Moritz Volz

And Flashback

Fulham's German player, Moritz Volz tries out as a journalist by visiting Loftus Road:
Moritz Volz/The Times - Monitoring the reporters
I should have known better. I wrote a column about football and the media a couple of months ago and I inadvertently did the one thing I was warning players not to do. I opened my gob in public. And where did it get me? In hot water . . . well, lukewarm anyway. It seems that those nice people at Sky Sports were tickled by my general panning of their trade so they offered me the opportunity to experience it from their side by covering a game for them.

Always one for new experiences, I took them up on the offer - especially when Arsenal v AC Milan was mentioned. Imagine my surprise when the driver dropped me at Loftus Road to cover QPR v West Brom on the last day of the Championship season . . .

As a player I’m used to going straight to the dressing-room but as a roving reporter I headed for the press box to mingle with the journos and pundits. It’s common knowledge that press rooms live or die by the reputation of the food on offer; so how did Loftus Road fare? Let’s just say it’s on a par with Gerry Francis’s barnet.

Once sat in my seat I immediately realised how lacking I was in the tools of the trade. Packet of sweets? No. Pen? No. Pad? Er . . . no. All I had was a team-sheet, but given that the game was nothing more than an end-of-season jolly-up, there wasn’t a whole lot to write down.

Just as well really. I now know that at least half of the reporters in press boxes spend the whole game craning their necks to watch Sky Sports’ goal-flashes on the TV monitors instead of focusing on what’s going on in front of them.

Then when they miss something significant they all start asking each other what happened, relying on the version of events from the one fella who did see it. It’s no wonder some match reports read like the writer wasn’t even at the game.

On the final whistle it was down to the pitch while the players did their lap of honour. I assumed a press officer would bring players over to us for interviews. No such luck. You want a player, you grab him. And by the time I’d figured this out, most of them were back in the dressing-room.

But I had to get a player or I’d have failed in my job, so with no explanation of what I was doing on the dark side, I grabbed Jonathan Greening as he walked past. I thought I’d try to set myself apart from the rest by avoiding obvious questions about the game. So I brought up the subject of the dodgy vest thing his gaffer was wearing that day. But true to form in the world of postmatch interviews, the answer bore absolutely no relation to the question.

He just heard the word “gaffer” and as soon as a footballer hears that it’s autopilot time – “great manager, crackin’ job, love the training, great spirit, blah blah blah . . .” Maybe it was to do with my German pronunciation. He probably wondered what I was on about when I mentioned the gaffer’s “west”.

We still needed a QPR player, so I went for the easy option and grabbed Gareth Ainsworth, who I used to play with at Wimbledon.

He had his two young kids with him, and lovely kids they were, too. But note for future reference. Don’t pick the player with the little ’uns. They think the fluffy mike is a cuddly toy. I didn’t bother asking him about the match either and went down the route of QPR’s ambitions and whether the present squad is good enough to reach the Premier League.

As much as it was a perfectly relevant question from my side of the mike, I knew from a player’s perspective that he’d never be able to give me a genuine answer.

Don’t get me wrong, Gareth is as honest a bloke as you’ll get but he played it safe as houses – just as I would have done in his position.

But as I sat on the bus on the way home, patting myself on the back having got through my day deep behind enemy lines, it slowly dawned on me that in my role as a reporter I’d contradicted myself again yet again. Having spent a column preaching to journos that they should stick to asking us players about the game, I’d been trying to get answers about the situation at QPR and Tony Mow-bray’s vest.

Oh well, if you can’t beat them, join them . . . and the way my career’s going I might have to soon. The Times
qprreport.blogspot.com/2008/05/phillipseastwood-interestfootballer-as.html

Brilliant player, would be very happy with this signing.

He is a funny bloke..just check out his youtube channel.

Dave McIntyre Twitter Confirms

"Moritz Volz training with QPR. Am just writing something up now. "
twitter.com/davidmcintyre76

Funny you should say that, he had Routledge at Boro as well.

Well Dave, what is it, eh eh eh! ;D

Right back.

BBC
QPR eye ex-Fulham defender Moritz Volz

Volz had a spell on loan at Ipswich last season
Former Fulham defender Moritz Volz is training with Queens Park Rangers ahead of a possible move to Loftus Road.

Volz, a free agent after being released by Fulham last summer, recently attracted interest from German club Schalke, where he started his career.

The full-back, 26, joined Arsenal in 2000, but did not make a league appearance for the Gunners before signing for Fulham four years later.

He received a German international call-up in 2004, but did not play.

Volz, who played 146 times for Fulham, ended last season on loan at Ipswich Town.

We don't sign right backs.

What's the betting he'll have played at centre back before the season is out?

I got it from Dave Mc's twitter to be fair.

Also, the reason no one signed him when Fulham let him go was that he had a pretty bad injury that he was rehabilitating. He paid for all of that himself and if Schalke took him on trial, and then Hertha Berlin were considering signing him then I'm sure he's good enough.

He may well be lacking match fitness but he would be a very good full back at this level and if he can play like he used to, then he'd be capable of making the step up to the Premiership as well.

If we do sign him I'm sure he'd get a contract to the end of the season anyway.

Hehe ;D

You tell 'em Dave

Jamie, you cheeky sod, the first rule of QPR Report is..... (you must not talk about QPR Report) alway mention where you got the info from, unless of course its a special source - like brother girlfriend works at NUFC!!!

Doesnt bother us if they aint fit. But he may be able to do the Valtz. Yiddish for waltz ;D