Age is just a number, the saying goes. Darren Pratley epitomises that.
The 35-year-old’s 2,205 minutes in League One for Charlton Athletic this season is a feat that can only be eclipsed by one outfield player at the club, with Chris Gunter playing 2,238.
“Sometimes it frustrates me when people say about age,” admits Pratley.
“The fitness coach now knows not to say it because I’m still up in the top group for pre-season, I still get about the pitch and I still feel good. I pride myself on looking after myself.”
For most, pre-season is the most dreaded period of the football calendar and it means one thing and one thing only. Running. Lots and lots of running. But Pratley is among the minority who relish the relentless running.
The West Midlands town of Sutton Coldfield played host to Lee Bowyer and his squad last August for yet another gruelling pre-season, where the 35-year-old could be seen alongside Ben Purrington, George Lapslie, Jake Forster-Caskey and Alex Gilbey as first-team sports scientist Ben Talbot led the aforementioned ‘top group’ on an evening run around the 600-acre Kingsbury Water Park.
“I have always said that once I am out of that top group then I will think about retiring but I can still comfortably be in that top group. You are a long time retired so I want to play for as long as I can,” Pratley reveals.
Recovery Is The Key
So, what’s his secret?
“Just recovering,” he responds simply.
“I’m in the ice bath every day after training – sometimes when it’s been snowing! I make sure I eat right, I have the NormaTec so I’m on that for an hour every day as well as stretching.”
NormaTec is a form of compression therapy that enhances blood flow while reducing inflammation to maximise recovery and, with that, performance. It is widely used across elite sport with the likes of Gareth Bale, Anthony Joshua and LeBron James all being advocates of the modern-day technology.
“Back in the day, recovery wasn’t so important,” explains the midfielder who, rather fittingly, made his first-team league debut at The Valley in November 2003 when he came on as a second-half substitute during Fulham’s 3-1 loss in the Premier League. “You’d just go home and go to training the next day whereas now I think you have got to prepare yourself with what you are eating, what you are doing and sleeping.”
Charlton fans have grown accustomed to the midfielder’s engine which, on countless occasions, has seemed indefatigable… so much so that the club’s official Twitter account made a light–hearted joke during a rare moment of weariness.
https://twitter.com/CAFCofficial/status/1296507600037720065
It is his relentless work rate at the heart of Bowyer’s midfield that has endeared him to The Valley faithful from the moment he arrived in SE7 as a free agent in July 2018 after a seven-year spell with Bolton Wanderers.
Priceless Experience
The combative midfielder has often been deployed as a pivoting anchor man occupying the hole between the midfield and the back four to great effect, drawing on the nous and knowhow that has matured throughout his 19 years in professional football to stifle opposition threats. More than that, it is his mindset and his willingness to fight for his team which makes him indispensable.
“I see it as siege mentality, it’s you versus me and I have got to try and stop you. I’ve always had confidence in myself, whoever I’m playing against to be honest,” says the ever-industrious midfielder.
Pratley’s self-assurance should hardly come as a revelation; the 35-year-old has lined up against the likes of Yaya Touré, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard whilst in the Premier League with Bolton and was a key component in Neil Lennon’s side which forced a replay in the fourth round of the FA Cup after a 0-0 draw at Anfield, snuffing out Phillipe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling in the process – the duo Liverpool later sold for a combined total of £191 million.
Such experience is ‘priceless’, to quote Bowyer speaking in late January after a midfield, man-marking masterclass from Pratley during the 1-0 victory at Stadium MK.
“At home to MK Dons, [Scott] Fraser was the best player on the pitch by a mile. He had the most shots, the most crosses and he scored a goal as well. He was running past everyone so when we played them away, I was in midfield at the time, he [Lee Bowyer] told me to do a man for man job on him. When he says that to me as a midfielder, as hard as it sounds, it’s quite easy because you know that’s your man. You have got to try and stop him and also try to play on top.”
Charlton’s captain on the night certainly did that and led by example, winning duels, killing the space and not giving the threatening Fraser a moment’s peace.
In a side presently blighted by inconsistency, Pratley is Bowyer’s reassuring constant.
https://twitter.com/CAFCofficial/status/1302251295399608321
Charlton Athletic FC @CAFCofficial
Helping Hand
The Barking-born midfielder now draws on his experiences as a younger player breaking through to help guide Charlton’s rising stars.
