I forgot I was doing the blog this week!!

Dear Readers, with Gooner Simon not playing last Friday (I feel your pain about the collapse of
the Arsenal and the future dispersal of all those bright talents Arsene Wenger thought he had),
I forgot it was up to me to do the Spizz Blog.

The game started five minutes late due to an over-run with the league game before us and there was a slight argument with the guys, who normally play for ages after us, to give us the five minutes we lost. There was also a technical/logistical problem because the teams were seven versus six, if I remember correctly. The West Midlander Mick K. was a no-show but if he had come it might have hit the fine balance between the two teams because the game finished three-three.

It was a pulsating 3-3 draw with Spizz taking two fine goals for us but the relative newcomer Dan missed a couple of sitters when their rush goalie was nobody to be seen. Dan is a Hereford United fan and was on Aston Villa books as a kid. So unlike some of the guys, who turn up on a Friday night, he can actually play football.

The first goal for them was when Ian Gou. (another Arsenal fan) got the wrong side of me ( I prefer zonal rather than man marking) and placed it past Blades Andy. It was a pretty soft goal to be honest. Then at the end, Joe did his Ashley Young turn inside and flashed the ball past the hapless goalie, who happened to be me.
Hugh, who is a regular for the 7.45 guys, got a nice goal with a cross shot from quite a way out but luckily I was not in goal for that. I can't remember the other goals.

I think I am setting up a goalie time bank. As Spizz did not go in goal last week, he will have to play 11.41 minutes between the sticks next time he plays. The equation supposes seven-a-side
playing for 40 minutes, because we never start on time to get a 7pm start. On my rough calculations Stevie A. would do quite a few minutes. I know people don't like going in goal but it
is not fair on the others. Good players such as Big Dave A. and Mick K. do their stint in goal without asking.

Changing the subject me and Big Sam got talking and how about a trip to Hamburg and see
St Pauli play (click the hyperlink, it a great photo!) The team is in the second division of the Bundesliga but Sam thought there would be no problems in getting a ticket. I have only been to the Bavarian cities of Wurzburg and Munich in Germany so I would be very interested in the trip. We probably would not be able to arrange a game for us to play the locals. One problem is the lack of a candidate, who would like to go in goal, although my choice would be Blades Andy.

On a sadder note my Dad passed away last week after a massive heart attack. He was born in
Manchester and used to see Utd one week and City the next at Maine Road because the Huns, who had already taken aerial photos before WWII had started, had bombed the crap out of the Old Trafford industrial estate. And that is why I support Utd although I have got a 49 pct liking for Spurs, sorry to be so schizo.

JPT: "O Lord, let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen."

We went down 4-2 last Friday following Spizz double.

Last Friday I came back after a long delay following a lack of fitness. Our side was kept in the game by Alex but we went down 4-2 following a Spizz double. The punk star was in dogged form after being close a few times. We tried to mount a come-back and hit the bar. However, Big Dave was very well-organised at the back for them. Other solid performances came from Gooner Simon while Gashead Simon made a fantastic diving save for us, which at the time kept us in the
game.

This post comes entirely from hearsay in the pub!!

Dear Readers, this post comes entirely from hearsay in the pub because last
Friday (June 12th, 2011) I went to Westminster Cathedral to the ordination of
five former Anglican vicars to the Ordinariate. This is a special ministry invented
by the current Pope, Benedict, otherwise known as the Panzerkardinal. This ministry
allows Anglican vicars, even if they are married, to be fast-tracked into the
Roman Catholic Church. This is despite the tinsy-weensy problem that the Universal
Church exacts a rule of celibacy from normal Catholic priests. Did I say normal?
I should have said real Catholic priests.

In any event, the two hour service started at 5.30pm so no way could I get to the game but I could amble along to the pub to get the post-mortem. The game ended
4-3 after the winning team was losing 1-3 at one stage. Apparently, there was
a bit of hand-bags between Big Dave and Boro Dave (the clash of the Daves).
If I was there I could have put my conflict resolution skills to good use
(I have not really got any!!). I don't even know if Spizz played or not.

