Declan Rice’s dancing and ‘Mr Grumpy’ revealed…
Last Updated: 06/05/20 3:29pm
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What prank left Jarrod Bowen creasing up on a West Ham away day? The new man reveals all in Teammates 2.0
What prank left Jarrod Bowen creasing up on a West Ham away day? The new man reveals all in Teammates 2.0.
The January signing from Hull spoke to Sky Sports’ Tubes from his home to give us the inside line on how life is going with his new club – before Premier League football was put on hold, anyway.
Who’s the funny man in the dressing room, who’s Mr Grumpy – and why are they the same person – and who’s he already come off second best against in training?
Bowen hit the ground running with a goal in his first Premier League start for West Ham in February
Players’ player?
Felipe Anderson. He’s Brazilian, the skills he’s got are incredible. I think he was injured when I first came, but when he came back in training, the stuff he does in training, he’s so calm about it and makes it look so easy.
In training he nutmegs everyone, luckily I’m on his team for small-sided games normally, but he just nutmegs everyone – I don’t know how he does it but he does it.
Funny man?
Robert Snodgrass. Funny man and Mr Grumpy?
Robert Snodgrass – 100 per cent. When I was with him at Hull, he was the same. I came here and thought he might be a couple of years older and have simmered down, but he’s even worse. The stuff he does, there’s a group of them, Snoddy, Mark Noble, they’re at each other 24/7. You go on away trips and I’m just there watching, trying not to get involved but also laughing at all the jokes and hoping they don’t turn onto me.
We’ll have dinner on an away trip or something, they’ll go and get some salt or some hand sanitising gel, they’ll go and get wraps and come back and I’ve seen it in the corner of my eye, someone has a drink and they’re like, ‘This tastes a bit weird?’
I’m thinking I can’t say anything because it’s going to happen to me if I do. You watch what they’ve put in it.
Hard as nails?
Fabian Balbuena. I’ve been training with him what, three months and the amount of times I’ve had to ice my ankle after because he’s just like clawed on my ankle. We hit knee-to-knee once and he blamed me.
I took it round him, he hit my knee and he blamed me because I should’ve passed it and shouldn’t have dribbled it – somehow it was my fault! He just kicks you and laughs about it.
Speed demon?
Michail Antonio. The fastest man in East London?
Michail Antonio. He’s just a power house. He’s a beast, literally. The first few days training we were against each other, and I went so far when we went shoulder to shoulder. He didn’t even try, he just put his arm across me. He’s quick, strong, powerful.
Ryan Fredericks is quick as well, a bit of a road runner but I’ve played against him before, when he was at Fulham and I was on the left. I thought he was rapid them. In the top three I’d put those two and me – I reckon that’s a good top three.
Hot stepper?
Declan Rice: Thumbs up for the squad’s hottest dancer?!
I’ve seen a couple of videos of Declan Rice. He proper loves it. Sometimes we see him doing dances on his own in the gym, no one asks him to – he just does it.
Mr Grumpy?
Snodgrass. The same as when I was at Hull. I remember I used to watch him and (Ahmed) Elmohamady and those two would just go at each other all the time. Snods is the biggest moaner, and like I said before, he’s still got it.
He gets proper annoyed, I remember we were doing something when we were in a few weeks ago and had to pass the ball out to him, and they passed it down the line but Snods was just like, ‘What you doing, pass it to my feet?’ The ball was in front of him or something, and he just got annoyed. He’s a moaner, but a top, top guy.
Fashion fail?
Carlos Sanchez, some of the stuff he wears. Sand-coloured chinos but three-quarter lengths. White socks, your normal adidas socks pulled up, a pair of Dr Martens and a big jacket over the top. I just think no, that’s not for me.
