If I could...with Conor Coady

1) If I could…play alongside one player from the history of world football, it would be…
…someone who was a real influence on me growing up: Steven Gerrard. He was massive for me. When I was coming to the end of my time at Liverpool, he was finishing his career and he was someone who I grew up watching and he was such an incredible footballer, an incredible person for Liverpool and he is the one I would loved to have played alongside. I trained with him at Liverpool obviously but I never got to play alongside him. What a player he was! In his prime and what he did for Liverpool was just (blows his cheeks out)…what a player! What a player and what an ambassador. He was a fantastic footballer.

2) If I could…improve one part of my game today, it would be…
…my left foot, 100 per cent. I used to always watch John Terry growing up and a big part of my game is obviously passing the ball and trying to switch the play, and he was someone who could switch the play with both feet and I loved it. It was effortless to him. He could take a touch coming from the right and spray it with his left foot and it was the same on the other side and you never knew which was his strongest foot.

3) If I could…take one part of an England team-mate's game, it would be…
…Mason Mount’s intelligence. What a player by the way. What a person. Honestly he is an incredible footballer. I have been lucky enough to train and play with him for England and I can’t speak more highly of him. He is so intelligent on the ball and off the ball. Everything he does, I think he can go to the top of the game. He is incredible.

4) If I could…go back to one event in history, it would be…
…England winning the World Cup in 1966. Imagine being part of that? The experience of the summer and what that did for the country and for the people of our country, to go and win a World Cup, in this country, would be incredible.

5) If I could…change one thing about the world, it would be… 
…no social media. Don’t get me wrong, I am on it and I enjoy being on it, because it is great to engage with Wolves and England supporters on it. It is amazing to do that. But the amount of bad stuff on it. I think it is a massive downfall of our society, with everything going on now. We are not going to get rid of it but social media is a big one. 

6) If I could…change one thing about football, it would be…
…VAR! No, it is not necessarily VAR. It is how it is being used. VAR is a tough one to take as a footballer and it is as a supporter as well, as I watch games as a fan as well. 

7) If I could…give my eight-year-old self one bit of advice, it would be…
…communicate, talk and be open. As simple as that. Be open to everything that happens in life. Don’t close yourself off.  Being open to other people, being open to things that happen in life, whether it is different managers coming in, different people you meet, to communicate and be open, is massive. With young kids now, I don’t think we do it enough. Don’t get me wrong, I know different people have different personalities but I think to an eight-year-old Conor Coady, I would say to be open and communicate as much as you can because you learn so much.

8) If I could…speak to that child who is considering joining their local team but isn’t sure, I would tell them…
…do it as soon as you can. Not just for football aspects or to become the greatest footballer in the world but to enjoy being outside, to enjoy being with other people and to enjoy socialising, to enjoy communicating. That would then mean you enjoy your football more because you will enjoy being with other people. Football can be a big part of doing that.

9) If I could…only eat one item of food for the rest of my life, it would be…
…meat. You can do loads with chicken but I am a fish man as well, you know. I like my fish so I would say fish. I like a little bit of salmon.

10) If I could…choose who would play me in the film of my life story, it would be…
…Michael Schofield from Prison Break. Wentworth Miller, what an actor. I have watched Prison Break about 500 times mate! What a programme. I went on Instagram and Lincoln Burrows followed me, the actor Dominic Purcell. Honestly, that was the greatest thing ever! I have not direct messaged him yet but I will do. I am trying to pluck up the courage to decide what to put because I am obsessed with Prison Break. I was over the moon with him following me.

11) If I could…invite three guests around for dinner, it would be…
…Michael Schofield but him as the character from Prison Break. What a fella. Sir Bobby Robson, what a footballing man. And I’m a big fan of Ed Sheeran. He could play a bit of music for us. He came in here [to St. George’s Park] in the summer for the EUROs and it was amazing. 

12) If I could…have a second dream job, I would be…
…a top tennis player. I enjoy tennis and I enjoy Wimbledon when that is on. I would like to be a top tennis player like Roger Federer. It is a really good sport so I would say that.

13) If I could…be one person for a day, it would be…
…Prince William. When I watched The Crown, it got me really involved so I would say Prince William. I am intrigued by the Royal family. My wife and I watched the Crown and it pulled me in, I’m not going to lie. Imagine that life? But only for a day and then I would want to go back to my normal life. Just to experience that sort of thing for a day would be amazing.

If you want to hear how Coady went from playing for Rainford Rangers in St Helens to captaining England, you can read his grassroots story here.