I hope to play tonight (I have'nt been rotated yet!!) and I hope to get a three quid
discount on a) my bipolar disorder, b) my cancer, c)nobody passes to me and d)
a small honorarium for doing the blogs, although I would share the specific element
of the discount with Gooner Simon, who does excellent blogs.

Next week is our last game before the summer break and I think we are going to
some new American burger joint in Hoxton, which will be a change. Usually for
any end-of-season meals we tend to go to a curry and then complain it was a load of rubbish.

I did not play last week cos the nipper was down from uni.

I tried to get some reasonable conversation out of him but it was an uphill struggle. The previous week I spent most of a miserable time in goal where we got whacked 9-2 (I think). Yev and Alan Morg. cut us apart in defence, where since we did not track back we just did not have enough numbers. Big Dave was the incredible hulk/bulk in goal for them so for a long time we could not get on the score sheet. I thought Alex was bound to score one time but Big Dave pulled off a magnificent save. With Spizz being a long-term absentee and Mick K. resting, we did not have that cultured West Midlands play on the field. In addition, Gashead Simon was in Madrid on a stag-do, taking in the local derby. Amazingly Big Dave collected the money and we all paid up. I thought about asking for a discount since I spent so long in goal but I would have had to admit that being in goal was better than suffering triangular passing. I expect Gooner Simon will come up with his particular take on the game filling the blog with saucy pictures as well as giving a report on the post mortem in the pub. I think I am going to miss the next few Fridays so my limited fitness will go for a burton but at least I won't be in goal!!!

I missed a sitter last week!!

Last week I missed a sitter, which could have earned us a creditable 5-5 draw. We had
eight versus seven. Their main defensive trio had a combined age of around 150 being challenged by three players totalling 99 years. I was a bit of the pace after a long
lay-off. Apparently, Spizz is still retired.

For us Alex led the play while Stevie A. and little Sam were the stars of the show for them. Gashead Simon tried to rate himself at six and then give six-a-half for Stevie A, who scored two goals. Unfortunately, I was in goal for three of their goals.

I can't remembering Alex and Ross doing their stint in goal but I could be corrected on this. For them Big Dave A. had a sore ankle and a new player Matt, who was later injured, shared the goalkeeping duties. I thought Big Ian was quite good in midfield
for them while Boro Dave did some mazy dribbles and flicks as well as scoring a neat
goal.

I am going to have to work on my fitness and wear something bright orange so that the boys can see me in terms of passing to me. Even though we had the extra man, Big Dave said in the pub that we were pretty disorganised.

Last Friday saw a pulsating 3-2 victory for us!!

A few weeks ago Joe scored a nice couple of goals and was crestfallen that I had not
given them the true attention they deserved. Especially, as he showed the blog to his
girlfriend on some Greek island. However, Alan Morg. was delighted that his name was up in lights, so you can't get every report right.
Last Friday saw a pulsating 3-2 victory for us with Big Dave and Mick K. having very
solid performances. Tone opened the scoring for them when we backed off a bit. Steve A. got a nice equaliser past a despairing dive from Gashead in goal. We managed to
sneak a 2-1 lead with Yev but then Alan Morg. shot through a knot of players after a free kick to make it even. We finally came up ahead with a Steve A. winner after a good dummy from Joe I think.
Spizz was again absent and we are missing him dreadfully!! I played a so-so game down the right but it was nice to be on the winning side for once. Their best player was Alex, who was tireless in midfield.
On a sentimental note we are organising a few beers and sandwiches for Big Sam before he gets married. We are a bit alarmed he is going to spend the night the ceremony before at Ian G.'s place.

Pre-season training with Cliff's game was a great success!!

Dear Reader, I joined the 7.45 game last night to get some important pre-season training. This game is organised by the brothers Cliff and Kevin, although last night Kev was not there. They support West Ham and Arsenal
respectively so they both have a cross to bear. Cliff picked the sides, which were quite well balanced, and did a long stint in goal. He was a cut above some of the players with his ball skills.

