Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing

While rooting around for photos to bring with me next Saturday, I came across these two, taken by Luis in the pub after the 2012 end-of-year awards dinner.  Steve may be a terrier on the pitch, known for the occasional crunching tackle, but off the pitch he's a lover, not a fighter.   Here he is sharing tender moments with Luke and Thorny…

Hurrah! I've scored! Boo! I've fallen down a hole…

From an email sent almost 13 years ago…

Somewhere in my Accies archive I have a 'news report' from our old website entitled 'The Night We Won The Cup', all about the events of 8th November 2001.  At that time the club was divided into two 5-a-side squads, Dinamo Bar Pitch and Streatham North End.  While I search for that, here's an extract from an email sent by Streatham North End's gaffer (also Effra's gaffer, aka The Gaffer!) Ian Holmes about the evening:

"It was wonderful to be a part of it ... we scored SIX goals and every one of them was worth the admission money (although I would personally have paid well over the odds just to see the Patterson equaliser against Soma and the Rudd winner against Lard !!!!).  Add to that the best goalkeeper of the night and I reckon we deserved it.

Dinamo were encouraging in their support and sporting in their congratulations.  And let's not forget that they played no small part in our win ... their point against Conway ensured that the best team in the tournament were knocked out... their win against Exo was the biggest win of the night ... and Graham was (I reckon!!!) with four goals the leading individual goalscorer."

 There's a lot in those few words that shows why over the years it's been so brilliant to play for the Accies.  Oh, and here's the trophy:

Rotterdam 2014 - Your Club Captain's [B]Log!

Playing for The Accies is an extraordinary thing. 

Quite apart from the joy of Thursday night football in Crystal Palace, the club has been built around  regular club trips abroad – most recently Cantoria in Spain and Rotterdam in Holland.

I just wanted to take a few moments to write about these magnificent trips, as your Club Captain, friend and well…bloke.

It is always hard to put into words how fantastic these trips always are – but I thought now was a great time to try to do just that about the trip to Rotterdam .

Someone booked my train tickets for me. The club contributed £50 towards it. I’d increased my Accies subs by £10 a month many months ago so that accommodation was basically taken care of. I met my brother and Luke at King’s Cross at 11am on Friday, had a couple of beers before boarding the Eurostar with a few more train beers in hand. My accommodation was booked for me too. A bike was rented for me and several team-mates were always there to get us from A-B without getting lost.

On the Friday evening we met up with several other Accies already in Rotterdam and had a few beers near the accommodation by the harbour.

On Saturday, I had a lovely leisurely  breakfast with my friends and team-mates, a bike ride to a Pancake restaurant by a lake for a small lunch and then cycled as a team to the stadium where the big match was due to take place. We started the game with ten men and were losing 1-0 at half time. We went 2-0 down pretty quickly at the start of the second half, but the belief was still there with The Accies, you could tell.

Then we scored. Then our 11^th player arrived and the turnaround and comeback accelerated. 4-2 to The Accies, final score. Hat-trick for Graham Dietz, a cracking goal also from Scott Greenwell. An impeccable goalkeeping performance from Dave Rudd in goal – and a solid back four made up of myself, Stuart Dade, Luke Fallon and Simon Mesner. A fantastic return to playing action from Phil Caldwell. Superb play,  and communication from Perre. Goliath effort from Sam Herbert in midfield. Scott and Graham up front – a double left footed pain for the oppo. A much needed stellar performance from late-comer Chris.

Just writing the words doesn’t do it justice. WHAT a game – what a cracking bunch of lads the oppo continue to prove themselves to be!

Does it get any better than winning 4-2 after being 2-0 down, away – with 55 minutes with ten men?

Well, yes.

After the game – the generous Dutch provide several crates of lager. One of them, Dutch legend Nils then provides storage for bags and accompanies us to the Excelsior ground – having arranged for the entire Accies team to get tickets for just ten Euros each for their clash with Dordrecht (final score 1-1). Great atmosphere, more beers during the game – great company and yet more smiles all round.

Surely, the day couldn’t improve?

How about being on the guest list for an album launch gig with now Accies friend Bregje Lacourt? Thanks to the friendship between Simon Mesner and Bregje – which started some 7 years ago on a previous Accies Rotterdam trip, we found ourselves supping more beer whilst watching this fantastic gig.

Then on for more beers, in several bars etc. with some taking the opportunity to rest up at the accommodation, or hit the clubs – ultimately and basically just have a fantastic time, in the company of friends and team-mates.

I doubt I’ve even covered 10% of the magnificence of this latest Accies club trip – and my only regret is that more Accies weren’t there to experience it as well.

We have the 15^th Anniversary game and celebrations coming up on Saturday 4^th October and I look forward to enjoying that with you and your friends and family. Plans are already being made for Spain 2015 and Rotterdam 2015 – and my extra £10 a month into the club is definitely going to continue to ease the financial burden of these when they come around.

My advice is to do the same if you think you need to. Get the dates in your diary as soon as you know them, along with all the other social events – because these weekends and events are without question an integral part of the past, present and future of the Effra Academicals – and without question are some of the greatest weekends I’ve ever experienced – and will continue to do so for many years, hopefully in your company.

Up The Accies!

Andrew Dade

Effra Academicals Club Captain and Club Secretary.

Just updated the ALL-TIME ACCIES 11-A-SIDE STATS…

…I note with interest that Perre Heath, or DhaniDhanz to his army of YouTube subscribers, is on 99 goals, one short of becoming our second ever 11-a-side goalscoring centurion. He's scored in the last 3 consecutive matches.  Hope he doesn't read this, because that would surely jinx any chance he has of getting his 100th goal tomorrow night…

[Update, 12 September: the wait goes on!  He'll have to score it in Rotterdam now…)

If I had my way, all Accies players would be on the same money as this…

What Falcao earns