Ben Herd / Ben Herd / 03 December 2008 / Leave a comment " class="free-bet-btn" rel="external" onclick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/G4/inline-freebet');" target="_blank">Free Bet

The Shrewsbury right-back urges us to ignore the words of kindly teachers, offers some harsh truths about what it to takes to make it in the game and calls for a mid-winter break.

He may or may not have been misquoted but Robinho has apparently hinted that not all of his team-mates at Eastlands have the same winning mentality as himself (I suppose that's what you might find when you swap Real Madrid for Manchester City).

Robinho's comments got me thinking about my time as a YTS apprentice and about the question of players' mentalities. As a youth-teamer, the thing I noticed most when I was invited to train with the first team was how much the older pros hated losing. Forget all that, 'it's the taking part' that they teach you at school.

This season is probably the first since I've been at Shrewsbury that I see similar mentalities - take for example Graham Coughlan, a vastly experienced pro and a real nice lad, but you should see him when his team loses at a 5-a-side, kicking cones and moaning. Personally, I think it's brilliant because it shows that just in training it means that much to him. I use Cocko as an example, but there are plenty more in the current squad that are exactly the same.

I don't think it's by any means a fluke that the Gaffer has filled the team with players who have experienced promotions, and this winning mentality can only benefit the younger members of the squad. I'm sure in some teams, especially in League Two, they're just happy to plod along and be safe in their comfort zone.

There was no game for us last weekend so the manager very kindly gave us a few days off. This was so the lads with knocks could recover and rest before the busy Christmas period gets into gear.

Every year, there seems to be a debate as to when the English Leagues will fall in line with the rest of Europe iand have a winter break. I think it'd be a great idea; get the Christmas fixtures out of the way and shut down for a couple of weeks in January. This would give everyone a chance to get themselves away, raring to go for the second half of the season and feeling refreshed. It would also provide a break from some of the bad banter I endure for nine months of the year!

In League Two, there seems to be a lot of postponements at that time of year due to the weather, so it would make sense to catch up with these fixtures with a couple of mid-week games in mid-May.

One player who wouldn't have played for us even if we had had a game at the weekend is Marc Tierney, as he's gone on loan to Colchester. I wish Marc the very best and hopefully next year we will be playing against one another.

I remember saying to my hyperactive Geordie flat-mate when I first came to Shrewsbury, that there were some decent players in the lower leagues who had adapted really well to the physicality of the lower leagues. One of the differences between the Championship and lower leagues is the amount of time you get on the ball. Players who can get to grips with the hurly-burly and have good technical ability would make, at least on paper, half-decent Championship players.

I'm surprised Championship clubs don't take more of punts on lower league players - the ones who have, have proved relatively successful, my mate Dave Edwards being one of them. I suppose, in the current financial climate, higher teams may be forced to look lower down the leagues for players.

One player to rise from non-league to the England squad is Jimmy Bullard. I love watching this practical joker in his TV interviews. I've heard plenty of stories of some of the mischief Jimmy gets up to at Fulham's training ground, like wearing lads' brand new trainers out for training (wouldn't be happy if he did it to me though!). David Hunt is the practical joker at our club, mainly hiding car keys.

Bullard epitomises the work rate and technical ability required in the Premier League, but I'm sure his time in the lower leagues have shaped the player that he is today.

Bullard takes on Robinho as Fulham are at home to Man City on Saturday. I would take a punt on a draw on this one at [3.45] and Robinho to score at any time at around [2.0] when the market develops.