During our summer break, Spizz, Geoff, Big Dave.A and Mick K. have been keeping their football skills honed by playing the 7.45pm game. Spizz could not make it last night
but Dave and Mick warned me that the guys played a higher standard than the 7pm organised by Gashead Simon, which can be, I regret to say, a bit of a shambles.

Dave and Mick were right on the money!! Both line-ups played one-touch football at a fast and furious pace. There was tracking back and marking, which are virtually absent in the 7pm game. It is often true that you play better when you have better-quality players around you. Geoff was a lot more effective last night while yours truly ploughed a channel down the right as usual. What was most unusual was that I got on the score sheet when I passed the ball into the net with my left foot from a quickly taken free kick. I did not got much of a celebration from my team so I gave Mick K. a hug to express my emotion. This was even though he was on the opposite
side and it was possibly his mistake in not picking me up. Mick K. looked pretty perplexed.

The 7pmers did perform well last night. The four of us contributed four goals to a 5-3 thriller in a game, which was eight-a-side and which had limited space. Dave A. got a sweet goal to wrap up the match for them while Mick A. scored two goals, one a "David Villa" effort, which hits both posts and then goes in.
I was the goalie and I could not get near the shot, which was slightly deflected.
In the changing rooms afterwards, Mick K. said he remembered the assists more rather than the goals!! Mick K. was man of the match.

Dave A. was playing through the pain barrier but still managed to hit the steelwork twice before scoring his neat goal. In football terms his first love is Scottish club
Ayr United www.ayrunitedfc.co.uk Dave's English Club is Man Utd.

The last game of the season saw a fiesta of football!!

Last Friday was our last game of the season before the summer break. We reconvene in September. It was a fiesta of football with a staggering 10 versus 9. I was making up the ten and we won 5-2. I can't remember our goals since I was playing so deep and the scoring was so up the pitch that I could not see. But I did think that Gooner Simon was unlucky a couple of times for them in goal. He let one through his legs.

Big Goughie picked the sides and so on a rare occasion Spizz was selected to play with Gashead Simon.
The Bristol Rovers supporter, it can be said, is not a fan of Spizz's direct style of play, which can see little in the way of tracking back or in passing. We had key players in Tone, Stevie A, Big Sam and Alan Morg. Their defence was marshalled by Big Dave and Mick K., who both coincidentally got on the score sheet. The latter with a stroked shot from a tapped free kick. The former scored with a penalty when I did a misplaced pass across the goal to Stevie A., who trapped the ball in the penalty area.

The only negative was quite a few players on both sides did not do their stint in goal. This is a recurring problem that Gashead Simon seems unable to sort out so perhaps it is something we can resolve next season. I quite like a stint in goal since I often need a breather.

I got caught in possession and we lost!!

Unfortunately, I got caught in possession by Joe and we went down to a golden goal losing
3-2. We wanted an early finish so as to watch more of the England v Algeria game but decided the game should have a winning side rather than finishing at a lame 2-2.

We had started strongly with Will scoring from my pass off the back wall. Then, somehow the ball went straight to Ross from their defence, who planted the ball in the net. We were cruising at 2-0 and then we got pegged back to 2-2 with one scored by Alan Morg. The equaliser saw a cruel bounce get past Baggies Ian in goal. I think they deserved the win since they hit the post as well.

Our defence was marshalled by Mick K. and theirs was led by Big Dave. It was eight-a-side so not too much time on the ball. I was suffering a bit with a bad knee and perhaps I should have done an extra stint in goal. Spizz played quite well for them. Our best players were Mick K. and Will, who was a handful on the right wing. The opposition was quite fluid in attack with Stevie A., Alan Morg and Spizz interchanging quite well and we were not so good at tracking back.

The England v Algeria game was a bit of a disaster but we still had to beat Slovenia to qualify. They look a tidy, neat team and we need to get our midfield working a bit better.
The newspapers today are reporting on a one-man mutiny by JT but it is obvious that Joe Cole is going to have to play. His Old Trafford flick sealed the League for Chelsea. It is no use the fans complaining about the players' wages especially when they should be having their summer break after a tough season. If New Zealand can hold Italy to a draw, then there are no
easy games. France has imploded and the Germans don't look invincible. Spain has a must-win game tonight. At least, the Argies and Brazilians look like they can play football.

