Sunday September 3rd
Certainly not the start we had anticipated for the men's
first team against newly promoted Eaton Beehive at the CNS
School.
Perhaps there was some complacency about the performance, but
we were playing a team we have historically beaten comfortably
and once again a first day defeat will make it even more
difficult for us to win the title.
By my reckoning any team mounting a serious challenge for the
Premier Division title cannot afford to lose more than three
games during the season and for us this counts as the first of
those three.
Quite honestly the display was a real disappointment as was
summed up by one of the players at the end "I was crap and
we were crap" was his philosophical assessment of the
display. The defence looked disjointed and the midfield failed
to work as a cohesive unit. To add insult to injury we missed a
penalty and had three players booked in the most bizarre of
circumstances.
Danny Self was booked for kicking the ball away which was
fair, but Martyn Carver and James Rice were both cautioned for
failing to notify the referee of a half-time substitution.
Normally referees ask if there are any changes but Mr Edwards
did not and, whilst the onus is on the club to inform him of the
situation, he proved to be pedantic in the extreme by insisting
that he had no choice as the rules state that "he must book
both players." I really question what happened to common
sense. Certainly the referee could have pointed out the
oversight without two bookings. I felt particularly sorry for
Martyn Carver who had simply responded to a request to come off
by the manager. Surely it wasn't his duty in any shape or form
to inform the referee!
I was also unhappy at having to sign seven forms for Eaton
before the match so their players could become eligible to play.
But perhaps all that is sour grapes for a defeat that shouldn't
have happened. I, like the players, was angry at the way we
played and we didn't do ourselves justice.
For me Sunday was a day filled with football. In the
afternoon I went to see Norwich's Veterans play Ipswich Veterans
in a charity match. The Canaries have set-up an historical trust
to celebrate and highlight the history of the club and I think
that's an admirable concept.
It was slightly disappointing
that many of the great players of the past didn't attend -
people like Martin Peters, Joe Royle and many of the members of
the early 1970s promotion team were absent as well. Indeed many of those taking part
in the pre-match parade had only played a handful of games in
the Canaries first team.
We were, however, able to see the likes of Ruel
Fox, Darren Eadie, Robert Fleck, Rob Newman, Brian Gunn once
again in Norwich colours. The match was understandably
pedestrian in nature, but fun. Norwich squandered a 4-1 lead and
it ended 4-4 as the Blues clawed their way back. Fleckie spent
much of his time chatting with the crowd which makes it easy to
see why he was always so popular with the fans.
Afterwards we
attended the post match buffet which was open to the public. It
was a strange affair. We always remember players as they looked
in their heyday and not as they are today - in many
instances three stone heavier and bald (probably like me). We
shared a table with Mickey Spillain of the current Canary
squad, who just happens to lodge with us. I couldn't help
thinking that Mickey (with four appearances under his belt) has
played more times for the Canaries than many of the
"Legends" unveiled. Still the Historical Trust is a
grand idea and one I will certainly be supporting in the future.
Monday September 4th
The opening results of the season didn't go totally according
to plan, although there were good wins for the Men's A team and
the Ladies - both of whom should enjoy really good seasons.
Monday morning is always an interesting time when I receive
the club results and scorers from club secretary Mel Perkins. I
then spend an hour or so reflecting on the past weekend, looking
forward to the coming one and updating the web site with results
etc.
I have covered the first teams disappointing result already.
The Reserves also suffered defeat (1-0 at home to Thorpe Rovers)
but there was better news for the A team who beat Sprowston
Rovers 2-1 with goals from Lewis Allen and Paul Martin. they are
an interesting strike pair. Lewis was formerly a first team
player who joined Quebec before returning to the club and now
enjoys playing at the slightly lower level. "Nookie"
Martin on the other hand has played for the club since the year
dot and is one of our leading appearance makers and goalscorers.
The club has a number of these loyal players who have come
through the youth ranks into adult soccer and some are now
approaching 300 league and cup games for the club which is some
going. Indeed we have introduced a new category of life
membership for those completing the magic 300. This is just a
small recognition for their loyalty.
I was chatting with one of our young players, James Rice,
during the first team match at Eaton. He was very proud of the
fact that he has broken through into the first team squad from
the youth ranks. "I look upon myself as being part of the
club's academy," he said.
The ladies, who promise to be a real power in East Anglian
women's football this season, had a good 3-1 win at Brantham
Athletic. I will be watching their progress with great interest
after their tremendous displays in pre-season tournaments.
As already mentioned I try to get the web site up to date on
Monday mornings. I would like it to become one of the most
comprehensive and authoritative sites by an amateur club in the
country. That's why we have introduced a number of new ideas
such as this blog. We will be adding to it throughout the season
as a source of information and discussion. In addition we have
re-launched the monthly newsletter - Athletic Angles. Together I
hope the two documents will keep people fully informed of what's
happening at our wonderful club.
