Craig Liddle Q&A

 Sorry Pete i have to disagree with you on that one. I loved Feethams and i'd go back there tomorrow given the chance. The atmosphere at that ground was special to me and something i will never forget. The new ground is fantastic but if i had to choose it would be Feethams.

I have read the message boards from time to time and i think some of the younger lads read them quite a bit. At one point i think you lot got to know things before the players which was a bit strange. If i'm honest i prefer not to read them though but i think its great that the fans get the chance to put their opinions across.

 The new lads have settled in very well and all seem to be good lads. Curtis i have known since my Boro days will be a great signing, its not every day that Darlo get to sign a former international player is it? I think his experience will be vital in the months ahead. Jo Kendrick and Steve Thomas have done very well so far and both look to be good additions to the squad. Closey you know all about and obviously Sam will be up against Pricey for the number 1 jersey.

I will be surprised if we don't play 5 3 2 as that has always been the formation the gaffer has preferred. We do have the players to change things if need be which is always good.

As for how will we do? I'm certain we will do better than last year, it would be great to finish in the right half of the table which i'm sure we are capable of.Alot will depend on the start we get so lets hope we get off to a good one on Saturday. Cheers.

Before the gaffer came in last year we looked dead and buried along with Carlisle so he deserves an awful lot of the credit.

The young lads in the squad grew up very quickly in the second half of the season, the work rate and skill they showed was excellent and it showed that if you have everyone pulling in the same direction you have got a chance in this league.

As i said before the gaffer protected us as much as he could from what was going on behind the scenes which made our jobs a lot easier.

My son Ben is football mad. He's 5 and is playing for an under 8 side. At first i tried to protect him and stop him playing as he was 3 years younger than most but he is doing ok and gives as good as he gets on the pitch. If he wants to do it when he is older i will back him because it is the best job in the world. I'm not a dad who will stand on the touchline and coach him i will just stand back and watch and if he wants my advice i'll gladly give him it.

I've no problem with what the big players earn after all if someone offers you 50 grand a week i don't think many would say no that's too much. Having played in the lower leagues for the majority of my career i, like most, have a mortgage and a car to pay for (and a wife with expensive taste-don't we all).

At this stage of my career i have to start looking at alternative careers whereas the big boys can just sit back and enjoy the rest of their lives but good luck to them.

I honestly can say i have no regrets about not leaving Darlo.I could of made a lot more money by leaving a few years ago but the club have looked after me very well and yes the supporters made a massive contribution to me staying on. Last season made me reliase even more so that i had made the right decision to stay when my dad was ill. If i had been playing down the country somewhere i wouldn't have been able to spend as much time with him as i did before he died so i think fate again has a big part to play in life.

The club now seems to be pretty stable and for the first time in a long time is being run professionally. Some of the things that have happened in the past were embarrassing but that's all behind us and that alone should give us reason to be optimistic

The best things about being a footballer are getting paid to do something you love. Most footballers tend not to see how lucky there are until the latter stages of their career. I get to spend a lot of time with my kids due to the hours we work which is great (most of the time).The worst is losing. If we lose on a Saturday my wife just keeps out of my way because she knows how upset i get. If we have planned to go for a meal or a night out with friends can turn into a nightmare with me sitting sulking all night.

The other downside is criticism. No player likes to be criticised but unfortunately its part of the job and it is how you deal with it is what matters.

 I agree with you completely but its something as players and fans we have to get used to. As i said before Feethams was special to me and we all have some great memories from there but hopefully if we can be successful at the new ground i'm sure we will warm to it a bit more.

If we start well and get off to a good start we have every chance of staying up there. The latter part of last season showed we are capable of matching the top teams so with a bit of luck and a 20 goal a season striker on board then why not.

I think we have a lot of very good young players at the club but i will be biased here and pick my two partners last season in Matt and Joey who i think can go on and play at a higher level.

Like all the young lads it will depend on just how far they actually want to go if they are happy just picking up a wage and don't want to learn and dedicate themselves enough then they will fall by the wayside.

 I can remember the campaign very well and was very grateful to the supporters because i was being forced out and was getting an awful lot of hassle at the time.

I just felt at the time that it would be wrong to let someone bully me into doing something i didn't want to do and after the reception i got at the Scunthorpe game i just felt i couldn't turn my back on a set of supporters who had given me such great support over the years. It certainly something i and my family will never forget.

I think the atmosphere has changed a lot over the last few months but the gaffer deserves a great deal of credit for the way he shielded the players from it last year he was absolutely fantastic. He kept us informed of what was going on but made it clear we owed it to ourselves, families and the supporters to not let it affect us and to go out and win enough games to keep us up and give the club a fighting chance of surviving.

