Team against West Wickham Musicians 9/7/15

Here is the team for tomorrow and the changes-

                                                 Geoff

Montell.                                   Lee.    Andy J.                          Phil A      

Steve R.                                  Jose.  Charlie                           Scott

                                                Sam.   Daniel

Subs-   Simon (Steve R), Luis (Scott)

                                                Geoff 

Montell.                                Simon.   Lee.                            Phil A

Steve R.                               Jose.      Andy J                        Scott

                                             Sam      Daniel 

Subs-    Luis (Jose), Charlie (Phil A)

I will not be there so I have asked  Lee/ Andy to do the honours on the side.

Let's get a long over due victory!!!!!

Team against Southbank 2/7/15

Here's the team for tomorrow will all of the changes in the first and second halves included-

                                      Anthony 

Andrew D                      Lee   Luke.                    Tremayne

Jon.                               Andy J. Pasch.              Charlie

                                      Simon Sam

Subs-   Daniel  (Simon), Luis ( Charlie), Barry (Andrew D)

                                     Anthony

Andrew D                     Lee      Barry                     Charlie

Luis                              Pasch  Andy J.                  Simon

                                    Daniel  Sam 

Subs-  Luke    Jon (Luis),  Tremayne (Sam) 

Team against Grafton Strollers 25/6/15

The team for tomorrow's game is below-

                                            Anthony

Andrew D.                           Luke  Lee                             Montell

Andy J                                 Pasch Jose.                        Charlie

                                            Sam Scott

Subs-  Simon (Sam),  Daniel (Charlie), Matt, Phil A (2nd half) Steve R. (2nd half)

They have 10 players. I'll go in goals for them so we need a couple of volunteers but will play it by ear tomorrow. 

The season so far.....

Well unlike the tennis season, we move away from grass and on to the artificial surface for a couple of months. So I thought it seemed like a good time to jot down a few thoughts on the year so far.

After a good start culminating in us reaching the semi final of the MI cup, it seemed like the pinnacle of the year. In retrospect given our results since then it seems to have knocked the wind out of our sails because we have struggled with results in recent weeks.

It seems to me that we are in transition at the moment. I have been experimenting with different formations and using players in positions which they have either enjoyed as a new experience or have been reticent about trying.

I have done this to give the team options in preparation for when we have a reasonably stable team and also give me an idea of your best positions. 

I am determined to build a winning team that plays football with style and passion. We have definitely improved our play recently with some impressive performances and I'm sure the results will follow.

It can be difficult picking a team when there are variations in who is available so I would ask you particularly in preparation for when we return to the grass in September to use the time at Dulwich to hone your skills. I'm always looking at how you play and I believe that competition is good for a team so don't take it badly if I move you about or ask other players to play in your favoured position. It's just how we do things at the Accies.

However please trust me to manage this situation. I have been impressed with both our work rate and our play over the past three weeks so don't worry about the results. We just need to convert our chances and shore things up at the back particularly preventing silly mistakes that have cost us recently. If in doubt..........

Use the time on the astro to pass the ball on a true surface, sort out our first touch and work hard to win the ball back. This week we need to continue our pressing game whilst using the ball creatively to prize open their defence. We have a nice blend of youth and experience so let's learn from each other and play to our strengths. 

Team for CP & DSV- 18/6/15

Here's the team for tomorrow 's match against Crystal Palace and Dulwich Super Vets (CP & DSV)-

                                                Anthony

Andrew D.                              Lee.   Barry.                            Phil A

Scott.                                     Jose.  Andy J.                        Montell

                                              Sam.     Simon

Subs-  Luke ( Barry)             Charlie. ( Phil A)       Andy T  (Jose)  Daniel

I am going to bring on Daniel in the second half to play up front ( his favoured position)  but it shouldn't affect everybody's playing time.

We are going through a challenging time recently but let's keep playing passing football, keep it tight at the back and knick some chances at the other end and we will soon be back to winning ways!!    

From The Archives: FA Cup Final Social, May 2012

Some would say these photos of questionable quality should have stayed in the archives!  It was a great day - I watched Norwich City draw 3-3 vs Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, then legged it to Palace to help the Accies to a 3-2 win over Southside U21 (a team put together by Scott I think).  Then on to the Paxton (RIP) to watch Chelsea defeat Liverpool in the FA Cup final.

