Sharlene’s views on the team

I asked Sharlene to have a look at the game and give me her views on the game and team.  She hadn’t seen us play for a couple of months, so I was interested to see what her views were.  She told me:

What i have noticed in Sunday’s match is that, there were hardly any long ball forward, the team are still doing  shorter passes and by doing this they are getting into tackles with the opponent. 

Jimmie says, yes, I agree, we are still playing the short play we learned from the mini pitch we used to train on, and have forgotten the long passing we had learned to use last summer at Greenwich Borough.  I have been saying to pass the ball with long passes from one side of the pitch to the other, or to knock long balls forward for the strikers, but we still dont do that. Cian, Ben, Sam T and Donny do some long passes, the other players still stick mostly to short passing, and need to think in longer passing terms. The new training pitch will open the players eyes to longer passing. 

The midfield were not helping, i thought the defence looked good in the second half. I think having a sweeper, just behind the defender this will sweep up attacks that break through the defence, so that  could be helpful.

Jimmie says, the problem with doing that is that it would take a player out of somewhere else on the pitch, so is very defensive.  We could play with just one striker, but he would be marked out of the game.  We could move our holding midfielder behind the defence, but that would let the other team to get more easily through the midfield, we could take Ben from the position just behind the two strikers, but that has created 11 goals in two games, with the two strikers both scoring and two midfielders scoring in these games, which would be lost if we took Ben from the supporting role.  Clive has also mentioned having a player behind the defence, but I dont see where would be best to take the player from….

 

I think there need to be a balance on the field, it does not mean because the ball is on the right hand side of the pitch all players need to be over there, as they tend to bunch up rather then spread out, and if a team member has the ball the only thing they can do is do a short pass rather than a long pass, as they are surrounded by the opponents.

Jimmie says, I agree, my saying “hold position” is meant to fix this problem, of too many players drifting central and bunching up and getting in each others’ way, instead of being wider, available for a pass to spread the play into new areas.  When we get the ball our players tend to move TO the player with the ball, instead of wide to them to move into space for a pass.

 

I think that most of the players have understood football and about holding position which is good, much better than the team last year!

i thought Luke was really good on the running front. 

 

Jimmie says, I am pleased Sharlene saw that, Luke has been a major success for us this season, when Sharlene last saw Luke, he was asking to be substituted as he had got out of breath, now he is running cross countries and is an outstanding defender, reading the game excellently, and controlling whatever area he plays in.

 

 

Some things that i think you could change in the new season, or maybe you might be doing it already!

 

Training session should start with a good warm up, with 3 minutes of jogging the followed by stretching.  I think the jogging will give players to have a bit of a catch up as they do not play much sport during the week, and this should also be done prior to matches! but it is just my thinking.

Jimmie says, the past two matches I needed to have talks to explain the 4 3 1 2 before the match, so it was fresh in the thinking of the players, but that left little time for warm ups.  But I know that this needs to be worked on with a lot of focus, to make us start games more sharply.  So yes, harder warm ups from now.  I noticed how tired the team were in the warm up on Sunday after just a short warm up, so we need to improve that, as slow starts could be the reason why we do badly in first halves, then take control in the second half when we have hit our stride.

Anyone elses views are very welcome!   

Creativity over new players for team

I have mentioned a couple of times that we have space for players in the squad. 

We are now at the end of the season, so there is flexibility over who plays in our games, so we can have a look at possible new signings in our actual friendlies and tournaments, rather than inviting them to training, and using training sessions to guess how they could be for us if they sign on.

It always surprised me that Aaron didn’t think of asking Luke, Eddy and Long to join our team in our first year when I was looking for new players to raise the standards and asked the squad if they knew of any good players free to join us.  It was only when Eddy replied to the ad I placed, then Long came through Eddy, and Luke then came from both of them.  It is like Ben introducing Billy to us.  So the answers are there, we just have to recognise them.

This season has been a total pain for injuries, losing Aaron was a big blow, as he is an excellent scorer, as his 9 goals in 13 games shows.  Losing Edward was an equally big loss, as he has experience in defence, and could have filled that difficult fourth defensive position we have to fill, as we need a fixed defender to join Billy, Sam J and Luke.