Many times over the years i've had a chuckle to myself at some of the chants that have come out of the tinshed, i'm probably best keeping them to myself as alot were directed at one man in particular so i don't want to offend anyone.

The atmosphere at the new ground is a bit strange and took some getting used to as it always feels empty to me. I think its because we are so far away from the stands compared to Feethams.

 I honestly don't know Nick. It would be a dream of mine to see this contract out and get another year which will entitle me to a testimonial.

With the injuries i've had and my age its going to be difficult but i'm just glad to be still playing because this time last year i was advised to give up because of my knee.

I have alot of respect for most professional footballers but if i had to pick one it would be Peter Beardsley,being a Newcastle fan as a kid i've followed his career over the years and he has been a terrific ambassador both on and off the field. The only time he let himself down was when he signed for some team down the road in blue and white stripes.(only joking!)

 I agree i think we have a decent squad but it is very small and i'm sure the Gaffer will strengthen it when he can. We are all waiting to see which strikers he is going to get and i think will determine how well we do.

The lads seem confident we will do ok obviously the Peterborough game knocked us back a bit but overall i would say we are confident of finishing in the right half of the table.

I think we are a bit short of the play off squad in terms of strength in depth and quality but we had no luck that year so with a bit of luck you never know.

The knee is fine thanks. Surgery went well and although i don't think it will ever be 100% again its certainly better that it has been for a while. My main concern is the stomach problem i picked up at Boston last season. We thought it was a stomach strain but i had actually torn part of the muscle off my pubic bone. I've had a few injections over the last few weeks (painful to say the least) so hopefully that will do the trick and i can have a relatively pain free season for a change.

Cheers, sorry about the tenner i'm a bit skint at the minute i've just took a pay cut and times are hard.

 At the time my wife was pregnant so it was a great chance to play regular first team football and stay in the area close to our families. I didn't really know alot about the club to be honest but looking back over the last seven or eight seasons i think i made the right choice.

Best player i have played with at Darlo has to be Gabbas, at this level nobody could handle him he was just to powerful and clever for defenders.

Honestly don't mind stripes or the hoops i'm just glad we didn't change to red and white like someone once suggested

 Best moment in a Darlo shirt has to be the play off games against Hartlepool. My son has them on video and watches them now and again, i still get goose bumps now when i see my goal go in. The worst moment was the final whistle at Wembley. It was a cruel end to what was a fantastic season.

The best player i have faced was probably Robbie Fowler when he was in his prime. I played against him at Anfield one day and he was awesome, he got 4 that day.

Best player played with has to be Juninho at Boro. He was fantastic and a really nice person to match.

I honestly don't know what he did to break the curfew. All we read is what you did in the paper.

Very difficult to say the least. For three days i went on a bender and probably didn't sober up until the Monday. I'll never forget the pain of that night but my family were great and we went away on holiday the following week which helped a little.

Having watched the game a few times over the years i still can't believe we lost it.

It should be fun. We both know each other quite well so it will be an interesting night and i'm sure he will be desperate to score so i'll have to be on my toes to keep him quiet

 As i said before it will depend on the start we get. Silly predictions have been made over the last few years so lets just say i think we will improve on last year.

I do have my coaching qualifications already so it is an option i may take up.

At the minute i'm busy setting up a business with a friend which will hopefully make me a millionaire but i wont bore you with the details of that just yet.

If i was to go into coaching i would love to start off here but only time will tell. cheers

 The new lads have settled in very well and all seem to be good lads. Curtis i have known since my Boro days will be a great signing, its not every day that Darlo get to sign a former international player is it? I think his experience will be vital in the months ahead.

Jo Kendrick and Steve Thomas have done very well so far and both look to be good additions to the squad. Closey you know all about and obviously Sam will be up against Pricey for the number 1 jersey.

I will be surprised if we don't play 5 3 2 as that has always been the formation the gaffer has preferred. We do have the players to change things if need be which is always good.

As for how will we do? I'm certain we will do better than last year, it would be great to finish in the right half of the table which i'm sure we are capable of.Alot will depend on the start we get so lets hope we get off to a good one on Saturday. Cheers.

 I think like most supporters i was delighted when George brought the gaffer back. I said at the time i thought he was possibly one of the only people who could have kept us in the league at the time. His experience, knowledge and passion for the club were second to none so it was a great relief when he took the job on again. He is very well respected man and the lads who hadn't worked for him before took to him from day one.

