Pat Nevin: The professional game

So the lads are off for a little break in Mallorca. After only drawing 0-0 against Norwich on Saturday some might think they scarcely deserve it. Personally I think that would be a harsh judgement, they dominated the game in terms of possession after all and were very unlucky to be playing against a keeper who understandably picked up the man of the match award. It was of course a great opportunity to take advantage of Man U playing at Arsenal and Spurs visiting Man City, points had to be dropped and they duly were by our London neighbours. So yes there is some disappointment but on a wider viewpoint that is one defeat in the last 10 games, a slightly more consistent run of form even if there have been a few too many draws in that spell. Those 10 games have come in just 44 days and maybe the hectic schedule has begun to take its toll on some of the players and not just those at Chelsea. Frank Lampard obviously picked up an infuriating muscle injury and all the top teams have had games when they have looked jaded lately. The Mallorca trip will be all about a good few training sessions, as well as rest and recovery, rather than the chance for a bit of bonding. Nowadays that word bonding has taken on a whole new meaning in football generally since it became a byword for organised drinking sessions with all the attendant questionable behaviour. People often ask me if the behaviour from footballers these days is better or worse than it was when I was playing. To be honest it really hasn't changed a great deal other than when footballers do let their standards drop these days it is in a higher class of nightclub, in a better hotel or in a more expensive set of wheels. I suspect if I was playing today I would find myself doing exactly the same as I did 20 years ago, behaving sensibly and trying to curb the worst excesses of the odd player who had overindulged. There is one thing that has certainly changed and that is the attitude of the coaches and the managers. They are acutely aware of the press and their ability to sniff out a good story, so they always have to be on their guard. There is also the fact there was no such thing as a camera phone when I was playing and now anyone anywhere can take a picture of a player when he is shall we say, not looking in prime match-fit condition. Anything players do wrong now they are much more likely to get caught for doing it and maybe that is why it appears from the outside that the behaviour is getting worse these days. Players are so high profile now that the coaches have to be extremely protective and not as laid back as they were in times gone by. I once played with a player who led the escape party for an illicit night out during pre-season training. Weeks later that same player was named as the new manager and he suddenly needed respect from the team. The strange thing was that I think he was more respected for his previous misdemeanours than he would have been had he not been the one holding the window open so the 'bad boys' could escape to the pub for a couple of hours. Somehow I couldn't ever have imagined say, Jose Mourinho, organising the escape committee out of a window, down the fire escape and crawling across the back lawn of the hotel on the way to the pub. Now let me own up right here, I wasn't much of a party lad. I was far too intense and serious-minded and more importantly far too devoted to my fitness, not to say my wife. After I left Chelsea I was however fined twice on pre-season tours with a couple of the clubs I played for. Yes I hold my hands up now; there were boozy nights out at both Everton and Tranmere Rovers when the squads were supposed to be getting in prime physical condition. I committed the same heinous crime on both occasions, of NOT getting drunk but instead staying sober and even making myself scarce so as not to spoil their enjoyment. So for this terrible behaviour I was fined £100 on both occasions. I wonder if AVB will fine his players for not getting drunk this week. Somehow I doubt it; things are much more professional now and in some ways I suspect it would probably suit me better these days. In fact I think for the first time since the inception of the Premier League the modern game would be right down my street. Power and pace are still coveted but at last small technical players from Xavi and Iniesta to David Silva, Juan Mata and even the boys at the likes of Norwich are now central to teams and their success. It is almost impossible to think of any of those guys spending large amounts of their time out on the lash and yet they are not considered oddballs or total outsiders in the profession. In some ways the regular heavy drinkers are now seen as the weird ones for blowing such great opportunities in the best job in the world. I can just hear what the old pros would say now with a sigh, 'The game's gone.' Anyway that has very little to do with the current team's trip to Mallorca which I am sure they will enjoy and return from refreshed (in a non-alcoholic way), all ready for the cup game against QPR at the weekend. Enjoy the week and if you are a Chelsea player reading this in Mallorca, enjoy it but don't do anything I wouldn't do. Last week I asked who was the last Chelsea player to score against Barcelona? Almost every answer was correct as it is difficult to forget Michael Essien's thunderbolt at Stamford Bridge on that fateful day in May 2009 when our Champions League chances died along with our belief in refereeing. A few folk plumped for Juan Mata during his Valencia days, which I thought was very clever but Michael's was the name I was looking for. The name that was chosen at random for the prize turned out to be Geoff Kimber from Middlesex who got the question right but got the referee's name wrong, it wasn't Mr Magoo. That prize will be sent out to him very soon across west London.