So if you have any friends who are free to join, who you think could do well with some proper training to develop skill and fitness, let them know where and when we train on Fridays so they can join in one of our sessions.  Our fit squad is now 13 with Ahmed, and I want to sign on one or two more.  With a small squad, we are restricted for defense cover.  Long is fine in goal, Sam J amd Luke are fine in defence, Sam T, Enes, Ben and Ahmed are fine in midfield, and Donny is ideal for attack, so that only gives us Eddy, Michael and John to fill the spaces that arrive on matches.  I would like some additional defence cover, as Eddy and Michael’s times in defence haven’t always gone well, and I want to give John some specialist defending coaching to make sure he doesnt keep overcommitting himself to tackles and so gets turned round by opponents, and that will take a few weeks to correct.

So have a think who you can invite.  Over the summer we had lots of players coming to training as possible signings, I want that to happen again this year.   Once Aaron is back, we will have a fantastic attacking midfield and attack, being able to mix up Aaron, Donny, Enes and Ben.  Aaron and Donny already score a goal a game on average these days, so we have goals already in place when they play.

So creative thinking, on new players for us.  Maybe someone from your old primary school, or someone from your new school, someone who is the right age and not in a team right now, or someone who wants to leave their team. 

13 fit players that we have now isnt ideal to choose from, we will be back to a manageable 15 when the two ill players are back, but that is a long way away, so we need additional players now to take us through the summer. 

So suggestions please!

         

Cristiano Ronaldo correct approach to learning

I took Eddy off in the first half as when I told him to hold position he told me “I am not going to listen to you”, and when you have a player with that sort of attitude, it is a waste of time for the player and manager and team.  The players all have to realise they have a lot to learn, I realise this too about myself, there is a lot I have still to learn. 

Football successes are people who are open to suggestion of improvement, not people who object to having mistakes pointed out to them.  I rate Donny very highly as a player as he is someone who listens to what he is told, then goes out to try it.  He used to always be too casual in attack, however I told him to start pressurising defenders into making mistakes, and he now does that. 

I told him to shoot from further out, instead of always dribbling in close, and he is working on that, and I was pleased on Sunday how he was learning to shoot from further out. 

I have been telling him to link up with the players around him, and he has been adding that to his game.

All these changes will make him a really top quality player.

He doesnt have Eddy’s negative attitude of getting angry when he is told something to change.  He doesnt ignore what I say.  Donny, like me and like all good players and managers, realises there is always so much to learn about the game to get better.

Ronaldo has just won the player of the Year Award, and read his acceptance speech:

“I try and improve every year, Not just this year and last season, every year I think I learn something and I want to keep going like that, I want to learn more. “

That is how I am too, and how I want our players to be, welcoming advice on how to get better, not getting angry when suggestions for improvement are made.  If Amed’s role as holding midfielder works, and he is the strong tackling block that I think he could be, that will have come from Tony’s comment to me in the game on Sunday that we need a big figure to play that role.  I am open to suggestion like that, so I want the team to be equally open, like Ronaldo.

 

first half and second half contrasts

A pattern is emerging, where we are playing a good half and a bad half per game.  This is frustrating, as we have the ability to be winning our games, but the bad half is holding that back.

In our last four games

Long Lane White half time 1- 5  second half 2 - 3 final score 3 - 8, so just edged out in second half after matching them very well in the second half.

Russellers, who won promotion this season to the A Division. half time 0 - 7, second half 2 - 2 final score 2 -9.  Matched the team excellently in the second half.

White Oak Wanderers.  Opposition had just missed out on promotion to the A Division by four points, however we won both halves, 3 - 0 half time, 4 - 2 second half, overall 7 - 2 win. 

Junior Red Knights, a year younger than us, but had finished third in their A Division, having been together for much longer than us, so an interesting opposition.  0 - 3 down at half time (after we had lots of good clear chances to score) 4 - 3 to us in the second half, overall score 4 - 7.

 

2 - 3, 2 - 2, 3 - 0, and 4 - 3 have been our last four second half scores.

