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Jimmy Bullard says his trial at West Ham felt surreal from start to finish. On day one Harry Redknapp threw him straight in against Frank Lampard, and the voice in his head went: “Wow! Shit!”

He got through it without making a fool of himself, drove home to Bexleyheath and was in bed by about 4pm, sleeping right through to the next morning. Football fitness, he decided, was “ten times harder” than painting and decorating.

A couple of weeks on, the trial had flown by and he was sat at a packed press conference as a new West Ham signing, next to Paolo Di Canio, Marc-Vivien Foé and Gavin Holligan, with Redknapp at the top table. Cameras flashing, room gone quiet, and then Redknapp started the introductions:

“We have Paolo Di Canio, Marc-Vivien Foé, Gavin Holligan and er… what’s your name?”

The room just stopped, and Bullard was “utterly devastated”. Then Redknapp's memory kicked in: “Er, Jim. Jimmy Bullard.”

And that was that. “The world now knew my name.”

Going from decorating to being forgotten at your own unveiling next to Di Canio is about as West Ham as it gets. Fair play to Bullard for telling it against himself, he's always been one of football's best storytellers.

OFFICIAL: Celtic fans have been named the best supporters in the UK 🇬🇧👏🏻

Hard to argue when the whole stand turns into a wall of green and white scarves.

André Schurrle lifted the World Cup with Germany in 2014, chipping in with 3 goals and setting up the winner in the final 🏆🇩🇪

He'd hung up his boots by 29, and has since thrown himself into the Wim Hof Method, one of the toughest endurance challenges going. That meant climbing the Sniezka Mountains, the highest point in the Czech Republic, in nothing but a pair of shorts 😳❄️

🗣️Schürrle: "The last minutes I couldn't feel anything and I had to find something deep inside me to keep going. An experience I will never forget! -19 degrees, 100 km/h wind in our faces, heavy snow and rain. What I learned... my body and I are stronger than I thought if I put my mind and soul into it I can do it all."🥶

From World Cup winner to shirtless in a blizzard. Fair play to him.

Tim Lovejoy looking back on how Soccer AM came about:

“I wanted to make a football show you could enjoy even if you didn’t like football. It was just people messing about and having fun. That’s always been what TV should be.”

He got it spot on. Brilliant show, and what a pairing they were 👏

Jermain Defoe had walked out with hundreds of mascots during his time at Sunderland.

Then in 2016, ahead of Sunderland v Everton at the Stadium of Light, Louise Wanless from the club's media team let him know a young boy was hoping to meet him.

Bradley Lowery, a Sunderland fan from Blackhall, had neuroblastoma. Jermain Defoe was his favourite player.

Defoe expected a shy, nervous little lad. Instead, Bradley burst into the dressing room, ran straight to him, climbed onto his lap for a cuddle and started chatting about his boots.

“We had an instant connection.”

“It’s hard to explain but it was different, it was magical.”

After that, Bradley was far more than a mascot for the day. He was around the club constantly, and even when he was seriously ill, what struck Defoe most was the life in him.

“The first moment I met him I could not believe he was the young kid who was ill because he ran over to me.”

“His energy in the changing rooms, bossing the other kids about, a great character.”

By February 2017, Bradley was in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. A few Sunderland players went to see him, and after plenty of fun he ended up asleep in Defoe's arms on the hospital bed.

By then Defoe wasn't waiting for the club to set things up. He asked for the family's contact details so he could visit Bradley himself.

“I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.”

In March 2017, Defoe earned an England recall after years away. When England faced Lithuania at Wembley, Joe Hart let Defoe and Bradley lead the team out together. Defoe hugged him before kick-off, then scored 21 minutes in.

Away from the cameras, though, Bradley was getting worse. Defoe spoke to the family every day, and even after his summer move to Bournemouth, Bradley was never far from his mind.

At his Bournemouth unveiling in July 2017, a question about Bradley left him unable to hold it together.

“It has been difficult. I have kept this in for so long.”

“I have tried to be strong for my family and his family but I don’t know how to put into words how I feel.”

He'd been with Bradley again just days before.

“It was tough to see him suffer like that.”

Bradley died on 7th July 2017, aged six. His mum Gemma wrote that he'd gone “with the angels” in his mammy and daddy's arms, with his family around him.

Defoe shared his own message afterwards.

“Goodbye my friend, gonna miss you lots.”

“I’ll never ever forget the way you looked at me for the first time, the genuine love in those cute eyes.”

“Your courage and bravery will continue to inspire me for the rest of my life.”

A week later, Bradley's funeral took place in County Durham, with the family asking mourners to wear football shirts because cancer has no colours. Defoe flew back from Bournemouth's training camp in Spain and walked behind the cortege with Bradley's family.

“He taught me to appreciate life and the people around me so much more.”

“He changed me, my whole perspective.”

#football