Jonathan Greening
HAVE you got a head for figures?
Well, in our weekly feature for the 2007/08 season, we find out whether the Albion players and coaching staff have.
Every Tuesday, a member of the Baggies camp will randomly pick 15 questions to answer from a colourful selection of 40 puzzlers.
We will then put them under the spotlight.
Today, we quiz captain Jonathan Greening.
Q3: What would be your choice of outfit at a fancy dress party?
JG: A nurse's outfit - with the full works! Seriously, that's what I went as to the last players' Christmas party!
Q8: What has been your most embarrassing moment?
JG: Probably getting my bum slapped by Paul Robinson in front of a lot of people on a beach in Marbella after losing a game of football.
Q10: Who did you have a schoolboy crush on?
JG: I had quite a few. I had one on my PE teacher, Mrs Hill, when I first started secondary school. She left six months after I started so I was gutted about that! To be honest, I quite fancied nearly every girl at school!
Q20: What would your superpower be?
JG: I'd want to be like Spiderman, climbing up walls and buildings, jumping for fun and spraying my spider web everywhere! It would definitely be that. I was never a big fan of Superman. Spiderman was more my cup of tea. I'm a big fan of the Spiderman films, as is my little boy.
Q31: Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
JG: It would have to be the cast of Oceans 12: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones and the rest of the troops. I think that would be a nice little party.
Q30: When was the last time you used public transport?
JG: It was about five weeks ago when I went back to Scarborough on the train to see my parents. I couldn't be bothered to drive!
Q16: Would you rather be a Cowboy or a Red Indian?
JG: Definitely a cowboy. In fact, I would love to be a Cowboy! I used to watch the Cowboy films when I was younger with my mum, dad and grandparents on a Saturday afternoon.
Q4: Who is the best trainer in the Albion camp?
JG: There are several candidates like Paul Robinson, Kev Phillips, me (!), Dean Kiely and Robert Koren. We've got quite a few players who are very professional. It's hard to choose. But if I had to pick one, I would say Deano for his commitment. He is always in the gym first thing in the morning and is one of the last to leave the building after training.
Q40: If you were cooking to impress, what dish would you select?
JG: I'm not very good in the kitchen. When I first started dating my wife, I said I would cook her a really nice chicken curry. But I got it out of a tin and pretended I did all the hard work! She was nearly sick afterwards! I would probably just do beans on toast, or something simple, because I cannot cook at all!
Q32: What is your greatest achievement in football?
JG: Just being a professional footballer because it's such a hard job to stay in the game. When I was about 16, people would tell me I wouldn't make it because I was too small or too skinny to be a footballer, so I have proved them all wrong. I'm nearly 29 now, so I've been in the game almost 13 years. I think that is my greatest achievement, being in the game so long and proving to people who doubted me when I was younger that I could make it.
Q36: What is the favourite goal you have scored?
JG: Probably the one last week at home to QPR. When it fell to me at the edge of the box, I just hit it with a left-foot volley. I think it meant the most because the gaffer had been saying to me for a couple of weeks to get on the scoresheet. For it to fly in the way it did, along with us playing really well on the day and winning the game 5-1, makes it one of my best goals.
Q39: Have you any pre-match rituals?
JG: If we have won a few games in a row I like to eat the same pre-match meal. So for the last couple of weeks while we've been winning, I've been eating Weetabix with hot milk, toast and honey, a yoghurt and banana. But I'm going to have to change it now after Saturday! When we're winning, the little things I do pre-match stick in my head and I tend to keep them the same until a game goes against us.
Q27: Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
JG: Probably the things I say to my kids like 'don't do that!', 'get in here now!', 'time for bed!' or 'stop being naughty!'.
Q18: What song would you choose if ordered to take part in karaoke?
JG: That is a difficult one. I'd probably choose a Lionel Richie song, maybe 'Dancing on the Ceiling', to get the crowd bopping!
Q13: Who was your first-ever 11-a-side football match for and in what position?
JG: It was for my school's under 11s team when I was about six or seven. I played as a striker and scored three or four goals. We won. I was playing with my older brother and his friends who were all about four years older than me so I did well. After the game, I got told I couldn't play again for a while. Because I was so much younger than the other lads, the school could have gotten into trouble if I got hurt. I had to sit on the sidelines for a couple of years after my first match.
