Bonus 11 a side friendly v Southside, 6th Jan

NB 7pm kick off for this bonus curtain raiser. - AGM will start afterwards, at 9pm.

AGM 2011

If there's anything you'd like to be added to the agenda for next month's AGM, let me know by emailing me at my usual address. Here's hoping for a quick and painless chat and a 2011 during which we're Rockin' All Over The World. Over and out.

For all the music lovers in the squad

http://www.stevecarter.com/albumcovers.htm

BE WARNED

Some are a little risque for work

Match Cancelled Again! Wolfie Beers Instead!

In case you haven't seen an email from me, tomorrow night's match is OFF because Palace haven't cleared the snow off the pitch (and nor has it cleared itself as if by magic just yet…)

Let me know if you're able to come along to the Paxton instead to raise a glass to Graeme Were, who is moving to Australia imminently in order to enjoy the Ashes at first hand.

There but for the grace of the football gods…

Heard about this team on Radio Five Live, they fielded 7 against 11 which ended up as 6 against 10 and lost 55-0. So the next time we get a hammering, let's keep things in perspective.…

Match Cancelled!

Tonight's game is off because the pitch is covered in snow. So no outing for the yellow footballs, sadly. See you all next week hopefully!

Awards Night

Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone for their kind words last night, coming from people who know the game, it means a great deal to me! I still maintain that there are more worthy winners than I, based on form, fitness, commitment, and the other one!
Hope everyone had a great night, well done to all the organisers and thanks.
One thing I would like to have said, which I think sums up the quailty of people we have in our club perfectly, is about Neill Robertshaw. Two years ago, when I was made redundant, Neill offered me work with him, even though he was struggling himself. It was such a great gesture, and, like I say goes to show Effra Academicals is so much more than football.
Here's to everyone who's pulled on the red and blue shirts, roll on the next ten years.

The Coach goes Crazy

Imagine, 2-0 up at half-time and cruising to victory, then the Accies let in two soft goals. What are the odds of Thorny running up the grandstand and pulling out the seats? Thats similar to what happened in the Champions League the other night with the coach of the Romanian champions, CFR Cluj.

Film clip

I filmed 2 mins of the Accies ...erm... unlucky departure from the MI Cup. I did manage to capture the Accies goal and miss all the Ewell Ones. What are the chances of that happening?

See you all tomorrow.

Just as well we don't have a "Miss of the Season Award"

This may not be an Accies match, but it doesn't matter who you play for, your age, gender or ability, there's surely no beating this miss? If Andy Thornes had hair, and attempted to score with his left foot instead of his head, even just from merely inches away from the goal line, unchallenged, would it look like this? Perhaps we could re-enact it tonight, just to see? I'm only saying..!

You're off Son!

I couldn't help but feel the scorer of this disallowed goal should be very thankful he doesn't play for The Accies. Given his amazing show of petulance by throwing his Captain's armband to the ground in disgust, surely our Shiny Pated Coach would be left with no alternative other than to substitute him???

Last week's game… communication again! (Sigh…)

Another post on behalf of Thorny:

Three wins on the bounce and lots of good stuff from last week. Three well taken goals and several excellent individual performances. It's great to see Steve's form continuing on an upward spiral (?);Tim Howard, sorry Lee, had another rock solid game, which will hopefully continue all the way to Christmas; Dave continues to turn up one week in three and look like he hasn't been away; and Bobby and Neill both looked back to somewhere near full fitness after pretty chronic injury issues.

The downside to last week was primarily a lack of communication, or rather our lack of proper communication. Getting the Accies to talk to each other was something I made a top priority during this temporary period where I will be picking and organising the team. I thought we had made significant improvements in recent weeks, but our last game made me realise how foolish that assessment has been. I'm not going to re-state my views on this – they are clearly outlined in previous blogs – but will only say from now 'til the end of the year, if a player cannot talk to a team-mate properly, ie not swear or abuse him, or just generally deride his ability, he will be replaced by somebody who hopefully can. We all want to win and play well and this is undoubtedly best served by encouragement and constructive, friendly criticism. If a player makes a mistake he isn't doing it deliberately and shouldn't be treated as if he was trying to sabotage the team. This helps nobody. Anyway, enough said.

This week is a cup game against MRC Ewell. After our first game in this competition, where I made several selection cock-ups, this is just to let everyone know i will be treating the game as a normal Accies football night. Selection will be made from a squad of 15, who will all play roughly the same amount of time, barring injuries or communication issues (see above). In my opinion this gives us the best opportunity to win. My ideal is for us to play as a team with everybody making a contribution. We have done this before and I am confident we will do it again this week. I actually think this could be the game when we put in a truly great performance for 90 minutes. Whatever happens let's make sure we enjoy it and win or lose together, with everybody giving their all.

Last week's game… progress and congestion…

Another post on behalf of Thorny:

I'll keep this brief, as the previous match report covered most stuff I wanted to mention. Firstly, I still believe there is a lot more to come from the team, but our communication is generally getting better, and as a result, our football is moving in the right direction. Without sounding contrary, or too negative, I did feel last week was a slightly backwards step though, but one that I am confident we will put right in the coming weeks. As I keep stressing, if we all talk to each other quickly and clearly it will have a direct effect on our passing and movement, and hence our football in general.

Secondly, it's also worth warning people that this week looks like being one of those unenviable occasions where we are over-subscribed - I reckon we might have as many as 18!!! All being well everyone should get football though, as apparently the opposition are likely to be short. Apologies in advance for anybody who gets left out of the Accies 15. All I can say is that selection will be made in as fair a way as i know how, which means recent commitment will figure heavily, as will the issue of whether you have already missed a game this year - although those who haven't are in an increasingly small minority. Anyway, let's try to raise our level on Thur and continue our good run of form. Oh and if you do miss the 6pm Wednesday deadline this week it will almost certainly result in you not making the 15, so drop Stu a line ASAP!

Two on the Bounce

Last night's victory was hopefully the continuation of a winning streak that we can build on until the years end.

In what was a highly entertaining match, played in a marvellous spirit, there were chances for both sides and a 2-1 win for the Accies could have been many different scorelines. After having a couple of blips in otherwise good performances, Lee Clifford between the sticks was outstanding. He set the tone for his performance with a stunning save in the first five minutes and grew in confidence throughout.

Yet again praise to Mes who has dropped back into centre half and gives us a more dynamic look with his tackling, communication and distribution, week after week he has been putting in solid performances in a demanding position and the way he organises the defence is reaping rewards.

Great first goal from Paul, who was a menace to the oppo throughout, was just one of chances created but CP&DSV had a good keeper of theor own and his performance was rewarded with them getting back into the game in the second half. Not to be outdone the Accies raised their game and a great diving header from Thorney (within his comfort zone 1-5yards) put the Accies back in front and thats the way it stayed.

Not our best performance of recent weeks but our determination and resilience stood us in good stead and hopefully will for weeks to come.

