Apr 19 2009 Birmingham Mail
SYLVAN Ebanks-Blake may be able to find the target for fun for Wolves – netting the goal which took Wolves back to the Premier League – but when it comes to his personal aims he is much more cloak and dagger.
With Wolves now certain to be plying their trade in the Barclays Premier League, the marksman has finally revealed his one real personal ambition – a dream he has harboured since he was eight years old.
Ebanks-Blake may have been born in Cambridge, and be a former graduate of Manchester United’s impressive youth academy, but he is a lifelong Liverpool fanatic.
And yet to this day he has never set foot in Liverpool’s historic Anfield ground because of the decision he made as a youngster when he vowed to himself that he would not step through the Shankly Gates until the day he played there.
Shunned
Offers of tickets and invites to see the mighty Reds have come and gone over the years and yet Ebanks-Blake, 23, has always shunned the opportunity, choosing to stay true to the task he set himself as a youngster knocking a ball around the school-yard.
The England Under-21 star confessed: “As a Liverpool fan the biggest treat in being in the Premier League will be to play against them for Wolves.
“I have never been to Anfield. I told myself a long time ago that the first time I would go there would not be until I play there! Hopefully I will get my chance to do that next season.”
He explained: “It was just something I set as a target for myself as a youngster. I have never been to watch Liverpool at Anfield even though they are my team and I have had lots of chances over the years.
“I lived in Manchester for years and have seen them play at Old Trafford and really Anfield was on my doorstep.
“But I said from a very young age that my first trip there would be as a player. That has always been my special dream – the ultimate prize – and I can’t wait to get the opportunity now.”
Ebanks-Blake may have grown up around some of Manchester United’s top strikers but his heroes were always those who played for Liverpool.
“Although I was at United I kept my adoration for Liverpool quiet” he quipped. “I never did anything daft like turn up in a Liverpool shirt!
“But my heroes were John Barnes and Robbie Fowler and I made no secret of that.
“Michael Owen was also just breaking through then as well as a talented young striker.
“There were no end of top Liverpool players I admired but the era of Robbie Fowler was probably the one I remember best.
“They were the players I loved to watch – top, top players and players on whom I tried to base my game and learn from.”
With 24 goals this season Ebanks-Blake is almost certain to lift the Coca-Cola Championship’s Golden Boot for the second successive season.
That will be added to the FourFourTwo Football League Player of the Year award he collected recently together with the Goal of the Season accolade for 2008 for his stunner against Charlton.
Now he hopes to add a Championship medal together with his second Golden Boot once all the presentation evenings kick in – even if he has to order a bigger cabinet to store his growing collection of trophies.
“I am in football to win medals,” he explained “and want to be able to look back and have a cabinet full of them.
“I want to be able to look back at my achievements and those of my team-mates.”
Ebanks-Blake admits playing Premier League football with Wolves will be a dream come true – not just for himself but all his young team-mates.
“For all of us it is a massive dream come true,” he said. “But it is also nothing short of what deserve.
Enjoy
“We have worked hard all season and, once we get these last couple of games out of the way, we can enjoy it.”
Wolves play Barnsley away and then Doncaster at home on Sunday May 3 on the day they hope the Coca-Cola Championship trophy will finally and physically be in their grasp.
“There is nothing like playing for a Premier League club,” Ebanks-Blake said.
“I have been at a Premier League club in that I was at Manchester United as a youngster but I have never played in the top flight.
“It will be a very good experience to be there with Wolves.”
And judging by the young star’s long-standing dream we can guess which fixture he will be looking out for the new season!
SYLVAN Ebanks-Blake may be able to find the target for fun for Wolves – netting the goal which took Wolves back to the Premier League – but when it comes to his personal aims he is much more cloak and dagger.
With Wolves now certain to be plying their trade in the Barclays Premier League, the marksman has finally revealed his one real personal ambition – a dream he has harboured since he was eight years old.
Ebanks-Blake may have been born in Cambridge, and be a former graduate of Manchester United’s impressive youth academy, but he is a lifelong Liverpool fanatic.
And yet to this day he has never set foot in Liverpool’s historic Anfield ground because of the decision he made as a youngster when he vowed to himself that he would not step through the Shankly Gates until the day he played there.
Shunned
Offers of tickets and invites to see the mighty Reds have come and gone over the years and yet Ebanks-Blake, 23, has always shunned the opportunity, choosing to stay true to the task he set himself as a youngster knocking a ball around the school-yard.
The England Under-21 star confessed: “As a Liverpool fan the biggest treat in being in the Premier League will be to play against them for Wolves.
“I have never been to Anfield. I told myself a long time ago that the first time I would go there would not be until I play there! Hopefully I will get my chance to do that next season.”
He explained: “It was just something I set as a target for myself as a youngster. I have never been to watch Liverpool at Anfield even though they are my team and I have had lots of chances over the years.
“I lived in Manchester for years and have seen them play at Old Trafford and really Anfield was on my doorstep.
“But I said from a very young age that my first trip there would be as a player. That has always been my special dream – the ultimate prize – and I can’t wait to get the opportunity now.”
Ebanks-Blake may have grown up around some of Manchester United’s top strikers but his heroes were always those who played for Liverpool.
“Although I was at United I kept my adoration for Liverpool quiet” he quipped. “I never did anything daft like turn up in a Liverpool shirt!
“But my heroes were John Barnes and Robbie Fowler and I made no secret of that.
“Michael Owen was also just breaking through then as well as a talented young striker.
“There were no end of top Liverpool players I admired but the era of Robbie Fowler was probably the one I remember best.
“They were the players I loved to watch – top, top players and players on whom I tried to base my game and learn from.”
With 24 goals this season Ebanks-Blake is almost certain to lift the Coca-Cola Championship’s Golden Boot for the second successive season.
That will be added to the FourFourTwo Football League Player of the Year award he collected recently together with the Goal of the Season accolade for 2008 for his stunner against Charlton.
Now he hopes to add a Championship medal together with his second Golden Boot once all the presentation evenings kick in – even if he has to order a bigger cabinet to store his growing collection of trophies.
“I am in football to win medals,” he explained “and want to be able to look back and have a cabinet full of them.
“I want to be able to look back at my achievements and those of my team-mates.”
Ebanks-Blake admits playing Premier League football with Wolves will be a dream come true – not just for himself but all his young team-mates.
“For all of us it is a massive dream come true,” he said. “But it is also nothing short of what deserve.
Enjoy
“We have worked hard all season and, once we get these last couple of games out of the way, we can enjoy it.”
Wolves play Barnsley away and then Doncaster at home on Sunday May 3 on the day they hope the Coca-Cola Championship trophy will finally and physically be in their grasp.
“There is nothing like playing for a Premier League club,” Ebanks-Blake said.
“I have been at a Premier League club in that I was at Manchester United as a youngster but I have never played in the top flight.
“It will be a very good experience to be there with Wolves.”
And judging by the young star’s long-standing dream we can guess which fixture he will be looking out for the new season!
he's a massive bellend. When he was at Plymouth he bottled a guy at a club and had to go to court, so he pulls up to court in his sports car and parks it right outside the court (double yellows), comes out of court and laughs at his parking ticket then speeds off. True story
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