A Groggy Christmas Carol - By Rob Van Der Steen

 










 

It was a cold and snowy December night,
nobody around to give you a fright.
Yet in the heart of Treforest, one light burned bright.
In the workshop of the Groggshop,
Santa Hughes crafted Christmas delights.

Throughout the year Collectors tried as they might,
to make sure they weren't naughty,
but were of course super nice.
"Why?" I hear you ask, well the answer you see,
is all of these Collectors were hoping for something Groggy
under the tree.

Santa Hughes kept a watchful eye over the Collectors,
With the help of Simon, Cathy and Carly,
the little Elf Inspectors.

 
Santa Hughes moulded and crafted and worked his magic,
to ensure each Groggy gift gift was just as he planned it.

And on December 24th, all was in hand.
With countless Groggy presents,
delivered all over this land.

On Christmas day the collectors awoke,
and rushed to the tree with hearts full of hope.
Have I been good and been sent Bryan Habana?
Or have I been bad and been sent some coal
from a disappointed Santa?

For most it was good and Groggy fun was here,
for the rest all I can say is...
there's always next year!

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Thank you all so much for your support this year!
The Grogg blog would like to wish you all a fantastic Christmas
filled with Groggy cheer.

Also a huge thank you to Carly, Richard, Cathy, Simon
and the rest of the Groggshop family. Hope you all have a well deserved
Christmas break and here's to a fantastic 2015!!   

John Hartson - You'll Never Walk Alone - By Rob Van Der Steen

Photograph Courtesy of www.dailypost.co.uk

Over the course of his 16 year career, John Hartson formed a reputation as a tough, archetypal centre forward with a keen eye for goal. John’s career has seen him grace the top flight leagues in both England and Scotland with some huge teams in football such as Arsenal and Celtic as well as breaking into the International team set up with his beloved Wales.

Born in 1975 in Swansea, Wales John turned out for his local side Lonlas Boys’ Club from a very young age before getting his big break in the English leagues with Luton Town Football Club where he joined the Luton Town Youth Training Scheme at the age of 16, despite some rocky periods as a youngster John went on to sign his first professional contract with the club in 1992.

Photograph Courtesy of www.theguardian.com

54 appearances and 11 goals later, John was starting to form a solid reputation for himself to such an extent that the big guns were vying for his signature and in January 1995 John made the move from Luton to Highbury for a fee of 2.5 million pounds, small in comparison to the tens of millions spent on players today but a huge amount at the time, breaking the record for the highest transfer fee paid for a teenager. 

Photograph Courtesy of www.arsenal.com

 

It was Arsenal manager George Graham who brought John to the club and sanctioned such a large fee, prior to his dismissal in February 1995. John’s initial career with Arsenal began well with him partnering Arsenal legend Ian Wright in what became the club’s preferred striking partnership. However, with the high profile arrival of Dutch superstar Dennis Bergkamp and later French youngster Nicolas Anelka, John soon found himself pushed down the pecking order and in 1997, after 70 appearances and 18 goals, manager Arsene Wenger sanctioned his move to London rivals West Ham United in what was purported to be a club record transfer for them at the time of 5 million pounds.

Photograph Courtesy of www.whufc.com

Hartson really came into his own at West Ham and for many Arsenal fans it was sad to see this talented player leave, but of course wonderful to see how well he was doing. Over the course of two season with the Hammers John amassed an impressive 33 goals over 70 appearances. Controversy was about to strike however, in September 1998 John was involved in a training ground altercation with teammate Israeli international Eyal Berkovic.

For most team mates it is usual for bust ups to happen, particularly in the heat of the moment. It would also be expected that these issues are dealt with out of the public eye, for John however this wasn’t the case, the incident which involved a kick to the head of Eyal Berkovic was captured on camera and very quickly became public.

Following a dip in form, January 1999 signalled the end of his time at Upton Park as John and West Ham parted company. Another record was broken with Wimbledon paying a club record fee of 7.5 million pounds for Hartson’s services. Injury played a big part over the next few years with John struggling to maintain his fitness, although when available he continued to show why clubs had broken records to sign him in the past. After just under two years with Wimbledon, John moved on to join Coventry City on a “Pay as you play” contract after some high profile moves had fallen through over fears of injury/lack of fitness.

