Source: Team_Talk
Coach trips - What players did
Fulham and Liverpool's players travelled to Europe by road in midweek, and TEAMtalk's Simon Wilkes ponders what they did to pass the time.[LNB] Liverpool and Fulham's players are now back at their clubs after the midweek coach trips for their Europa League semi-final first legs against Atletico Madrid and Hamburg respectively.[LNB]Reds gaffer Rafa Benitez reckons their lengthy road journey - triggered by the volcanic eruption in Iceland which grounded all European flights - brought the squad closer together, while Cottagers keeper Mark Schwarzer admitted their pain-staking trek to Germany by road left them feeling a bit 'leggy'.[LNB]But here at TEAMtalk Towers and in our latest TEAMtalk Podcast we've been discussing what we think the players did to pass the time and keep themselves entertained.[LNB]Here's our top-five suggestions - feel free to come up with your own![LNB]5 - Ole! Bull-fighting[LNB]Pepe Reina got everyone in the Spanish mood by standing at the front of the coach with a red rag, inviting his team-mates to charge down the aisle. Steven Gerrard was the first to have a go, but as he ran towards he Reina he spotted a stray foot in the aisle and 'tripped' over. Old habits die hard I guess.[LNB]4 - Full moon[LNB]Roy Hodgson is getting on a bit now so we reckon he spent most of the journey pushing up zzzzzs, leading to all sorts of chaos ensuing at the back of the bus, where we reckon Messrs Zamora, Murphy, Duff and Hughes introduced the likes of Hangeland, Dempsey and Gera to the art of 'mooning' passing lorry drivers.[LNB]3 - Down the pan[LNB]Reports suggest Benitez thought they'd left Glen Johnson at Runcorn station as he was hardly seen on the bus - in fact he is believed to have spent most of his time in the on-board bog, trying to figure out how to unscrew the toilet seat and remove the taps from the sink. He may be on about £50,000 a week at Anfield - but we all love a bargain.[LNB]2 - Teacher's pet[LNB]Alberto Aquilani's agent says he's going nowhere in the summer - but it has been rumoured that he doesn't feel part of the Reds gang. His situation won't have been helped by the fact he probably sat at the front of the bus with Benitez to ensure the rowdy Reds at the back didn't shave his eyebrows off in a bid to break the boredom.[LNB]1 - Card School[LNB]We all know footballers love a flutter, so it's a dead-cert that each player will have been armed with a pack of cards to kill some time and blow some cash. Jamie Carragher and Dirk Kuyt are believed to have had a few fast and furious games of 'snap', while Bobby Zamora and Simon Davies had their calculators in hand to help them count to 21 while playing Blackjack.
