Decemberists 42 Posted January 20, 2020 (edited) Don’t know if it some Wikipedia editing shenanigans, but Millwall supporting colleague saying Marshall is playing for a pub team now and is overweight. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Marshall Edited January 20, 2020 by Decemberists Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mason 47 1,379 Posted January 20, 2020 (edited) He has indeed signed for Stoneclough FC in the West Lancs League. He said in his 'signing interview' that one of the biggest appeals is that training is only once a week and it's optional. Bizarre. Edited January 20, 2020 by Mason 47 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Decemberists 42 Posted January 20, 2020 Here it is on Twitter. I hope he gets himself back into professional game, but doesn’t sound like he has the drive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hogesar 9,668 Posted January 20, 2020 Looks like we've gone and Simon Whaley'd him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Midlands Yellow 3,980 Posted January 20, 2020 Millwall fans are speculating or are maybe in the know that Ben likes to party a little too hard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
king canary 7,605 Posted January 20, 2020 I think we just assume all footballers love the game as much as we do, even though for some it is just a job. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hogesar 9,668 Posted January 20, 2020 9 minutes ago, king canary said: I think we just assume all footballers love the game as much as we do, even though for some it is just a job. Well yeah, but he's gone from CEO of a chain of Restaurants to a part-time McDonalds assistant in 18 months! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ron obvious 1,502 Posted January 20, 2020 This made me curious as to what David Bentley was doing, so I looked him up. He seems to be doing OK: On 13 June 2014, Bentley announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 29, having been without a club for over a year. He stated in an interview that he had fallen out of love with football, calling the modern game "robotic" due to the influence of social media and money, as well as "predictable and a bit too calculated". He said that he wished to spend time with his three children.[50][51] By October 2014, Bentley was a co-owner of a restaurant in Marbella, Spain, where he and his family had moved to.[52] Bentley has also invested in beach clubs and in a restaurant in Woodford Green, London with Raheem Sterling and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.[53][54] In 2015, as part of a job-swap documentary for Irish television,[55] Bentley trained for and played in a Gaelic football match for Crossmaglen Rangers; in return, Aaron Kernan was to train with Sunderland.[56] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Woodman 92 Posted January 20, 2020 In other news, Wolves are rumoured to be looking at Oliveira (9 goals in 15 games). Can't see it myself... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
daly 501 Posted January 20, 2020 Other news Is l’m off to Aldi’s Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HertsCanary93 222 Posted January 20, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, ron obvious said: This made me curious as to what David Bentley was doing, so I looked him up. He seems to be doing OK: He has done some very interesting interviews on BT in recent years talking about the behind the scenes of modern football. From memory - he absolutely fell in love with his time at Blackburn, due to the tight bond the squad, manager and club staff all shared. This meant when he moved on, he became increasingly disillusioned with football as squads became more interested in fast cars, social media and fame, than wanting to be a great team. Edited January 20, 2020 by HertsCanary93 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Old Shuck 183 Posted January 20, 2020 David Batty hated football and everything to do with it-couldn't wait to get out of the game once he'd finished playing. His idea of a good holiday was exploring the Yorkshire moors in his VW Camper. Strikes me as odd you'd do something for a living that you hated simply because you'd have had to have put the work in to get where you ended up, at a high level in his case, but then I guess the remuneration on offer was incentive enough? I'd sign a 4 year contract to clean all the public loos in Ipswich by hand for £80,000 a week....so... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vlad666 203 Posted January 20, 2020 It’s a joke obviously. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dean Coneys boots 1,400 Posted January 20, 2020 (edited) It isn't a joke https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/2020/01/20/former-wolves-man-ben-marshall-signs-for-12th-tier-side/ but all sorts of possibilities as to why. Perhaps he just wants to enjoy social football? Perhaps he hasn't been well mentally or physically? He might want to get a job outside of football? He might loath training. Good for him if it is what he wants. But a strange one certainly - given his age and undoubted quality which is far above the 12 tier. Unless of course, which seems likely, it is a publicity stunt...or a joke with his mates. Edited January 20, 2020 by Dean Coneys boots 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chumino 57 Posted January 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Old Shuck said: David Batty hated football and everything to do with it-couldn't wait to get out of the game once he'd finished playing. His idea of a good holiday was exploring the Yorkshire moors in his VW Camper. Strikes me as odd you'd do something for a living that you hated simply because you'd have had to have put the work in to get where you ended up, at a high level in his case, but then I guess the remuneration on offer was incentive enough? I'd sign a 4 year contract to clean all the public loos in Ipswich by hand for £80,000 a week....so... Interesting about David Batty. Met very few footballers face to face over the years but once did a little business with Mr Batty. Ended up in his kitchen chatting for a while. He was at his peak at the time but never once spoke about football nor wanted to, was smart, articulate and really down to earth. Not surprised about the humble holiday in a campervan. Came away thinking nice bloke. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vlad666 203 Posted January 20, 2020 38 minutes ago, Dean Coneys boots said: It isn't a joke https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/2020/01/20/former-wolves-man-ben-marshall-signs-for-12th-tier-side/ but all sorts of possibilities as to why. Perhaps he just wants to enjoy social football? Perhaps he hasn't been well mentally or physically? He might want to get a job outside of football? He might loath training. Good for him if it is what he wants. But a strange one certainly - given his age and undoubted quality which is far above the 12 tier. Unless of course, which seems likely, it is a publicity stunt...or a joke with his mates. Sorry, I was replying to the line about training. He was joking in the interview saying he’s miles above this level and he’s wants the captains armband immediately. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alex Moss 2,165 Posted January 20, 2020 People aren’t taking this seriously, surely? 🤦🏻♂️ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TIL 1010 4,745 Posted January 20, 2020 3 hours ago, Alex Moss said: People aren’t taking this seriously, surely? 🤦🏻♂️ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cornish sam 953 Posted January 20, 2020 Apparently he's been there since October and we had to give them clearance to have him! https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/18173781.stoneclough-landed-former-blackburn-norwich-winger/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hogesar 9,668 Posted January 21, 2020 Yeah, someone said he has already been playing for them. Can tell he is down to just the one day a week training mind.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yellow Wal 314 Posted January 21, 2020 Perhaps that's the problem, he does love the game and fell out of love with it by sitting on the bench all the while and not playing. He's said training is not really for him so it must be a meaningless existence for him. Train all week, sit on the bench on Saturday and watch the match without getting much game time. In a similar way this is why grassroots football is declining. With more than 20% of a full team sitting on the benches watching the game go by, possibly after leaving work early to get there and travelling 20, 30 miles to the game, and then standing on the sidelines in the rain watching others play would not be my idea of fun. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
king canary 7,605 Posted January 21, 2020 17 hours ago, Old Shuck said: David Batty hated football and everything to do with it-couldn't wait to get out of the game once he'd finished playing. His idea of a good holiday was exploring the Yorkshire moors in his VW Camper. Strikes me as odd you'd do something for a living that you hated simply because you'd have had to have put the work in to get where you ended up, at a high level in his case, but then I guess the remuneration on offer was incentive enough? I'd sign a 4 year contract to clean all the public loos in Ipswich by hand for £80,000 a week....so... Loads of people do jobs they don't enjoy for far less money that footballers. As a solid Championship player he could easily have earned £10k a week for a few years, that is £500k before any extra bonuses. Do that for five or six years and he's earned more than lots of folks do in their lifetimes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lake district canary 4,531 Posted January 21, 2020 11 minutes ago, king canary said: Loads of people do jobs they don't enjoy for far less money that footballers. As a solid Championship player he could easily have earned £10k a week for a few years, that is £500k before any extra bonuses. Do that for five or six years and he's earned more than lots of folks do in their lifetimes. True, but quite a lot of footballers struggle mentally with dealing with the hype, fame and the money - some miss the fame after they finish, but others just want to get back to a more normal way of life and treat their football career as only a small part of their lives. It has probably set him up for life anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites