THE SUNDAY LEAGUE TEAM WHO HAVE BEEN |
FINAL DIVISION ONE TABLE |
NAME |
APPEARANCES |
GOALS |
NAME |
APPEARANCES |
GOALS |
Jim ARROWSMITH |
4 |
|
Yianni KYRIACOU |
10 |
|
Dean ASSIAMAH |
17 |
1 |
Martin LOVEDAY |
16 |
1 |
Alan BARNARD |
21 |
1 |
James MANDELL |
2 |
|
Colin BESTER |
7 |
|
Jamie MARTIN |
3 |
1 |
Danny BROWN |
2 |
|
Conor McGOVERN |
12 |
12 |
Rob BROWN |
20 |
2 |
Terry MOORE |
25 |
1 |
Terry BROWN |
24 |
4 |
Vernon NXUMALO |
16 |
|
Steve COKELL |
14 |
|
Ozel OZERMAN |
1 |
|
Daniel DALEY |
3 |
1 |
Rob PATTWELL |
1 |
|
Robert DODDS |
1 |
|
Rory RICHARDS |
2 |
|
Stuart DORWARD |
16 |
6 |
John SCOULLER |
9 |
3 |
Paul DUFFY |
1 |
|
Danny SMITH |
16 |
4 |
Danny HAGAN |
26 |
3 |
Olie TEDDER |
9 |
|
Lexton HARRISON |
20 |
7 |
Andrew WARMERDAM |
5 |
|
Simon JACKSON |
23 |
|
Tom WATTS |
1 |
1 |
Darryl JOHNSON |
8 |
|
Martin WORTHINGTON |
4 |
|
Lee KING |
25 |
1 |
Tony WEBB |
1 |
|
Tony KING |
15 |
1 |
|
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CLICK ON THE OPPONENTS' NAME TO VIEW A MATCH REPORT & THE YOU TUBE LINK TO VIEW HIGHLIGHTS |
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Date of Match |
Opponents |
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Competition |
Result |
You Tube |
Sunday 8th August |
‘Home’ |
Pre-Season Friendly |
Won 3-2 |
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Sunday 15th August |
‘Home’ |
Pre-Season Friendly |
Won 1-0 |
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Sunday 22nd August |
‘Home’ |
Pre-Season Friendly |
Lost 1-3 |
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Sunday 29th August |
Away |
Pre-Season Friendly |
Lost 1-6 |
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Sunday 5th September |
Away |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Lost 1-2 |
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Sunday 12th September |
Home |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Lost 1-3 |
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Sunday 19th September |
Away |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Lost 1-6 |
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Sunday 3rd October |
Away |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Won 1-0 |
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Sunday 10th October |
Home |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Drew 2-2 |
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Sunday 17th October |
Away |
Waltham Sunday League Challenge Cup, First Round |
Won 2-1 |
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Sunday 24th October |
Home |
London F.A. Sunday Intermediate Cup, Second Round |
Won 7-0 |
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Sunday 31st October |
Away |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Lost 2-4 |
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Sunday 7th November |
Home |
Waltham Sunday League Senior Cup, First Round |
Lost 1-2 |
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Sunday 14th November |
Away |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Won 3-0 |
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Sunday 21st November |
Away |
London F.A. Sunday Intermediate Cup, Third Round |
Lost 2-3 AET |
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Sunday 28th November |
Home |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
POSTPONED (Frozen Pitch) |
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Sunday 5th December |
Home |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
POSTPONED (Frozen Pitch) |
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Sunday 12th December |
Away |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Lost 3-4 |
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Sunday 9th January |
Home |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Lost 1-6 |
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Sunday 16th January |
Away |
Waltham Sunday League Challenge Cup, Second Round |
Lost 0-2 |
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Sunday 23rd January |
Home |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Non-Fulfilment by Wormley |
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Sunday 30th January |
Home |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Lost 2-5 |
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Sunday 6th February |
Home |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Lost 0-1 |
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Sunday 13th February |
Home |
Friendly Match |
Lost 2-3 |
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Sunday 20th February |
Home |
Friendly Match |
Non-Fulfilment by Beehive |
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Sunday 27th February |
Away |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Won 1-0 |
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Sunday 6th March |
Away |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Won 4-1 |
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Sunday 13th March |
Away |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Drew 2-2 |
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Sunday 20th March |
Home |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Lost 1-2 |
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Sunday 27th March |
Home |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Won 4-0 |
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Sunday 10th April |
Home |
Waltham Sunday League Div. One (Double-Header, First Match) |
Lost 0-3 |
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Sunday 10th April |
Away |
Waltham Sunday League Div. One (Double-Header, Second Match) |
