozzo and gozzo had been at some big clubs and played with some top players mostly his career in the Premier League at that stage and and just asking him what he thought because I'd never been at this level I'd never been uh I'd never had promotion from the championship to the Premier League and he's someone who played in the Premier League I just sort of asked him what he thought of the squad and he said like he was just blown away by the training the intensity that we trained with the quality of training the sessions that we were doing jeez a pigeon's just flown into the window there Neil you see the feathers late transfer signing there yeah trying to get him um see I remember sitting with gozzo and yeah when he said that to me it just gave me a little bit of um I suppose inspiration and nothing to fear going into the to the next season and if someone like him was saying that um then we would have a good chance of doing well that season tell us a little bit about the build-up to that bolting game because obviously our game was on the Monday on the Saturday it was full of V Middlesbrough I understand you went to the Limewood Hotel and turned your phone off yeah we we trained that morning and obviously when when things are getting close like that and you're looking at the the league table every two minutes you're refreshing your phone and you're keeping an eye on all sorts of scores but we trained that morning uh obviously everyone else was playing and we wasn't um and Eddie just said yeah listen just try and get away from it for the afternoon presser everywhere Neil as you would have known and yell over you and trying to create stories and start of it sort of starts to become yeah this is written in the stars like this is gonna happen but you need to remain focused and Eddie said just try and get away for the afternoon night I ended up going to I think it was it was either the Limewood or might have been something else the pig or something in the forest and yeah I knew I'd have no signal on my phone and yeah just got away with the misses for the afternoon and tried to switch off from it all and then switch your phone on after or you get a bit of signal and you see all these messages flying through and yeah it was it was time it was time at the longest Sunday ever just waiting for the game yeah like it wasn't it wasn't because I was just so confident of what we had and what we was you know getting going I thought we was just peaking at the right time and with all due respect to Bolton at the time but we had faced bigger challenges in the season and we were so well rehearsed and drilled um I was just so so confident I remember the training session was a million miles an hour the morning before the morning yeah the morning before um and it was just I remember doing a press conference in in the lounge and someone asked me do you feel the pressure and I said no that like pressure is when you're out injured and you don't know whether you're gonna play again and you got a mortgage to pay and you got a career and you got to try and make a living out of this game that's pressure I like this is an absolute privilege and we've got to bottle this up and absolutely revel in it if anyone in here had expected us to be where we are now like there was no chance so it was just something that we embraced as a group and again it was there was inspiration to be drawn from it and Eddie being Eddie there was advantages of course there was disadvantages but we all geared that up towards being advantages and and yeah the rest took care of itself didn't it before the Bolton game on that Saturday when you were lunching at the pig there was a huge game going on elsewhere full of the Middlesbrough I think Scott Parker was playing and I know Harry was among Harry Arthur was among yeah Harry being Harry being Harry yeah it was Eddie was telling us to get get away from it all and Harry being Harry had to go and watched didn't he so he went and watched and was keeping us updated with the score and yeah listen different people deal with things in these moments in different ways and and that was just Harry if Harry wasn't playing on a Saturday and and his brother-in-law was he would have gone and watched him so that was normal for Harry so yeah brilliant for people who don't remember just tell us what happened in that Fullham Middlesbrough game because I think the goalkeeper got sent up ridiculous decision from Caranka wasn't it I think they was they needed a draw and they would have still give themselves a chance an unlikely one to get promoted but they was drawing and they sent the goalkeeper and everyone up for a corner it was free free and an old team of eight of mine that I went on to play over Villa Ross McCormack stayed up from the corner um Fullham cleared the corner Ross went on and scored an open goal and that essentially wrote their chances off so yeah when you say I was written in the stars it was like decisions being made like that in high pressure situations were just going for us but I never felt like that cauldron of pressure ever affected us it was just business and and this is us and yeah let's let's go and do it promotion secured you have that open top top bus parade but I looked at the photos it was probably a good job none of you were driving that must have been amazing for you I mean yeah Bournemouth Seafront was absolutely packed and the fans came out in their numbers and listen we are a little old Bournemouth and plucky Bournemouth or whatever but when you do something like that and you see the amount of support that we had in the town and to go and lay that legacy down maybe we're not such a little old Bournemouth you know and there is scope for this club to get all them fans in a stadium one day so yeah just great to see to have that power to be able to bring that amount of people together and celebrate something