Adam Reed is a shining example of a footballer who kept his career options open by studying for a degree whilst he was still playing. He originally spoke to Ray Simpson for the Darlington programme.

Local lad Adam had three spells with Quakers (if you count a loan back to us from Blackburn Rovers). He made his debut when Ray Hankin was manager at the back end of the 1991-92 season, then after his £200,000 transfer to Blackburn in 1995, he was loaned back to the club two seasons later.

The move back to Feethams was made permanent in 1998, and it was during his last spell that he began studying for a degree in physiotherapy at Salford University.

That hard work has paid off, as his qualifications have enabled him to stay in the pro game, and he’s now one of the senior physios at promotion chasing Middlesbrough, working on the outskirts of Darlo at Rockcliffe Park. You can sometimes see him on the television in the Boro technical area near manager Aitor Karanka.

“I’ve been at Middlesbrough for ten years,” he said. “I started my studies when Darlington were still playing at Feethams. As soon as I finished my degree, I got a job at the Boro just after they played in the UEFA Cup final, and worked my way up through the academy to the seniors.

“I think it shows the huge value of keeping your options open when you’re a player, because once you finish playing, you never know what’s around the corner. You need to have some sort of formal qualification or recognised trade. The lads at the top level don’t know much about that, but it’s really important. Fortunately, the PFA were a big help to me and helped me get on the course.

“I was still playing for Darlington at the time when Tommy Taylor was manager, and he kindly agreed to let me miss training twice a week and go to University.

“There are two of us with the first team. I don’t always travel to away games, sometimes I stay back at the club with the injured lads, treat them and help them with their rehab.

“Most of the injuries we see now, weren’t diagnosed or recognised twenty years ago. The injuries themselves are probably the same, but we know a lot more nowadays. At Boro, we have several staff who can scan and treat injuries, and we can concentrate on and rehabilitate individual players.

“There is more recognition now about the work that physios do. When I went to Blackburn after they won the Premiership in 1995, there was only one physio for the whole club! Now there are three or four with Premiership first teams.

“Sports science wasn’t around then, and nor was the internet! We have to be absolutely sure what we’re talking about when we talk about injuries to players, because they will google the name of the injury, and then look on YouTube or something like that.”

The older generation of Darlington fans will remember the legendary Dickie Deacon and his magic sponge! The treatment of injuries has come a long way since those days.

Adam made his Darlington first team debut at the age of 17 when former Burnley and Middlesbrough striker Ray Hankin was manager after Frank Gray was sacked three months from the end of the 1991-92 season.

“I came on as a sub at Stoke City. Ray wanted to give the youngsters a chance. Gregs (Sean Gregan) had been given his debut by Frank Gray, and Mark Sunley also played. Look how the fortunes of the two clubs have changed since then!

“Billy McEwan gave me my full debut at Chesterfield the following season and I was sent off for a last man foul! Their winger was bearing down on goal, and the ref said I brought him down, although I still claim to this day that I got a touch on the ball.

“Billy couldn’t win games, so he made way for Alan Murray. He gave me my next start at Scunthorpe, and I made my full home debut at home to Colchester in that famous 7-3 win. Peter Kirkham, another youngster, also played that night. I don’t think we relaxed until we were four goals in front. I had quite a few games under Alan, there was a back three of me, Gregs and Crossa (Andy Crosby).

“That season was a fight against relegation. We were pretty sure that we wouldn’t go down because the club at the top of the Conference didn’t have a ground up to Football League standard, but we still had to make sure, which we did by winning our last two games against Mansfield and Bury.

“From a personal point of view, the following season, 1994-95, was a successful one for me, because I got the move to Blackburn at the end of it, and that was down to people like Ray Hankin, Tony McAndrew, Barrie Geldart and David Hodgson.

“The jump in standard from near the bottom of the old Third Division to the top of the Premiership was maybe too high for me. There was a lot of competition for places, I got on the bench a couple of times, but it was mainly reserve team football for me. I was competing against the likes of Colin Hendry and Henning Berg for a place in the first team.

“Blackburn loaned me back to Darlington for a few games – Hodgy arranged it – and then the move became permanent.

“As a club, we had our ups and downs after that. We went to Wembley in the play off final in 2000 on a dreadful night. There was so much water on the pitch, that we couldn’t get our passing game going, and the match with Peterborough became a leveller. I always say that our luck wasn’t in that year, and I still have nightmares about it.

“But there were some great times – beating Nottingham Forest in the League Cup, taking Manchester City to a replay in the FA Cup, giving Bolton and Sheffield United good games in the League Cup.

“It was against Manchester City that I suffered my first injury. I went in for a slide tackle and tore my knee ligaments. I limped on through the rest of the game. In my haste to get back into the team, I took some steroids, and my knee was never the same again. I wish I’d known as much then as I do now, otherwise I wouldn’t have rushed back. I might have been able to play a bit longer.

“When I came back, I injured the cruciate ligament in my other knee at Kidderminster, and I lost a yard of pace and mobility. It was then that I started to concentrate on being a physio.”

[caption id="attachment_22415" align="alignnone" width="300"] Adam as Boro physio[/caption]

Like many of us, Adam still has a lump in his throat when he remembers his times at Feethams. “I loved Feethams, it had a special atmosphere all of its own. You couldn’t beat the Tin Shed, or the old East Stand. Loads of people have said to me that they had a special feeling walking around the cricket pitch to the football ground. It was a special club with special people.

“There was a great group of lads at the club when I was there – people like Glenn Naylor, Phil Brumwell, Lee Nogan, Hodgy, to name but a few.

“Darlington is still my team. I still chat a bit to Martin Gray and Brian Atkinson, and I go to games when I can. At least now the club is heading in the right direction.”