Those girls from Birmingham, Alabama really sprinted out of the pub!!

On Friday, all the qualities of the beautiful English game were on display,from the pretty grueseome performance on the pitch to the raucous post-match party, which took place in the Fountain. Obviously, we missed Spizz,
who always bring a bit of colour to events with his brightly coloured yellow hair.

So making fun in the Fountain is often a pretty low-key affair but last Friday I had a pretty hazy memory of Big Ian G. giving me a big bear hug welcoming back the Guvnor of old to
true form.

I have to admit it was pretty much my fault that the quiet post-match drinks turned into a complete drunken spree, and pretty whiskey filled at that!!! This was due to the extraodinary generosity of Mick K. and Yev, who kept the rounds coming even when the others had run out of money.

Sometimes, (birthdays and highdays), I buy a complete round of drams to celebrate. I am looking at 53. My hair is falling out and I can't run and hack that Keir down like I want to.
But I got some plaudits for my steady play last Friday. So I wanted to buy everybody drinks (I must be mad, the drugs of choice at the moment are sodium valporate and olanzapine). However, I had run out of money. Gashead Simon refused to give me a loan (is that a junk credit rating or what!!) and then run out of the pub. However, Mick K. and Yev stepped in and bought the drinks.

Then, suddenly Steve A. was doing full blast the "Ode to the Haggis" and then singing the "Flower of Scotland". What was more amazing was that the old sassenach Ian G. knew all the words.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/robertburns/works/address_to_a_haggis/

The other young people in the pub studiously ignored us, when we were standing up singing Scottish chants, songs and poems at top volume. Big Sam was putting in a heroic performance. He had played footie straight sfter arriving from New York and after spending a night at JFK. Big Sam was getting stuck into the drinks and so he is a true athlete in every way.

There were two girls sitting on their own next to our mob. So Yev put on
his "I LIKE GIRLZ AND I AM AN INVESTMENT BANKER" smile and charged in.
Mick K. (a bit diffidently), went up to
say hi.

The less pretty one was all smiles but soon the pretty one's face was registering shock and horror. The girls were U.S citizens, who came from Birmingham, Alabama.
Mick K. could not understand why they had'nt gone to see the Villa in the UK's second city but went to terrible places such as Brighton. (The Holte End is not the centre of the universe Mick!)

Anyway, our lads, being the gentlemen they are, politely withdrew. Soon afterwards the Birmingham, Alabama girls fairly sprinted out of the pub. They were so fast I thought about signing them for our team!!

You simply had to be there because it was a pure comedy moment. Steve A. and I just collapsed in giggles. I suddenly thought of all the boys in the team, who had missed it and somehow I thought of Shakespeare:

Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,

Alright the pub was no way a battle scene but I quite like the words and here is a toast to "Sweet Home Alabama"!!!

Spizz is quite fleet of foot on the pitch.

I suppose Spizz is close to being a modern renaissance man. For instance, people buy his paintings, he had a few pop hits and although somebody might decide that his body is less than svelte, Spizz is pretty quick on the six-a-side pitch. He always gets close to me, since he thinks it is a pretty sure bet that I will be unable to tackle him.
I am definitely going to make an effort to play this Friday coming. I suppose Spizz will be a bit unhappy that his beloved Aston Villa gave away points to struggling Stoke. The Villa have a pretty uninspiring record at home. I remember the Holt Stand from the old days when it was standing only and it was awesome. However, some of the exits from the stadium can be blocked a little bit too easy for the fans of the away side.
I don't understand why Aston Villa have not gone out to win all their matches. The club seriously let down their travelling support in the recent UEFA away game.

The Spizz Forever blog wishes Happy New Year!!

I suppose I suffered from a troubled performance over the season. In some games I did not pass the half-way line while I also spent an inordinate time in goal. However, Spizz has been playing well and leading the attack. He has often been getting a brace of goals. Spizz has also been looking trimmer, which has made him more mobile. However, he is still partial to the odd Stella and is over the moon about the performance of his team Aston Villa.
Probably, the player of the year is Big Dave, who often displays a few of the "Dark Arts" of defending. He is also a good exponent of how to play the long-range shot, especially when I am in goal.
One of my New Year's resolutions is to shed a few pounds and play a more box-to-box game, which will increase my enjoyment of the match. This is sometimes negatively affected by my over-long stints in goal (and I am pretty rubbish in goal). I don't think Gashead will give me a vets discount for me being over 50 but I might try and cut down the expenditure in the pub afterwards.