Lost 2-3 |
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Sunday 24th April |
Home |
Waltham Sunday League Division One |
Lost 0-2 |
CHAIRMAN’S BLOG - Sunday 19th June 2011 |
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In those early days though, we fielded our best players every week, namely Shaun O’Neill in goal, then the likes of Steve & John Beasley, Stuart & Derek Dorward, Chris ‘Nugget’ Beeden, Conor McGovern, Robin Pryke, Paul Woolston, Paul Ellerker and (for a brief period) Marco Ellerker amongst others. With most of those being candidates for a place in the starting line-up of the best eleven players to have played for the club in our 36-year history, not surprisingly we won most of our 7-a-side matches and competed at the top of the table in the Qualifying Stages and in the ‘Champions League’ as opposed to the ‘Nearly Champions League’. (The ‘Champions League’ is now known as the ‘Cup League’ for the top teams from Qualifying and the ‘Nearly Champions League’ is now known as the ‘Plate League’ for the bottom teams from Qualifying…and in which we now regularly find ourselves year after year !) Although we have won or finished Runners-Up in the ‘Nearly Champions/Plate League’ on four occasions over the last eleven years, the last of those ‘successes’ was 6 years ago, and for the past few summers we have lost far more matches than we have won, despite the standard of the opposition being pretty much the same as it has always been. In fact at the time of writing we have now lost nine games in a row (Mondays & Thursdays combined), and although we have only been beaten really heavily in one of those matches (see here), it is still an alarming statistic for a club as well-run as ours. So…here’s my thoughts on what is going wrong, and there are several different reasons I think. The most obvious one is that we are not fielding the same side for every match, unlike virtually every other team in the League. In most of our matches we have players playing who have never met each other before, and this has been the case over the past six years as we have concentrated on using the 7-a-side League to try out new players and also rotate the squad a bit to give all existing players a chance to play if they want to. However, can we field a squad of our 8 ‘best’ players week-in, week-out’ if we wanted to ? Unfortunately not, as Simon Jackson sometimes works abroad during the week, Terry Moore and Alan Barnard can both only play on different nights most weeks, our promising younger players such as Lee King, Yan Kyriacou and hopeful new signing Ben Keating can only play on Thursday nights as they play Powerleague (or whatever ?) on Mondays, and Lexton Harrison and Kizza often ‘work late’ and cannot make certain kick-off times. We then have Rob Brown, Martin Loveday & Martin Worthington all out with long-term injuries, Dean Assiamah unable to afford to pay his subs and Terry Brown often left stranded without a lift, as is potentially the case with one or two others (e.g. Daniel Daley). The only ‘first-choice’ players who can play every week (and on both nights) and have their own transport to get there are Danny Hagan & Danny Smith. We are trying to get new (or returning) players along to play, but it is not easy when we are losing every week. Prospective new players just look at the results. They don’t look at the reasons and excuses. So are we doing anything wrong tactically in our 7-a-side matches then ? Most definitely ! Of course it’s easy to blame The Manager just because he ‘doesn’t shout’. Does any other team in the 7-a-side League have a Manager on the touchline shouting instructions non-stop though ? Sorry, but I have yet to see one. Every team we play, even those at the bottom of the table, play pretty much the same way as each other and they all know what they are doing as they are ‘proper’ 7-a-side teams as opposed to an 11-a-side team trying to play 7-a-side (i.e. us). They turn up with a squad of the same 8 players every week who all run their socks off in getting up and down the pitch. When a player needs a breather from doing that, they signal to the sub to come on and replace them. They don’t have a Manager doing pre-planned substitutions at certain intervals that unintentionally disrupts the flow of the game. If the sub doesn’t come on until the last 10 minutes, then tough. He can start the following week. Winning the game is more important. All teams play a 2-3-1 formation (as do we), but the difference is that whenever opposing teams lose possession in our half of the pitch, their lone forward chases back straight away to just past the half-way line and the three midfielders also chase back straight away and get in a line with the two defenders on the edge of their own ‘D’ to make a wall of five players. Those five players will then get within a yard of any attempted shot by us and invariably block it. What do we do when we lose possession in the opponents’ half of the pitch ? Our forward just stands there and lets defenders go up on a run un-tracked and only one of our three midfielders at a time bothers to chase back if we have got two defenders back (or two midfielders chase back if we have got only one defender back…although not always !). In other words, they think they can ‘switch off, have a breather and pass players on’ for others to mark. The midfielder who has chased back then goes and stands two yards off the ball instead of one, invariably because he is not fit and sharp enough after chasing back to be able to close down to one yard, therefore leaving his opponent with almost a free shot at goal which he buries because