Playing football does give a bloke an appetite

Two Chelsea fans looking unworried. I believe the explanation for Neill's
face paint is a Help For Heroes walk earlier in the day

Evidence should Luke need to sue the barber

Tea and cake for Sam. How very civilised

I seem to recall there was a singsong.  Don't know why

Team for Mott McDonald match- 11/6/15

Here's the team for Thursday's game-

                                              Anthony

Andrew D                             Barry  Luke                       Phil A

Charlie                                 Andy T Sam                      Montell

                                            Simon Scott

Subs-  Lee ( Andy T) Dave (Luke)  Tremayne (25 mins in second half)

We are sticking to our 4-4-2 formation from last week. We beat this team earlier on in the year so no pressure lads!!

Team Photo From Spain, April 2015

Apologies for the delay in posting this excellent photo! I do have some others from the trip which I will post in due course.  But here is our squad of 12 who were beaten finalists in the four-team 11-a-side tournament, plus the non-playing me.

Back row: Luke Fallon, Ian Holmes, Andy Thornes, Sam Herbert, Jose Carlos
Padliia Moreno, Stuart Dade, Anthony Emery, Phil Caldwell.  Front row:
Andrew Dade, Jose Cogolludo, Jorge Gonzalez, John McNally, Simon Mesner

From the Accies archives

When Graham passed away I found myself looking through ancient Accies artifacts, and one that caught my eye for a future blog post was this section of the minutes from our first ever AGM, in January 2001.  It concerns possible selection for our second ever 11-a-side game, vs Woodley Wanderers (who are now called Dolphin Riders and still play every Thursday, on the atrosturf pitch next to our superior pitch!).

I really like the arrows… Intrigued by the decision to play Tom Wrigley up front; and the full backs Luis Sandoval and Chris Osborne is an interesting choice.  I suspect on the day Andrew Dade played right-back and Chris Osborne right wing, but I can't remember, of course.  And the prospect of me and Luke at centre back in 2001 is terrifying, although in 2015 I'd be more than happy with him looking after me there.  As for Graham on the left wing…

Anyone involved in team selection will not be surprised to learn that the above forecasted 12-man squad didn't exactly resemble the final squad on the day.  Mick Woolhouse, Luis Sandoval and Luke Fallon didn't attend - their places were taken by Simon Mesner, making his 11-a-side debut, and someone called Richard Macmillan, who my fading memory reckons was a work colleague of John McNally.  Ian Holmes scored both our goals.  Ask him about them, he'll probably be able to describe them in detail!

We lost the game 7-2, and there's a symmetry to that, given that we lost 7-2 on Saturday too.  Albeit in January 2001 a total of 10 club members (or nine plus soon-to-be member Simon) attended, whereas on Saturday only seven club members turned up…  But let's not get into THAT here…

Dulwich Tigers- 4/6/15

Here's the team for Thursday's game against Dulwich Tigers-

                                               Anthony 

Andrew D                               Lee    Luke                        Phil A

Montell                                  Joe   Greg                         Charlie 

                                              Sam  Simon

Subs.    Andy T, Scott, Steve R 

Back to 4-4-2 which I've been told worked better last week. 

We have another game on Saturday so with that in mind those playing in two days time please let me know if you would like a rest (Luke is playing a half with this in mind). 

Wanderers FC 28/5/15

Here's the starting line up and the first half changes for the game on Thursday-

                                          Anthony 

                  Barry.                Lee.            Phil A

Jon.                                   Christian.                      Montell

                                          Andy J 

                                          Andy T. 

                       Sam.                              Scott

Subs          Charlie  (Montell)          Matt  (Scott)         Simon (Lee)

Unfortunately I will not be there so Stuart and Lee will be in charge with Stuart enacting the changes and Lee telling you what the team is.

A very pleasing development is that Matt, who played for us in the MI cup semi and Juddy's team mate from Southbank, is coming along. He is interested in joining and he will be playing up front in his favoured position as he did in the semi- final.

Come on the Accies (and the Gers).

Tremayne 

               

Team for 21/5/15- Crown Agents

Here is the team for Thursday's match against Crown Agents-

                                            Anthony 

Neil G                                 Luke     Lee                           Montell

Andrew D                           Sam  Pasch                          Phil A

 

                                           Scott  Simon       

Subs- Charlie                  

As you can see we are a bit low on numbers this week so change of formation to 4-4-2.

Accies v ' Strollers'

Just a quick one to say thank you to everybody today. I think Stuart's tweets to the right sum up the game so no need for my report.

You all did the club proud with your endeavours. A cutting edge up front would have topped off some impressive build up play and I'm sure the oppo wouldn't have begrudged us a goal because we deserved at least one.