So, in our last four games, in the second half we have lost once, drawn once, and won twice.  But because of our poor first halves, we have only won one of these games. 

So the message is clear, we need to start tighter, and then play our normal game in the second half.  We are half way there, we get half a good result, we need to make sure we get two great results for each half, like we did against White Oak Wanderers two games back.

 

Football quotes about the second best team in England

“A good goal is one that is important and beautiful.”
ERIC CANTONA

I was really pleased with Cian’s volley and Ben’s header, and Donny and Sam’s parts in setting up the goals, so they were very classy goals, that looked great, and were created from wide attacks which we needed to add to our game.

“Beckham cannot kick with his left foot, can’t head the ball, can’t tackle and he doesn’t score enough goals. Otherwise he’s all right.”
GEORGE BEST

“Denis was the best in the business, he could score goals from a hundredth of a chance never mind half of one”
GEORGE BEST ON DENIS LAW

Sometimes we try to be too careful in shooting, which is why I am encouraging Donny to shoot from further out, instead of feeling the need to dribble in close before shooting.

“Whether Dribbling or sprinting, Ryan can leave the best defenders with twisted blood”
ALEX FERGUSON ON RYAN GIGGS

A great description, I like the way our players are having the confidence to take players on and to twist and turn them and get the ball round them. 

It’s time to give the boys new balls!

The money we are saving on pitch hire means we have money available for additional kit, so Cian’s prayers are answered, and the training balls we use that he finds too hard to kick, are going to be replaced with a new set of training balls. 

I’d have introduced them at the old training ground, but we’d have lost them all when we kicked them into the river!    

Supersabres in Seventh Heaven!

WELL DONE GUYS on a fantastic performance on Sunday.

That was our best performance ever, we were strong all over the pitch, Long was great in goal, I couldn’t believe it, a SECOND penalty save from Long, that’s fantastic, we were tight in defence with Sam and Billy making a great central partnership, our midfield won the midfield battle, and our strikers (with great midfield support) pulled their defence apart to score seven quality goals.

There are so many positives about the game, but some of the main ones…

What I liked was how our goals were not simple taps ins or easy to score, but really classy and skilful ones.  Our Player of the Match was Cian, who scored a classy hat trick, including scoring with a very high quality volley, and a great lob, and Ben got a header I was very pleased with as we hadnt scored enough with headers before.

I liked the way the midfield dropped back to help defend, that is such a difference to earlier games, and made such a positive difference.

I liked the way that the team and me adjusted to the changing game.  We went in at half time comfortably 3 - 0 ahead.  Then they scored twice, to bring the score to a much closer 3 - 2 to us.  In the past, I would have left our formation the same, and maybe the other side could have ended drawing or winning, but I have learned to change formation to adjust to the progression of the game.  So I brought Ben back alongside Sam to tighten the midfield and be available to help defend, and that turned the game back to us, and we scored another four and they didnt score again!  That was a lesson learned from another game that we drew 6 - 6, where I didnt tighten the midfield, and that let the other side back into the game.  On Sunday, we shut them out!

But the most pleasing thing for me was how intelligent everyone was on Sunday.  I was VERY impressed with how everyone listened carefully to the long team talk before the match, when I was explaining how to position ourselves for the formation we were playing in the game.  And I was then delighted how everyone did that in the game. 

I know the parents will be proud of you boys, seeing how intelligently you listened before the match, and then how intelligently you all played, and seeing what a clever group of boys we have in our team.

I was smiling after the match at how big our win was, as it was typical of us to end a seven match losing streak with a win with us scoring not one or two, but seven!  And we didn’t win closely by just one goal, or two goals, or even three, or four goals difference but by FIVE!  What a great way to turn things round!

I knew we were due a win, we had played well in our earlier games, just not got the lucky breaks sometimes one needs to win a close game.

The seven goals we got was the most we have scored in the 2007-8 season. We had scored six goals three times, five goals once, four goals four times, but our seven on Sunday was our biggest win so far this year!  And it brings our average against the B Division teams up from two and a half goals a game to three goals a game, so the supersabres are  progressing very nicely.

Now the guys have got the formation fully understood, we will keep playing it, as you have the intelligence to understand it and to play it so well.