Jacko is unsighted or left flat-footed by a deflection. If, when we go on the attack, we do manage to get a shot in, opposing goalkeepers seem to be far fitter and more agile than any of ours and are quite brilliant in those smaller 7-a-side goals. We have been denied so many times so far this summer by some quite unbelievable saves. Jacko has made some good saves himself, but there is no question that he prefers playing in goal at 11-a-side and is much more suited to that. We know that from training where he always complains when we stop the shooting practice to have a 7-a-side. Perfectly understandable though, and we can’t solely blame him (and Dave Bagnall) for our nine defeats in a row. As for passing and keeping possession, we have actually been doing well in that respect. The problem is that we do not break from defence at speed like other teams do and we do not have runners from midfield or defence sprinting full pelt past our lone forward onto through balls to get first-time shots in. Our build-up is too slow every time and it easily allows opposing teams to get five men back behind the ball. The reason for this is undoubtedly because we have got too many new/different players who do not know each others’ game/names, so instead of quick first-time passing, our players are having to put their foot on the ball when they gain possession and then look up to see what’s on every time because they are not getting a call or a ‘typical’ run from a team-mate where a first-time pass can be played almost without thinking. Also, we quite often have too many players on the pitch at the same time who are not fit enough...and it is not just the two ‘obvious’ ones I am talking about here ! There are more than that who need to go on a diet first and foremost, then go down a gym (regularly), then go for 5-mile runs twice a week, then start playing football regularly at the level we are at on Sundays. These players are not going to get fit just playing 7-a-side once a week when (at the moment) they are only physically capable of running for the ball when we are on the attack ! Because of their lack of fitness, they are also ‘too tired’ mentally to run after the ball when they lose it. I know what they are thinking as I do it myself when I am playing…but then I am 52 ! And by the way…at least two of our goalkeepers need to go on a diet as well ! Another problem is that in general, players are not staying for a drink afterwards because we have lost. Quite a few storm straight off the pitch into the changing rooms (without thinking to pay their subs) when we lose and others will get straight into their cars and drive off, again without paying because they don’t think of that when they are annoyed that we have lost again. I have been guilty myself of going straight home after recent 7-a-side matches instead of staying for a drink and chasing players up in the changing rooms/bar for their subs when Trevor has not been there. I hate losing any Rovers match and losing 9 games in a row is really bugging me, I must admit. The Monday Night League is a straightforward League for the whole Summer and all we can do in that now is just try and avoid finishing bottom. The Thursday Night League splits into the ‘Cup League’ and ‘Plate League’ in a few weeks time and we already have no chance of qualifying for the ‘Cup League’. By the time that starts, the Waltham Sunday League Multi-Registration Form will have been returned and there will be no need to give players a game just so that they can sign that form. Personally, I think we should then look to field our strongest team whatever on Thursday nights in an attempt to win the ‘Plate League’ and boost our confidence going into the new 11-a-side season. Players who are not fit enough or want to blame myself and Trevor for ‘not shouting’ instead of using their own brains tactically on the pitch (like other teams do) can then play on Monday nights instead as far as I am concerned. It’s tough on Loveday (if he is not still working in Leeds and can resume as Monday Night Team Manager), but we must stop the rot. Also, if players who don’t drive are not prepared to cycle or get public transport to venues or meeting points, then they need to take a long hard look at themselves and make a bit more of an effort. It will be ridiculous if we cannot field a team just because a couple of players who normally give these players a lift are unavailable at the same time (or not good enough/fit enough to be picked for a squad themselves). We can’t have that happening on Sundays, otherwise it will just be another relegation battle next season. |
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CHAIRMAN’S BLOG / A.G.M. REPORT - Monday 13th June 2011 |
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After the trophies had been presented, we showed our Top 10 goals of the season, then our Top 20 goals of the last decade and a few other old DVD’s of players from the 90’s. I know a lot of our current players were very impressed with some of the goals we scored back then and the way we passed and moved. Hopefully they will have taken note !? |
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CHAIRMAN’S BLOG ! - Monday 23rd May 2011 |