Photograph Courtesy of news.bbc.co.uk

 

It was in August 2001 that John made the move North of the border to join Glasgow Celtic in the Scottish Premier League for a transfer fee of 6 Million pounds. Over the course of 5 seasons with The Bhoys, John enjoyed playing some of the best football of his career and won a number of accolades including the shared award of Scottish PFA Players’ Player of the Year Award (shared with Fernando Ricksen of Rangers) and Scottish Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year in 2005.

Photograph Courtesy of celticunderground.net

 

John went on to achieve a number of honours with the club including three Scottish Premier League titles, two Scottish Cups and the Scottish League Cup in 2006. John also helped Celtic to the final of the UEFA Cup in 2003, notably grabbing a goal against Liverpool in the Quarter final to help them on their way. Unfortunately John picked up an injury on route to the final and wasn’t able to turn out for the final game against Jose Mourinho’s Porto. Celtic went on to lose by 3 goals to 2, the situation may have been different if John had been on the field but that result will never be known.

It wasn’t just on the domestic stage that John excelled however. Over the course of his 16 years professional career John also featured for Wales 51 times, scoring an impressive 14 goals in the process making him the 10^th all time leading goal scorer for the National team prior to retiring from the International stage in 2006 to concentrate on club football with Celtic.

Photograph Courtesy of news.bbc.co.uk

It was during John’s time with Celtic that he came to the notice of the Groggshop and in 2003 John was Grogged in both the green and white of Celtic and the red of Wales and no doubt hugely proud moment for this Welsh lad. As a thank you for the honour of being Grogged, John donated one of his signed Celtic shirts to the shops ever growing memorabilia museum.

Photograph Courtesy of The World of Groggs

After over 150 appearances and in excess of 100 goals John left his beloved Celtic. A move back South of the boarder with Midlands club West brown took place in June 2006. John grabbed two goals on his debut for West Brom in a match against Hull City, proving he still had the touch for the Premier League. 

Photograph Courtesy of www.birminghammail.co.uk

However after a short loan spell with Norwich City, West Brom decided to terminate John’s Contract in January 2008, 6 months shy of its end date. A month later, John announced the end of his career and retirement from professional football.

Retirement didn’t stop John’s involvement or love for the game of football. John regularly featured in the media as a pundit on well known British television and radio broadcasters. John also spent time coaching the forwards of the Welsh National side and spent time as a part time coach of Newport County.

There is one event which has dominated the life of John Hartson since his retirement and that is his battle with illness. In 2009 John was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of testicular cancer. As the symptoms were ignored by John in the early stages the cancer spread to his Brain and his Lungs leaving him with what is known as stage-four cancer before he had even been diagnosed.

The delay in diagnosis meant this aggressive cancer was taking its toll on John and resulted in countless forms of treatment and operations to try and stem the spread of the disease and hopefully regress it.

Whilst undergoing treatment of this devastating disease the John Hartson Foundation was registered as a charity in 2010 in an attempt to raise awareness of this often ignored form of cancer by those who suffer with the symptoms. John was lucky enough to make a recovery and since has dedicated much of his time to the foundation to help others in similar situations.

In John’s own words he said “I believe I was meant to survive testicular cancer to help others” a noble and well respected statement.

Photograph Courtesy of www.johnhartsonfoundation.co.uk

 The foundation has been actively involved in raising awareness of this illness as well as making significant contributions to support those affected most by cancer. Making the most of John’s status as a former professional footballer, the foundation has put on a number of events over the years including Golf Days, Galas, Charity Balls, Entertainment evenings and physical challenges such as The Braveheart Ben Nevis Challenge which saw 70 supporters of the foundation scale Britain’s highest mountain.

Photograph Courtesy of www.johnhartsonfoundation.co.uk

John was extremely popular during his professional career and received a great deal of support during his own personal battles with cancer, particularly from the fans of his beloved Celtic. Upon recovery from his own illness John decided to get a tattoo of the Celtic crest with the words “You’ll never walk alone” a nod to those who supported him in the most difficult of times and of course echoing his love for the Glasgow club and its fans who had given him so much in return.