together yeah it's something that's people go throughout their career not winning anything play at the top level but don't win anything I've been lucky enough to do it four times like really really lucky through hard work and and good managers and good teammates and those moments are just they're priceless did it surprise you how many people turned up yeah it did because two years before we went on the league one parade and I remember turning open top bus the driver took the wrong turning and we was sort of going up the Wessex way so a bit windswept but then we managed to get back on on track and and turned into the the town center or whatever and it was busy like it was good but I remember we had an open top plan I open top bus planned and it was really like is it really that well can't we just get into the stadium or celebrate here but then when we turned around the corner to see the amount of people that yeah it was yeah blown away you get to the Premier League I want to ask you about that disallowed goal against Liverpool it would have been your first Premier League goal and it was a rule change that deprived you of that rule change yeah and we actually had I think the head of the referees association that year was Craig Paulson maybe and he come and done a talk with us about how they was changing the offside rule and if someone was standing offside when the ball was kicked they can't then come back on there sort of that anyway ended up scoring and they disallowed my goal for a foul on I think it was Lovren at the time and then Monday night football away at Anfield 0-0 5 or 10 minutes to go and they get a free kick whip it in and Benteke scores and he's like clearly 10 yards 5 yards offside if there was Vara about then it would have definitely been disallowed but yeah it was tough tough pill to swallow that one 12 games in the Premier League that that season did you sort of sense that the writing might have been on the wall for you because you didn't feature as much as you may have hoped um no it was mainly like I played the first six in the last seven um I something like that and the trunk I missed was mainly down to to injury really no one and I remember playing at Leicester home especially in West Ham away and I thought do you know what I'm actually comfortable at this level like I feel good about myself I've got a spring in my step I've got a great rhythm um and I remember the West Ham game it was at the old Upton park and I remember clearing the ball last five minutes someone just caught me on the edge of me ankle we had an international break so we had a couple of weeks without a game um but my ankle just kept blowing up and played Norwich I think after that in the warm-up I was snookered like I was like oh I'm in trouble here um madly taping everything up and so and in flams and whatnot and got through the first half but I was struggling and then by the end of it I just couldn't walk um so I get it was opera another operation for me at that point um and yeah I had a long time it took a long time for us to find out what the problem was I remember flying to Sweden to see a tendon specialist who had seen previously about me Achilles I didn't know if it was linked to that and it wasn't till sort of six to eight weeks down the line we actually found out what it was required surgery um sort of got back in the new year had a bit between the teeth again but uh the lads have been through so much results at sort of man United at home Chelsea away they're they're gone and performed so so well in the Premier League and when the lads are going and doing this stuff they're creating something can you can't help but feel you're on the outside of that even though you're captain and you're still you might be traveling or you might be in the dress room every day or in the dress room for game days it's for me it's like all or nothing do you know what I mean and I'm taking myself away to try and get this ankle right and I can see lads sort of getting better and better and this one sign and a new contract that one sign new contract geez I'm getting left behind I'm panicking a little bit I'm trying to get back sooner than what I should be probably come back a little bit too soon I remember playing a game in the FA Cup against Pompey and didn't feel right um finally got back played the last six and was part of the team that I supposed secured our Premier League status so I didn't feel at the time the right and was on the wall but things were happening without me and like I said before I'm not one to out welcome my stay when the time's right the time's right and I always wanted to play for a big football club I remember sitting down with Ed at the end of the season club were great and he offered me a new deal but said Ed said you got you got a real challenge on your hands to get back in the team Fran I would stepped in from right back to centre half and done brilliantly um I was going to be one of four it's up to you sort of thing there's a new contract sit on it think about it um and in the meantime I had a phone call probably last international break uh from someone at Villa saying they had knew they we actually relegated them that that one weekend and had a phone call later sort of a couple of weeks later saying look we're going to have a right guy in the championship next year do you fancy it and it was a level I knew I was comfortable it was a level that I knew I could win that league um and it was a massive massive football club I remember playing there that day and I played there before I'm thinking geez this is proper and I always wanted to experience that pressure of playing for a big football club and I suppose it was just yeah it was one of them you know I had the chance to go and captain Aston Villa or start Bournemouth and fight for my place um did I feel there was a real real need for me at Bournemouth