Up the Accies

Homage to Cantoria: A Travelogue of the Accies in Spain

2.30am Alarm rings, minutes later, a minicab pulls up. Off we go to Tooting. Drunk girl in Tulse Hill lying across litter bin. Nice start to the day.
3.15am Cold morning, Luis and I bundle into friend’s car off to Gatwick at rendez-vous point.
circa 4.00am, arrive at airport, meet up with the Dades, Luke, the Rudd family, and Anthony. Slurps in the Wetherspoons, they’d been up all night.
6am Take off, strange smells coming from one of the Dades.
Hoorah! Almeria, warm and sunny.
10am Met by Ian ‘the Gaffer’ and hire car rep. Luis talking Spanish in full flow.

Climbing the mountains, past the Spaghetti Western film sets, greeted by a waving cowboy, empty wood front towns and wigwams in the valley. No signs of any Injuns.


Luis driving the hire car


The barren mountain landscape


A waving cowboy at the Spaghetti Western film set

12noon Arrival at our B&B: the Barrio, Cantoria. Our Walsall hosts make us feel welcome then a leisurely stroll around the mountain village to loosen our muscles for tomorrow’s games.

12.10 Hit the bars. Shandy’s seems like a good place to start.
…
…


Luis displaying his trophy napkin


Watching the local talent


Local dolly bird, goldfinch


Deep thought...An eventful evening: Killer Pool, cash Euros changing hands, some great tapas, several local wind-up merchants, a story about a local dog, we head off for an early night...

Saturday
9.30 Full fry up in El Barrio followed by team talk. Ah, sounds like when Liverpool won the European cup in Israel in the late 1970s.
11.20 Head off to the neighbouring village to the sports ground.
11.42 Warm up and pitch inspection. Its warm and sunny, the pitch is erratic. The teams arrive.

12.15 Shite. We get the worst draw. We play the first two games of the tournament back to back. Its getting hotter. 8-a-side. We recruit Carlos, a left-back from Ecuador.

12.30 Kick off: Accies v Ex-pats. Anthony in goal, Luke centre-back, Carlos left back, Andy Dade right back, Luis right wing, myself left wing, Dave centre mid and the Gaffer forward. Stuart shouting encouragement and instructions from the touch line.

0-1 After several great saves, another aerial challenge sees the first goal of the day squirm past Anthony.

[Its getting hotter and the pace of the game is making my breakfast come back.]

1-1 WOW! Fantastic opportunist goal by the Gaffer. The ball breaks lose and Ian takes the ball first time and lobs the keeper.

Result: 1-1. A hard fought draw, but deserved.

15 minutes rest. We are all exhausted playing 40 minutes at full pace. Next up, the local Spanish side.

1-0 Brilliant goal. Quick move and the Gaffer buries the ball in the back of the net as he runs at the Spanish defence.
[It’s getting hotter still and we are all slowing.]
The Spanish team are physical and well organised, playing the ball through the middle of the park. Then they equalise, threading the ball through the centre.
1-1
We re-convene for second half and they are attacking our goal again. The Gaffer limps off with calf injury, Werewolf moves into forward position and Stuart goes in goal. Anthony moves into midfield.

1-2 They score a second. Then great block by Stuart to deny third but collides with the brave Fallon. Luke taken off injured. Down to 7 men. One of the ex-pat team joins us. 1-3. Another neat goal through the centre.
Result: 1-3. We lacked subs.

The final match between the Spanish and ex-pat team ends 2-2, with a cameo role for Dave Rudd in the ex-pat team. Local Spanish team win the cup.

Good celebrations as we drink beer and eat wonderful tapas in the sports bar provided by the generous Spanish team. Then reconvene in the Casino bar in Cantoria for more drinks and a curry [superb], then a night on the town. Pub crawl of the local establishments until we drive back down the mountain.
Arrive at airport at 8am [thanks to Luis], for flight back to Gatwick.





A brilliant few days in the sunny mountains, good food and drink, and some great football, not to be forgotten. Thanks Ian and the Lads in Spain!

Almeria 2010: Best Caption Award

Accies centre back Luke Fallon in deep conversation with bar dog. Best captions in replies please.

This picture says more than a thousand-word blog, which is handy because it's a lot quicker too…

(Besides, I signed up world travel expert Werewolf to write a traveblogue of the trip!)

Accies Spain Trip 2010

Well, what a fantastic weekend.

Great location, great host (thank-you Ian "The Gaffer" Holmes!), great football, great tapas, great bars, great company.

Can't wait for next year when we can bring home the "Trofeo Amistoso"!

No doubt more detail to follow on here soon...

Pixie Football

If you want to know what at least six Accies players used to do to get their competitive football fix before we had the Accies, click here (you need to be on Facebook to view it I think). Strange as it may seem, Olympic Soccer on the PlayStation, followed by two or three successors, are in my mind a part of Accies history, in that they're what I did before I had the opportunity to play real football. Shortly after Effra was formed, the PlayStation went into the loft, never to be seen again. Why would I want to play Pixie Football (football starring pixellated players…!) when I could play the real thing?

Extra-CurrAccular Activity

On Monday night a smattering of Accies made their way to the True Theatre Of Dreams at Palace to help out two other teams in what turned out to be a thoroughly entertaining 11-a-side match. Southside FC, managed by our own Phil Caldwell and starring Neill Robertshaw in goal, took on Longmead Tuesday, a Tonbridge-based team "managed" by yours truly. Longmead were helped out by Dave Rudd in goal plus both Luke Fallon and Andy Thornes, who played stints at centre back, and Tremayne, who had a spell at left-back and some time up front. Another familiar face starred for Southside: 1860 Lambeth gaffer Mark Davies.

The match was one of the closest I've ever witnessed at Palace, much to the delight of the Tonbridge Massive, who had feared a drubbing. Two of Longmead's players had last seen 11-a-side action back in 2008, playing for Dads Army against the Accies and suffering a demoralising 8-0 defeat. Fortunately there was no repeat pasting – in fact, possibly thanks to the absence of several key Southside players, the teams were very evenly matched.

Time constraints prevent me from producing a lengthy match report, but here are some choice recollections: both keepers played absolute blinders, the match would've been high-scoring if it hadn't been for them; it was 0-0 at half-time and both myself and Elbows delivered rousing half-time team talks/rambled on amid a cacophony of voices and contributed nothing of any use (delete as applicable). Southside had the better of the 2nd half pressure and chances but failed to put the sausage in the sausage roll. Longmead's burly forward Paul Humbles, who was so late on the night and so incapable of finding the pitch that he came very close to driving home in a huff, provided a superb through ball with 10 or 15 mins left, putting fellow striker Simon Don't-Even-Know-His-Surname-And-I've-Been-Playing-5-A-Side-With-Him-For-The-Best-Part-Of-2-Years in on goal. Simon's finish was emphatic and Southside couldn't respond in kind.

Longmead Tuesday triumphed 1-0 and the lads refused to agree with my opinion that a draw would've been a fair result. The team seem bang up for a return to the True Theatre Of Dreams and I've pencilled in 25 November for the Tonbridge fellas to play the Accies. If I'm fit I'll line up for Longmead, but that's a pretty big 'if' and frankly on the strength of their performance against Southside they don't need me anyway! Should be a great night if it comes off and with the Accies' annual awards bash the following night, a great couple of nights!

