Players of the year

The final game of the 2011/2012 Finsbury Leisure Centre season took place last Friday the 29^th July amid gloomy, cobalt skies and the distinct threat of rain. So, a typical English Summer’s day, then. I was asked by Simon Gas to select the teams for the last time until September and duly picked the following sides:

Bibs: Boro Dave, Spizz, Mick, Paul, Simon Ink, Ian West Brom, Sam

Colours: Simon Gas, Joe, Yev, Dan, Alan, me, Andy

Team selection was made tricky by the customarily late arrival of Yev, which saw the departure of young Yusuf, who was called upon to act as ballast in the early exchanges. I believe that Dan opened the scoring – it was certainly someone not wearing a bib, but the Bibs soon took a strangle hold on the game with Boro Dave and Spizz forming a traditional English little ‘n’ large strike-force. Some dead eyed finishing from Spizz and characteristic fluid runs from Dave built a 5-2 lead to the Bibs and all seemed lost for the team in Colours, with over elaboration in front of goal and an injury to Alan stymieing their progress.

But, like many English teams in the past, the Colours would not be beaten and having finally got a toe-hold in the game Yev and Dan made the difference with a combination of great finishing and muscular midfield running. A key moment was the penalty that Dan struck unerringly into the bottom left corner to make the scores 5-4 after Yev and Ian West Brom had tangled to send the latter tumbling into the box with the ball. Yev equalised soon after, once I managed to get hold of the ball and square it the Ukrainian maestro who rifled one in from well outside the D and the Colours then eased away with a goal more each from both Dan and Yev (and some poor goalkeeping), as well as lovely final finish from Joe. This was the first time that I can recall Joe and I playing on the same side and as the universe didn’t implode we should repeat things next term.

Final score: Colours 8 Bibs 3.

And so onto the Red Dog Saloon, via the Old Fountain’s Head. A quick word about the Fountain – it seemed far quieter in there than I would have predicted, but Jim’s previous recruitment and selection policy which could best be described as ‘traditional’ has seemingly been replaced by a determination to employ the most gormless bar staff in the capital.

The Red Dog itself was an altogether more sedate affair than last year’s bacchanal, partly as we started eating earlier and largely as we chose not to order the equivalent of a pitcher of beer each. After Spizz had blagged some free beer in true punk spirit, the rest of us got down to the hard yards of demolishing meat patties, fries and onion rings (with Yev making a concerted effort to make friends with the waitress). As is traditional, there were end of season awards, which, from memory, went as thus:

•  Player of the year – Dan
• Goalkeeper of the year – Simon Ink
• Irishman of the year – Alan
•  Plastic Paddy of the year – Mick
•  Most improved player of the year – Paul (Alan overruled the original decision, which was, err, me)

There was even an award for this blog, as I scooped “Sports journalist of the year”, despite the presence of Mick on the table who is a professional scribe for the FT.

And that, pretty much, is that.  

Have a good Summer drinking beer and watching the Olympics and see you back in Old Street for September. And thank you to Simon, for being, as ever, the football organiser par excellence.