anymore it was debatable I always would have backed myself to come back and win my spot back but as I say when things have moved on and they've experienced all this without you there's just something nagging away in the back of your head thinking this could be the right time and it was the right time um because it brings us back to where I am now sometimes you can sort of stay a little bit longer than you should do and it doesn't end quite how you want it to end and yeah but I felt like I left we'd been on the most unbelievable journey it couldn't get no better I had a chance to go and secure my future for a little bit longer at Aston Villa a club that you know I thought it would be easy I thought I'd go and recreate what we created at Bournemouth and go and win that league and I'll be in the Premier League with Aston Villa you know what I mean and that's that's the end of it sort of thing but yeah you know you go and you go away and you learn these things and sometimes the grass isn't always greener but I stand by it brings me back to this position now and they're the times when you really really learn they are they had some real tough times at Villa and that is where all my lessons were learnt talking about Villa that day that we secured our Premier League status in the first season one of my memories of that was a terribly toxic atmosphere where the home fans really on their players backs what possessed you do want to want to go there probably that Neil just to be able to get that I'd played there when I was at Brighton in the third round of the FA Cup and I'd scored and I remember coming away and like I scored in front of the whole end and I just thought I'd watch the era I grew up in I'd watched FA Cup semi-finals at Aston Villa Park and it was this rich like esteemed in such rich history club and it's still at that real old school classiness about it and I remember going back there and that day playing there and looking around and thinking what this is this is proper and they read the teams out and they booed 1 to 11 by one lad who was a local homegrown lad and yeah it was absolutely toxic but you was looking around thinking how was this club got into this mess like you they were a top six Premier League club for so long under Martin O'Neill and before that Ron Atkinson and managers like this and they had some such wonderful players and it was just like this is a real shame and what I'd been sold to go and turn that round as we did in the finish it took three years longer than I thought it would take but as we did in the finish that club so powerful I have to say it was probably one of the most moving interviews I've ever conducted certainly on the phone was with you when it was announced that you would be leaving and going to Villa do you I know you were upset yeah no I was yeah we had to I think we had to cut it about three times no I had to keep oh I'm going back to my mum and dad's and I'd have to take myself off for a walk up the garden and ringing you back so well I'm ready Neil let's get this done quick hurry up but yeah it's just we had been through so much together and I remember driving back from Villa to Brighton from Birmingham to Brighton sorry after signing and speaking to Ed for ages on the phone like real emotional stuff because that's what made us such a unique group and such a unique story was the passion and the feelings were genuine they were and there's lads in that dress room like I'd do anything for to this lad you know talk about Harry the the troubles that he went through over that period lads like Frano when he's had to take a set back like he has to come again Charlie Cookie you know sirs you just go through that team Matty Richie Callum grabs before that you know Josh McCoy's Brett Pittman's and the feeling we had and the genuine emotions and whatnot or what made us special and what brought us success that was tougher than leaving Brighton like genuinely was I remember coming to collect my stuff and and yeah just all sorts of emotions and thoughts running through your head like should you be doing it is it right and and whatnot but yeah I wouldn't change that decision again because like when you see when you come back to the club and you're still held in that regard and you still have the relationship you do with the likes of Neil Vacher yourselves Neil Blake Richard Hughes Frano Paul the chef essay the chef Marta working in the kitchens because I wasn't tired because I wasn't going through that that when players come to the end you know it's either a player outgrows a club or a club outgrows a player there's no easy way about it and it was like yeah I've give everything to this for four years it doesn't get better than this you know it doesn't so let's let's get on and do something else and try and create another bit of history somewhere else am I right in thinking that when you left you went around all the offices to say goodbye to everyone yeah like even the chairman Jeff like yeah just yeah something we've been through so much and like I say good people is so powerful and it when you're being led by someone who's so clear in what you want to do the others come with it and that was part of if you're like a captain's role or whatever is when I come in this was the training ground the stadium was the training ground so you would get to know everyone on a personal level but that was part of what I I always felt people should feel special and feel like they had significance doing what they do to play a part to get the club where we want to go get into the Premier League Jesus Christ when I first signed for this club like did we ever think about that absolutely not but then once you start getting a taste for it and a and a smell for it and and that's the driving force yeah and I owe it to them people because they they play just as much a part in in me you know I mean