Photograph Courtesy of @JohnHartson10

Of course John and the Foundation has continued to receive great support from fellow high profile celebrities and the public alike in the course of fundraising and awareness activities and has actively encouraged and supported those who have wanted to help support it’s cause.

I for one have always been a huge fan of John Hartson during his career and have been even more enamoured by this battler in the struggles he has been through in his post retirement years. Anyone who can think of others even faced with the reality of their own mortality is a hero in my mind.

To find out more about the Foundation or to make a contribution visit www.johnhartsonfoundation.co.uk

Chris Dicomidis - Me and My Groggs - Including Exclusive Q&A

Photograph Courtesy of www.cardiffblues.com

Christopher David Dicomidis was born in Pencoed, Wales on the 14^th of September 1985.

Chris’s early education in Rugby Union saw him turn out for the junior teams of Pencoed RFC and Cardiff RFC (Junior Blue and Blacks) prior to their disbandment at under 15’s level. Chris also had spells at the Old Penarthians RFC, Tondu RFC and the Celtic Warriors Academy.

Chris’s education continued not just on the rugby field but also at UWIC and during the 2004-05 season he studied sports and leisure management and also turned out for the University team where he represented them in the First Division.

 

Chris also got his first taste of playing for the mighty Pont when he made a number of appearances for them on permit which allowed him to feature for them in both the league and the cup.

 

Photograph Courtesy of www.cardiffblues.com

This wouldn’t be the last time Chris featured for Pontypridd, in fact he was drafted into the senior squad just a year later. Chris had previously featured as a Full back for former clubs but it was at Pontypridd that it was felt his physical stature and presence could be utilised to better effect by placing him in the Lock and Back row positions. This positional move may have proven to be instrumental in Chris being voted the most improved player by the Pontypridd Supporters Club in 2006.

Dico had his first taste of under 21 international rugby with Wales during the 2005/06 season when he was capped during the under 21’s Six Nation Tournament held in France. Chris had previously featured for the Welsh Under 19s side.

In the 2008/09 season with injuries depleting the Pontypridd squad Chris regularly featured as a Flanker, a position which  was fairly new territory for Chris but a move which he embraced and shone in, his power and pace was more than a benefit.

The season that followed saw Chris feature at Number 8 towards the end of the season as fans really began to see the versatility of the extremely popular player.  At the end of the season awards Chris was bestowed the honour of being voted both the Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year.  

Quickly becoming a fans’ favourite and after five committed years with Pontypridd, Chris went on to be handed the honour of the Pontypridd Captaincy for the 2010/11 season. It was in the same season that Chris’s International career then took what many may have considered an unexpected turn.

After featuring for the Welsh national team at youth levels many may have expected him to feature for the full team in the future. However, during the end of 2011 Chris was approached by the Cypriot National team and duly accepted the opportunity to feature for his Grandfather’s homeland.  

Chris’s career continued to go from strength to strength. He captained Pontypridd to a historic league and cup double in 2013, this time predominantly playing in his familiar back row position.

Chris’s talent and influence on the game wasn’t unnoticed and after 8 seasons with the mighty Pont a move to the Pro 12 with Professional side the Cardiff Blues materialised where he would join up with former Ponty Great Dale “The Chief” Macintosh and of course former players such as Kristian Dacey.

Chris made his first appearance for the Blues against Glasgow in the Heineken Cup, what better way to introduce yourself to the Blues fans than in such a huge game. The move to the Blues was a significant one and has catapulted Chris into the world of professional club level rugby, a move which he felt may never happen. In an interview with www.walesonline.co.uk Chris said:

“If I’m being honest, I had given up on this happening. At 28, I thought my time had gone. I was happy with my job, I was happy playing for Ponty. I loved what I was doing. But when the call came, it’s something I had to take... Obviously I spoke to Chief (Dale McIntosh) about the environment down here and everything else.”

As well as Chris’s achievements on the field he has also been bestowed one of the greatest compliments any rugby player can achieve... not an award, not a trophy, not the club captaincy... what I’m talking about is being Grogged! Shortly after being named club captain for Pontypridd, Chris was immortalised in clay, of course he is not the first Ponty captain to be Grogged but is definitely the first Cypriot international!