Last Friday saw a homage to the black arts of defending!!

I am afraid to say that last Friday saw some blatant time wasting by Tone and Spizz in goal!! We were 3-1 up and playing into the sun. There was no excuse for the dark arts of defending. Maybe we should start giving penalties against the goalie? For them, Alan Morg. hit the post twice with consecutive shots while Dave A. blasted against the post with one of his howitzers. We were on the ropes but that does not condone time wasting.

During the first half we raced to a 3-0 lead with some crisp passing and goals from Spizz, Tone and Baggies Ian. Despite some strong play by Alan Morg. Dave A. Geoff and Big Sam the opposition were unable to score during the first half. Spizz could have wrapped up the game at 4-0 but somehow chipped onto the bar. With our switch into the sun somehow our goal threat fizzled out. Tone spent more time in goal due to a slight injury problem. After I lost the ball Big Goughie slotted the ball for them from a pretty central position. Then, came the shameful time wasting.

The teams were six-a-side with me, Gashead Simon, Baggies Ian, Danny, Tone and Spizz. We could have easily lost to Big Dave, Big Sam, Alan Morg. Gooner Simon, Geoff and Goughie, who just kept hitting the post. Unfortunately, Blades Andy and Mick K. could not make it at the last moment.

This Friday the plan is to start at 6.45 so we can get in a bit of the England v Algeria game. It was a pretty terrible start against the USA with all the obvious problems rearing their ugly head. On the plus side I thought Stevie G, Lennon and Johnson did really well. It was a shame that Heskey did not take his gold-plated chance but that is the reason he does not make the Aston Villa first team. The mistake by Green was just one of those things. At least we did not lose. I remember Ray Clemence doing something similar at Spurs against one of the big Spanish teams (Barca or Real Madrid) and there was no coming back.

Redacted letter to one of the "kick me upstairs" gang!!

What follows ia a redacted letter to one of the guys, who is part of the "kick me upstairs" gang.


Dear *******,
I remember watching games where my ******* when he was playing for QPR youth team
and I did not remember El Tel and George Graham wearing sheepskins. However, I am quite happy to borrow the sheepskin coat but will it fit? I refer to this in my two part blog for the latest match result and with details of the Spizzenergi concert
at the Scala in Kings Cross on April 9th. [There is a plot trying to push me upstairs into a managerial role). Youth team football was a quite heartbreaking environment. The coaches would not hesitate in yanking kids off before half-time in they were not playing well (probably destroying their careers and at least
denting their confidence).

As for Italian defending I once saw AC Milan play Chelsea at the Bridge and saw the great Maldini and Costacurta go through their repertoire of flicks, amazing passes as well as nudges and sly fouls. While at the same time they made sure that their hair was not a strand out of place because of they were concerned about their modelling
commitments. I saw the unbelievable thing of Maldini doing a brilliant curved pass down the touchline on his wrong foot despite the fact that he always passed the ball with his left foot. Or was it the other way round?

Big Dave can do the same repertoire of nudges and pushes. He can also simply
ploughs through you lie he did last night. You must put your hand up for a foul. We are not the Corinthians! I still can't understand how Big Dave claimed he was going for the ball when he took away my standing leg and landed in a heap on the
pitch. This was not very elegant.

As for me picking the teams players the guys would have to endure a rant about people not doing their shift in goal. Then, I would remind certain people that football can be a simple passing game. Deep down I am pretty unsympathetic about players, who are unable to make the straightforward pass to the nearest, unmarked guy. I know it is difficult for Gashead Simon not to pass to Tone, since they were at school together but when Tone is surrounded by two or three players. That is probably the real reason why Gashead Simon is a B lister rather than
an A.

Look at Man Utd, they are just getting the ball to the wing with Valencia and Nani, the cross comes over and there are Rooney, Berbatov, Fletcher and Park at the business end of it. You can fall asleep watching the intricate play of Arsenal, an Arsene Wenger strategy of "how not to win the Premier League and the European Champions League". This is despite always playing with eleven players, who are supremely confident on the
ball.