There is no shame in losing to a team like that but there is plenty to be positive about. We held our own for periods of time with a team of young, fit, strong impressive players who were definitely not 'strollers'. Head held high with a valuable learning experience acquired. 

Tremayne

Team for Grafton 14/5/15

Just to let you know my reasoning behind Thursday's team selection below. As Simon, Charlie, Steve R and Andy D are not playing on Sunday I have given them a full 90 minutes whilst everybody else will get 45/65mins.That's why I have spelt out the changes before the game. It seems only fair and also I want those playing at the weekend to have a run around whilst also being mindful of Sunday.

First half                                               

                                               Anthony

               Andrew D                Barry                        Montell

    Andy J                               Jose                                       Steve R

                                               Christian 

                                               Greg

                       Simon                                  Charlie       

Subs- Phil A (Montell),  Lee (Barry), Scott (Greg), Andy T (Christian)   

Second Half

                                              Anthony 

              Andrew D                Barry                    Phil A

Montell                                  Andy J                                  Steve R     

                                              Lee        

                                              Scott

                    Simon                                          Charlie

Subs- Andy J (Barry), Christian (Scott), Jose (Andy T), Greg (Lee), Dean (Phil A) with Charlie going to left back and Dean up front.   

                                                                          

Team 7/5/15

Here is the team for tonight-

                                          Anthony

               Andrew D.          Lee                  Barry

Jon.                                   Andy J                               Steve R 

                                          Christian.          

                                          Andy T

                Scott                                          Greg 

Subs-  Charlie, Montell, Simon, Phil A

Dave- 25 mins        Dean-   25 mins    

As we have an impending cup match on Sunday 17th May tonight's match will be in preparation for that hence the large numbers with the resulting permutations later on in the game!!

I would encourage you to let Simon know if you are available for that game as I want to get the team right and prepare properly.   

Tremayne

                                       

Team30/4/15

Here is the proposed team for Thursday's match against Atkins FC-                                          

                                                     Geoff 

                  Andrew D                    Lee                     Barry

Steve R.                                        Andy T.                                    Charlie

                                                     Christian 

                                                     Andy J

                              Simon                                        Sam

Subs- Scott, Tremayne           

I was extremely impressed with our performance last week. We played football the way it should be played and was really pleasing to watch on the touch line; we just lacked the ability to convert that superior possession into goals. I've decided to put Sam and Simon up front which will hopefully bring goals. Remember that we can mix up our offensive tactics, combining quality passing in midfield, finding our wing backs out wide and providing incisive, through balls (not Hollywood) to the forwards. Sam and Simon will be making the runs. Let's be bold but not route 1 please!!

Tremayne

Team 23/4/15

Here is the team for tomorrow's game against Claxton-

                                                     Geoff

                 Lee                              Barry                        Charlie

Jon                                               Greg                                           Steve R

                                                     Pasch

                                                     Sam  

                           Cheyenne                            Simon

Subs -   Steve S, Scott, Montell 

Welcome back to Steve S!!!

Remember everybody will get 65 minutes and as we lost heavily to Claxton last time I want to see 100% for those 65 minutes. 

Last week we played well in the first half and consolidated in the second. This week we should be keeping up the intensity for the whole game, whilst keeping faith in our strong passing game so impressively shown last Thursday.

We have a strong team but we need to keep the up the team spirit and trust in everybody's ability.

Team 16/4/15

Please find below the team for Thursday's match.

                                              Anthony

          Andrew D.                    Lee                        Phil A

Jon                                        Jose                                   Andy J

                                              Greg

                                              Sam 

    

                                      Scott       Simon

Subs-  Charlie, Cheyenne, Pasch 

As you can see we will be continuing with the 3-5-2 formation which has worked pretty well over the past few weeks. I must stress that it is most effective when we play with this system as both an attacking and defensive unit, adapting accordingly.

It means that Jon and Andy J have to play flexibly going up and down the wing, supporting the forwards and blocking the attacking right and left backs (no pressure).

I also envisage that having an additional central midfielder means a link up to the forwards (Sam), a play maker (Greg) and a defensive midfielder (Jose) playing in front of the back three. That is the beauty of the system but can take some time to get used to!!

Obviously it does place additional pressure on the defence but the defensive midfielder's role is to protect them with the support of the wide 'wing backs' doing the same out wide.

We play best when we pass the ball around, make the correct decisions and believe in both our individual and collective abilities. Let's keep to those principles on Thursday and have a great game. 

Tremayne 

WW Musicians- 2/4/15

Just a quick one to say well done last night to the regular players and also our guests Charlie, Daniel, Pasch (again) and Ashleigh. 