Sorry I got the wrong link for Aston Villa on last story.

Sorry I got the wrong link for Aston Villa on the last story and it is
www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Welcome. The latest news from the Birmingham-based club is that O'Neill has admitted it is being hard to bolster the team. It is a shame that Barry wants to go to Liverpool as it makes it more difficult for teams to challenge for the top four places.
Last week I was on the losing side again going down 3-2 but Spizz got a nice goal. In the pub the old rocker was looking forward to another Milan trip. He has been commissioned to produce some art work from a Milanese client, who had seen Spizz Energi in the
1980s.
I had declared a boycott on watching any of the Euro games but this was broken in the pub when we watched the Dutch against the French. I shudder to think what the Dutch would do to our lads, so we are probably best out of it.
On the 3-2 drubbing, Big Sam got our two goals including a rare penalty, which sent Spizz the wrong way. Usually, penalties are not given but when they are, they can often be missed.

Last Friday saw Mick K. at his very best.

Last Friday saw Mick K. at his very best as he marshalled the defence during a three-one win. Amazingly I was on the winning side. Mick made sure that I did not stray too far from a focussed right back role. He also ensured that his fellow Aston Villa mate Spizz did not get a sniff in front of goal.
We were thirteen so to make the numbers up Gashead Simon invited one of the lads watching the game to play. Luckily, the Somali lad played for us and had incredible balance. He slotted in two of our three goals and managed to ride a sliding tackle from Big Sam, where amazingly everyone agreed that it was a foul.
So on side A we had me, Mick K., the Somali lad, Tony, Gashead Simon, Steve and Ian. They had James, Russ, Big Dave, Big Sam, Boro Dave, Spizz and Jeff. Our third goal was scored by Ian,
who always makes me ponder the fine line between leading the attack and goalhanging.
Last Friday Ian had a fine game and nearly scored another goal. Gashead Simon had a subdued match.
However, at least I was on the winning side for once, which galvanises my OPTA ranking.

England yet again, will they win tonight?

Well, I hope Scott Carson keeps a clean sheet tonight. And I hope Barry , another Aston Villa plays as well. Lampard and Gerrard don't really gel together. I am having some selection headaches as well for the Paris football tour headed by Spizz, who for many is an icon. I see him
as a footballer, who has got some nice touches. He can quite intricate spins off the ball,
although these are a bit ineffective at the standard we play at on the astroturf.

Football is a cruel game (Part two)

It looks like that I have been deselected. I was in the team but being manager does
not extend to picking the team!! "Spizz Paris" is still going to be a tremendous
experience. The tentative date is Saturday/Sunday, March 8th-9th, 2008.
I know I am nearly veteran status and can't run very fast but I was looking
to make a contribution.

The lads are suggesting that I might be an impact player on the bench. I really
want to play so I can get the cameraderie of the team in the showers.

Aston Villa Mick has pointed out our lack of fitness and so we are going to play
a game in February against the lads, who come after us on the six-a-side
pitch.

What I think of Aston Villa!!!

Spizz is a big Aston Villa and that endeared him to me. Obviously, Spizz is a wonderful
human being but supporting one of the best clubs in terms of British supporters is a real
plus.

Picture the scene, a young Cockney Red goes to see Villa v Man Utd in the late 70s.
Because of lack of money and of sanity the said Cockney Red goes to see them in the
Holt End. Ashley Grimes somehow skims the defence and puts a cross over that nobody
gets because the rest of the United players don't think Ashley is capable that.

Later on in the game Man Utd have a penalty shout echoed by a lone, and I mean lone
voice, in the Holt End. Luckily, the penalty shout was turned down and the guys round
me said that was a good shout in a good humour. On certain grounds (Hammers,
Scousers, Chels) you would be looking at a Man Utd supporter with a few
less limbs.

The other time I saw Villa play at Villa Park was when Deportivo de la Corunna
came to town and sneaked a one nil win for the away tie. Atkinson somehow managed
to field a team, which did not want to play. After the game the good-natured
Villa fans were waiting outside to swap shirts and other items with the
Spanish supporters.

Spizz is playing at Filthys on Dec 15th.