The halfway point of the Germany Tour 2022 and it was the day before our first match against Stuttgart. Peter Gilham was on hand to sum up the somewhat relaxed fourth day in the Black Forest.

With Friday being the day before a match, the schedule revealed to all that once breakfast was over, the players would get a training-free morning following the exceptional exertions of yesterday afternoon. Albeit with some recovery work.

The players were split in two groups for a short mobility session in the gym followed by a walk around part of the hotel’s 45 holes of golf courses. Needless to say, the walk did not involve clubs and golf bags. Then, an opportunity to recover with a trip to the pool for all.

This break from a morning training session gave me the opportunity to check in with the hard-working Kit Logistics team, Bob Oteng, ably assisted by Luke Newton and Josh Hiller.

Kit Logistics is a world of its own and further emphasises how every member of the off-field team is an integral member of the First Team squad, with every aspect crucial to the smooth running of the operation.

Today the three-man team, (apart from the regular day-to-day operation of turning around the players and staff members training and general wear, twice a day) were preparing all the kit for the match versus VfB Stuttgart.

This obviously comprises of warm-up wear and match kit, such as of course, shirts, shorts, socks, slips. But it’s fair to say, things aren’t quite that simple, as most if not all the players have their own idiosyncrasies. Whether it be socks which are long, short, cut down, cut out, new, well-worn, grippy. The list goes on. Each player’s requirements are prepared and allocated accordingly. Likewise, some players will wear slips, some cycle shorts, and some who wear both.

Then of course it’s knowing which boots belong to which players as they are collected post-training and then cleaned ready for use at the next session.

In truth I’ve only touched on the tip of the iceberg with regard to Kit Logistics, but their professionalism and detailed preparation is crucial to the success of the players’ performances.

After lunch, medical prep started at 3pm followed swiftly by a late afternoon training session. Fortunately for the players, this lacked the intense heat of the day before.

The training camp suffered its first casualty yesterday afternoon, but it wasn’t one of the players. Dan from our Content Team - now almost certainly Instagram-famous for his spectacular control of a football that had been blasted narrowly over the target in training - fell and injured his shoulder! He can now be seen sporting a rather large sling, given to him by the doctors at the local hospital here in Southern Germany.

That apart, there is little else to report on this evening. I can reveal however that it’s been decided (by the players themselves) that there will be a litany of cover versions of previously well-known songs, to be performed over two nights (Sunday and Monday). The nine lucky ‘performers’ will be those players not to have previously ‘sung’ on overnight away trips over the past 12 months. Roll on Tuesday!