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I have accepted that my designing and updating of the League Website and filming of the League Cup Finals over the years has enhanced my profile enormously, and that because I am self-employed and the other League Officers are not, it does put me in an awkward position where it appears to most people that I only volunteered to do the website to ‘make money out of the League’. Unfortunately I have no way of proving that is not the case. However, what are the League’s Referees doing when they get paid £35.00 a match by the clubs ? Is that not ‘making money out of the League’ ? Another bone of contention is that League Treasurer Malcolm Miller is claiming that the scrapping of my League Website (which costs the League £80.00 per year to host) and the £30.00 filming rights charge per Cup Final is because the League desperately need the money in case they start making a loss, but in the financial statements issued at the AGM, the League currently have £30,000 in the bank and made a £2,000 profit in the year ending 31st December 2010 ! In addition to that, another rule passed at the AGM (which some clubs DID complain about but were ultimately out-voted) was that all clubs will be charged £2.00 for EACH player registered for the coming season instead of having the first 30 registered free. Again, the League simply do not need this money with £30,000 already in the bank and it is just kicking clubs in the teeth. It was only voted in because most club secretaries are not remotely interested in the financial aspects of how the League is run as they have probably been forced into the job anyway and all they want to do is just get out on a pitch and play. At League meetings they just want to get home as soon as possible to watch Eastenders and having a debate is the last thing they want. Invariably if the League Management Committee propose something, it always gets voted in. Getting back to the £30.00 filming rights rule (to be known as ‘Cup Rule 23’), the full wording of the rule reads as follows: ‘Any professional company or person wishing to film the League Cup Finals must get written permission from the League and give their CRB number for checking with the F.A. Also the League will charge £30.00 per Cup Final for filming rights.’ The CRB-check issue is one of the main reasons why I resigned, as a fellow Management Committee member brought about it’s inclusion in this new rule by saying that if Edmonton Rovers played his team he would refuse to let me film the game because he has a 17-year-old in his line-up. Although I am CRB-checked anyway, there is absolutely no need to have this rule in mens’ football. From my experience filming matches in recent seasons, the F.A. now treat all 16 and 17-year-olds playing in mens’ football as adults anyway. They have to, because otherwise 20,000 spectators at a Premier League match would have to be arrested for taking pictures of an under-18 player on the pitch with their mobile phones when they are not CRB-checked ! As for obtaining written permission from the League (i.e. General Secretary Denis Coventry), I would imagine that will not be a problem as long as I pay the £30.00, which I will if the clubs are prepared to pay it, but just imagine if Edmonton Rovers got through to our first (First Team) Cup Final for 27 years and for some reason permission to film was denied. How cruel would THAT be ? In addition to the possibility of us getting drawn in an earlier round against the team whose Secretary brought about the CRB-check inclusion (they are in the bottom Division and are not likely to get through to a Final), we have also been told by Denis Coventry that two teams who were in Division One last season do not want me filming the games and putting the highlights on You Tube…he refuses to tell me who those teams are…and that for all other matches I must get permission from the opposing team Secretary first. Just imagine then if an opposing club tells us we cannot film a game. Our players will be incensed, and there will be so much needle in the match it could well end up in a brawl or being abandoned. As for the League Website, that will go offline on the 4th August, and details of that (and my resignation) are currently on the Home Page. The League Tables, Results & Fixtures (from the League Website for all divisions) will be put on this website instead from the 4th August, probably as a new separate section. The League will not be able to stop me doing that, as the F.A. actually recommend that clubs do that for their own websites by using the HTML copy & paste code on the embedded feeds tab on the Full-Time site. All I want to do is just continue to make things as easy and enjoyable for our players first and foremost in terms of having a website where they can find things and in being able to see themselves in action on You Tube. If anybody tries to stop me, they will have to be prepared for a legal challenge if necessary. |
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CHAIRMAN’S BLOG ! - Tuesday 3rd May 2011 |
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The new match-based suspensions scheme is going to greatly benefit Sunday League football in my opinion though. It means that instead of getting a 35-day ban for ‘violent conduct’ or a 21-day ban for ‘serious foul play’, players will now be suspended for matches instead, the same number as professional players receive. (i.e. only 2 or 3 matches for those offences instead of 5 if games are not postponed due to bad weather). Also, a new rule is coming into effect where anybody sent off playing for a Sunday Club is only suspended from playing for that club. He can still play for his Saturday club while he is suspended for his Sunday club. It also works the other way round where a suspended Saturday player can play for a Sunday club during that suspension. What this could mean (hopefully as far as I am concerned) is Managers from Ryman and Spartan South Midlands League clubs now allowing (and even encouraging) their non-contracted players to play