Premier League: Newcastle United Defender Sol Campbell slams fitness apprehensions
Sol Campbell recently signed with Newcastle United, following a free transfer from his former club Arsenal. Campbell joined Arsenal in the second half of the season, and was impressive in his performances. The player stood as a huge brick wall and didn’t let much pass by him, which led to Arsenal finishing 3rd in the league.
Campbell, however, couldn’t find a new contract with the Gunners this season and therefore signed with the newly promoted Newcastle United. The defender has had vast experience in the Premier League and has played over 630 matches in his illustrious career. Campbell was one of the key players in Arsenal’s “Invincibles” season, where the team won the 2003-04 season without losing a single match.
The player, however, has been under heavy fire owing to his physical condition. Campbell was seen training with Newcastle United and quite frankly, looked completely out of shape. The player has gained a lot of weight, which has led to the Magpies Supporters’ message board labelling the player “fat belly”. The defender was obviously not happy with such remarks, and aimed to prove his fitness and form in two to three weeks. The player admitted that he needs to slim up and get back in shape but there is no cause for alarm. While talking to a football website, the defender claimed such remarks as being “pathetic”. Adding to that, Campbell explained that he has been training with his new team for only three days and the start of the new season is two weeks away. The 35 year old added that he recently got married (to interior designer Fiona Barrett) and has been away with his new wife on a honeymoon, which has given him no time to maintain his fitness. Referring to the picture, Sol admitted that the picture was not the best of ones, blaming the new training kit to be the reason for such a display of his body.
The player added that he was in much better condition than what he was for Arsenal the previous season. Campbell had been out of action and therefore had trouble in getting fit. However, the player was impressive in his time with Arsenal last season. Campbell stated that he achieved peak fitness quickly with Arsenal and had a good run in the second half of the 2009-10 season.
The player ended his contract with Notts County last season to join his former club Arsenal and made 11 appearances for the club. The centre back stated that he is naturally broad and tall, and therefore, it takes time for him to get to his full form. Rushing things with such a body at such an age could result in injuries, and Campbell stated that that would be the last thing he would want. The player was aware of the manager’s concern and wanted him to be fit for the new season but added that he couldn’t rush things and would take him maximum four weeks to get fully fit.
The player issued a ‘been there done that’ statement, claiming that he’s been playing football for so long that he has heard it all. The 35 year old stated that he has had so much experience that he knows exactly what to do, and therefore, there was no need to worry about anything. Campbell therefore chose to be unaffected by such remarks and knows exactly what is needed to get him back to his full form. Such things couldn’t be rushed or it may lead to injuries, and the player may well have to play a few games along with some extra training session in between games.
"My message is simple to all the knockers: I am knuckling down and want to play my football with a great club and a great manager. Then you can judge me,” stated the 35 year old defender Sol Campbell. Newcastle United would be playing 18-time champions Manchester United in the opening match of the season at Old Trafford.
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