Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports former Championship striker Jay Bothroyd has opened up on the financial turmoil at one of his old clubs, the relentless demands of the Championship and his regrets of not signing for Hull and if Preston can reach the Premier League.
The former England International offered his insight into the rise of Josh Magennis with Northern Ireland whether they can reach a World Cup, whether Craig Bellamy could guide Wales to one and if Harvey Barnes can break back into the England squad.
Elsewhere he has some high praise for former club Cardiff's season, London's talent factory, an "ageless" Billy Sharp and the League Two title-race.
Championship Football
"Livelihoods On The Line"
I have a lot of sympathy for players. They don’t know if they are going to get paid, they don’t know what’s going to happen, they don’t know if there’s going to be a Sheffield Wednesday going forward.
I was at a situation where I was at Coventry actually under Gary McAllister and I was playing well and I scored a few goals and I remember the club said to me ‘listen, we need you to take a deferral on your wages’ and at the time I was probably one of the higher earners, in terms of being my third year at Coventry I think it was, so my wages were staggered upwards and they said to me ‘would you take a deferral?’ At the time, I was just having my first son, I was like 20 years old, and I said, ‘I can’t take a 30 per cent pay cut’. I know it would help the club, but I can’t do it. And I don’t know if I’m going to get the money back.
That’s a situation I’ve been in, and I can only imagine there’s going to be some players like that at Sheffield Wednesday as well. Their livelihoods are on the line, and it’s a terrible position to be in because you can’t just focus on the football; you have to think about everything out there.
Championships “Gruelling” Winter Schedule
It’s really tough, it’s gruelling. Things are different now; there are teams that take planes, teams that go on trains. Especially in my early years, everything was on a bus, on a coach. When I was at Cardiff, you could play in Cardiff, then go across the country to play Norwich, then come back, then maybe have to go to Doncaster.
Those kinds of trips are like five, six-hour trips. So it’s really hard. Things are a little bit easier now in terms of travel. But it’s the fitness when you know you’ve got a game every couple of days.
Because if you leave some of your best players out or you lose some of your best players, then there’s going to be a drop-off. And that’s why you have to be a bit fortunate with injuries. But there’s no doubt about it, the Christmas period in the Championship is very difficult. You have to really take yourself. Your recovery has to be spot on; your preparation has to be spot on.
I remember there were games when I was just knackered and I said to Dave Jones, ‘I’m tired, my hamstrings are tight,’ and he said, ‘Listen, Jay, I need you to go out there even if you are like 70 per cent. ’ I’m not saying I was the best player in the world, it’s more that I was important to the way Cardiff played. I played with some top strikers, notably Craig Bellamy - he was great for me, Ross McCormack, and Michael Chopra. And the way we played, like 4-4-2, I was like the foil for Craig Bellamy, for example.
But, yeah, the Championship is one of the most difficult leagues in the world, 46 league games, then you’ve got cup games as well, it’s just so hard.
Hull Regret
I regret not signing for Hull because they got promoted, and they had a fantastic manager in Steve Bruce. The only reason I turned Hull down to go to Sheffield Wednesday was because I felt like I owed something to Dave Jones. That was the only reason. If Dave Jones wasn’t the manager of Sheffield Wednesday, I would have been going to Hull.
But Dave Jones has done a lot for me in my career; he helped get my career back on track, and I felt like it was the right thing to do at that moment. In hindsight, my time at Sheffield Wednesday, I had a bad ankle injury, and I just couldn’t get the best out of myself because it was just niggling away at me all the time, so I couldn’t give the fans and the teams the performances I wanted to do.
Should A "Winter Break" Be Introduced?
Can Preston Reach The Premier League?
It’s always difficult for clubs like Preston to get to the Premier League. Everyone wants to get to the Premier League. In any Championship squad, you need to have youth, you need to try to have like a star player, a player that is going to score you 20 goals minimum, and they are not easy to find. You need to try to bring in good loan players, you need to have the right characteristics, you need to be fortunate with injuries and whatnot. So it’s always very difficult.
But Preston are one of those teams that over the years have got good players in, loan players, from the Man United’s, the Liverpool’s, the Everton’s, and they have gone and performed. But again, I have to put them all in the same bubble. Whoever does most of the things right will have the opportunity of moving up the leagues.
International Football
Can Josh Magennis Get To The 2026 World Cup?
He was a teammate of mine. He was a really good guy, a funny character. He used to be a goalkeeper! And then he turned into a striker! He turned out a good career for himself.
What Northern Ireland have done is amazing. Obviously, they’ve got one more hurdle to go. But it’s great to see where Northern Irish football has gone. They are working really hard, and they’ve got some talented players. It’s always going to be difficult when you’ve got a relatively small pool of players to choose from; it’s always going to be a lot more difficult than when you’ve got a big pool.