The opposition are very good, they just missed out on promotion to the A Division by four points, and had won 11 out of their 18 games in the B Division, were on a roll of winning their four most recent League games, and are doing well in the second highest Spring Division being two points off the top of it.  So this was a BIG BIG win, against a successful team.

I like how our standards are rising, it is all very exciting, matching Russellers who are going to be Division A in the second half last week, beating White Oak Wanderers 7 - 2 who only just missed out on promotion to Division A, that consistency is starting to develop for us.     

What I was also pleased about is how the team was so organised.  I didnt have to do too much organising, so my aim of being able to watch a game without having to do much shouting or directing was close.  Alex Ferguson used to shout at his players all match long, but now watches quietly most of the time, and that is how I want to be too. So apart from a few reminders here and there, I was able to enjoy the match, and all the skill and quality we have.

I liked the way more and more we are starting to use long passing, switching play from one side of the pitch to the other.  Cian did lots of that, and I want the rest of the team to have the vision to spread play around.  Our short passing is really good from all our training on the mini pitch, now our new training area lets us learn to add long passing to our play.  

Isnt it nice to be able to tell everyone we won.  I knew we were due a win after our excellent second half performances in the two previous games, but I was pleased we played so well in both halves on Sunday, winning the first half 3 - 0, and the second 4 - 2, showing how we controlled the whole game.

It was funny playing AGAINST Eddy and Michael.  Some of the boys didnt want us to lend them any of our players, but we are a NICE side, and I wanted us to have an evenly matched 11 v 11, rather than us having 11 v 9 of them, which would have been too unbalanced for us.  So lending them a couple of our quality players kept the game fairer.  Michael played very well for them in central defence, it was interesting to see him in that role, and Eddy was their liveliest player in attack, and it was funny for me to hear the opposition manager shouting instructions instead of me doing that! 

Ahmed played very well for us, in his first game, it was great to have him available for the game, and he looked comfortable on the ball and on the left side, and I am signing him on. With Aaron and Edward still unavailable for us long term, that brings us up to 13 available players from our 15 player squad.  Still two more signings to make, but we have such quality in the team that I am not in a hurry to sign anyone, so we have all summer to look at possible new players before making any decisions on additional new players to join us.

Come on you Sabres!         

 

 

Players of the Year Awards Sunday 13 July

Junior Reds Presentation: Is confirmed for Sunday 13^th July. This year’s event will be held in “Legends” in the North stand. Keith Peacock will present the trophies and once again Dave Lockwood will host the event.

What do I want from this team?

With all the things we are learning, it is easy to lose track of what exactly we are aiming for.

So I will put it here clearly, so everyone can see where I am aiming us.

The losses have been a wake up call, that have showed me we need to add things to our game, to close the skill gap between us and the teams that have beaten us.   So we have all been broadening our thinking, to add this to our games, and are now playing at a technical standard way above anything we did from June 2007 to February 2008. WELL DONE!!!

The side I would most like us to play like is Man U, they have a team full of extremely skilful players who can play equally effectively anywhere on the pitch, and I have been aiming to teach our players to have that same flexibility.  So look at the way they swap position and cover for each other when going on runs, we can all learn a lot from that. 

I think we have lots of match winners in the side, just like Man U have attacking players who can win a game, like Tevez, Rooney, and Ronaldo, as well as a midfield full of players who can score.  Ben will get more and more goals the more he learns to play the gap role behind the two strikers.  Enes is going to get loads of goals out on the wing, as well as creating loads, and our other midfield players are going to contribute heavily too.

What I find exciting is we have players who already play really well, yet who have lots of potential improvement still to develop, that will come from experience.  Most teams we play look to me as though they have reached the limit of their ability, whereas we have only just started to test ours, and still have so much we can add!  Our strikers already are excellent, but all have lots of improvement still to make, that will end up scaring the hell out of the opposition once Cian and Donny learn to play even more effectively together as a striking partnership.

When we started, I was concerned about playing safe football, now I am happy to see players take chances and express themselves, and it is great, the way everyone has the confidence to do this.  So I really like the way we are going.