Tuesday September 5th
Scarcely a day goes by without something happening on the
Hethersett Athletic front, however small.
In the evening I received a phone call from a lady wishing to
join the women's team and find more out about the club. She
lives in the village and had found the team through the
Internet.
Then I spent some time planning the October newsletter for
which articles are already coming in.
I even checked on the laws of the game following Sunday's two
bookings gained by the first team for not informing the referee
of a half-time substitution. I wasn't surprised to find that the
referee was in effect correct to book the players but to me this
is still a common sense issue and a warning would have been
enough. I have never subscribed to the "it's the
rules" syndrome when a bit of common sense can sort a
problem out.
Also had a chat with Men's Reserve team manager Dave
Manington and their proposed quiz is being put back to the
middle of October. I am writing the questions for that and
haven't started the process, so the new provisional date of
October 20th will suit me.
Plans are in hand to present Tom Rainsford with the Lee
Thompson Memorial Trophy before a coming match. This is our most
prestigious trophy and is given annually to the player or
official who has made an outstanding contribution to the club.
The trophy is given in memory of Lee who was tragically killed a
number of years ago in an accident.
Tom received the trophy at
the annual presentation evening but we are keen to do some
publicity with Lee's parents - Ray and Mary. Tom was a very
worthy winner as he coaches youngsters, is a committee member
and also plays for the reserves.
Dave is desperately searching
for a linesman for the reserves. Getting somebody to undertake
this task is becoming increasingly difficult and our club is not
alone in this. It is a thankless task, but once again one that
can be rewarding to somebody wanting to put something into the
club.
Wednesday September 6th
Helping to run a club like Hethersett Athletic has become a
seven day a week "job" and here I want to pay tribute
to all those that not only keep our club afloat but have made it
into the success that it is today.
Selfless people who give
their time willingly and who have provided football for
literally hundreds of people of all ages over the past few
years. They receive no payment whatsoever and , at times, scant
recognition for the hundreds of hours they put in each year. I
know that most of the players are totally unaware of what goes
on behind the scenes to run a club such as ours. They turn up to
training and play on Sundays with everything arranged for them.
When I was growing up there wasn't the opportunity for
youngsters to play league football.
So why do we do it? That
is a question I often ask myself and usually when something goes
wrong, something needs sorting out at the last minute or when
another demand comes winging its way.
The answer is simple. We
love the sport of football and we love the club. I have seen it
evolve over the years into one of the best organised clubs in
Norfolk (this is evidenced by the Charter Mark awards) and when
somebody like Stuart Dracup, who is chairman of Norfolk FA,
publicly praises the club for the way that it is run, well that
makes it all worthwhile.
I have always believed that serving
the community is an important part of an individual's life. If
we all look after our own small environment in a small way, then
things happen and the world becomes a slightly better place.
And
I like to think that the teamwork and discipline of belonging to
a club like Hethersett Athletic helps to build character as
youngsters grow up.
I first started coaching boys football at
Cubs level (around about eight years of age) and then took this
through Under-10s right up to three seasons at adult levels. By
and large I had the same group of boys throughout that time and
got to know their different characters. I got to know who needed
encouragement and who needed a "kick up the backside."
Some youngsters responded to criticism and some got alienated by
it. Above all I learned that every player is an individual with
a unique character.
But by playing for a team I'm sure
youngsters have been helped to develop and I believe belonging
to Hethersett Athletic played a small part in making them
responsible adults.
Thursday September 7th
England
beat the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 1-0 in the
European Championship qualifier last night and that says plenty
for the resilience of the team now that they have an English
coach once again.
Steve McClaren has brought a pride back to
the national team (not to mention a decent defence) which all
goes to prove that good coaching is so vital at all levels of
soccer. Now that Terry Venables is once again involved we are
assured of having a team that is well organised.
The same goes
for amateur sides like Hethersett Athletic. To be a successful
team you have to have three attributes:
Put
these three together and hey presto. But without a combination
of all three there can be very little other than disappointment.
Mental and physical toughness go hand in hand at all levels.
Just one last thought. If they are the Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia what exactly are they now (work that one out).
*
*
*
Shortly after writing the above I received a phone call from
the gentleman who locks and unlocks the Memorial Field to say
that the goalposts on one of our pitches have been vandalised.
Apparently
they have been pulled out of the ground, severely damaged and
thrown into a hedge.
We keep the posts up primarily to give
local youngsters the chance to play in them during the week. We
will have to review this situation now. Once again the mindless
vandalism that spoils villages and towns throughout our country
has struck again. Once again we will have comments from
youngsters that there is nothing for them to do in the village
which is absolute nonsense. The good kinds find plenty to do.