propering us all up support and a soft tissue guys whether it's someone doing the tickets Alice to see Alice doing what she's doing now in Nilvay it's brilliant Alice started on the reception do you know what I mean but it's all good people working towards one goal and improving yourselves and and let's see where it takes us three years at villa what was that like tough uh unbelievable uh disappointing anger at every emotion um but I wouldn't change it for the world because it's it's created who I am now and I talked to Fran about this now when you only see one style and one club for so long and you end on that note that's all you know but when I had seen Gus I'd seen Eddie I'd seen my youth team managers good coaches and in between that you get the one that's not quite what you thought he's going to be or doesn't do this or doesn't do that and then you go somewhere else and well why isn't she on the reception trying to help me like Alice was or why is the chef not like how Paul was or Jesus Christ well the manager should be doing set pieces on a Friday or naming the team like where's this all and it's not until you experience those bad times you appreciate the good times and learn from what you was doing right so I had to do that and I had to experience that to mold and shape who and what I want to become am I right in thinking that John Terry was one of your idols when you were a kid and you got the chance to work with him yeah and and looking back at that you know like I've worked with John Terry one of the most decorated if not the most decorated English player Jack Grealish just gone for a hundred million so many Glen Whelan 80-odd caps for Ireland Chezzy the Mila Yedonak three world cups what I saw and experienced at Villa was mental good and bad big club brings different pressures and different pitfalls and you have to go and experience that to know what you could be dealt with further down the line and it was troubled it was really troubled it was there was poison in the brickworks to start off with Steve Bruce done the most unbelievable job at weeding that out and bringing it all together and he used to say getting the ship steering the ship round and wasn't a manager that I particularly took a shine to in the way he coached or managed but taught me a lot about how to bring people together and create a group and and see a different style a style that's been hugely successful over the years so as I say to I've experienced Roberto Di Matteo champions league winning manager Steve Bruce one of the most successful managers in the championship if you like in in sort of modern times Dean Smith bit of a trailblazer like done stuff and I thought well that's powerful like that's that's really good I like that even going out on loan moving to different parts of the country's went up to hole went down to red in learning how these different clubs motivated differently feeling what it's like for a player to pack a bag and go the next day and not have any notice and almost try and save your career and manage like Nigel Atkins one of the most underrated managers I've ever worked for what he did for me in a period where I was really really low to build me up and and and give me confidence again to go back to Villa and and ultimately do the job that was in hand it took us as I said longer than I thought but yes it shaped me for for who I am now but going back to your question it was about John Terry wouldn't it seeing someone train like that every day was yeah again the professionalism he bought and the standards that he brought to the training ground was was superb you end up at Huddersfields 14 games in against Preston at Deepdale you tell your ACL what were your memories of that how did that all happen did you know straight away no it was a nightmare from start to finish I'll be honest and and not a period that it was tough really really tough so when I went back to Villa for the six months on loan uh another injury uh we we just started to really get it going again at at Villa Jack Grealish returned from injury I remember playing against Derby we won 4-0 with about five or 10 minutes Tyrone who had come on loan knew I was playing with passing me a square ball he sent me a little bit short I've gone to take off to to go and get it and felt popping the bottom of my foot and it was the side that I'd done me Achilles on so I was like panicking now again um ended up having quite a bad tear in the bottom of my foot and and missed the end of the season um we got to the playoffs that year um I was still out injured and I had a phone call from the manager at the time was Jan Sievert Huddersfield just getting relegated from from the Premier League um I'd learnt so much from going to a relegated club in Aston Villa and I did certain things that I would change um and I thought I could use them experiences to try and get that on the path that it needed to be to to have a competitive season the dream that was sold to me that certain players were staying and this was going to be the team and this is how it's going to look and the manager presented quite well and I thought yeah I had had success at whole which was in New Yorkshire going up to there sort of had a some sort of connection with what it's like to live in New Yorkshire and felt comfortable going there but unfortunately yeah just just didn't turn out the way I wanted it to was it nine operations you ended up having a nine I've ended up having yeah so just just too many and I've got to a stage now where I'm just fed up with sitting on a physio bed um and it's not it's not just what it does to your body but mentally you know to keep coming back from them and for me my career has been um not dictated to but it's almost fell into place through injuries if I'd never done my Achilles are bright and I probably wouldn't have ended up at Bournemouth if I didn't get injured