The friendly against teh other Junior Reds team will show us how far we have come since we played them in our first ever full game together and lost 2 - 5.  I was pleased with that result, as to score two on our first ever game was great, and to lose by three goals to a team that had been together for years, compared to us who had only been together as a full team for a few months, was a splendid performance.  Luke was Player of the match that game, which was pleasing on his first ever competative game for us, and he has improved all the time since then, as has the rest of the team.  

So that is where we have to go, to skill, focussing on continuous improvement, fun from good football, and enjoying this football adventure to see how far we can go.  Clive thought we are good enough to top Division B, and I think we can be too, so it is all about doing the right things and learning the right lessons to get us there.  I am very ambitious for us, otherwise I would have been happy to play only easy games that give us easy wins. 

  

 

Clive’s views on Sunday’s game

As everyone knows, I like to get feedback on our team and games, as it is useful to have different views that I use to shape the team.

I attended the monthly Junior Reds managers’ meeting last night, and had a talk with Clive about how he saw the game on Sunday, as I was interested in his views.  He was very impressed with the skill level we have added to our game, he could see the big technical improvement that I have added to the players, in getting players to take on opponents and get round them and past them, unlike before where we just ran straigtht into tackles and lost the ball.

He was impressed with Billy.  I was very pleased with his comment about Donny, as he said that Donny had speeded up compared to the previous times he had seen him.  I agree, I have been coaching Donny to speed up his attacking play, so that he doesnt run with a slow casual pace that is easy to defend against, but really attacks the defenders with pace which makes him so hard to defend against.  He thought we looked very good in attack, better than the opposition, which again, I agree with, as Ben, Cian, Donny and Eddy all linked together excellently in the second half once they spread out and pulled the opposition defence apart and stopped bunching down the middle of the pitch.

He liked Sam T a lot in the holding midfield role, and thought he had a sound game there. 

Clive thought our wide players didnt get involved enough in the game, which is something we can discuss at training.

He also commented on what me and Tony had got frustrated about in the first half - that the midfield didn’t bother most of the time to come back to help defend or to track back to mark oncoming opponents.  But we got that right in the second half. 

He liked the way we passed accurately in the second half, so didnt have to spend time chasing after balls we had given away sloppily as had happened in the first thirty minutes of the match.   

But he could see our quality, especially in the second half when we outplayed the opposition and silenced them, as they had found the first half so easy, and were expecting an easy second half, and had a shock when we turned the game round, and outplayed them in the second half, in the same way they had outplayed us in the first.  I was pleased when he said we are good enough to finish on top of the B Division. 

The comment from Clive that most pleased me is that he said how intelligent our team is.  When I pick players, I look for intelligence - players who can understand the changing things in football, and understand difficult technical ideas.  When I train, I explain a lot, and that is because I like how clever the boys are, and how quicky you all learn.  This is why, even though half our team had never played league footaball before, because you are all so clever, you have quickly caught up with the players who have played lots of league football already.  That is why nobody watching now, would guess we were such an inexperienced team in certain ways. 

So I enjoy the intelligent conversations with the players, and the intelligent way we can play.  

When I have signed players, it is with a long term view, I want us to have players good enough to manage our step up to B Division football when we get promotion, so have released players who were not able to cope with our current Division, as I knew they would not be effective for us when we face better teams longer term.  This is why I am so pleased with our second half in our last two games, as in both games we outplayed the B Division teams we were playing, which shows that we have the quality to match or beat the higher teams, we just need more players (of our 14 player squad we only have 12 fit players at the moment, as Aaron and Edward are both long term injuries) and all it took was a knock to one of our players on Saturday, Luke, and we played with no subs.  But once again, you proved how well you have developed your fitness, no one ended the match looking tired, because the effort was spread around the team, so the defence were not having to defend non stop for sixty minutes, but had a balanced game, of some defending, and some easier times.  Same with the midfield and attack, the play was spread around the pitch, so nobody got overworked. 

So all in all, I was delighted with lots about Sunday,  and Clive was impressed with lots too, and it was just a shame it rained at the end of the match so I couldnt tell everyone how pleased I was with the second half.