Last week's game… and an apology

Another post on behalf of Thorny:

Excellent to finally get a glimpse of the kind of football I know we are capable of. Lots of great performances all over the pitch and some passages of play that were up there with the best I have ever seen the Accies play. Still lots of room for improvement though. We did give away two sloppy goals towards the end, mainly I think, through a sense of complacency. I also believe we can sustain the passing side of our game for the full 90 minutes, which, hard though it is, should certainly be one of our aims in the run up to Christmas. The talking on the pitch can still be improved too, although I do feel we are moving in the right direction on that issue.

I do need to make an apology to the team for something in last week's game. In line with our fair-play policy, most certainly Joe and possibly myself should have been immediately substiuted during an incident in the second half. I will do my best to make sure this doesn't happen again, although, in Joe's defence in particular, the were extenuating circumstances (one, being the tackle was lined up undoubtedly with malice, and two, it was fraction of a second away from snapping his leg in two!). Anyway, apologies for any lack of consistency - I will do my utmost to make sure it doesn't happen again.

As for this week's game, they are a team we have played a few times before, with mixed results. They are a team we can beat, particularly if we play with the confidence of last week. Hopefully it has given us the chance to finally get some momentum going and put in a string of good performances (assuming Stu doesn't have us down to play Zidane's All- Stars in the next few weeks!), so let's look to lift our performance level by imposing our game on the opposition from the first whistle - that's quick short passes into feet, lots of movement off the ball and plenty of communication, in case any of you were wondering! Looking forward to seeing everybody fit and focused on Thursday.

Up The Accies!

Last Week… and some selection issues

Another post on behalf of Thorny:

Last week's game resulted in a rather depressing 8-0 hammering! There were very few positives from the game, apart from the fact that we got a healthy dose of physical exercise chasing a ball around! Actually, joking aside, there was no shame in last week's result. We fielded, to my knowledge, at least five players well into their forties (apologies to anyone if I have this wrong), several players knocking on the door of 40, and, again apologies if i am wrong, only two, possibly three players who can seriously claim to be still at their physical peak. Against a team that were not only technically far better than us, but also, pretty much to a man, in their mid/late twenties, the result was hardly surprising. All this highlighted to me was the need for us to be more discerning in selecting our oppostion, which I am sure we will be in future. That said, we were still almost silent again, which I found to be the only truly disappointing thing about Thursday. In a roundabout way this brings me to another issue.

In the pub on Thursday, and afterwards by text, a number of players aired the view that selection should not be based on the 15-man, equal-time rotation policy that I have been employing, but rather, on picking our strongest team, with substitutions brought on as an when appropriate ie they want the team to be selected in the same way that a Saturday or Sunday league team is picked. As promised, I have spent the weekend reflecting on this issue.

The first response of most Accies reading this will no doubt be the mantra of 'form, fitness, talent and commitment'. To me, this is, and has always been, a bit of a red-herring as far as selection is concerned. Since I have been with the club the only person to implement this policy strictly was Simon and, at least to my recollection, it proved to be highly unpopular. When I took over picking the team from Joe a few months ago I at no point planned to use FFTC, even though we all agreed to it at our last AGM. The reason was simple: if I did, some players would hardly be getting any football, and others would be playing all the time. The Accies is a club of widely divergent talents and abiltities. Some obviously see this as in sometimes understandably negative light ie after 8-0 dubbings!!! I have grown, reluctantly at first, to see it as one of the positive things about playing for the Accies.

Hence I have tried, much in the same way that Joe did, to make everybody who turns up for the Accies feel important to the team, and therefore give everybody the chance to contribute. This has meant that I have used this strict rotation policy, with everybody getting approximately equal minutes on the pitch. It should be stressed I have done this not just because i believe in some kind of broadly democratic principle, but because there is a deeper philosophy, based on a fundamental sense of team-spirit, behind it. Put very prosaically it's part of an effort to make us a better team, but a better team based not just on a handful of individuals playing well, but on all of us playing well together and supporting each other. As Steve said to me during last week's game, "your mistake is my mistake, mate" (in fact he says that to me most weeks in an effort to keep my spirits up after my latest misplaced pass!). This, in a nutshell, is exactly my point. Thus, it shouldn't matter if people are coming on and off fairly frequently. We are a team of 15, 18, 20 people who can all do a job for the team, playing football in a way that we enjoy, and will hopefully, in time, become more successful than not. This is the reason I have made such an issue of communication rather than focusing on tactics or technical stuff.

All that being said, I consider this to be an open debate and would greatly appreciate all club members' views on this issue. My email is anaxagoras484@yahoo.com, so feel free to drop me a line, or I'm happy to chat about this after games in the pub. In the meantime, and until I get a considerable portion of the Accies demanding I change my selection policy, I'm going to continue with the ideas as I have briefly explained above. Let's bear in mind though, whatever system we use, we are going to get beaten sometimes, maybe even frequently. The trick is, I think, to win and lose as a team and, just as importantly, to play football in an environment that we can all enjoy. For myself I can only say that there is nobody in the Accies I don't look forward to seeing come Thursday evening.

As for this week's game, it's looking like we are going to be oversubscribed with players again. Some of us will therefore have to miss out. I will do my best to let those whose turn it is know beforehand, although that still means we would like you to turn up to the game (see above). If you do miss out, be assured, you will get plenty of chances to play before the end of the year. If you are in the 15 let's try to forget about last week, show a bit of determination and start to play some good football again. I thought the week before we showed signs that just round the corner are a string of excellent performances, which will hopefully be accompanied by similarly excellent results.

Moonlighting again, Steve?

Another post on behalf of Thorny:

After a possible sighting a few weeks back of Steve in Spain scoring for Valencia it seems strange that on another week when he is absent from the Accies I found this uncannily similar image of him, this time scoring the winner for West Brom against Man City. Is there really something he isn’t telling us?

Attempt to raise spirits

Guys,
Not being around ever week, it's not easy for me to judge the mood of the team, or whats going on,so you can appreciate that the news of team mates arguing, abuse to opposition and to each other, and a team refusing to play us anymore comes as quite a shock to me!
However, lets put all the negativity behind us now, and build on last night. After a slow start, we really dominated, looked to keep the ball on the floor, and, with a number of players not playing in their preferred position, didn't look disjointed at all. (Sam, absolute class!)
I want to make special comments about Barry and Perre. Barry was asked to come off, as per Thorny's pre match warning, had a bit of a grumble on the sidelines, but responded in exactly the way I think Thorney wanted. That second half performance from Bazza was superb. Perre also had the dissappointment of not starting, and came on to do a job at right back without a word of protest.Playing up front in the second half, he looked sharp, linked up well with Baz, Simon, Bobby in such a way we actually looked better WITHOUT Dean on the pitch!! Again, I think it was a performance that Thorney was looking for, especially the cut back for Bobby's goal,well played.
So let's carry on with that, I know we all get wound up, especially if we're not playing well, but surely after 10 years we are used to not playing well all the time by now! I love coming down, and can't envisage a time when it will feel like a chore, we rebuilt our bridges with the Dutch, maybe we can get Southside back onside too?