Chris was fantastic enough to talk to The Grogg Blog about his Groggs and Rugby playing career. Hope you all enjoy the piece below!!

Growing up in Wales, the Groggshop must have been something you were familiar with from a young age. What would you say your earliest memory of the shop was?

The earliest memory I have of the Grogg Shop was probably after the 97 Lions Tour to South Africa. I was obsessed with the Lions during this tour and  I seem to remember Neil Jenkins being presented with a Grogg in his Lions kit and I remember asking my father what a Grogg was. So from the age of 12 I have been aware of the Grogg Shop.

For many being Grogged is a sign that you have made it and deemed as a huge honour and achievement how did you find out that you were being Grogged the first time and how did you feel about it?

I had just been named Player of the Year at Ponty, announced as captain and then I had a phone call not long after whilst in work to ask if I would like to be Grogged. Of course I accepted straight away and then I was straight on the phone to tell my family. I felt really proud that I had been asked and that I would be joining so many of my sporting heroes in being Grogged.

Prior to being Grogged yourself, was there ever any “Grogg Envy” towards those players who had previously been crafted?

Prior to being Grogged I had massive envy towards anyone who was lucky enough to have been Grogged. I was even more envious when Nathan Strong got Grogged as it had been a while since a Ponty player had been Grogged. I remember turning to Louisa my now wife and saying I would love that to be me. 

I’m sure over the years the Groggshop have presented you with some of your own Groggs. Aside from these Groggs do you have any others in your collection? I’m sure our fans would love to see some photographs of your own Groggs if you are able to share them.

Obviously I have a number of my own Groggs in various kits of teams I have represented and then one of my favourite ever rugby player Jonah Lomu which my Grandfather bought me for my 21st. I also have a few golden bobs which you receive after being man of the match at Ponty games and my player of the year Groggs. My plan now is to start collecting seriously and pass them onto my son Jacob when he is old enough to appreciate them.

Photograph Courtesy of Chris Dicomidis

Photograph Courtesy of Chris Dicomidis

For a number of Grogg collectors the great appeal is being able to own a fantastically crafted piece of some of your childhood/present day heroes. If you could have a Grogg made of one of your own personal heroes who would it be and why?

All my sporting heroes have been Grogged, the likes of Jonah Lomu, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham. I know the Sonny Bill Williams Grogg is out soon so that's definitely on my wish list. As for other people, I would like to see Sam Burgess Grogged as he is an immense rugby player but also seems very humble with everything he has been through in life.

You have been Grogged as a Pontypridd Mini so far for general sale to the public, if you could be Grogged again would there be anything you would like to have done differently for example maybe a 9” version, different kit or different physical attributes or pose?

There is nothing I would change character wise about my Grogg. I had a tough decision to make about the number, at the time I was playing 6 so went for that, but since then I have played all my rugby at 5 so maybe I would change the number. As for a different pose maybe one of myself lifting the Swalec Cup or Principality League trophy.

As well as playing for Ponty, the Cardiff Blues and the Welsh Under 21 Team, you also now feature for the Cypriot National team. Of course your fellow Welsh Teammates will be well aware of the work of the Groggshop, but how about your Cypriot Teammates, what are their thoughts on the fact you have been immortalised in clay?

The Cyprus players are very aware of what a Grogg is. One Christmas my father got me a Grogg in the Cyprus rugby kit which I tweeted straight away. The next time I met up with them all there was a thousand questions about The Groggshop in general and they were extremely jealous at the fact I had been Grogged.

Over the course of your career to date you received a number of great accolades including Captaining Pontypridd RFC. What would you say is the proudest moment was of your rugby career so far and why?

The proudest moment of my rugby career to date would probably have to be winning the 'double' first time round with Ponty. Obviously I was captain which made it extra special and my son was mascot the day we beat Llanelli in the final. It was also special because we had missed out on the double the two previous years, so winning meant we were finally rewarded for all the hard work we as a team had put in. It was also special to win it with a bunch of boys I regard as close friends as a number of us have grown up together in a Ponty shirt.

Once again a huge thank you to Chris for taking part! It's been a pleasure, good luck for the rest of the season!