in the first Premier leases and I want to move to Villa that summer if I didn't get injured at Villa I might have stayed at Villa and never gone to Huddersfield if I didn't have such a bad injury at Huddersfield I probably wouldn't be sitting in now I'd still be playing probably so these things I'm a big believer in things happen for a reason um and while I was out injured went searching for for what the next phase of of of my career might look like and and yeah we're here now it must have been such a tough time for you as you say being out injured did that give you time to think did that give you time to explore your options being coaching being in pundit tree being it yeah I like I I'd done quite a bit of pundit tree the year we was in the Premier League and I was out injured um it's just something that's not really turned me on it's not really like you get up there's a pack in front yeah these are all the details these are all the stats yeah just read that off like I'm someone who has an opinion I'm someone who as I say I think I know and how and it should feel and what it should smell like success and I'm a massive believer in people and good people and bringing people together um and that's the one thing that I've definitely been taught over over my career you know you need good people you need to be surrounded by good people and yes it's very powerful um and as I say I had a lot of time out injured uh sounded out a lot of people um in the game as to to what could be the next sort of thing for me I took a lot of time to go and watch games with different people I went and watched it with managers I went and watched games with technical directors I went and watched it with lads who were clipping games for an opposition the next game I want to watch games with my agent uh with my family um and then you start forming an opinion and and and sort of what you're about and it just felt right as I say again you'll you'll touch something I've got two kids now like they they were the most unbelievable thing for me that the two girls and my missus without that support network around you you know it can get tough but I was really lucky to come home to them every day um and they supported me the whole way through that even now when you're talking about moving down and you need to support your family and you need your missus to be prepared to pack the house up and go somewhere where we're really comfortable living and really happy and set a new life up again it's nice to come back where we're somewhere where we're familiar with and somewhere where you think you've got some sort of stock so he has a sad a lot of time to think about it and explore different things and I feel this is the right route for me has your missus forgiven you for what happened on the honeymoon and can you tell us what happened again yeah so it was the summer I left here to go to villa chatted to Ed um we had the game at Manchester at United didn't we the bombscare game where we thought there was a bomb and the game got put off until the week after with circumstances and because that everything sort of got delayed and I was getting married that summer um so we played on the Tuesday come and met I don't know Wednesday I was flying out to miss stag do with the lads on the Thursday stayed there and while I was away I sort of started to sense that the villa thing could be real um come back I think I had a few days before I got married and remember being at the wedding with my missus and said half spoke to me agent last night first dance missus looked me so don't don't do this to me and said here could be going to villa darling what looking around at all our friends um so we fly out a few days later for for our honeymoon and yeah it's things just sped up really really quickly and and before you know it you're on a flight back to do a medical villa and who replaced you on the mother-in-law yeah she was buzzing in the honeymoon suite I think we was we was in capri at the time so she flew out um so yeah we went back and did it the next year but it's even stuff like that Neil like I would never ever ask a player going forward if I ever get in that like opportunity or chance to I would never ask a player to give those sort of things up for something like that because at the end of the day your family had the most important thing and I was talking about being impulsive and and yeah I've got a sense for it I'm off like when I left Brighton or whether I left Bournemouth and it's like yeah I've got to go darling yeah sorry I've got a flight book they've booked me a flight back your mum's flying out don't worry and it's like no I do you know what I wish I'd stayed out my misses and enjoyed it and made them wait for me and that's probably the one thing I would have changed about villa I probably would have gone in a little bit later because there was so much upheaval and so much going on at the club new ownership new manager players coming and going and if that had settled a little bit before I'd got there it'd have been an easier proposition to go into I think we're we're seeing that with Eddie Howe seems to be in no rush to get back in and he's obviously enjoying quality time with with his family so that resonates yeah rightly so too because it's it's when you're in these things and I've had a long time to prepare for moving down to here and you need that adjustment period and you need to clear your mind and you need to reset and if it's not right you know what there's there's a reason it's not right and yeah with the times that I did move in my career probably jumped it a little bit too quickly and I wish I just step back a little bit and as I say you know that all these things shape here and going forward when there are decisions hopefully down the line for me to make it sort of will chill step back weigh it all up make the right decision just tell