additional two possible new players coming on Friday

I’ve had another couple of calls from someone wanting to join the team, so have invited them to join us at training on Friday.  Some of our games got affected by low numbers, or late arrivals, so I dont want any of that happening again!  So I’m aiming for a squad of 15, which is a big squad by our standards, but should cover for any illness to players. 

So think like Michael thought, when he got Oliver into the team, and if you have a friend who is good at football and who is looking for a new team to join, bring them along to training…

I have been working out where our new players can fit into the squad, and it is very exciting seeing the options we are getting from the new arrivals.  If we can get all the boys on that I want from the boys who have been coming to training, we will have a team with the two scoring strikers and FOUR midfielders who can all score heavily.  Plus the new Aaron in defence would give us another quality defender, as he is great at timing his interceptions, which we needed to add to our existing top quality defenders Sam and Luke, so strengthening all round.  Ryan is looking sound in goal, and is a regular trainer, so we are doing well, I am really pleased with the new arrivals.

  

another great match win on Friday and Sunday’s game

Well done for an excellent 5 - 4 win on Friday. 

The previous week we had been missing our attacking players, so hadn’t played a strong attacking game as we didnt have our regular scorers available for that game.  This week we were missing seveal of our key central defensive players, so had to play with a brand new defensive set up for this game, but we had our attacking players back in training, so we looked fine in attack, but understandably less effective in defence at the start of the game while the defenders were getting to know each others game.

So two sliced unsuccessful attempted clearances by us led them to score two goals when we didnt get the ball out of the box, and another conceded one meant we had gone 0 - 3 behind.  But our players are still getting to know each others play, and we started to play some excellent attacking football the longer the match went on, pulling three goals back, and going into half time level at 4 - 4.  That was a great recovery, our rearranged defence then totally shut them out in the second half and one goal from us in the tight second half meant we won the game 5 - 4, an excellent result after falling behind to the three sloppy goals in the first half.

The new players look very promising, Rob looked as good in central midfield as he had looked in defence the previous game, and scored a cracking penalty.  He had a quieter game when moved to the right wing of midfield but still was very creative.  Robert looked sharp in defence, and could play there or midfield as his half time switch of positions showed.  Ryan looked comfortable in goal, timing charges out to clear the ball very well, safe handling, and the half hour training session after the session finished was very effective.

The two Olivers played well, both looking more natural wingers than central midfielders or strikers.  Oliver scored a very confident goal, which was nice to see.  Rob and Enes linked up very well, and Ben and Rob could make a very strong central midfield partnership.

Arran looked good in defence, getting in lots of important well timed and accurate tackles.

Kevin came to the Sunday training session today, and it was helpful to have another look at him, to work out where to play him.  He did well in midfield on Friday, and didn’t do that well in defence on Sunday, but when moved up to the midfield left wing, he did really well, getting some fine crosses in, and making some good runs with the ball.  Ryan’s shot stopping in the Sunday tournament was excellent, saving around eight well hit shots.  It is helpful to have the new boys and current team playing training games together, to build up the understandings,   

We had a six a side game on Sunday, which was a lot of fun, so I hope the boys that didnt make the game this Sunday can make it along to other Sundays, bringing their family and friends to join in the game if you want to do so.  Ryan’s friend, dad, sister and sister’s boyfriend all joined in the game, and all played very well, and it surprised me his friend, sister and her boyfriend are not in teams, so I am sorting out passing their sister’s contact details to the managers who manages their age group.  We are a family club, so it is nice to have brothers or sisters joining in the training games.  Dads too!  Mums as well, as long as they don’t play too rough!

Dave showed some very good skill on the ball in Sundays game, playing with a lot of twists and turns, so I will ask him if he would like to help out at times in training, as the more involved in coaching, the more individual time each player gets. 

Arran and Joel brought some of their friends along, and it was good for our players to have a game against slightly older, bigger players, as that makes our players learn to play harder and faster.  It was a good tight game, final score 4 - 3, with the older players making some great cross field passes, which is great, as it will teach the younger players to think like this.  

I have passed out membership forms to all six of the boys who have been to training for the past two weeks, so it will take a week or two before we get used to playing together with the new arrivals, but it is great that we won just our second game together, normally one would expect new players to take lots of matches to work well together, but the current squad are very good footballers, and the new boys are all quick learners too, so we have quickly settled into a winning team.    

    

Invitation to Ron to come to Managers meeting Monday 7 July

Ron’s input as Assistant Manager is very important, as his suggestions are very useful. 

One of the many things that makes our team special is that while other teams managers are not interested in the opinions of players and parents, and so the only option is for parents to watch, players to play, and the manager to make all decisions without any discussion, I make sure our team takes the opinions of everyone in the team and around it into account, so the players and parents help shape the team. 

There is a monthly managers meeting, which I will be going to, which this month is being held on Monday 7th July, at 7.45, attended by managers and assistant managers, so if Ron is free and wants to go to that I will be pleased to give Ron details of where it is being held. 

Thanks to Ron for solving the mystery of our second half improvements

Ron was making the point at training last week that opposition connections listen to my team talks before the match, then ask for a five minute delay, and then change their tactics after they have heard our plans. 

