Midfield man Matty Dolan is next to face the onslaught of the random questions from our Who Are Yan index – let’s see how entertaining he can be with his answers…

On The Pitch

1 Who is the best player you’ve played with?
Ben White came on loan to Newport when I was there, and he was an absolute Rolls Royce of a centre-back. I would also have to mention Josh Sheehan because he is a fantastic footballer who now plays for Wales. His technical ability was brilliant, better than people appreciate.

2 Who is the best player you’ve played against?
I have played against a few good players, but the best is probably Phil Foden. He scored two for Manchester City in the FA Cup when we had a run at Newport. We just couldn’t get near him.

3 What’s the best goal you’ve ever scored?
It’s maybe a flip up between two. I scored from inside my own half against Walsall when I was playing for Yeovil so that should be my best. But I scored in the play-off semi-final against Forest Green for Newport – it was a bit of a rocket, and it was live on Sky Sports as well.

4 When you were playing with your mates as a kid, which player did you pretend to be?
Zidane. He was a player I used to love watching, I just enjoyed the way he played. After that, I also loved watching Jack Wilshere, what a player he was. I actually got to play against him when he was at West Ham so I made sure to get his top after the game! Frighteningly good.

5 Which position did you play when you were at school?
I was still playing in the centre of midfield at school. However, when I was in the Academy at Middlesbrough, I had a couple of stints playing left wing. It was all about the delivery, I think! I was usually in centre midfield, though I loved playing in the middle of a back three at Newport.

Off The Pitch

1 How many tattoos do you have?
Zero. I do want one, though. I want something to do with my kids or my wife. It would have to be something personal like that, I am not going to turn up with random design on my arm.

2 What food do you absolutely hate?
I am not really a picky eater really, but I can’t get away with olives. I think it looks cool and will try them every now and then because they seem like a great healthy snack – but I can’t do it!

3 What’s your favourite film?
Ooh, that’s too hard! I have a few. I am partial to Gladiator, mind. I have probably watched that about a hundred times because I have to watch it if it comes on the television!

4 What hobbies do you have?
When I am not playing football, I spent quite a lot of time watching my little girl dance. I do like a little round of golf when I can too. I don’t play as much as I would like because I really enjoy it.

5 What food could you not live without?
Well, it’s not a food but can I cheat and say coffee – I couldn’t go without my coffees. I do like a little cortado coffee. I am not into lattes or things like that, but a little short coffee is something I really enjoy.

Background Check

1 What was your best subject at school?
Probably maths or history, I loved history. I just enjoyed everything about learning what happened in the past. I am doing a physio degree at the moment, and I am really enjoying that too.

2 What is the naughtiest thing you did as a child?
I am outside my mam and dad’s house now – should I pop in and ask them? Haha! Actually, I remember flicking ink from a fountain pen all over the walls in my bedroom. I can’t really remember why – I think I just found that the ink would come out when I flicked it and then got carried away. I got into quite a lot of trouble for that.

3 What was your favourite television show growing up?
I watched a lot of television, but Match of the Day was always mint. I loved watching that. When I was really young, I enjoyed ‘Hey Athur’ – remember that? That was a belter, that.

4 What was your favourite Christmas present as a child?
A football. I was really lucky because every year my dad would buy me the new Mitre Multiplex balls. So, I was always the one who brought the football when I played with my mates on the field.

5 Which video game was your favourite as a child?
I wasn’t really much of a gamer, but I remember Need for Speed on the PS2. That was brilliant and I was pretty good at it, if I remember rightly. I won plenty of races!

Would You Rather…

1 Would you rather be three feet taller or three feet smaller?
Three feet taller. That would be a lot better side of the option. I could be a belting centre-back if I was three feet taller; I would be back in the middle of the back three again!

2 Would you rather be able to speak any language fluently or be able to talk to animals?
Any language. It quite cool being able to speak languages and I am not sure what I would get out of being able to talk to animals, do you know what I mean. I can’t see the point!

3 Would you rather be constantly overdressed or constantly underdressed?
Constantly overdressed. Yeah – look good, feel good, play good! There was a footballer who said that wasn’t there? I can’t remember who it was, but it stuck in my head! Haha!

4 Would you rather no phone for a month or no car for a month?
No phone. I would be totally fine without a phone. I don’t really have social media other than Linkedin, so it wouldn’t bother me. But if you can’t just get in your car and drive something, you’re knackered, aren’t you?

5 Would you rather always lose or never play?
Tough question! I think I would have to always lose than give up playing. I love playing football too much to be able to just stop.