The only time I have been to the Emirates was when Arsenal outplayed West Ham but the Hammers went away with a one-nil victory. This was courtesy of Zamora getting onto the end of a long ball while Tevez played an amazing one man attacking show taking up four defenders in the second half.

Your affectionate *******

PS. This redacted letter was written after the Euro games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Man Utd still have a chance despite Rooney being injured but I fear Arsenal are going out. This is despite a massive comeback after being played off the
park for the first hour.

Last Friday sees titanic struggle end 5-4 to Spizz's team!

Last Friday night was the first game of the New Year and ended 5-4 to Spizz's team. Simon Gooner had initially picked the sides, which were rejigged when Big Sam came on late. It was eight-a-side with team A having the experienced defenders big Dave, Mick K. and Big Sam while Danny the Diplomat sacrificed his attacking inclinations to stay back. Team A was augmented by Big Dave's brother Steve, Sheffield Andy, Ian and Spizz.
Team B had an attacking trident of Alex, Tone and Ross with Gashead and Joe playing on the left side. Goughie, me and Simon Gooner made up the eight.
We initially raced to a two nil lead with goals from Ross and Alex. Then, Big Sam made me lose concentration by pointing to the size of my post Xmas gut and then turned me finishing off with a low shot in the bottom corner. Team A then played a classic counter-attacking game with further goals by Mick K., Steve, Spizz and Sheffield Andy. We tried to get back into it with two goals from Tone, one a penalty, but to no avail.
I tried to explain to Spizz that his goal was more of the goalkeeper handling it into his own net but he was having none of it. He claimed the ball did not change direction and without action replay technology we were none the wiser.
Team A deserved to win but there was controversy over four penalty decisions. I rushed out of goal when Big Dave was storming through (where was the defence?) because I thought Joe had replaced me. However, he was hobbling into the D with an ankle injury. Sportingly, Team A were convinced not to press for a penalty although Big Dave had his misgivings. We then got two penalty decisions with one missed by Alex and then there was a strong appeal for another but the ball rolled out of the D after not being picked up by the goalie after a direct pass-back.
Alex and Tone played well for us but too often their defence was more organised and more resolute than we bargained for.
PS. Spizz has recently appeared on national TV!

"News 24 / You tube spizz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQMbsCvrII8

Big Dave marshalls a 3-0 shut-out for us.

With an unprecendented eight-a-side, Big Dave marshalled a 3-0 shut-out for us. There were reappearances from Will for us and from Phil B. for them. Ever-present Spizz was absent last Friday as he was to warble in Bologna (Italy) on the Saturday night.
Their side had pacey players in Ross, Alex and Henry but they were kept being pushed back by our well-organised defence. Will got our first goal followed by Tone and Big Sam. The Tone shot seemed to fly past a despairing dive by Gashead in goal. Big Sam played a "Mascherano" role in front of our defence while Alan Morg. had a good game for us.
On their team confidence seemed to ebb away following the first goal. Ian Goughie sacrificed his natural attacking inclinations to play back while Phil B. showed some rare pieces of skill with his sweet left foot.
In the pub Sheffield Andy got talking about a football tour of Sheffield. It is early days yet and it is not as glamorous as France or Germany but we could be going as long as the opposition is not too intimidating.

Spizz hits post twice in dramatic game!!

Punk star Spizz, who is going to Bologna (Italy) for a gig this weekend, hit the post twice in a dramatic game last Friday. The first was an explosive left-foot shot
when I was in goal. The second was with his right foot. Spizz described the first in terms of "Roy of the Rovers" in the pub later saying it was his best ever left-foot shot.
However, Spizz's team ran out losers after a 3-1 win was clinched by two rare goals
from Geoff, who had come on late and upset the balance of both sides having six players each.
We were in the lead with a precision shot from Alan Morg. and then with six against seven, Geoff sealed the win with his two goals. They got one back when I thought I had Ross covered but he turned sharply and netted from a central position. His cousin Henry did not have his shooting boots on compared with the previous week. The game was livened up by a spat between Gashead and Big Dave.
Afterwards, Big Dave said he was a bit annoyed about our team's propensity to use the back pass as we were running down the clock. I must admit how Italian it
was.
Our star players were Alex and Alan Morg., who were quite pacey in midfield. The result would have been closer, if Spizz had a bit more luck since he had two other shots well-saved. Joe made a welcome return from injury for us and might have scored if had'nt been for a last ditch tackle from Big Sam. Sheffield Andy had the honour of playing for both sides when they were re-arranged after the belated arrival of Geoff.