That is something I hadn’t noticed, as I was too busy giving the pre match talk.  it explains why we did less well in the first half, then stormed into great second half turnarounds, as the opposition knew what we were going to do in the first half, but were caught out by our second half tactical changes that reversed the balance of play from the first half.  It is the sign of a good team like us that it can turn results round - and the sign of a sneaky team that they listen in to other teams preparations!

 

importance of coming to training over next few weeks

i’ve been talking with Clive over our Division played in for the coming season.  He is happy for us to go to a B Division if I want to enter one, and being a focussed manager, I am happy to do that if our results justify it.  We recently smashed a team 7 - 2 who had just missed out on promotion to the A Division, and have had a series of winning performances, so I think it likely that I will move us to the B Division.  

However, the training games against Eltham Progress are a good indication of how we are right now, so the fuller the side we put out with as many of our players playing as possible to make the games match our league ones, and new players to fit into the team, the clearer a picture I can have of our abilities and so can make the decision about the new season.  Some players will be away for a while during the summer holidays, so while everyone is around, can everyone aim to make the Friday training sessions. 

Players best positions and preferred positions

I was having a talk today with Robert’s mum, after Robert trained with us last week.  He played in defence then, but I think he would be better in midfield, so I was talking to her about that, as I think he could play very well in central midfield along Ben.  Robert’s mum was saying he prefers to play on the right wing, but I think he would be better more central, and was planning to play other players on the wing.

I find it funny what has happened with Rio Ferdinand’s career, as a youth up to around 15 he played as a striker, then moved to defence where he has made his proffesional career.   So having the ability to play in different roles is important, as you never know where you can end up.  So I will be giving Donny some midfield experience, to add to his existing striking experience.  Donny has set the all time top scoring record of any player - four goals in one game as well as being top scorer for the past two years and setting up lots of goals for other players, so playing in central midfield is going to add some new sides to Donny’s play. 

Extra training in keeping for Ryan

Ryan’s dad phoned me last night to talk about where he could get some specialist keeping training for Ryan.  I offered to give Ryan half an hours coaching after our regular session on Fridays for the next few weeks, so we will be doing that.  If anyone else wants to join in that extra half hour session, they are welcome to join in, Joel plays in goal for his team, so he may join in.

The six new traillists at Friday’s training

It was interesting to have so many possible new players to choose from on Friday, with the six boys who came along for the first time. The games we played gave me a chance to have a good look at their play, as it is most useful to have a full match to make decisions on, rather than a trial with poles or cones, as this shows who is fit and already moves well.

The two Olivers looked possible midfield wingers,  Robert looked a possible central midfield player, Kevin looks a player who could fit into a number of positions, Ryan looked a possible keeper, and we will have a look at the boy who came too late to play at next week’s session.  

There are still two months before the new season starts, which gives plenty of time to make decisions and to choose from the players that want to join.

Well done to Michael for bringing his friend Oliver along to the session, I had asked players to bring friends along who are free to join, so it is good that Michael did exactly that!  If any other players have friends who are possible signings, bring them along, as there are limits on the numbers of new signings I am making, as I find a squad of 14 players works best, so best to get in friends while there is still space in the squad.  

With so many new players out there all getting to know us and each other, the game wasn’t as coordinated as we usually play, but the second half was much sharper as the understanding started to develop.  Bearing in mind the opposition play togehter all the time, and this was the first time our team had played together, I saw a lot of promising things out there, and if we had had more of our regular strikers available, it would have been a stronger attacking performance as the two Olivers wasnt the strongest attack for us and it would have been useful to have had more time, to try Robert in attack, with Ben alongside if Ben hadnt been injured. 

This is one of the interesting times of the season, when any arrivals and departures take time to adjust the team.  We have never been a one or two player team depending on any one or two players, which is one of the reasons why I move players around a lot in the team, so we have the experience to play in different positions if necessary.  So Enes has easily fitted into attack, after playing regularly in defence, and the new signings will also move around, while I am getting to know their best positions out on the pitch.  So I played the two Olivers in attack last week, thinking more after, I realised they would be better on the wings, and played Robert in defence, while he would do better in central midfield.  Ryan started off outfield, but got tired, and did much better in goal, so with the new players, it will take a few weeks to settle into a  regular position.  I will be bringing the signing on papers to training this week, so we will have some new signings. 

2008/9 season

The new season Divisions will be produced very soon. I expect there to be us, and Dulwich, Welling United, Valley Park Rangers, Manor Park and Eltham Town. As we have beaten all of these teams last season apart from Dulwich, I think we  can look forward to the new season with confidence.  There will be two new teams joining, who will have been relegated from a higher division, but the way we have won five, drawn one and only lost two of our last eight games, means I know we have a strong season ahead of us.  

Player recruitment

As I will make clear at training, we need some extra players for our squad, as I dont want another season of being held back in any of our games by low numbers. So have a talk with footballing friends in school year 6 and 7, and if they are interested bring them along to training on a Friday.

As you have seen, I can turn inexperienced players into very good players, so if your friends have potential but have not yet been in a team, bring them along, as I can give them the skill and experience to become excellent players for our team. 

I play players in a variety of positions, so will look at players who could play in defence, midfield or attack.  We may take Freddy on for keeper cover, as he played well there two weeks ago, but I am happy to look at other possible new keepers.