Sunday League football in a good standard like ours, when previously they had put the block on it because of the fear of them getting sent off and suspended for 35 days, thereby missing as many as 10 of their matches (because Saturday clubs play on Tuesday nights as well). Ryman League Team Managers can now use Sunday League teams to keep players match fit while they are suspended for their Saturday club or have been an unused substitute the day before, while they may even go as far as using Sunday League sides as a Reserve Team for their promising younger players , who will benefit more from playing against the experienced ex-semi-pros that we have in our League than the 16-18 year-olds who play in the Saturday Reserve Leagues . There will still be some Saturday Managers who (wrongly) think Sunday League footballers are a bunch of thugs and that there is too much risk of their players getting injured, but that’s nonsense really. A player is just as much likely to get injured in training or in an accident at home ! If what I am hoping here comes to fruition, then we must use any contacts we have with semi-professional football on Saturdays and snap some players up before other clubs in our Division get in first...and they will most certainly have some contacts there. Inviting non-contracted Ryman League players along to play 7-a-side for us will be a start. |
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CHAIRMAN’S BLOG ! - Monday 28th February 2011 |
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I had spoken to one or two players during the week who admitted they were getting a bit ‘pissed off’ with us never being in contention to win anything (Yes, my major gripe as well) because hardly any of our players are prepared to throw themselves into challenges and get booked, sent off or injured for the cause ‘like other teams do’. Yes, we have too many players who are apparently ‘too nice’ and only want to play for fun because they invariably have young families, responsible jobs or other commitments which are more important, not to mention being unable to attend training in most cases, while too many of our younger players are ‘too small and are not tough enough’. That was the accusation/criticism/concern before we faced McKenzie Rangers on Sunday and I admit that I agreed with most of that. Indeed a feeble performance in that game may well have seen at least one good player leave the club...and in fact others may already have done so judging from their failure to get in touch and let the Manager know if they were available or not ! However, what we got instead was a starting line-up including no less than eight players who had attended training during the week...the first time we had fielded as many as that for about 10 years !?, and all eleven players on the pitch going through the pain barrier to fight for each other and defend like trojans in securing all three points for us against all the odds when we were missing eight first-choice players including Terry Moore, who had to go off at Half-Time with a back injury. Although Terry’s replacement Martin Loveday had not trained for several weeks due to a groin strain and was still two weeks away from returning to action, he ignored the pain to help Alan Barnard and new signing Martin Worthington completely snuff out the threat of our ex-forwards Leon McKenzie-McKay and Daniel Daley, while Colin Bester, Lee King and John Scouller all lasted a full match when they wouldn’t normally. Jacko concentrated for the full 90 minutes in goal and didn’t put a hand or foot wrong, and Stuart Dorward, Rob Brown and Danny Smith all played their part with their experience being crucial, despite not being as sharp fitness-wise as some of our other players who regularly attend training. Man-Of-The-Match though was Yann Kyriacou, who produced a performance in the centre of midfield which was arguably better than any of our Greats Of The Past managed in their first 90 minutes for the club. All in all, it was an excellent battling performance by everybody, and with a great team spirit as well, and those who may have been sceptical before the match about that ever happening were made to eat their words. Despite all that, there is one thing that we do need to get sorted out and that our newer players need to be made aware of (or reminded of)...communication between players and Manager Trevor Hughes before and after the squad is announced. Unlike the Managers of virtually all other Sunday League teams, both at mens and Youth level that our newer players may have played for before joining us, Trevor will not phone players of his own accord and speak to them in an effort to check their availability, persuade them to play, and tell them if they are going to be in the starting line-up or not. He will only do that if they phone him. If any players did not play the previous week or attend training the Wednesday after where they could speak to him face-to-face and inform him of their availability for the coming Sunday’s match, he expects them to either put a message on the Forum or to e-mail, text or phone him...and if they don’t, then as far as he is concerned they are unavailable and he will put somebody else in the squad instead. For the McKenzie Rangers match, we had a situation where on Friday (when Trevor was busy at work), we only had 10 players because of people not confirming their availability. I then had to send a Facebook message to Dean to tell him to make sure he turned up as he would definitely be playing...so that it would not end up with me having to play. Dean didn’t reply though. On Saturday (when I am busy working all day), Danny Smith then finally got in touch with Trevor to ask why he had not been put in the squad ! Trevor then told him he would be starting because he had contacted him (albeit belatedly) whereas Dean had not...and Dean also owed over £25.00 in subs, for which we always drop players when we have got eleven available who do not owe above that limit. So...Dean turned up on Sunday expecting to play and then refused to come on as a Sub because he was too upset at being left out when I had told him he would be starting. Thankfully Dean was fine when I spoke to him afterwards and he accepted that he is the only player owing subs over the limit and it was fair enough to drop him because of that, but it didn’t look good at the time and it all could have been avoided if players (and Dean & Smithy are by no means the only ones) were aware that they must phone Trevor (not me !) to discuss their availability, their position in the team and whether they will be starting or not. Trevor’s number can be found here on the Management Committee page. Please enter it in your mobile phone address books and please phone him if you have not spoken to him at training the Wednesday before. A Saturday is the best time to catch him unless Arsenal are at Home. Please only phone me if you are unsure of where we are playing or want to know if a match is still on or not in dodgy weather. Hopefully the rest of the season will now run more smoothly in this respect ? LAURENCE HUGHES |
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CHAIRMAN’S BLOG ! - Monday 24th January 2011 |
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I put long messages on the Forum, I e-mailed everybody and I texted everybody, specifically warning them that they would not be picked for the squad the following Sunday if they did not attend this session or the forthcoming Wednesday night’s session, but some players didn’t read any of them or just ignored them ! Danny Smith then complained on the Forum that he will always work on a Sunday if we do not have a match and that he cannot come training on Wednesdays due to other commitments, so what I was asking for was complete ‘bollix’...and in hindsight he is right ! We simply have far too many players who are in the same predicament as him where they cannot train on Wednesday nights, while they are invariably in a situation on a Saturday night/Sunday morning where they have no choice but to drop out when other things suddenly crop up that are more important than playing Sunday morning football. Is clubbing/partying on a Saturday night and getting too pissed to play the following morning more important than playing for Rovers in a run-of-the mill League match with nothing at stake ? Of course it is, especially if it’s a family do or it’s a social function beneficial to a player’s job in terms of ‘networking’. Also, can we realistically expect players to think about Rovers and respond to e-mails, texts and Forum messages between Mondays-Fridays when they are massively busy with work & family commitments ? No we can’t...and in a lot of cases not on Saturdays either. We just have to accept that and put up with players dropping out on a Sunday morning when they originally indicated they would be playing. We simply cannot only pick players for the squad on a Sunday who turn up to training because too many of them are even more unreliable on Sundays than the players who cannot come training, while others are simply not good enough to play at Division One level as a first-choice player yet, although most of them probably will be if they continue to attend on Wednesday nights. We therefore have no option but to continue picking our best 14-16 players each Monday for the following Sunday’s game unless they have already told us at that stage that they are definitely unavailable. I have complained in recent weeks about Trevor putting in players who say they are 50/50 because of injury and who will not be able to let us know if they are playing until the morning of the match, but I think it is now the right idea for him to continue doing that. If we end up with 5 players all dropping out on the morning of the match because of that or other reasons and we end up fielding a bare eleven or less because it is too short notice to call other players up (or because players do not want to come along to be a substitute and run the line), then so be it. It is just something we will have to live with. We know that a non-fulfilment or two is inevitable in some of our remaining fixtures this season because of this, but we will just have to put up with it and pay the fine...which is now £85.00 per match ! If there is not enough money in the club account, we will divide the fine up between all registered players, and if they don’t pay it, myself and Trevor will have to pay it out of our own pockets. Most clubs fold up when they get to that situation, but obviously I want to keep the club going as it is part of my video business. As I said here on the Forum though, at least those who were there for training at Hazelwood enjoyed themselves, despite the poor turnout. The team spirit is still good. I just have to accept that we as a club are never going to get back to the ‘good old days’ of the 1979-1980 Season when we only used 14 players all season, everybody turned up to training, and we won two trophies and finished Runners-Up in another. I have been way too hopeful and living in the past for too long. It’s time to be more realistic and just accept that virtually all of our players will only play for us on a Sunday if they are not doing something else. We are not the priority and probably never will be. LAURENCE HUGHES |
