West Brom writer Chris Lepkowski's tour blog: Slovenia - 7 countries and the moon

Jul 15 2009 By Chris Lepkowski

IT was a long trip but someone had to make it.

Step forward Dave Chance and masseur Simon Griffiths.

The sheer amount of Albion's kit and equipment made it too logistically impossible to be transported by plane.

So the club's under-18 matchday co-ordinator and colleague took a van packed full of mobile goalposts, balls and kit to Slovenia from the West Midlands.

Leaving on Friday lunchtime, the pair crossed the channel to Calais, travelled across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland, Germany, Austria and Slovenia, before finally rolling into Ptuj 22-and-a-half hours later.

All of this meant they were too tired to enjoy Simon Cox's rendition of 'Fly Me to the Moon' , as part of the initiation task for all new players.

But Leon Barnett is unhappy that Youssouf Mulumbu wasn't willing to follow in the new tradition, one of the first innovations introduced by new coach Roberto Di Matteo.