Football League Q&A: Steve Sidwell on his Arsenal anguish, his admiration for Paul Scholes and the embarrassment of back-to-back red cards

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Now just 10 games shy of 500 career appearances, Steve Sidwell’s experience has been invaluable to Brighton’s recent rise to second place in the Sky Bet Championship.

The 33-year-old began as an Arsenal trainee, but made his name at Reading before moving on to Chelsea, Aston Villa, Fulham and Stoke.

The latest player to take our Q&A, he reveals it was the lack of an Arsenal first team appearance which drives him still. He confesses to a love of chocolate digestives and names Paul Scholes as his hardest opponent as well as the player he would most like to line up alongside.

Midfielder Steve Sidwell has played for Chelsea, Aston Villa, Fulham, Stoke and Brighton

Were you always a central midfielder?

Yes. All the way through and I was never tempted by any other position. I started at Arsenal. Occasionally they played me at the back – centre half – and right back a couple of times but 95 per cent of the time I was always centre mid.

Best moment on a football pitch?

Wow, how do you single one out?

I’ll say it was when we got promoted with Reading in 2005-06 with Steve Coppell. I think the actual game was away at Leicester. We got promoted in March. We blitzed the league. I think all we needed was a point and we drew (1-1 on March 25, 2006), but we had to wait for the final whistle because it depended on another game. We knew pretty much straightaway because it filtered through quickly that we were up. As you can imagine, the celebrations were brilliant.

We knew it was going to happen soon anyway. It was very good. Being promoted in March, you can’t beat it. And there wasn’t a let-down afterwards either. To be fair, we still won just about every game after that one. We only lost twice that season and got 106 points and 99 goals.

Sidwell (right) joins in the celebrations after Reading won the Championship title in 2006

Is there one regret you need to put right?

One of my only regrets would be that I didn’t make a first-team appearance for Arsenal. But if you flip that around, the fact that I didn’t make an appearance has probably put me where I am now because when I left it was a case of: ‘Right, I know I’m a good player, I know I can play at the highest level.’ I think that’s what spurred me on. It’s been with me my whole career really.

I was on the bench a couple of times but never made an appearance. Obviously at the time as well, we are talking about unbelievable players there (he moved to Reading in January 2003, seven months before Vieira, Henry, Bergkamp et al began their Invincibles season of 2003-04).

Sidwell was determined to play at the highest level after being released by Arsenal

Hardest opponent?

Paul Scholes by a mile. (Cristiano) Ronaldo was unreal, sensational the two years before he left for Madrid, but year in, year out, every game, it was Scholesy.

Just because you couldn’t get near him. Whenever did you see Paul Scholes get tackled for a start? Whenever did you see him lose possession? You didn’t. It was just hard to be better than him on the day.

You couldn’t get the ball off him because when you get tight, he passes the ball off first touch. When you get tight again, he passes it off first touch. The moment you don’t get tight because you think he’s going to pop it off first time, he then turns round, has two or three touches, sprays it 30 yards, Giggs crosses it and Ruud van Nistelrooy puts it in the back of the net. He made it so simple.

The biggest compliment you can pay him – and I’ve seen a lot of world class players pay Scholesy respect – was when I was at Arsenal and you’re talking about the team that was there then with the likes of Vieira, Henry, Bergkamp, that Arsenal team plan was to stop Paul Scholes from running the game. And that’s coming from the big boys.

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes was a formidable opponent

Least favourite away ground?

I’ll say Luton. I don’t think I’ve won there. I won last year with Stoke on penalties (after a 1-1 draw in the League Cup second round in August 2015), but that was on penalties so I don’t really count that.

It’s a throwback, but I love the old school grounds. I prefer them to the new ones if I’m honest. Luton’s not a very pretty ground and the fans are quite close so every time I’ve played there it’s been a bit hostile and they have been feisty matches, but that’s what gets you going, isn’t it? No, the reason is that I don’t think I’ve won there.

Sidwell doesn't have a happy memories of his visits to Luton's Kenilworth Road stadium

Funniest thing you have seen in a dressing room?

Over the course of the years, the run of bad clothing I’ve seen, probably. I’m an experienced player now. I’ve been in plenty of dressing rooms and every dressing room I’ve ever been in, there’s always been a minimum of one player who’s got horrendous gear. It’s normally most of the foreign lads as well. And, yes, they get stick for it. The clothes get put up on a coat hanger, put up on the ceiling, hung from a light or hung in the shower, anything like that.

I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen a phone in the shower, I’ve seen a phone outside in a puddle at the training ground.

What’s your guilty food pleasure?

Chocolate digestive biscuits and a cup of tea. I could despatch a packet in one sitting, although I don’t tend to. I’ll go through at least half a dozen, though. It would be on a Monday morning normally, I’d say, just to start the week off nice.

The 33-year-old has witnessed many comical moments in the dressing room

Boyhood sporting hero?

I’d say my Mum and Dad. Even from a young age I knew the sacrifices they made with me being at the academy at Arsenal, taking me all over England as well as Europe to games.

And always supporting me.

Player-wise, I looked up to people in my position - Bryan Robson, Scholes, Roy Keane, Vieira – but if you are talking heroes, I would definitely say my parents.

If you had the power, what one thing would you change about the game?

Diving. I’m not a big fan of players diving. If someone dives against us in a game, you’ve got to be careful what you do now. You can’t crowd around the referee, otherwise you start getting penalised yourself.

It’s unsportsmanlike. I’d have a word or two with the player first as well as get in the referee’s ear quietly.

There’s not much of a difference between Premier League and Championship now. Diving goes down to all leagues now. If you’re going to go down, go down properly. If you’re going to go down rolling around and holding your face, then you won’t be on my Christmas card list, put it that way.

Also no red cards or bookings. For everyone. Because then we could really start seeing some tackles come back into play. I just think the game’s going a bit soft at the moment.

Sidwell admits chocolate digestive biscuits and a cup of tea are his guilty pleasure

Most embarrassing moment in football?

When I got sent off against Arsenal for Fulham (in a 1-0 defeat in April 2013) 12 minutes into the game for a bad tackle. I think it was on Mikel Arteta at Craven Cottage. I knew it was a red card tackle and the worst thing was it was my comeback game from a three-game ban for a red card.

I had just missed four weeks of game time. I’d been training but maybe there was a little bit of rustiness 12 minutes into the game.

So I got red cards back-to-back. What makes it embarrassing is that I was a seasoned professional by then, not a young player just coming through.

Which player in history would you like to play alongside?

Paul Scholes and Roy Keane spring to mind straightaway. I’ll say Scholes, partly because I wouldn’t have to try and stop him. I’d be on the same team as him for once. I’d literally just get the ball and give it to the good players. And that’s him. You would appreciate him even more if you were playing on the same side as him. Definitely. 100 per cent.

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