Team mates… if you practise hard enough, one day you might be able to pass the ball like these fellas:

Last night's game… a win for the club

Posting on behalf of Thorny:

The response last night to the previous week's poor performance, and our run of recent poor results, was terrific. We thoroughly deserved our 4-2 win against a team with whom we have had many close-fought matches. For the first time in a while it is therefore a pleasure to highlight some of our better performances, although, to be honest, there wasn't a player last night who didn't make a significant, positive contribution to the game. Firstly, it wouldn't be right not to mention Dean, who on his return to the Accies, bagged a hat-trick. His goals were well taken and his link up play and overall contribution were superb. Luis, playing his first 90 minutes in a while, was excellent and, even in the last few minutes, looked full of running. Sam, who has the misfortune of being accomplished in so many positions and hence gets used freely about the pitch, provided the defensive security and assuredness of touch that gave us the platform to play more expansively further up the pitch. And finally Barry, who after a first-half indiscretion, came back on and showed real character when others might have gone into their shells and sulked, playing with genuine intelligence and comittment. In general it was great to see the Accies spirit flourishing again, particularly in the second half, when some of the football was really fluent, penetrative and enjoyable to watch.

A quick word for next week and beyond. We have lots of players coming back for our next game, so let's hope we can carry this type of performance on all the way to the end of the year. For one reason or another I think we have been underachieving as a club for a while. It would be great to have a run where we set that record straight. If so I'm sure we will have many more nights at least as good, if not better, than last tonight. Oh and one final thought, please take the time to not only read but think carefully about the 'open' letter Stuart handed out at the end of the game. With the news that Phil's team, Southside, don't want to play us any more, we all need to think carefully about the type of image the club generates if we are to continue to enjoy our football. It's worth remembering there is a world of difference between people who play sport and those who are sportsmen. Lets hope that everybody who pulls on an Accies shirt in the future falls into the latter category.

Up the Accies.

Quick Statattack

Deano's first goal last night was our 500th 11-a-side netbuster. As is customary with such huge milestones, at the time it passed without comment. But as the scorer of one of our 503 goals to date, I hereby congratulate everyone who's helped us pass 500. Nice work, fellas!

Last Week's Game… To Talk Or Not To Talk

Posting on behalf of Thorny:

I'm sure everyone was disappointed with last week's result. As i pointed out after the game it was not for lack of effort. As always it was tremendous all over the pitch. We had innumerable chances in the first half, that on another night would put the game out of sight. We also gave away two more cheap goals, which hopefully, very soon, we will stop doing. As we all know defending begins at the top end of the pitch so, frustrating as it is, we are all culpable when calamity strikes. Things are not all doom and gloom though, as i feel sure that very soon we are going to put in a string of decent performances which will get the results they deserve. There was one general area that i think we keep letting ourselves down on, and at the risk of getting boring and repeating myself, i think i need to to comment upon again. Quiet simply there is too much talking when we should be silent and not enough when we need to speak. If we can get this issue right we will become a transformed team.

The most important time to speak is when one of our players has the ball and is under pressure, or very soon will be. Then we need to move into space, tell the player which direction the pressure is coming from and call for the ball. We also need to talk when an opposition player is free in a dangerous area and one of our players can pick him up. Simply call him by alerting him to the direction of the danger, quickly and calmly. This is very straightforward stuff but it was noticeable last week that once the game became tight we fell silent in this respect. It is also appropriate to talk if one of our players makes a mistake. We then need to give him a brief word of encouragement, as, to be successful, we all need to support each other.

The times when we shouldn't be speaking are if we want to in any way abuse the opposition. Far too much of this goes on and it needs to stop. Not only does it make us look like a team of very unsporting players, but it has the effect of unfocusing the team from the only reason we should be there: to play football! If you have a problem with an opposition player let the referee deal with it and save your energy for helping the Accies win the game. Another time when its not appropriate to talk is if one of our players makes a mistake or you disagree with a decision, either with regards to the referee, or myself, or whoever else is making substitutions, tactical decision etc. Again there was way too much mumbling and grumbling during last week's game. It really isnt helpful in any respect. Whatever happens on the pitch we need to stay together as a team, support each other and strive to do our very best. If there are issues that you have with the referee mention it to me at half time or after the game and we will try to address it. If its an issue you have with me then im more than happy to discuss it with you after the game. I welcome everybody's input so long as it's constructive.

All of this being said, none of the above is directed at anybody in particularly. To be honest we all made mistakes last week, and will no doubt continue to do so. The trick is to do so in an atmosphere where we are all pulling together. We have players with ability in all areas of the pitch to be really successful, success, of course being fundamentally judged not just in terms of winning games (though that would be nice!), but in having a happy club with everybody contributing.

Anyway, let's try to put last week behind us tomorrow and really make an effort to change the way we talk or don't talk on the pitch.

Up the Accies.

Little Joe: Over Before It Really Began

Just a quick note to let you all know that "Little" Joe Bowkett has regretfully decided to leave the club. His work have declared that he will work late most Thursdays, meaning he feels he's wasting our time by trying to continue with the Accies. I am going to offer him the opportunity to keep paying £2 a month to keep his membership going on the off-chance that he can start playing again at some point in the future; or simply join the ranks of the Associate Members, meaning he would have reapply for membership in the future.

I'm sure you'll all agree that it's a shame to lose Joe as he seems a top lad and was a pretty useful young player too. On the other hand, with both this year's triallists, Joe and Dean, not working out for different reasons, it does mean that our currently high squad number has been curtailed a little. Both Joe and Dean were excellent additions to the squad, but on reflection I'm not sure we needed two extra players in 2010 as much as we have needed newbies in previous years. Time will tell.

Over and out.

MI Cup Draw

Just to confirm.

The Accies are drawn with Southside FC and MRC Ewell in the group stages of the MI cup.

There are 6 groups - 6 group winners plus 2 best runners up go through to the QF's in the new year.

In the past 12 months Effra have played MRC Ewell 3 times - 1xwin, 1xdraw and 1x defeat.

All to play for in a wide open group.

This week's match is now a CUP TIE…

Teammates, the below is from the skipper (technical problems prevent him from posting it himself):

Just a brief note to let people know that tomorrow night's game with Southside - Phil's work team - is now an official game in the MI Cup. Therefore selection will not follow the usual 'form, fitness etc' mantra, but will be a little more focused on winning the game. The squad will also only be 14 in number, and substitutes will not be made as freely as normal, but with the aim of winning the game. Ideally we will be 4-0 up after 20 minutes and we will all get plenty of football.

As for the game itself, well we all, of course, want to enjoy it, but i think a win is imperative. We have played some decent stuff in the last few weeks, even though we have been on the wrong end of results, so I see tomorrow night as a time to raise our levels, cut out any costly mistakes and win the game decisively. That's not to say we should approach the game complacently. We may well have beaten Southside 8-4 and 5-1 in our last two encounters, but i'm certain they will be sharper and more determined, and i have it on good authority, ie Phil, that they will be fielding a much stronger side. Therefore, to avoid the kind of disappointments we have had in this competition over the last couple of years, lets start strongly by playing the kind of quick, passing football we have shown in bursts over the last month or so, and keep playing that way for 90 minutes. I feel certain, if we do that, we will get a positive result from the game.

