Ben Herd / Ben Herd / 24 September 2008 / Leave a comment " class="free-bet-btn" rel="external" onclick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/G4/inline-freebet');" target="_blank">Free Bet

After watching the antics and then the triumph of the US at the Ryder Cup, Shrewsbury Town's Ben Herd reflects on home advantage and over-exuberant celebrations.

In some ways I was quite fortunate to be playing on a Sunday last week, as this gave me a valid excuse with the Mrs to lie about on the sofa all Saturday afternoon watching Europe getting their pants pulled down by the Yanks in the Ryder Cup.

I am by no means a keen golfer, but don't mind the odd round. However, I was enthralled at the tense drama unfolding at Valhalla. A lot has been made, especially in European quarters, of the unprofessional conduct of the American golfers and the spectators that descended on Kentucky at the weekend. Many pundits stated that their behaviour was "simply not golf".

From a fairly novice viewpoint, the American's attitude to winning at all costs was a real eye-opener. This is in stark contrast to British and European mentalities. Us Brits have a greater sense of fair play and are maybe more concerned with the etiquette of certain sports and how they should be played than winning.

There's no doubting home advantage played a key part in America's success. US players were buoyed by home support who, in turn, were incited by the over-the-top antics of Boo Weekley.

Home advantage is psychological. I look back to my early years at Shrewsbury Town when we played at the dilapidated but atmospheric Gay Meadow. Our manager at the time used to sit in the stands and watch the opposition arrive, inspect the pitch and then duly watch their heads drop.

You hear of old wives' tales that in years gone by (thankfully before my time), opposing managers turned off the heat in away dressing rooms, removed toilet roll, took away the light bulbs and turned off the hot water in the showers.

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Speaking of Boo Weekley's over-exuberant celebrations, this past weekend reminds me of some of the dodgy celebrations I've witnessed over the last few years. Not mentioning any names, but one stands out when one of the lads took his top off and got booked - little did he know that the booking contributed to him being suspended thus picking up a nice hefty fine! More energetic celebrations have seen players even lose digits. In a foreign game, a player scaled a fence and got his wedding ring caught and lost a finger in the process - ouch!

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Injuries can occur not just in your 90 minutes, but even before the game; take Deco at the weekend going down in the warm-up. Thankfully, I've not been injured during a warm-up, touch wood. Stuart Delaney, first team/fitness coach at the club, takes us for all of our warm-ups before games. This season he has come in for a bit of stick, most notably from a certain centre-forward at the club who always shouts "Turn the page!" implying we always do the same routine.

Stuart has been at the club for the same amount of time as myself, and I've always found his warm-ups more than thorough. He's always trying to incorporate the ball into as many aspects of his sessions.

Deco is a player people would pay the entrance fee alone to watch. Another player who immediately springs to mind in this category is Cristiano Ronaldo. He is a player even I would pay money to watch (no mean feat). Ronaldo's ability to go past a player is a dying art in the modern game. He can do things with a football that I wouldn't even bother attempting for fear of falling flat on my face! Fortunately, for me there aren't many Ronaldos busting their tricks in League Two. I wouldn't mind pitting my wits against United's number seven. I would probably get torn apart, but the experience of playing against the best winger in the world would be great.

This weekend could possibly see the starting return of Ronaldo in the Red Devils' local derby against Bolton. United have surely got to start trouncing teams just as they did last year on their way to Premiership glory.

With Ronaldo nearing full match fitness, this could be the catalyst that United need and the supply chain for Berbatov to thrive on. Let's see if one of my bets can actually come off, as I'm taking a bit of stick at training. I'm going for the game to have Over 2.5 goals at [1.79] - that seems like a fairly safe bet, god willing!