Having talked us through his career during #MyJourneySoFar last week, Ryan Watson has a go at answering our questions.
1) What’s your first footballing memory, either playing or watching?
“I remember going to watch Tranmere Rovers with my Dad. We used to go down to Prenton Park, and they were the first team I started supporting. My family are all Liverpool fans too so I’ve always wanted them to do well.
“My Dad, 100%. He loves football, if there’s a game on locally he’ll go and watch it, he just loves the game and that rubbed off on me. It was like that in my area growing up, everyone loved football and it’s a huge part of everyone’s life.”
3) Which player(s) inspired you the most whilst growing up?
“David Beckham. He was England captain at the time and I just enjoyed seeing his different haircuts, which I tried to replicate and seeing which boots he was wearing so that I could try and get the same ones.”
4) If you could re-invent yourself as a player in a different position, where would you play?
“It would have to be a striker! They get all of the glory, so I think I’d stick myself up front.”
5) Who’s the best player you’ve either played against?
“I played against Paul Pogba when he was coming through at Manchester United. He’s the same age as me so we’d come up against each other in our younger days. Playing against Wayne Rooney was special as well.
“When I made my debut at Leicester City, it was Riyad Mahrez and we had quite a strong team out in general, although we actually lost the game even with him in the team!
6) Do you have any pre-match superstitions/routines?
“No, I don’t to be honest. That might sound quite strange as a lot of the other boys have a lot of superstitions, but nothing has really stuck with me in particular. If I’ve prepared right going into the game then I just feel confident and ready to go regardless of any rituals.
7) Away from football, are you interested in any other sports?
“To be fair, I don’t mind watching tennis when it’s on. Wimbledon is always enjoyable in the summer, but I’ve never really played it or got in to anything else like golf.”
8) At school, what was your favourite and least favourite subject?
“Before secondary school I’d say Maths, I quite enjoyed that when I was younger. Then as we got older Chemistry was quite interesting because we could just get the Bunsen Burners out!
“I’d say my least favourite was Geography. I dropped that straightaway!”
9) What’s been your favourite holiday so far? And if you could travel to a place you’ve never visited before, where would you go?
“I’ve been really lucky in the sense that I’ve travelled to a lot of places already. I went to Dubai in the summer which was good, and it was my first holiday with my girlfriend. Although to be fair it was probably a little bit too hot for me and my fair skin! I did a bit of travelling around Thailand which was really good.
“I think I’d like to go to Bali. I love America as well, so I’d love to go back there and visit some different places. I’ve always fancied going to the Dominican Republic so me and my girlfriend will hopefully look to go there in the future.”
10) If you were stuck in a lift with a current Northampton team-mate, who would you like it to be and who would you hope to avoid?
“I’d probably say Nicky Adams. He’s a bit of a joker so he’d keep me entertained, although I’d probably get fed up after 10 minutes, so I’d probably avoid him too!
11) Who has the worst banter in the squad?
“I know some of the lads have said Shaun McWilliams, but I don’t want to stitch him up as well! To be fair, Sam Hoskins and Jordan Turnbull are like a little double act. They egg each other on so I’ll go with those two.”
12) What’s your favourite meal?
“I would’ve originally said steak but I’m trying to cut down on meat a little bit, so I’d probably say sushi – I’m a big fan of that at the moment.”
13) Do you have any hobbies outside of football?
“I’ve always been interested in trying another sport as a hobby so it’s something I’ll look at. Maybe a bit of tennis or golf. I’m not really into my consoles or anything like that. I like to see my family and my girlfriend, too.”
14) What’s your favourite film?
“I like gangster and horror movies. I’ll go with Goodfellas, it’s an unbelievable film, as is Shawshank Redemption. Pulp Fiction is good, too.
15) If you weren’t a professional footballer, which route would you have gone down?
“I’ll go for being a pilot, that’s something a bit different!”
16) Which Netflix/TV series would you recommend watching?
“American Horror Story!”
17) It’s your turn on the karaoke, which song do you choose?
“I’m not really one for karaoke to be fair. I sang ‘Valerie’ on my initiation but that was just to get up and down as quickly as possible! So I’ll say that.”
18) You’re stuck on a desert island, which three items do you take with you?
“Sun cream, otherwise I’d burn very quickly! Maybe some speakers so I can play some music, and a phone to arrange getting picked up!”
19) Do you have any pets, and if so which ones?
“I’ve got two chihuahua’s, Coco and Louie. We also have a Yorkshire terrier at home called Lexie.”
20) If you could pass on some advice to a younger player, what would it be?
“Just keep going. If you get knocked down or turned away remember it’s just someone else’s opinion. Mostly, enjoy it as much as you can because it’s an unbelievable experience and try to take the positives from every situation. There’s a lot of ups and downs in football so don’t ever let your head drop and enjoy every day.”