Oh, and one final thought. Any of you disappointed, either at being left out, or with the amount of football you get tomorrow night, will get plenty of football over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully you will use that playing time to prove to myself, or whoever else might be picking the team by that point, that i was wrong and you should have been playing a far more significant part in our next cup game.

Up the Accies.

MI Cup draw

In what is surely the biggest cup mis-match since Tottenham were  drawn against Young Boys of Whatsit, Effra have been drawn against Southside in the 2010 MI Cup.

Maybe we should designate tomorrow's game as a cup fixture? Feeling confident?

One for Robert, Hassan, Henry and the rest of the £30 cash-in-hand brigade…

Big Dean is our hero

Click here to read more about Big Dean's  footballing exploits. I love the descripton of Big Dean's sliding tackle on a well known Birmingham City player.

STOP PRESS!  Harrow Borough Fans  will already be aware that Harrow have progressed into the second qualifying round of the FA cup. Let's hope that every Accies second team is at the beginning of a glorious cup run. Who says the romance of the cup is dead?

Harrowing

Earlier this year the gentleman who scores the second goal in this video was on trial for the Accies. I could be flippant and say we didn't require his services, but the truth is we knew he was too good for our level of footy and we're glad he's found his level, which is the Ryman Premier League, in which my local side Tonbridge Angels plays! Sadly Harrow Borough have already played at the Longmead Stadium this season, before Dean joined, so I'll have to wait until next season for the chance to pay to see a former Accies star in action…

2nd Sept vs. MRC Ewell

Our only downfall was a lack of communication, there were several times one of our players received the ball and wasn't told "man on". We played well other wise.

We did very well at keeping the ball down and keeping the passes short. (With myself as an exception on the short passes. I know,I'm working on it)

One thing though.... THROW INS!!!!
We should give the thrower TWO options every throw in. When we play teams that pick up on the fact 90% of our throws go to Thorny's or Sam's head, they make it very hard for it to work. Neither Thorny, nor Sam play on the wings, so if a striker is beyond them, the winger should be covering Thorny or Sam's position, as they come out of it to deliver the flick on header. By covering their position, not only is the player covering now another option for the thrower, they are also one more defender should the throw not go to plan.

Sorry my report is so late.

I don't know how Spuds does it.

Just 24 hours after putting in his 195th shift for the Accies, he's off in his white van to Monaco and grabs the first goal in Atletico Madrid's Super Cup win over Inter Milan. Go Steve!

Beadle, Rhino, Santa And Other Stories

Thought you might enjoy this match report courtesy of last night's opposition. Among other things, it continues the fine tradition of oppo match reports being less than complimentary about our not-first-choice keeper…

After some dubious convoy leading by Dave "I don't drive anything less than 90mph" Killick, the majority of the Queen Vic posse converged into the Crystal palce sports stadium car park, greeted by the excited faces of the rest of the team who'd already jizzed in their pants over the fantastic carpet like pitch we were about to play on.

After an impressive performance playing 3-5-2 at Sturry the previous week the management reverted back to 4-4-2 to accomodate the returning Sturry legends Rhodes and Harris, otherwise known as 80's tribute act 'Diamond knights'.
Vic started well with makeshift strike force of Killick and Sibbo causing problems up top & Ronnie "Say hello to my little friend' Cimino making some darting runs down the left wing in between arguing with celebrity referee "Rhino" who'd appeared as a gladiator on the popular ITV series of the same name from the early 90's.

Queen Vic took a deserved lead after a good bit of hassling from James "Crispy duck in Hoi sin sauce is not a starter" Sibley resulted in the ball falling nicely on the edge of the box for Andy "Oh I do like a baked potato, but please no mayonaise" Harris, to curl a left footer through the despairing withered "Beadle" hand of the CPFC keeper.
With the confidence flowing Vic should have gone further infront when Dave "The white John Barnes" Killick went clean through, only to see his shot rebound off the bar.
Windy was being well protected by the back four & it was only when a momentary lack of concentration from Dave "There is no difference between normal and high definition television pictures" Hulks who'd noticed a particularly attractive trans-gender long distance runner bending over on the side of the running track, that allowed the nipper winger to go through & the big shot stopper was called into action, picking the ball up off the floor with what looked like ease.

The pressure finally told and after a nice inswinging corner from Jon "Meow meow" Sutton Jones, the ball was bundled over the line by Jonny "Proctor" Moore.
Into the 2nd half and Warren started up top with Kyle who'd been picked up from Camden market on the way to the match, his mum had originally sent him out to buy some milk but the seven footer was conned into buying some magic beans which he'd eaten on the way as a substitute for the Skittles that Goose had demanded as down payment for petrol money for the journey.

Making a nuisance of himself the "White Patrick Viera" missed a sitter from 2 yards before Vic went 3-0 up after a cool whipped corner from Harris was powerfully headed home by Moore for his 2nd. Klinsmann celebration rightly followed on the beautiful greasy surface.

By this time Windy had been replaced in goal by Hulks & the formation was changing by the minute. 3-5-2 looked good allowing Chris "The black bearded Saaaaaanta clause" to break forward, linking up well with master chef Rhodes, fresh from serving the lads Duck a l'orange for HT snackage. Sibbo back up top missed a few chances up top before slotting in number four calmy after a cracking facial assist from Rob "Matthew Kelly" Richardson.

The chances kept coming, Kyle had a blatant headed goal ruled out & Warren snatched at a few before Rhino blew for full time. Vic were worthy winners tho on a cracking night in the big smoke.

Last night..............

Good game last night although we were on the wrong end of a 4-0 beating. If there was a Man of the Match Andy Dade would have won it by a street for a series of great tackles and excellent distribution. Other than that we are still too quiet on the pitch. As i said before talking to each other can transform the quality of a team, so its something that is going to be my main goal for as long as i am nominally in charge of the team. By 'talking' i'm not looking for constant barrage of screams of ' Come on Accies!' etc - this actually, i think, is often quite unhelpful, as it tends to encourage players to panic- but cool, calm instruction/advice to the player next to you as and when he has the ball/is waiting to receive the ball or we are looking to defend and pick up players. Anyway if we work on it every week i'm sure it will improve.

Other than that here's hoping next week will bring no rain, a fuller squad (although not too full!) and a more positive result !

Up the Accies !!

Life AWOL from the Accies...

It's not all party party party when you're AWOL from the Accies.

Oh.

Brain's Faggots

Something was on my mind in the aftermath of last Thursday's excellent game and then Elbows made the following comment in his brief match report: "Not sure how aware the Accies are about how you come across to other teams? - strange mix of extreme, slightly outmoded politeness combined with incessant abuse..... Three cheers for the f***g grass munching g** p**fs, hip hip hooray! Marvellous."

If I can be serious for a paragraph or two, in general it upsets me when I hear my teammates, all of whom I count as friends, verbally abusing opposition players during matches. Specifically, it upsets me when I hear an Accie referring to an oppo players as a "faggot" or similar.