But there’s no doubt about it, what they’ve done so far is special. And if they can get over the final hurdle - I’m not sure if they can - but if they can, then it’ll be a dream come true for people in Northern Ireland.
Wales Under Craig Bellamy
I think it’s been fantastic. It’s funny because the Craig Bellamy I met when I first went to Coventry, and we were both kids, it is completely different to the Craig Bellamy of today. He’s changed his mindset. He was different as a player to how he is as a manager.
I played with him last year in a charity game and I said to him ‘I’ve never told you this before, but I want to thank you’ because as much as we argued and we bickered and we wound each other up, I always had a respect for Craig Bellamy because he was a top player and now he’s taken that into his management. But he helped me. He came to Cardiff at the perfect time because when I see the way that he prepared and recovered for games, I was looking at him, and I thought I’m going to have to copy that because I’m getting into my 30s. So I took that on board, and he was great for me.
But to see him as a manager, to see what he’s doing with Wales, is special. Because Wales is a relatively small nation and small pool of players to choose from. But there’s no doubt about it, he’s doing a fantastic job.
Will Wales Reach The 2026 World Cup?
Harvey Barnes
Harvey Barnes is a fantastic player. He’s had struggles with his injuries, and I feel like sometimes that’s hindered him. But ultimately, when he’s on form, and he’s playing really well, he’s one of those wingers that can go both ways; he’s quick, he’s strong, he’s a good finisher. And for him in his scenario, he just needs to stay consistent. He needs to make himself indispensable at Newcastle.
That is going to be difficult. Because Anthony Gordon plays in the same position as him, Anthony Gordon is competing with him at England level as well. There is that level of competition.
It might get to a situation where he thinks, ‘I have to go and leave because I want to play more regularly.’ Harvey Barnes needs to keep himself fit, keep himself mentally right, believe in himself, and I’m sure things can end up being more positive because he is a very good player.
Football League
London’s “HotBed” Of Talent
Yeah. Don’t get me wrong, there are going to be players coming from every part of the country, but I think a lot of players have come through from London. I’d like to see that stat. There are so many players that have come from London, the inner city, the council estates; they are everywhere.
Have Cardiff Surprised You?
No, if I’m being honest, because they’ve got Championship players, they should go up. If they don’t go up, then there’s something seriously wrong. But that’s not to say it’s a given, you’ve got to work hard, you’ve got to have a good manager that believes in the philosophy, you’ve got to have players that are willing and want to fight for the shirt.
When you play for Cardiff, there is pressure on you; there’s one club in the city. If you’re performing, it’s the best place in the world to live. If you’re not, then it’s tough. People will always call you out. It’s a great city. But there’s rugby and football that people work hard to go to.
When I was at Cardiff, I was fortunate that we had a great team. We were winning more games than we lost. The stadium was always packed. I couldn’t get a ticket for my family sometimes; I had to buy them. That’s how well we were doing. But now Cardiff need to steady the ship. They need to get back on track. They are too big a club to be in League One. They need to build. The dream is always to get into the Premier League. The recruitment needs to be spot on. The players that you bring in need to be spot on.
We had a great team spirit at Cardiff; we went out as the boys, we won as the boys, we lost as the boys. Wives used to go out together. The culture at the club was great. And that’s credit to Dave Jones.
Ageless Billy Sharp
Billy Sharp has been fantastic; he’s got the most out of himself, coming up to his 40th birthday. I retired at 39, and I actually got offered another two years when I was in Japan, but I turned it down because I just felt at the time that my son, who was three years old, needed me more than I needed football, and I achieved everything I wanted to in football.
To see Billy Sharp doing what he’s doing, he’s obviously taking care of himself, recovering. He’s accepted he’s not going to play week in and week out - that’s hard as well.
We are seeing it now with Salah, for example. He is 33, but you can see that he’s got his ego. He’s talking about what he did in the past, but nobody cares what you’ve done in the past; you have to perform now - if you’re not performing, then you’re no different to anyone else, you come out of the team. And he’s finding it difficult to understand that he’s getting older. With age, you have to accept that you’re not going to be able to play three games in a week; your body just can’t take it.
But there’s no doubt about it, Billy Sharp has had a great career, and let’s see how long he can go on for.
League Two Title Race
Yeah, Swindon are a sleeping giant. They have had some big managers - like Paolo Di Canio going there - and they’ve brought in good players as well. MK Dons are very similar. They’ve had some good young players coming through. They’ve loaned some good players. They’ve got a nice stadium. I’d say they are the favourites - but we are in December. I could say yes now, then we get to February, and it’s completely different.
I don’t really like to look at any league and say that - like Arsenal now - because you see results like Aston Villa beating them at the weekend and you’re like ‘wow.’ How sure are we that they are going to win the league? And it’s very much the same with MK Dons. They just have to keep doing what they’re doing, keep performing. Swindon, yes, you say they’re a bit of a sleeping giant, but there are going to be other teams in that conversation come the end of the season.
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