Dressing room bust-ups occur because we care and want to achieve the same goals, says Ben Herd

English Football League / Ben Herd / 10 December 2008 / Leave a Comment

Shrewsbury's affable right-back Ben Herd on testerone-filled dressing rooms, Nemanja Vidic and dressing up as the 118 118 characters with fellow betting.betfair.com columnist Gavin Mahon.

It would seem William Gallas' disruptive influence is more catching than the common cold this winter time with Roy Carroll being suspended for two weeks, after a heated exchange with his Gaffer.

It does make me wonder exactly what a heated exchange means where a player has to be suspended because, being in the dressing room, you hear all sorts of colourful language. It must happen at every single club up and down the country, even in the Sunday league. I think everyone realises that football is an emotional game and, in the heat of battle, words are said between players and obviously sometimes the manager has to get his point across.

We're all guilty of this; I've barked at team mates in no uncertain terms before and also been on the end of a tongue-lashing. These moments of aggression spill out not because we don't like one another as players, but because we care and want to achieve the same goals.

I've heard some pretty harsh things said though, and once or twice during my career, I've witnessed team mates come to blows, especially in the youth-team with all that testosterone flowing about!

I know it's not what you're taught during school, but sometimes it's not so bad if two lads want to go at it. Unlike the fairer sex, most blokes see sense in the end and end up best mates with a handshake. One funny story I remember which happened last season, was two players having a go at each other when one was lost for insults to hurl, he called a player a "retard". The other player lost all anger and just burst out laughing. This is something they still laugh about today.

More often than not, the most vocal players on the pitch tend to be the central defenders. My missus always tells me that I'm quite bossy on the pitch, always pointing and telling other players where to be etc. One rather vocal central defender (and one who I'm not sure I'd like to come to blows with) who seems irreplaceable since his arrival at Old Trafford is Nemanja Vidic. Fergie obviously saw a great defender when he signed him, but I'm sure he couldn't have foreseen him nicking a 90th minute winner with his feet!

Goals spread around are crucial if a team is to be successful. In some cases it takes the pressure off the centre-forwards' shoulders. My tally for this season is precisely zero and has been for the past two years. This is disappointing considering in my first season I notched three times.

I know this might sound hard to believe, but I've got the plaque at my Dad's house to prove it, that when I was 10 years old, I scored 65 goals in 65 appearances!

The best goal that I've ever scored was in a reserve game just before I came to Shrewsbury, let me talk you through it; it was against Fulham, a cross came in from the left and I hit it on the volley from the corner of the 18-yard box and it flew into the top left hand corner.

It was quite funny because Billy McKinlay, the Fulham captain, came up to me shortly afterwards and said "If you meant that, then you shouldn't be playing here." I said that I meant it and that I wouldn't be here much longer anyway - little did he know I meant Shrewsbury Town.

We're moving into the season of Christmas parties. Our Christmas party this year, and for the third year running, is in Manchester. This might have something to do with the majority of the lads not having to travel a great deal.

I must admit, the first Christmas party I went to was when I was a first-year scholar, and I just remember seeing the first-team lads in a completely different light. Obviously, as a youth-teamer, you didn't socialise with any first-team players and witnessing them relax away from the training ground was new to me at the time.

I've had a mixture of themes for Christmas parties, fancy dress being the main one. Me and fellow Betfair columnist Gavin Mahon having to go as '118 118' - that is probably the coldest I've ever been, walking round a town centre in shorts and a vest. It usually ends up in one or two bars with the lads enjoying themselves and singing along to 70s and 80s music - air guitar 'n' all.

People that can sing slightly better than pro footballers are the three remaining acts in X-Factor. My early tip for Laura went well! But my new tip is for Eoghan (how that spells Owen I don't know!). I got him at [4.6] which isn't bad considering he's got the whole of Northern Ireland and all the housewives voting for him. Alexandra is clearly the best vocally (if I do say so myself) but I just don't see where her votes are going to come from.

One player that definitely doesn't have the looks for pop stardom is Dirk Kuyt. Luckily enough for Kuyt, he has adapted his game so well from a bustling centre-forward to a working dog on the wing. It would seem that he has made himself indispensible under Rafa Benitez with his enthusiasm and appetite for work, not to mention chipping in with a few important goals.

The red half of Liverpool take on the surprise package of the season, Hull City. Liverpool have slipped up against the so-called lesser teams at home this season, but I think they'll have too much for Hull, although I fancy it to be level at the break. So it's Draw/Liverpool for me, in the Half-Time/Full-Time market, about [4.4]. When the market develops, have a go with Kuyt for First Goalscorer for good measure.