First and foremost, let me try to describe how totally alien that kind of behaviour is to me. Playing for Effra is something I do in my spare time, for entertainment, for fun, for pleasure. Even the admin side of things is something I do in my own time, in order to facilitate that fun, for myself and for others. I can perhaps understand why in the heat of battle of some Sunday league fixtures, that kind of behaviour might occur. I would not condone it, I would not participate in it myself, but I accept that unfortunately in that climate, it's the sort of thing that regrettably goes on. However, I simply cannot grasp why such behaviour should ever occur in what is a friendly match. They're called friendlies for a reason: they're meant to be friendly! We simply have to treat opposition players with respect and dignity. Matches should be hard-fought in the sense that we give everything, physically and mentally. There is no reason on this planet why that should spill over into homophobic comments or threatening remarks.

What made it even more bizarre last Thursday was that the oppo was a team run by one of OUR players – our Assistant Manager, in fact! We can't even treat Elbows' other team with something approaching respect. Not that I think Phil's team deserve any preferential treatment – ALL teams should be treated with respect. Some of us like friendly banter with oppo players during games, some of us prefer to keep our own counsel. We get upset with players when they hack us down, but I would argue that shouting: "Are you trying to break my leg, you f***ing idiot?" is a world away from the kind of remarks I find so objective.

If any Accies player believes that without the freedom to call someone a faggot or, perhaps, to make idle threats of violence to an opposition player, their own game will somehow be affected; they'll somehow be a worse player, not able to give 110%, then I would suggest that this is not the club for you. Point one of our ethos says we are determined to play football in a "friendly, non-hostile environment".

So, yes, I am aware of how the Accies come across to other teams. And I want us to do something about it, pronto!

Thursday and… back by popular demand…

Good to get back to winning ways on Thursday, although I think the general consensus was that we wasted a lot of good chances and in the second half lost our way a little defensively. Still a win is win. Some good performances too! Joe scored two excellent goals, the only disappointment being he didn't convert it into that rarest of things for a midfielder: a hat-trick. Superb battling by Steve and Luis in midfield, and Barry in particular was rock solid at the back. Also it was great to see Neill 'Sicknote' Robertshaw embarking on his latest comeback with a fine, authoratitive performance in goal. With Dave and Barry's recent excellent displays between the sticks the competition for the keepers jersey has certainly intensified.

Just to reiterate the point i made last week on the blog and after the game on Thursday: to be considered for selection i need to know you are available by 6pm on Wednesday. You can do this in a number of ways. If you are already on Stu's regular 'confirmed' list you won't need to do anything. If you confirm manually and you are doing it on Wednesday then it would probably be wise to copy me in on any email to Stuart (anaxagoras484@yahoo.com) just to be sure I get the info in time. You can also text me if for some reason you can't email me (07828 950790).

Finally, and as the result of a series of requests in recent weeks, i'm pleased to announce that the team warm up will return this Thursday. This week i will be taking it but thereafter Simon has kindly offered to help out. I appreciate that for some people parts of the warm up are not ideal but, unless you have specific warm up requirements, it would be good for team spirit if everybody could take some part. It will start at 8.05pm so please let me know if you are running late (no. above). Otherwise if anybody has anything they wish to discuss or anything they would like me to do differently I'll be more than happy to hear your thoughts. New team this week some lets get at them early and impose ourselves.

Up the Accies…

Quick Goals Statattack

After a couple of months of slacking I've been updating the club stats… So far I've done the goalscoring lists (will update the appearances soon too). Simon's 9 goals so far in 2010 have extended his lead at the top of the 11-a-side scorers' league. Thorny took until 10 June to register his first goal of the year but has been banging them in all summer, and now finds himself hot on Simon's tail in 2nd place. Spuds' solitary goal this year took him to 30 Accies 11-a-side goals, while Joe Sene's excellent recent goalscoring run sees him in the top 5. Elsewhere, the current leader in the race for the 2010 golden boot, Sam Herbert, storms into the all-time top 10 with 17 – 14 of them netted this year. The full list can be found on the right-hand side of the blog if you scroll down a bit.

My all-time goals league table, taking into account all 5-a-side goals etc, not featured on the blog, is looking tasty this year too, with both Simon Mesner and Joe Sene mounting an assault on the top of that chart. The top 10 looks like this:

1 Jonathan Patterson (74)

2 Joe Sene (72)

3= Graham Dietz (71)

3= Simon Mesner (71)

5 Ian Holmes (61)

6 David Rudd (58)

7 Steve Spurdens (44)

8 Kenny Butler (35)

9 Andy Thornes (34)

10 Andrew Dade (32)

Bubbling under that top 10, both on 30 all-time goals, are Elbows and Luis.

Message from The Other Side

Thanks for the game last night. Did The Accies beat Southside or did Southside beat themselves?Bit of both i think. I got slated by my teammates for getting lobbed by Joe - rightly so too. We're all looking forward to the re-match on Sept 16th - hope to make you sweat a bit more next time .
Big thanks to Phill A for another defensive masterclass - and thanks to The Accies for lending us his talents.
Not sure how aware the Accies are about how you come across to other teams? - strange mix of extreme, slightly outmoded politeness combined with incessant abuse..... Three cheers for the f***g grass munching g** p**fs, hip hip hooray! Marvellous.

Up the Accies...and Southside

Last week's game and a few other things…

Firstly, although we lost 6-3 last Thursday, having been 3-1 up at half-time, i still thought we did exceptionally well against a team who were not only younger and fitter, but quite obviously, man for man, better than us. Crucially our spirit and commitment never waivered. Nobody gave up on anything throughout the whole game. It was also great to see Luis get on the scoresheet with a calmly taken finish after a frantic goalmouth scramble in the first few minutes. Simon added a couple of excellent solo goals before half time (one a curled free kicked into the top corner, and the other a kind of scooped lob from about 35 yards), which i think left the oppo a bit bewildered, considering they had had a hatful of chances and the lions share of possession.

Anyway, the second half saw Haringey raise their game considerably, at least with a regard to some kind of end product. There were still many fine defensive performances from the Accies, despite the fact that we conceded five in the second half. I'll mention a few, although its by no means a comprehensive list: Dave was superb in goal, pulling off a string of fine saves, through the second half in particular; Andy Dade made a number of great tracking runs, often resulting in a decisive shot-denying tackles; Luis, after a first half were i thought he struggled to make an impact, returned in the second with greater resolve to stand out as one of the few Accies who managed to protect the ball and hold onto possession; and Phil and Luke, given the constant flurry of attacks they had to deal with, made innumerable interventions and clearances.

As I said to most people after the game, if we play with the same level of commitment and team spirit that we showed in this game our results should take care of themselves.

With our next few games in mind its probably only fair to pass on a few brief thoughts, given the current situation. Joe's resignation came as a shock to me as it seems to have done to pretty much everyone else. He did a terrific job, which I think was the general consensus of the club. Strenuous efforts have been made by several people within the club to get him to change his mind but, as yet, to no avail. Therefore, as it stands at the moment, i'm happy to pick the team and generally run things football related. Constructive advice/assistance is more than welcome from anybody, with the proviso that its brief and to the point around game time, as i'll be trying to talk to as many people as possible individually before the game, and at half time longer chats are simply not possible. Simply put, whether i'm doing this for a couple more weeks, until somebody else takes over as coach, or til the end of the year, everybody should feel they have something to contribute as the club belongs to all of us.

