Source: Daily_Mail
You must be joking! Everton star Bily finds banter is part of English football
Diniyar Bilyaletdinov has had little problem getting used to English football, or even driving on the left, but the Russian has more trouble when it comes to Everton's dressing room banter.[LNB]The £10million summer signing from Lokomotiv Moscow has already been the unfortunate victim of captain Phil Neville's jokes and has now been told to prepare a song for the Blues' Christmas party.[LNB]'Before each season and at Christmas, when everyone comes together for dinner, each player has to sing something,' Bilyaletdinov told Russian newspaper Sport Express. 'So I'm getting ready for December.[LNB] Settling in: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov celebrates a goal for Everton against Aston Villa last month[LNB]'Perhaps it needs to be something in Russian, so that they don't understand what I'm on about and no one else can join in.[LNB]'We love to joke. Before one team meal, Phil Neville called me up 10 minutes before and said everyone had to dress smartly. I took it seriously and turned up all smart, in a jacket and tie, and all the guys were sitting there in jeans, T-shirts and trainers.'[LNB]Despite the ribbing, Bilyaletdinov counts Neville and fellow midfielder Tim Cahill as the two team-mates who have helped him settle in the most.[LNB]And it was former Manchester United player Neville came up with the goods when the 24-year-old wanted tickets to see CSKA Moscow play at Old Trafford in the Champions League last week.[LNB]Humour aside, Bilyaletdinov has revealed it was not such a culture shock relocatin to England.[LNB]The left winger has recently moved into a rented apartment and enjoys the relative calm of Liverpool compared to the traffic jams of the Russian capital.[LNB]He set straight a Russian journalist who wondered if it really is true that, in England, it is compulsory to drink tea at 5pm.[LNB] Heads up: Bilyaletdinov in action for Everton against Benfica last week[LNB]'So far I haven't drunk tea,' he said. Asked if the English were prim and proper, he replied: 'It depends what you mean.[LNB]'People are the same everywhere. Naturally they have their own traditions and habits.[LNB]'For example, on Friday and Saturday nights, Liverpudlians sit in pubs and walk through the city. In fact, Muscovites do the same thing. The only difference is that they finish at two in the morning (in Liverpool), while in our capital you can find fun till 5am!'[LNB]He has impressed for his new club, enough for Russia boss Guus Hiddink to declare that Bilyaletdinov has silenced doubters who thought he was too weak to make it in England.[LNB]Describing the difference in football styles, Bilyaletdinov said: 'The game is not so much faster, it's more than you need to concentrate fully from start to finish. Dawdle and you are immediately punished. You always need to be ready for action.'[LNB] West Ham 1 Everton 2: Returning hero Louis Saha puts Toffees back on trackEverton defender Phil Jagielka return hit by new knee problemEVERTON FC