After a break I returned to the fray!!

I had to go to a quiz night recently but I was back in the thick of things last Friday. Again, it was an eight-a-side match but both teams played a good passing game. Unfortunately, I had a senior moment and did'nt remember that Henry scored a goal for us when I was telling his cousin Ross in the pub about his lack of composure in front of goal. Sorry about that!
The main event of the evening was the celebration of Simon Gashead's 50th birthday. His brother-in-law Andy organised the present, which was a Bristol Rovers shirt, and with our drinks in the pub we had a buffet. The game itself was a wet affair but at least the local kids did not throw crackers on the pitch as sometimes happen around November 5th. We were losing 3-0 but then changed the teams swapping our big centre forward Goughie for Alan Morg., who had scored one of their goals. Spizz got the first goal of the night with a shot, which saw the ball nestling in the corner of the net.
We managed to claw back two goals but in the end we lost 3-2. Their defence was well-marshalled by Mick K., who was gingerly coming back from a knee injury. I was playing right back and had to face a resurgent Geoff P., who has started to play a quicker passing game. He used to be well-known for mazzy dribbles, which went down blind alleys. Our defence was held together by Big Dave, while his brother Steve stayed in goal for the opposing side due to his first match back after a knee
injury.
Until recently I was the only 50 plus player but now we have got three with me, Gashead and Spizz himself. Tone reaches this milestone on Christmas Day and so we are giving a lot of years when we play against young eighteen year old Sam, who sometimes helps us out if we are down on numbers. Last week Tone played excellently for a spell and then just stayed back saying that he was knackered.
In the pub Spizz revealed that he was enjoying learning a bit of Italian and the group will be playing a gig in Bologna soon.

Sorry about the delayed blogs!! Spizz is back!

Last week Spizz got a stunning long-range effort in the back of the net. The match ended two-two. The previous game he played well during a cantankerous game where Goughie walked off over the alleged gamemanship of Big Dave. This game finished eventually four-two to Big Dave's team.
I have been trying to persuade Joe H. to do the blog and go on about his two recent goals. However, he was too modest.
Last week's two-two could have been decided by Tone but he blazed over with the goal at his mercy on his weaker right foot. I don't know if it is my worsening memory but the games are becoming a blur and I can't remember the goals clearly, except Spizz's of course.
Our game has been joined by young Alex, who does these mazy dribbles and this invites some stiff tackling from opponents. This can politely lead to words. Alex is pretty skilful and this has helped make the match more entertaining.

Spizz is on the winning side yet again!! (Corrected)

Spizz has corrected me on this week's blog. He scored four goals rather than three and could have got another one if it had not been chalked off. My only defence in not
reporting the four goal haul was me trying to block out remembering my nightmarish
defending.
I don't know how he did it but Spizz was on the winning side again last Friday. He garnered three goals and the hat trick was mainly achieved by waltzing past me and then calmly shooting past our goalkeeper. We did not have much in the way of defence.
Tone was out of sorts because of the mismatched sides. I don't know why Ian and Gashead did not track back. Obviously, I did not look good trying to mark two people
and I considered bodychecking Spizz to stop him waltzing past me but I don't see the point of fouling people.
Their team also had Stevo and Ross, two strong, quick attackers and while we had Big Dave, this was not enough to keep out the torrent of attacks. We got to 6-3 down
and then they wrapped the game up at 9-3. There was a stage of the game when I kept passing it to Stevo.
This Friday is our last game before our summer break when we reconvene in September.
I hope it is a good one.

Was it a penalty or not?