Therefore, on a practical level there are a couple of things that will change for as long as I'm picking the team. Firstly, the team for Thursday will be picked between 6-7 on a Wednesday evening, so if you haven't confirmed through the Blog, or by text directly to me, there is no possibility of you being in the squad of 15 ( unless, of course, we are short on match day !!). Secondly, the rule where if you missed the previous week you were ineligible for the next game has been scrapped. It still might be the case that you do miss the next week but it wont be because of that. Selection, as it always has been, will be based on Form, Fitness, Talent and Commitment, although it should be stressed that everybody will probably still be required to miss a week due to squad size at some point. If you have already done this a couple of times this year don't worry, they were not in vain, as Joe has very kindly sent me this years stats in an extremely lengthy email (thanks Joe !!!) and i plan to keep using them as the basis for maintaining fair playing timewithin the squad. Thirdly, as Joe did, the team will be named at 8.05, but it will be done on or around the pitch without a lenghty pre-match team talk. This will take place a few minutes before the game to cover a few general points, although my idea is to try to talk to everybody individually before KO, as I mentioned earlier.

Anyway this is becoming far too long and I think I have covered all for now!! I hope to see everyone fighting fit come Thursday so we can get back to winning ways and enjoy being on the grass again…

The Blitz Spirit: An Alternative Match Report #2

Not much changes in London, and White Hart Lane is the same wasteland as it was when I last visited in the late 1980s on an FA Cup replay night when the Irons lost against a resurgent Spurs side. I remember walking back to the tube station, piles of rubbish and dilapidation everywhere, not a bus in sight. Not much changes, it seems – probably not for over half a century at least.

After over an hour of sitting on the tube, fiddling around with a street map and bus guide, our game against Haringey Council reminded me of a recent conversation I had with a Spurs fan who claimed West Ham weren’t a London team: according to him, WHU played too far from the city centre to be a ‘London’ club. What does that make Spurs in Haringey? What if Spurs move to Stratford? Are there schools in North London?

The Match
On arrival at the sports centre [which I mistook for the football stadium], the oppo were already training on the astro pitch. I was informed by Spuds that they were young, wore flashy boots and they wanted to start the game early. Christ.

We kicked off with a couple of players arriving late. This was deliberate, I was informed, and it paid off [in the first half]. Within ten minutes, we were in front. A goal mouth scramble. The ball sneaked out to Luis standing just inside the penalty area. He threaded the ball between two defenders and into the net. Standing behind him, I saw just how well he did to place the ball there. 1-0. Great stuff.

As the game rolled on, we realised just how good the oppo were. I was marking a guy who looked like Paul Scholes. Phil Arnold limped off and Stuart Dade filled in as centre back. In goal, Dave Rudd was having an inspired performance, and he kept them at bay [and us in the match] until the inevitable equaliser came. 1-1

All this changed with two quick goals by the Accies. Simon Mesner – arriving late but eating his ‘usual’ breakfast – was brought on to add to our attack. An immediate result. The ref blew for a foul on Sam. From where I stood, it looked like a penalty, but the ref pointed to a free kick on the edge of the D. Up stepped Mes and curled a brilliant free kick to the right of the wall and past the keeper into the top right hand corner. 2-1. Rocking.

Then, what seemed a short time after, Mes received a looped ball in-between the oppo’s two centre backs. Rather than bring the ball down and control it, Mes volleyed a first time looping shot over the keeper and into the net. 3-1. Euphoria.

Half time. This seemed to be an important point in the game. Our talk lasted a mere 2 minutes. Their talk seemed to last the full 15 mins. It certainly changed things.

Out came the oppo and from the off they bombarded our goal. They run at us from all directions. They were very good and in the years playing football, I can safely say they were one of the best teams I have played against. 3-6 Full time.

Post match thoughts
There were several positives from this game. We held together as a team for the 90 minutes. Dave Rudd’s performance in goal kept was brilliant. We never gave up: we battled hard and did ourselves proud. Looking forward to returning to Crystal Palace. No more journeys up north into the hinterland. Up the Accies.

-- WereWolf

Grafton and Haringey

Just a quick note to say thanks to Thorney  for taking temporary charge of the team.(A futile gesture i know. He will never read this)

 The last 2 games have been really enjoyable, mainly because of the hard work and great team spirit shown. This positive attitude was exemplified by Baz and Hairy Cornflake's goalkeeping performances. Baz  showed great strength of character to recover from Bouncegate  and put in a terrific display against Grafton. Against  Haringey Hairy Cornflake  pulled off a series of brilliant saves to keep us in the game.

 We could and probably should have held onto our lead against Grafton , but against Haringay i think 3-6 is a more than respectable scoreline. Sitting in Steve's van before the Haringey game, we watched one  young, fit  Haringey player after another walk through the stadium gates, carrying worryingly expensive  looking boots. Haringey were as talented as they looked but didn't work out how to play against us for almost an hour. By half time we we'd raced into a lead, Mes and Luis  showing the Haringey strikers how it should be done. Although we had a good lead, it felt like we had a tiger by the tail. Shortly after half time we let go, and the inevitable followed. Still, it was a great workout and i think most people enjoyed their evening's work.  Next match is against my work team, Southside*. Not a patch on Haringey. Last time you beat us 8-4. My best advice is for the Accies to get complacent and take victory  for granted....

*See Southside FC's blog at southsidefootballclub.blogspot.com

Dodgy keeper! Dodgy keeper!

Click here to be transported to the Sporting Brixton blog – the other team of our very own Sam Herbert. Read and enjoy the report on there of the recent seven-goal thriller between the two sides, on a night when myself, Mes and possibly one or more other Accies, I can't rightly remember, played for Brixton who were very short on numbers. Joe's version of events in his own post-match report is of course here. It's interesting comparing the two versions of events.

My favourite line from the match report is the bit describing Effra's third goal: "Our keeper (who was actually an Accies player) sort of went to go left, saw [the] ball go right and then just fell over, leaving the ball to float past him less than an inch away from his falling hand." !!!!! Tragically that's a pretty accurate assessment of what happened - a remarkable shambles from yours truly. Honestly not a deliberate attempt to get the Accies back in the game, although you'd be forgiven for thinking I'd taken a bung!

Sporting Brixton's club ethos and rules also make for interesting reading – they're a league side, which makes their commitment to "fun, team spirit and fairness" all the more admirable…

And One More Just Because I Can Still The One That Makes Me Sad

Lego Star Wars Table Football. Utterly mighty!

Random Light-Hearted Thing So I Don't Keep Getting Dejected By The Post That Was At The Top Of The Page

World Cup Final highlights in Lego. Now this is what an internet was invented for. Frankly I expect to see Elbows' own Lego versions of classic Accies highlights ASAP. Phil, surely Fergus can help you put it together?

