West Ham Kit Manager James Saban reveals all to the Daily Football Ramble podcast after a tour of the club’s facilities while discussing the busy upcoming Christmas period and how his job has changed over his 12 years at the club.
James reveals that Academy players no longer clean the boots of senior players but they do need to clean their own boots. The kit manager needs to carry hairdryers, lighters, hair bands and clips to away games to help maintain the boots and hair of the first-team squad.
He explains that some of the more popular players got through shirts more than other giving their shirts away and often shirts are donated after a match. The shirts against Everton were donated to Children in Need while the poppy shirts closest to Remembrance Sunday are sold in aid of the Brtish Legion. Saban reveals that ten of the normal starting eleven players will change their match shirt at half time. Fabianski is revealed as the one player who refuses to change his shirt at half time.
Asked about funny stories involving players he said he once laid out two left boots for Guy Demel and that Andre Ayew used to throw his ironed shirt on the dressing room before a game as part of a ritual.
Listen here to the 33-minute episode at https://stakhanov.studio/shows/the-football-ramble/
Thanks for sharing that as it gives a really good insight into some of the going ons that it takes behind the scenes to get a team onto the pitch as best prepared as they can be on match day and all I can say is well done James Saban, you’re doing a great job.
Maybe if we made these overpaid Prima Donnas clean their own boots they might be taken down a peg or two. Can’t do them any harm to see what real work is all about. COYI ⚒⚒