DEAN HOLDEN found himself puking as he played the part of I’m A Football Manager … Get Me Out Of Here.
The Charlton boss had his League One team and backroom staff cheering him on as he downed a disgusting glass of blended mealworms.
But then they all gasped with astonishment as their gaffer retched before regurgitating the foul-smelling concoction into a nearby bucket.
Game-for-a-laugh Holden joined the club’s head of first-team player-care Tracey Leaburn in a Bushtucker trial inside their training ground canteen.
They were raising money for the club to provide free prostate cancer testing for Charlton and Fleetwood fans ahead of their league clash at The Valley on Saturday.
It is done on behalf of the Barry Kilby Prostate Cancer Appeal with close to 500 booked in for the hassle-free five-minute test.
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On the menu — dubbed the Meal Squeal — were fish eyes, roasted crickets, pig’s brains, fruit beetle bugs, morio worms and, most disgusting of all, a pig’s anus!
And after finishing their revolting lunch, the pair had to handle and walk around the canteen with live snakes.
Holden sent a shiver down the spine of some of the players as he approached them wearing a Royal Python around his neck — while Tracey had to enjoy the company of a corn snake.
Master of ceremonies for the hilarious event was Addicks right-back Sean Clare, who made sure there was no backing out by either of the pair.
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After his stomach recovered from his culinary horrors, Holden told me: “How can you describe something as disgusting as blended mealworms?
“As soon as it goes in, it’s waiting to come back up so you’re fighting against it.
“It’s going down but it’s coming back up at the same time. The smell, the taste, was horrendous.
“Even the little roasted cricket things at the start were like eating a load of Ryvita!”
But the most awful of all the dishes was the pig’s anus.
And Holden, screwing his face with disgust, said: “I chewed it to a point — but then needed to add a bit of rocket to the fork to take away the awful flavour!
“Whoever came up with that menu was very creative.
“It was horrendous from start to finish. It’s still sitting there right now. Hopefully I won’t have to bring any more of it up later!”
Ironically, Holden’s wife, television presenter Danielle Nicholls, almost went into the most recent series of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here.
Famously, former West Ham, Tottenham, Portsmouth, QPR, Bournemouth and Southampton boss Harry Redknapp was king of the jungle in 2018.
Holden laughed: “Danielle almost went in. She’s like me, always game for a laugh, but I certainly will never go in there.”
The pig’s anus and brain were provided by Leeds-based butcher Malcolm Michaels while the rest of the “food” and snakes were sourced from The Pet Lodge in Mottingham.
Tracey, wife of Charlton legend and former striker Carl, said: “There were loads of mealworms floating about in the top of that drink! I said to our chef Alan Tyrrell, ‘I thought they were supposed to be blended.’ And he replied, ‘The blender couldn’t even blend them all!’
“The pig’s anus was by far the worst dish though. The smell and taste was revolting.”
Tracey’s father Graham died of prostate cancer aged 71 in 2011 and already Charlton Athletic have potentially saved 65 lives since they started testing in 2018.
Up to Sunday lunchtime, Tracey had crowdfunded £4,272 with a further £1,000 donated by club sponsor Keith Wisdom with another £2,000 raised by the players.
With some of the money needed to pay the health staff, it leaves just a little bit more to reach the £7,500 needed and any extra funds will be donated towards next year’s PSA testing event.
The quick check up for men aged 45 and above sees each person give a blood sample which is then tested for prostate cancer.
Watching Holden and Tracey at the fundraiser was father-and-son season-ticket holders Bob and Gary Millen, who both had their lives saved by the annual Charlton testing event.
Bob, 79, went for a PSA test ahead of the game against Scunthorpe in 2019 while Gary, 52, got checked last season before the Oxford game.
Gary’s grandfather and Bob’s dad — also named Bob — died of prostate cancer when he was 75.
Bob said: “You’re two-and-a-half times more likely to get prostate cancer if it runs in the family.
“I had no symptoms at all but tested positive. Because of my age, I had chemotherapy to kill the cancer.”
Gary added: “I got tested last season because I knew dad would be on my case and, like him, I had no symptoms yet tested positive. I also had a high reading in my blood so ended up having an operation to get my prostates removed.
“There is no embarrassment in having that done. Who cares about that when you’re still alive!
“It’s great that Dean and Tracey have done this. Even if you save one life, it’s worth doing.”
Holden has suffered personal tragedy in his own family when his daughter Cici died aged just 17 months old in 2012 while on a family holiday in Lanzarote.
Little Cici died after contracting meningococcal sepsis — a rare bacterial blood infection.
So that is one reason why the Charlton boss is passionate about raising money for things that can potentially save lives.
He said: “Ultimately things like this cost money and if the government is not prepared to put money into certain things you must find another way to do it.
“That is why the people who organise and put these tests on each year at Charlton are the real heroes. They’ve saved lives. Anything that can identify a terrible disease so it can be treated before it becomes more serious is a great thing.
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“I urge anyone who is 45 and above to get tested. There is no shame in it at all.”
IF you would like to donate to this fantastic cause, click here.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