Can't really comment on that. I have tried to answer most questions but that one could be a bit risky. All i will say is he built a fantastic stadium for the club and tried to run things differently to how other clubs were ran and it didn't work for him. Maybe he was out of his depth running a football club without trying to sound disrespectful

 The most talented goalscorer would be Robbie Fowler but talented player would be Teddy Sheringham. I once had the job of man marking him for Boro and i just couldn't get near him. He was just so clever at finding space and his control was so good it was frightening. I think the only thing that stopped him being world class was his lack of pace.

There is a couple of youngsters who could do well and one is a striker but i wont name them as it would be unfair to single players out from the youth side as i don't get time to see them play that much.

If the chance came up to manage Darlo i think it would be to hard for me to turn down. The club means a great deal to me having spent the best years of my career here so i would have to say yes, but not for a while yet.

As i said before the play off games, and walking out at Wembley with my family in the stands was also something i'll never forget. It was something i always dreamed of as a kid and i am really glad my dad was around to see it.

I always try to better my previous season so this season i'll be looking for 5

Thank you for saying so but i try not to think about it. I am very proud not only to play for the club but to have captained the side on many occasions so it is nice if i'm well thought of.
I think some of the lads used to play it when it first started but no one seems to mention it any more so i don't know. Personally i've never played it.

 Proc has been brilliant since coming in during the summer and the lads have all enjoyed working with him. His training has been fun but quite similar to that of the gaffers so not a great deal has changed we still work on the same principles of trying to pass the ball rather than some of the teams in our league. I know it might not seem like that at times but we are encouraged to try and pass the ball around.

My pre match routine is pretty much the same for every game. I get up and have breakfast around about 8 o clock (kids permitting, sometimes can be earlier).I then have a bath around 11 ish then a pre match of cereal at about 11.45, then set off for game around about 12.30. I like to be at the ground earlier so i can relax a bit before going out for the warm up at 2.30. Obviously if we are away things change a bit.

This summer i've spent most of the time recovering from my knee op, although i couldn't do much i still came in for physio 2 or 3 times a week to check everything was going ok. Normally i like to keep myself in shape by going to the gym or having the odd run now and again. The older you get the less time you can afford to have off i feel.

I haven't really got a favourite if i had to choose i would probably go for Orient simply because i scored my first goal there.

I think the rebranding is a little sill. Why people think every year something has to be changed is beyond me. It was nice to jump up a league though and it sounds a little better being in league 2 rather than division 3

I quite enjoy playing and training with the young lads it helps keep me young. I admit i do feel old when they put their music on in the dressing room and i do take a bit of stick from some of them as well.

I don't think i'm ever critical of them. I try to demand they do things right on the pitch and we have a laugh about it in the dressing room after games if i've lost my temper on the pitch. I am a passionate person and i hate losing and all the lads know that and up until now i've never had a problem with any of them
I think a bit of both really.

Again i'm not critical of any of them i just try to demand they do the right things on the pitch that's all part of being a captain or an experienced player. On the other hand if someone is having a bad time and are getting a bit of stick i try to take the responsibility of encouraging them and keeping their heads up. I think a good leader — captain not only sets a good example on the pitch but also off it and on the training ground to.

 Before kick off i think of my family. My family come first no matter what and i know how proud they are of what i have achieved so that spurs me on probably more than anything.

Supporters also play a big part in motivation its great running out in front of you all and i still get a great buzz from that but above all i would have to say my family are my main motivation.

One thing that sticks in my mind everytime we go to Swansea was an incident in the dressing room in the play off year. The gaffer was right bang in the middle of a serious teamtalk about 10 minutes before kick off when he picks up a water bottle to take a drink of water. Little did he know that the physio had filled one up with baby oil to massage the lads legs. The gaffer picked it up and before any one could stop him took a massive mouthful much to the amusement of all the lads.

I think the fans can lift the lads but equally i think the lads can lift the fans. It sometimes takes a strong challenge or a foul to get supporters going sometimes and when that happens as a home side i find it does tend to give you a lift.

 Myself Asp and tuts had a great understanding and i enjoyed playing with them more than anyone else. We were all relatively experienced so it became quite easy at times. The two lads now are different, they are just starting out and i will try to help them as much as i can along the way. They both are good enough to go on and play higher but it will all depend on just how much they are prepared to listen and learn from the likes of the gaffer and Proc.

No, he's too big for that. We do have a laugh though at the time when he played against us for Halifax though. Because he was to big for me to compete fairly against in the air i tried to nip him every time he went to jump which upset him a bit. It must of worked because he had a nightmare that day and was took off.

I have tried the beer but i'm a lager man myself. It was a fantastic honour for me to have a beer named after me and i'm very proud of it and have a few bottles in the house to show my mates when they come round.
Probably fortune west. I've had a few tussles with him over the years but i've nothing against him, its always tough but fair.