Day One - 26th November 2008

So it all begins here. I'd love to say that I am feeling refreshed and like a new man, but I actually feel a bit sick. It may have been the happenings of last night (which I can no longer talk about) or the Jack Daniels which was consumed afterwards. Anyhow, today shouldn't be too difficult as I am still not in the mood for the national game.

My first challenge comes in the fact that the newsroom where I work has two large TV screens which show news channels. Naturally, the sports bulletins involve the F word. Hence, I am forced to move seats so that I can no longer inadvertently catch any goals.

By early evening I'm in a pub and there is a whole level of difficulty involved in being a recovering footie-aholic. I can feel Sky Sports News presenter Georgie Thompson staring at me in the corner of my eye, urging me to watch last nights goals from the Championship. Although I resist, conversation with my mate Chris is slow as we normally rabble for hours solely about football. In the end, I make my excuses and leave feeling unsure as to how this experiment will go.

I avoid the evening's catalogue of European fixtures by locking myself in my room and working until bedtime. 12 hours into my football free life, I fall asleep blissfully unaware of how Liverpool done or whether or not Didier Drogba started for Chelsea.