Resignation

It is with a certain amount of regret that I wish to stand down from my role as Coach with immediate effect. It is not a decision that I have made lightly, but I am certain that I can no longer continue in this capacity.

I made a pledge to be as fair, as consistent and as inclusive as possible in January of this year. I believe, truthfully, that I have managed to achieve this to the best of my ability. However, it seems my attempts have not reached the exacting standards expected by certain people, the same people who voted me in as Coach but yet have not given me their full, unequivocal support in recent times. I simply detest the notion that any one person is more important than the team, or that any one person is entitled to play over somebody else, or that any one person should expect to play their own game over what serves the team best, or that any one person should be able to undermine me as the elected Coach by the majority of the squad. After all, I was the only person who seriously wanted to be Coach for 2010, as I hoped, and believed, that I would be able to pull together the various factions within the squad and be able to promote a more positive and fairer attitude towards our Thursday night football.

Clearly, some people believe that they can do a better job, or perhaps be more inclusive, or more fairer than I have been for the past seven months. Well, now is their chance to prove it.

I hope to still be able to play in future for The Accies, but that will clearly be a decision for whoever takes on the mantle of Coach.

Joe

Effra 1 Random Unknowns 4

What was intended to be an Accies kick-around tonight resulted in an impromptu 11-a-side against the young lads who had hired the other half of the Dulwich astroturf pitch. What we hadn't anticipated is just how much of a competent bunch they were!

We were chasing shadows for long periods of the first-half as our random opposition played some excellent passing football. We retreated further and further back in to our own half, and so inevitably invited more pressure upon ourselves. It was incredible really that we went in to the half-time break with the scores still even at 0-0. This was thanks in no small part to a wonderful fingertip save by Lee Clifford just before half-time.

I said during the interval that we needed to push up the pitch, condense the space that we were affording our opponents, and so be able to close them down quicker than we had previously been doing. Unfortunately, we came out in the second-half and very quickly went 2-0 down. From there, we suddenly tried to assert ourselves, chasing back, and playing balls in to feet when moving forwards. We were getting closer to the opposition goal, and we eventually got ourselves back in to the game (after going 3-0 down), thanks to a fine finish from Phil Caldwell, who again performed admirably in the lone striker role.

We couldn't convert our late rally in to any more goals, and were hit by a sucker-fourth. It was harsh on us as we were enjoying the lion share of possession.

The MOTM went to Lee Clifford tonight. Lee had a great first-half in goal and an inspiring second-half at the heart of our defence. Phil Caldwell came in a very close second.

Keep the faith!

Joe

Effra 4 Sporting Brixton 3

Having started the match with 11 v 9, we raced in to an early 2-0 lead. The first-half saw us pour forward repeatedly, and we created a large number of chances. However, we were just not clinical enough in front of goal (myself included!).

There was, however, a lack of urgency for large spells of the first 45, and we were left to rue our wastefulness when Sporting managed to even up the numbers thanks to some late arrivals.

The fresh legs and parity of numbers gave Sporting fresh impetus, and they started to stroke the ball around the pitch to good affect. They managed to pull the score back to 2-2, and then took the lead late in the second-half, and in all honesty we only had ourselves to blame for letting them back in to the match. The fact is we should have had the game won in the first-half. But our casual approach play meant we never really took hold of the game in that spell.

Amazingly, it was when we were under the most pressure that we really started to play our best football. From back to front, our passing when under pressure was very good, playing triangles, balls across the lines, and then looking for the decisive forward pass all suddenly came together and thankfully for us it was just in time. There could not have been more than 5 minutes left on Henry's watch when we suddenly sparked in to life and grabbed two quick fire goals and so securing the victory. Phil Caldwell in particular was instrumental in our late surge, and can rightly feel very satisfied with a performance that saw him claim two assists and come very close to scoring himself on more than one occasion.

The MOTM went to Phill Arnold though, who was run very close by Phil Caldwell, Luke Fallon and Neill Robertshaw in particular. Phill again showed how crucial it is to have a calm touch on the ball at the back, with his distribution and timely interceptions again providing the benchmark for the rest of the team.

I said after the game that it felt like we had grabbed a victory from the jaws of victory, I can't think of a better way to sum up what was, at times, a quite bizarre performance from us!

Well done all on a deserved win, but let's try and make it a bit easier on ourselves in future!

Keep the faith!

Joe

Dolphin 2, Effra 0

We did ok, they we're a bit better.

Effra 8 Southside 4

A thoroughly enjoyable match last night finished with a convincing scoreline in our favour. What was even more convincing in my opinion was the manner in which we played the game. Our one-touch and two-touch passing was excellent from back to front. Everybody wanted the ball, and indeed we were demanding the ball from each other. We rained crosses in to the Southside box at every opportunity, and we made our possession count, converting a string of chances in to goals. Had we have managed to be even more clinical in front of goal, we would have reached double figures.

Before the game I quoted Harry Redknapp's comments regarding James Milner's performance for England on Wednesday night (see my previous blog post). We managed, even at our level, to prove the point. As cross after cross was swung in to the box, our attacking players grew in the confidence and knowledge that should they make the run in to the box, the ball will come. Sam Herbert in particular reaped the rewards with four goals on the night and some outstanding link-up play in receiving the ball centrally and then working it wide in to feet. For a solid 20-25 minute spell in the first-half alone we looked like we would score every time we attacked. What a joy to see from my perspective!

All due respect to Southside, they arrived without at least three key players, but they still approached the game in an enthusiastic and spirited manner. They'll no doubt feel the scoreline doesn't do them justice, especially as Accie Dean Marney scored three of their four goals. However, we hope to meet them again, and with any luck it'll be a full strength team next time round.

The MOTM award went to midfield enforcer Luis Sandoval (who right now will be cheering the fact his native Chile have reached the last 16 of the World Cup - many congratulations Luis!). He had some serious competition though following a number of exceptional performances with Sam Herbert, Andy Thornes, Andy Dade, Graeme Were and Phill Arnold all catching the eye.

If we can carry this form, level of performance and confidence on the ball in to next week's game against Dolphin, it should be a classic encounter!

Keep the faith!

Joe

Read and take note...

Love him or loathe him, Harry Redknapp has an undeniable ability to simplify what should be, in essence, a simple game. Commenting on last night's England match, Redknapp spelt out in the easiest possible way the importance of getting early balls in to the box. Redknapp wrote in The Sun this morning:

"What I like about Milner is he doesn't try to do too much of the fancy stuff but instead concentrates on what is bread and butter to strikers - getting his crosses in.

Every manager should show Jermain's goal to their players as it demonstrates you don't need to beat players on the wing to put in a match-winning cross.

David Beckham was a master at it. You rarely saw him take on players but you knew the quality of his delivery as he bent the ball in would be top class.

Milner does not have great pace, he does not possess fantastic skill but he does what Becks used to do so effectively, he makes a yard on a defender and in comes the ball.

There's nothing worse for strikers than seeing your winger constantly lose the ball when he tries to dribble past a full-back.

You don't have to beat people, you can cross effectively in front of a full-back instead of trying to get past him all the time."

If it's good enough for England's finest, and a top-four manager(!), it's got to be good enough for us...

Keep the faith!

Joe