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CHAIRMAN’S BLOG ! - Monday 17th January 2011 |
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CHAIRMAN’S BLOG ! - Monday 10th January 2011 |
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CHAIRMAN’S BLOG ! - Monday 3rd January 2011 |
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As for the strength of our side compared to other teams in London, our narrow 3-2 defeat to Charlton United (after extra time) in our second-from-last match (way back on the 21st November) was another really excellent performance. From speaking to people ‘in the know’, they are undoubtedly one of the top 4 or 5 sides in London, they were fielding pretty much a full-strength side, and they will more than likely go on to win the trophy. Although almost half our first-choice side cannot attend, I do think having midweek training sessions this season is definitely starting to make a difference. Jacko is looking a far better goalkeeper because he regularly attends training, while Lee & Dean are looking more and more confident in matches because they regularly attend training. I am expecting quite a few others to regularly attend from this Wednesday onwards and maintain their fitness levels, which will hopefully give us an advantage over other clubs (for a change) if we have matches called off on Sundays due to bad weather. We do have a very strong squad now, but personally I think three players may be the key to making it even better and giving us a real chance of winning a trophy this season. These are Danny Smith, Andrew Warmerdam & Tom Watts. We know Smithy cannot come training due to family commitments, but he showed against AFC Cheshunt that he is also capable of playing as a very useful forward as well as in a central midfield position. It is unlikely that we will have a full-strength side available every week. There is always somebody unavailable, and indeed Lexton is suspended for our next two matches. Smithy can therefore play up front alongside Conor for those two games, but I don’t think anybody would disagree that we have been at our best this season on the rare occasions that Conor & Lexton have played together in attack. If we have everybody else available in midfield for a particular match, Smithy (and one or two other quality players) may have to be named as a substitute...and that’s where in the past we have had a problem with players refusing to do that. We must change that mentality for the good of the team if we want to win the trophy (or two) we are capable of this season. Warmers meanwhile has said he will try and start attending training sessions. If he could make himself available for something like 2 out of every 3 matches for the rest of this season and be prepared to ‘go sub’ if all our other defenders were fit and available, then that would be another massive boost to our trophy-winning chances. Finally, Tom Watts. Those who have been attending training will know what a good player he looks. He is fit, very quick, skilful and direct and I can certainly see him causing some damage to opposing defences on Sundays in an attacking midfield role either on the left or the right, or maybe even as a forward alongside Conor or Lexton. His preferred form of football is Futsal where he is currently playing for F.C. Enfield on Sunday mornings (alongside various Enfield Town and other Ryman League players). However, looking at their poor results so far this season and the number of red & yellow cards their players keep getting, hopefully we can persuade him that playing 11-a-side for us might be a better option instead !? He should be available for some of our matches from the 16th January onwards anyway as F.C. Enfield do not have a match every week. I am aware that one or two players were unhappy with being left out of the squad for the AFC Cheshunt game because Stuart (our Caretaker Manager for the day) decided to put better players in due to the quality of our opponents, even though these players brought in had not been attending training or playing in previous matches. However, we have had 20 seasons now of ‘playing for fun’ and putting players in the squad even when they are badly unfit or are not currently good enough for the level we are playing at...just because they are loyal club members and a ‘good laugh’. We won’t be ‘bending the rules’ so blatantly every week in order to give us a better chance of winning a particular match, but it’s obvious that we are going to have to be more ruthless to some extent and pick our ‘best’ available & registered players if we want to win a trophy. It’s what those other five quality teams in Division One do every week. None of them play for fun. They have fun after they have held that trophy aloft. I have also heard comments from some of our players that ‘we don’t want to get promotion to the Premier Division because we won’t be good enough if we get back up there’. Nonsense I say ! Yes, it’s possible that one or two of our current players might have to retire through ‘old age’, but I am convinced that we will be able to attract some quality Premier Division/ex-Semi-Pro standard players to the club if that happened, especially now they can see how good we are on You Tube and once this website has been fully updated. I am very confident about the rest of this season and I say ‘let’s go for it’ ! |
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CHAIRMAN’S BLOG ! - Monday 20th December 2010 |
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CHAIRMAN’S BLOG ! - Wednesday 17th November 2010 |
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