A Brentwood football club currently in the national spotlight as the latest recipients of the Specsavers Best Worst Team title has been given some serious food for thought – thanks to a celebrity chef to Premiership stars Kyle Walker, John Terry and Luke Shaw, amongst others.
Jonny Marsh, who has also worked at Le Manoir aux Quat’s Saison under Raymond Blanc, is the go-to private chef for a number of top names in the world of football, and has even written a cookery book.
And now he’s the latest signing for struggling Warley FC in Essex, with the club’s journey documented in an 11-part YouTube series, as part of Specsavers’ Best Worst Team initiative. The club suffered a brutal run last season – losing 18 of their 20 games and conceding 81 goals.
Specsavers Best Worst Team helps turn around the fortunes of amateur football teams judged to be the worst in Britain – and has made a massive difference to the performance of previous clubs.
Specsavers has already partnered with football pundit and former player Micah Richards to help Warley FC improve their performance on the field. Marsh has been added to the team sheet to help the players look at their nutrition and improve their diets – and his influence is already starting to show.
Luke Armstrong, Warley FC Manager, says: ‘Jonny’s nutrition guidance is already paying off for the squad. Last year, the team were partial to a regular kebab. We went on to have a pretty rough season. A week after Jonny joined us, the team secured a confident 2-0 win over Essex Minors. A clean sheet, a composed performance and a result that makes us excited to see how their progress develops over the long term.’
Jonny says: ‘Nutrition doesn’t mean eating a boring, tasteless meal, and playing at a grassroots level doesn’t mean nutrition should be overlooked. These lads might not have chefs on tap, but their dedication and commitment to turning their performance around is something to be admired. In partnership with Specsavers, my aim was to help them use food as their superpower and give them a competitive edge on the pitch.
‘My advice to the Warley lads and any other amateur sports person is simple – fuel like you want to play. Small consistent changes like the right carbs to guarantee steady energy can transform how long you last on the pitch, how sharp you can feel in those final crucial minutes and importantly, how fast you recover.’
Kim Bull, Brand Communications Lead at Specsavers, says: ‘With players aged from 18- to 42-years-old, the Warley FC team all prepare differently, especially when it comes to diet. With 10.30am Sunday kick offs, getting the right fuel in is a real challenge, so Micah’s call to bring in Jonny should help them finish the Specsavers Best Worst Team season on a strong streak.’
Watch Jonny Marsh test the Warley players’ culinary skills in the latest episode of Best Worst Team on the Specsavers Best Worst Team YouTube Channel.
The news comes in the wake of new research with amateur footballers in Essex which reveals that 84% of them are planning on upping their game this season when it comes to diet and nutrition.
Nearly half (45%) said they were forgoing alcohol to improve their performance on the pitch, while the same number are ditching sugary and fizzy drinks. Over a third (36%) said they avoided fried chicken, while a third (33%) said they avoided chips, and kebabs.
Almost 9 in 10 (88%) admitted that in their teens and early 20s they felt they could get away with eating far more junk food than they can now.
Today, over two-fifths (42%) want to eat more healthily to reach their personal health and body goals, while two-fifths (40%) want to do so to perform better for their team.
But it’s not all healthy food all the way, as just under half (49%) still think a full English breakfast is a perfectly acceptable matchday meal.
To find out more about Specsavers Best Worst Team and meet Warley FC, visit www.youtube.com/@SpecsaversBestWorstTeam/featured.
