Source: Daily_Mail
You won't spook Rodwell: Everton protege takes it all in his stride
A legend emerged from an Everton trip to the North East last seasonwhich ends with Jack Rodwell quivering beneath his bedsheets in an oldmanor house hotel.
Ghost stories had been exchanged over dinner after someone claimedSlaley Hall was haunted and Rodwell became spooked when he retired forthe night, only to find his TV seemingly possessed, changing channelsand pumping the volume.
So when he heard loud wailing outside, the teenager panicked and leapt into his bed for cover. At least that's the version relayed by a team-mate - the one who was hiding in the room with the remote control, not the ones outside screaming.
The problem is, no one who saw Rodwell's unruffled performance for England in the European Under 21 Championships against Germany in Sweden on Monday will believe it is true.
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He looked unflappable in the midfield holding role. 'Beyond his years,' said team boss Stuart Pearce.
Ray Hall, manager of Everton's prolific Academy, recalls the youngster returning from England U16s duty after becoming the first person to score a winning goal for his country at the new Wembley Stadium.
'That was quite something for a kid of his age,' said Hall. 'Yet he never mentioned it when he got back. There are plenty who would've been crowing about it, but he never said a word. That's how he is.'
Rodwell had already passed a temperament test for first-year scholars at Everton when they are made to sing in front of their team-mates at the Christmas lunch.
'Everyone says how quiet and laid back Jack is, but he didn't flinch for a second. He belted it out as if he were born to be on stage,' said Hall. 'He's a very sensible lad but, believe me, he doesn't lack confidence.'
Rodwell played 25 times for Everton last season, scored his first goal, signed a lucrative five-year contract and made it into Pearce's squad. His Under 21 debut, against France in March, came three weeks after his 18th birthday.
'I started out playing football in the park with my Dad,' said Rodwell yesterday, speaking from England's coastal retreat in Varberg. 'My Dad was a bit of a ball player, but he couldn't really be bothered playing.
'I heard from a lot of people he could have done things but just didn't have the right attitude. He realised he didn't take the path when he got the chance, so he made sure I've stuck to it. I've not done anything yet, so he keeps me working hard.'
Everton spotted Rodwell at the age of six, playing with his brother's team, Birkdale United, made up of kids two years older.
'My parents said it was maybe a bit too young, but a year later I went for trials and I've been at Everton ever since,' he said. 'I never really supported anyone when I was younger, but I'm an Evertonian now.'
His uncle, Tony, was a Blackpool winger in the Nineties, but the nephew is expected to eventually play in central defence.
'It's only the last season when I've played in central midfield,' he said. 'The person I've always looked up to is Rio Ferdinand and it's brilliant to be compared to him. I do like to play out from the back, so that's probably why they've played me in midfield, because I'm comfortable on the ball.'
Rodwell and Ferdinand swapped shirts after Everton beat Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final, a cherished souvenir from a breakthrough season which may yet include something from Sweden to sit alongside his FA Cup runners-up medal.
Pearce must make a tough decision ahead of Friday's semi-final in Gothenburg because Fabrice Muamba, rested to give Rodwell a game against Germany, has also been in exceptional form.
But the youngest player in the squad will not be afraid to step forward if asked. As long as no one reveals the team hotel is a former tuberculosis sanatorium and his team-mates resist the temptation to hide in his wardrobe, coughing.