us about that retirement decision what's sort of going through your mind is it something instant something you think about for a long time and what have you was it doctor's advice or your decision or what definitely not doctor's advice because I'll be on a big insurance payout Neil so it's not that no it was as I say I went to Huddersfield was just getting going we changed the managers felt like I was really just getting going and finding a bit of rhythm we had a tough start pressed in a way yeah went for a bouncing ball lad ridiculous challenge stood up went into the tackle didn't know to answer your question earlier didn't know what I'd done we was actually flying out on the training camp it was an international break probably this time actually or the next international break maybe we was flying out for a warm weather training camp and I had to stay behind for a scan and I I thought I might just opened up me at MCL or something no major swelling had the scan surgeon says to me yeah you've you've popped your MCL nice not too bad three or four months needed an operation he said I'm not quite sure about your ACL I need to have a look at that so when he opened me up come around from the operation he said yeah it looks like a fireworks gone off in your knee so I thought oh this don't sound too good so I done the ACL uh done me MCL um so it was a bit of a shock but I'm one of them once I've got something in front of me I'll deal with it pretty quickly and get my head around it and go to war with it so I was happy enough with with how the rehab went had a great physio great medical team got back from the ACL and the MCL first day of preseason my other side locked up on me and I remember thinking to myself after that that was my eighth operation I remember thinking to myself I need another one like I haven't got the patience for it I haven't got the energy for it if I need another one I'm done um yes to come back that proof the next preseason left side had locked up on me went down to see the surgeon I'll give it this is what we would do we have a couple of injections give it this time and if it hasn't improved might need to open you up and have a look and yeah I had sort of underlying cartilage issues um which listen we've cleared up and knees are fine now but just sort of got back I had a long time out long time to think about it wasn't definitely wasn't an impulsive decision as I say I'd always remained in contact with the likes of Husey and Frano and and certain people at the club um had spent time with them um had been out to watch games and I think the big thing for me now is I didn't want to be that old declining player who was dropping down the leagues and that's Tommy Halfwick used to captain Bournemouth Jesus what happened to him or was stuff like that so I'd rather be see young man's game and I'd rather be a young aspiring coach than an old declining player just it basically come down to that and I feel like I can give certain things back to the game I feel like I have a have a have a place in the game going forward long term um so yeah just just excited and ready to get stuck into that rather than trying to get stuck into a preseason and keep the knees sound you announced your retirement on BBC Radio Solon ahead of our game against Birmingham you gave Chris Temple the first exclusive of his career which was he obviously thanked you for just tell us what you made of the response afterwards yeah it's something I didn't really play like in my head I was retired like I've been retired for six months now and that do you know what that's probably unfair to say to Huddersfield um but I yeah I feel like I've been retired since that second operation I needed at Huddersfield um I just yeah I couldn't I was just in the gym every day on a physio bed and I was just yeah I'm done like I'm yeah just not up for this fight anymore like it's been one too many and my body's tired but my mind's fresh I still had a massive input in the dressing room still felt like people listened to me um and it just felt right as I said the girls getting to the age they're getting to now it's it's quite nice to come back down south and hopefully set up camp with them soon um and then you come to that point where I didn't really want to make a big thing about it you know what I mean it was it's not who I am it's not what I'm about and you get asked the question yeah I'm retired and then to be fair the response you get is yeah it's overwhelming and it's a strange one Neil because there's certain people you think you're gonna hear from that you don't hear from but it's the ones that you don't think you're gonna hear from that you hear from and you're like wow like he actually went out he's taken something from me and he's learned from me and he's appreciated me as a teammate that means more to me than anything and that's when I left Bournemouth like those messages and those well wishes that success I remember saying it and again getting to this stage in my career is it a year or two early possibly but I don't need to go and prove anything I've I've won league one twice I've won the championship twice that's the level I'm at I'm not going to go and win the Premier League or the FA Cup or the League Cup so I don't need to drop down and win league two like what's the point so I'm just really happy really content it's quite nice to say I'm retired because it sort of was the last weight lifted off my shoulders and now obviously to to be able to tell everyone what the path is for me and where I am and give something back to a club that they rescued me when I thought I was down and out Tommy it's been brilliant to hear all about your career now before we let you go we have got a few questions that have been submitted by fans which is just going to rattle through quite quickly so the first one has come from Rob Mattley on Twitter he says it in an illustrious AFCB career do you have any regrets or disappointments no it's very hard to have any regrets or disappointments as I say I could probably look back at the time I left and think maybe I should have stayed and whatnot but I honestly believe that that's led me sort of back to here and now to this day so absolutely not it was it was nothing but just pure joy and just really lucky to be part of a special group now the AFCB fan page wants to know how did your pre-match ritual start and for those who don't know tell us a little bit more about it please I don't have to do it anymore yeah and I just started off I remember the first game I played for Brighton the goalkeeper needed to change his top because he had the wrong colour top on and the dress room was miles away and I went over to the post and bang my boots off against the post to get the mud off him and just stuck with me from there really and met a psychologist further down further down the line and he noticed what I was doing and just said I think that's quite a good time to go through some sort of pre-match ritual to get you in the headspace that you need to get into because I always because I played on my motions and I was quite passionate I could sometimes get a bit too revved and play on the metal a bit too much and that could lead to mistakes or making wrong decisions so it was quite an actual time nice time for me to get over there chill out have a connection with the fans get in the headspace that I needed to be in so yeah just develop from the first game really so AFC Bournemouth Germany is asking what memory do you cherish most from your playing career be it Bournemouth or elsewhere yeah listen it's very hard to look beyond what we did the season we got to the Premier League it has left the legacy behind it's written down and for me I'd go to town with anyone I've said it previously I think it's one of the best ever teams to get out of the championship I stand by that the way we was drilled the players that we had the characters that we had the division that we was in that year it was such a tough division some real big hitters some big money being spent about coming back from my injury I think the thing I'm proudest of the most is coming back from the injuries coming back from them setbacks because they was all serious injuries I never had a hamstring night to just sort of it was three weeks and it sort of naturally heal itself it was all operations and big setbacks so to be able to come back from them I think I played 400 games and I won four promotions so to get a promotion every 100 games it's you know I mean it's actually quite quite a nice thing to say and the last one comes from Johnny Bullitt he's saying you're going to help out in the academy to start with what piece of advice would you wish that you had been given at their age like I was very lucky to be surrounded by a really good family and really good advisors friends so I hold no regrets I always give myself the best chance to make a career and a living at the game and I suppose it's just that just give yourself the best possible chance stuff that don't cost nothing matters respect being on time working hard just maximize everything that you've got I feel like I did that throughout my career um as I say when you have had success when you've won stuff in a group it means so much more and you know to get them little groups going out to to understand what winning means and where it can take you yes it's so powerful just had one more question come through from a big fan on my phone this is from a mrs k parrot she's asking whether you one day would fancy the manager's job it's one of them they're like we can all sit in dressing rooms and you sort of you have these conversations when you get to the latter stages of your life I would you want to tell your coach your manager and you hear you've got the personality to do this and I want to be an agent I want to do TV work or I'm going to swan off into the sunset and never watch a football match again and until you've actually gone and lived it you don't know I sit here now yeah of course I want to coach of course I'm lucky enough to be coaching of course I want to manage but until you've actually gone and coached and gone and done the yards and and gone and done what's required to be done you can't sit here and say you want to be a manager until you've you understand what it takes and you see our manager now and you see the likes of eddie and the successful ones they was in even before you thought about getting up and still in even before you you know I mean when you was having your dinner they were still in so until you've actually gone and done that I think I want to do it I think I know what it should feel and smell and and look like and and I think I know how to work backwards from trying to win a promotion or trying to win a game but you need to go and do it and I've been sitting in the dressing room for a long time as I said with an opinion and why is he doing this second guessing that question in that it's a whole new new world when you're the one who's being looked at by 20 other lads and you're the one there delivering sessions so let's see well Tommy it's been an absolute pleasure having you on the official AFC Bournemouth podcast we hope you've enjoyed it too and we're certainly looking forward to seeing you around Vitality Stadium a little bit more now brilliant thank you now then if you've enjoyed listening to our podcast we would absolutely love it if you could like and subscribe on whatever platform you're listening to we'd also be very grateful for any shares on social media so that other fans via AFC Bournemouth related or the general football fan can enjoy it too our thanks again to Tommy Elphick and from Neil Perrett and myself Zoe Rundle thank you for tuning in to the official AFC Bournemouth podcast