“When they come in, the main thing I say to them is make sure you enjoy it. I have been there myself and I don’t want to put too much pressure on them. It is important that they feel comfortable when they are in and around the squad. If they are comfortable and they are enjoying it then they can go out and express themselves. We demand that they work hard but that’s a given anyway. We have a manager that believes in them, so it gives them the confidence to get on with it and enjoy their football.”
It is symbolic of Charlton’s recruitment, spearheaded by Director of Football Steve Gallen, to loan and develop youthful Premier League prospects. Charlton and Bowyer are trusted; they have crafted a rapport with these top-flight clubs who have recognised Bowyer’s credentials when progressing the careers of young players, with Conor Gallagher, Krystian Bielik and Josh Cullen being the standouts among those to have recently typified that. It is these credentials that have seen the Addicks trusted with a trio of loanees from the Premier League’s ‘big six’ this season in Chelsea’s Ian Maatsen, Liverpool’s Liam Millar and Arsenal’s Matt Smith.
This trust has no doubt been enhanced even further following the appointment of Ged Roddy – who pioneered the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) during his eight years as Director of Football Development – as Charlton’s Technical Director last October.
“A lot of these players come in and they look like little boys,” says Pratley. “You think, ‘how are they going to play?’ and then they go out and they do well. I think the youngsters coming in now will look at it and think about Charlton and see all of the youngsters that have gone to have great careers from being here at Charlton and especially what the manager has done – he has improved them all. They know if they come here, they are going to go back to their clubs a better player with more confidence and wanting to go and play.”
Pratley goes on to cite former midfield partner Joe Aribo, now a Nigerian international thriving under Steven Gerrard in Scotland and in Europe with Rangers which, Pratley says, is testament to the work consistently done on the training pitches at Sparrows Lane by Bowyer and his coaching staff.
“When I came in, I don’t think Joe was playing much,” he recalls. “The manager gave him the confidence to go out there and believe he was going to play week in week out. He used to stay out with him after training and teach him simple midfield movements and that is what improved him – playing round corners. Now, when you watch Joe, he does all that sort of stuff naturally.”
Experience vs Youthfullness
Only five players remain from Charlton’s 2018-19 promotion season – Pratley, Forster-Caskey, Purrington, Albie Morgan, and club captain Jason Pearce. Add Gunter, the most capped Welshman, 2013 FA Cup winner Ben Watson and Andrew Shinnie, who gained back-to-back promotions from League Two to the Championship with Luton Town, to the mix and there is an abundance of experience.
“It bodes well when you have a bit of experience and youngsters in the team,” says Pratley.
Not only does this current Addicks squad have that all important blend, but it also has a healthy battle for places.
The January transfer window saw five new arrivals in SE7 with Millar, Smith and towering frontman Jayden Stockley all arriving on season-long loans, while Ronnie Schwartz and Diallang Jaiyesemi joined permanently on multi-year contracts.
“Having competition is very important,” states Pratley. “It keeps the players who have the shirt at the moment on their toes and gives the players who are not playing at the moment something to fight for. The standard in training is very good, the manager demands that, and the players do as well. All of us set high standards. Since I’ve been here, it has always been hard to get into the starting 11.”
But for all the experience Pratley boasts, he concedes that youngsters have something that senior professionals perhaps don’t.
‘Fearless’
“Experience can help because you have been there, done it and seen it. On the other hand, sometimes the youth are fearless. They might not realise how much of a big occasion it is and go out and do stuff that an older, experienced player would not do. We played [Kwadwo] Baah from Rochdale who has just signed for [Man] City and he was taking shots from all sorts, doing skills and stuff like that, whereas maybe if he was seven, eight years older he wouldn’t have taken those shots on.”
Pratley and Charlton will be looking for such fearlessness for the remainder of the season as they aim to relight their stuttering promotion bid.
Irrespective of where Charlton are come May, it is certain that a 36-year-old Pratley will be integral to it. The Covered End will be hoping for a repeat of his play-off heroics in the semi-finals against Doncaster Rovers, but perhaps without the trauma of a penalty shootout this time.