Bearing in mind that we had two injuries and that were down to 11 men (Ashleigh gave us a real boost in the second half also) I thought we managed to combine creativity with determination and organisation.

The 3-5-2 system does work and if we persist with it I believe we will improve and continue to give the opposition problems through width and extra numbers in midfield. It does put more pressure at the back but as was shown yesterday we pulled through with some last ditch defending and Bowden's heroics.

It was a real team effort with Anthony making another spectacular fingertip save, Andy Dade's work rate being second to none, Pasch running his socks off and linking with the forwards and Greg's free kick skills!!

Thank you for persisting with this system (yes even Charlie T) and remember our ability to play as a team with different players every week is a testament to the Accies' ideals which the management team works hard to foster and can only continue to work if we all buy into those ideals.

Tremayne

Team- 2/4/15

As last week re a different formation I thought that it would be good for you all to familiarise yourselves with where you are playing.
Here is tomorrow's team- 
                          
                              Anthony

                Andrew D.      Barry.     Phil A

Lee.                         Andy T                      Charlie

                                Greg

                                Scott

                    Daniel Bowden      Simon 

Subs- Luke, Tremayne

3-5-2- the verdict

I was extremely impressed with how quickly you adapted and am mindful that it will take a bit of time to get used to the new formation however last night was an encouraging start.

Taking into account previous scores against the Dulwich Tigers and bearing in mind that they are a very good side, I think 1-2 (with a last minute goal that prevented a draw) was an impressive result. We lacked a bit of creativity compared with some weeks but I will put that down to unfamiliarity. When we did get the system right we carved them open on at least 4 occasions so that was also extremely encouraging. However I felt the scoreline of 1-2 compared with the previous 6 and 4 goals against us respectively in previous matches against the Dulwich Tigers illustrates that tight organisation and sticking to our roles/positions paid off.

I would encourage if you get a spare 5 mins to let me know your thoughts not only on the formation but also your preferred positions. I am just getting to know some of you and felt that maybe a couple played out of position last night but as long as I am picking the team it would be helpful to get your thoughts also.

Please remember that we give equal amounts of time to players playing when we have a full squad which hopefully explains some decisions but I will always try and play you where you enjoy playing in tandem with what is best for the team.

Thank you for going along with the new formation and giving your all. Once again well played done for last night.

Tremayne

Team- 26/3/15

Please see the team below. I would like to try a 3-5-2 formation hence putting it on the blog.
Pre warned.............
                                                    Anthony
                           
                             Lee                  Andy J              Barry

Andy D                                        Jose                                      Phil
                                                     Greg
                                                     Sam

                                                     Scott
                                                     Cheyenne

Subs- Simon  Steve R  Charlie

Videos galore

A whole host of new Accies videos have been posted to my youtube site.  Check out games from the end of 2013 including our victories in Spain, Rotterdam and last Friday's win in Canada Water.  My channel is called sammesner, subscribe to get notifications for future postings.

One hot tip though, remember the camcorder has a microphone and that I can hear everything that is said on the touch line!

2015

Accies

What a start to 2015 !! The first 30 mins of Thursdays game was possibly the best we have started in my reign as team captain . We looked solid at the back , the midfield was up and down tackling and passing and we looked like scoring Everytime we got into their half. All the way through the team we where excellent , Charlie filling in goal was brilliant and his communication with the back four was superb and that save In the first half ... Superb. I though Lee and juddy especially in the back four were excellent. Steve and thorny ran the midfield both looking sharp even at their age !! Jon on the right handside was my man of the match scoring two goals and skinning the handside all day long and offering cover for our right back. Simon on the left had a great game , I mentioned he was playing like Zidane on the left and i didn't mean his comb over !! Cheyenne making his debut was a constant danger and looks like he could score goals for fun. All in all a magnificent start to the year and it was great to have the support of the trialists and stu and Luis . Oh did mention my free kick ??

Great start accies let's look forward to a great 2015

Greg

A few pictures from my Accies archive of an extraordinary man

I've managed to dig out a few pictures from my Accies archive of Graham Dietz. He will be sorely missed by us all.

I have this picture dated December 2001, Graham having just been presented with a farewell gift.

A Dinamo Bar Pitch team picture before Graham left.

Pictures from the inaugural Anglo-Dutch trophy match away in Rotterdam.

Pre-wedding football match with Gaffer Holmes.

Clearly Graham would have fallen flat on his face after this was taken - he's using his right foot!

Graham offering some quiet words of advice to Ian no doubt.

Apparently Graham enjoyed his music(!).