Friday#s free-flowing game was dominated by claims, vocally led by Spizz, that Big Dave had controlled the ball outside the penalty area when he was the goalkeeper. The de facto ref Gashead was unfortunately miles away from the action and somehow the decision arose to deny the penalty.
Spizz was still on the winning side (I made it seven-six) while he scored a fine goal after a swivel and shot close to the penalty area eluding his marker Steve. I was unfortunately (that word again) was in goal at the time and had to pick the ball out of the net. The opposing side played a better passing game than us.
Afterwards, the beer garden at the Fountain was full so we had to stay indoors. Big Dave and I had a discussion on the consequences of the Ronaldo transfer. Spizz was at the other end of the table but thankfully there was no continuation of the heated argument about the penalty decision.
The soon-to-be wife of Arsenal Simon arrived on the scene and we wished them all the best after ascertaining that marriage would not affect his participation in the Friday night game.

We experienced that Zico moment last Friday.

I think it was Jack Taylor who blew up on a Brazilian corner depriving Zico of a goal
in the 1974 World Cup. We had that Zico moment when at 2-2 Big Dave scored for us as
the team following us on the pitch walked on. There is usually a rattle of the gate to signify the game is over but we must have missed it!!
The game was marked by Spizz playing a fine game and grabbing two goals for the opposition. I managed to keep him out for a possible third when I was in goal. For their side Alex played a fine game while Gashead Simon kept it tight in defence.
On our side we benefitted from getting a goal from a moving free kick. Mick K. hit the post after a conventional shot. This followed him trying to make the ball both curve and rise into the net. Not once but several times!! My dictum is to shoot as close to the goalkeeper as possible, since there is a good chance he would drop it into the net. However, two-two was a fair result.
Arsenal Simon is getting married but has assured us that this won't put a dampner on his regular participation on the pitch. He hoped that Arsenal would buy some centre halves.
Following the game we retired to the pub and the lads sang happy birthday to me, which was quite gratifying. At 51 surely I deserve a discount on the match fee!!
As it is Wednesday, thoughts go towards the European Cup. Let's hope it is a free flowing game. I am fed up of boring finals. Last year's one between Man Utd v Chelsea was a bit of a slugfest. Chelsea is the team of Alan M., who needs a run of games before he gets his shooting boots on.

We scrapped through with a 4-3 win!!

We scrapped through with a 4-3 win last week. The winner was a lucky ricochet when their goalie tried to kick the ball out and it hit Alan M. and went in. We were playing against Big Dave and Spizz. The punk star had a solid game but did not have the same goal opportunities as in previous weeks. Big Dave was a tower of strength although there was some debate from Alan M., who claimed he was on the wrong end of a studs-up challenge, but it was nothing really.
Our side was helped out by one of the guys from the previous game. Tony could really play football and scored two amazing goals. He could actually pass and the Guv'nor benefitted from the decent passing game that followed. I was moaning to Gashead about passing to Tony P., his big mate, rather than me once. I was in the clear while Tony P. was being marked by Big Dave's brother Stevo. Dohhhh!!
www.manutd.com
I put in the Man U. link because Stevo is a big fan although his first true love is Ayr United. Stevo had a pretty strong game overall. He was part of an attacking trident including Ross, who is also a Man Utd fan and Joe.
Ross's game has gone up a few gears. He was always good at direct runs but now he is getting consistently a goal a game. Now, Ross is really delivering an end product. He is also brave and I have never seen him complain about the strong tackling he can receive. (I complained on his behalf!)
Joe is a relative newcomer to our game and also scored a good goal. His passing has come on streets and bounds. Joe now always plays the easy ball unlike Gashead.
Since the blog has started I have wanted to open it up to guest contributors. So watch this space!! It could feature Ross, who is in a band called
Rubinthecubin.
No news about the Deutschlandtour but I can contact an old mate in Barcelona about setting up a return game to gain revenge after our one and only drubbing in the Catalan capital. We got whacked because their referee was an old fusspot blowing up all the time booking Stevo in the process. We also did not have a specialist goalkeeper. Nobody but nobody wanted to go in goal.