These "yobs" simply think that it is clever to inflict
pain on others. With matches scheduled for that pitch this
weekend, it makes life very difficult for us.
Thankfully we
have some skilled people at the club and the posts were welded
back and in a playable condition before the end of the day. Note
to vandals: You will not stop us playing football by your stupid
petty and childish behaviour.
Sunday September 10th
At
the end of today I cast my mind back to some of the great
matches played by the club over the years. A few stick out in
the memory like the 3-2 win over Quebec the year we reached the
final of the County Cup at Carrow Road. That day we had a
weakened team out and came back from 2-0 down. Then there was
the semi-final in the same competition in the same season when
we beat Marlborough 2-1.
Add to that a cup victory for the A
team (I cannot remember the opponents) where we equalised in the
last seconds of extra-time and then won 10-9 on penalties in a
match that went well into lunchtime and a 1-0 victory by the A
team in the South Norfolk League against unbeaten Attleborough
who had absolutely trounced us earlier in the season.
Then
there was the ridiculous 7-6 win at youth level. Again I would
have to consult the club records to remember the opponents. It
was on my birthday and must have been at Under-12 level. Shortly
after half-time we were 7-1 ahead and then it all went
spectacularly wrong and we had to hang on for the win.
These
are all outstanding matches in the club's history that I was
present at. Another took place today. The first team's county
cup first round match at AFC Gorleston was an absolute classic.
It seems unfair that one of these two excellent teams will be
out of the competition in the first round. On Sunday it could
have been either but at the end of 110 pulsating minutes it was
neither.
For the uncommitted spectators it was the perfect
advert for local football, but for those aligned to the sides it
was a nerve racking match. The excitement got to me so much that
twice I walked the length of two football pitches to re-fill the
water bottles just to get away for a few minutes.
The facts
themselves show just how exciting the game was. We opened the
scoring after four minutes and were 2-0 up by half-time. After
the break the home side came back at us. Three Hethersett
players were injured and we only had two substitutes. AFC
Gorleston pulled a goal back and then equalised a minute from
the end of normal time just when we looked to have weathered the
storm. Then the match took another twist when we were awarded a
penalty deep into injury time.
Danny Self blasted wide and the
referee blew up to take the match into extra-time. We were down
to 10 men as Ross Potter had to go off injured. It looked as if
our dreams of a Carrow Road return this season were going to be
dashed as the home side made their one man numerical advantage
pay to make it 3-2. But we hit back yet again to equalise and
take the match to a replay.
It was a game that really had
everything. Let's hope next week's replay is less incident
packed and, with 11 fit players, we can finish off the
opposition and progress to the next round.
Monday September
11th
There was the usual mixed bag of results from the
weekend matches which saw the youth sides start their campaign.
The Men's Firsts are still in the Sunday Senior Cup as described
above. The Reserves had an excellent County Cup victory in
beating the Mad Moose 3-2 after being 2-0 down and the Women's
team recorded their second successive 3-1 league victory, this
time over Mulbarton Belles.
Traditionally Hethersett teams
have had weak defences and this season seems to be following the
same pattern in the youth section with the Under-16s losing 8-0
to Dereham and the Under-9B side losing 7-1 to Litcham.
Thankfully the Under-11s redressed the balance somewhat with a
7-0 win home to Scole and Foster went to the top of the golden
boot chart with a nap hand of five goals.
Tuesday September
12th
The monthly club committee meeting last night went
very smoothly with plenty of good ideas floating around. For
once the room at Park Farm was full with every team except one
represented.
We are looking at how we can recognise the
support of the numerous sponsors that the club has. One idea is
to present them with a special commemorative certificate and
this is something I will be looking into.
We really do value
the support we get from the community and we need to reflect
this on our web site and newsletters.
There was quite a lot of
discussion about promoting the club in the Media and on the web
site. I am enjoying re-writing and setting up new sections on
the site.
The club will shortly be paying for a person with
financial skills to look at our status with a view to making our
set-up even more professional.
There was plenty to celebrate
as well. First team physio Vickie Potter has passed her Level
Two qualification, Women's team players Nicola Stolworthy and
Jodie Allard have been selected to play for Norfolk and it looks
as if an Under-7, Under-8 team could be started if somebody
comes forward to run it. That would bring us up to an astounding
16 teams.
I will shortly be putting the next club newsletter
together and there will be plenty to report. Then it's down to
sorting out the questions for a quiz evening which is likely to
be held on 20th October.
Wednesday September 13th
Norwich
snatched a draw out of the jaws of victory last night when they
let Southend come back from 3-1 down to draw 3-3.
Afterwards
Norwich manager Nigel Worthington was very angry. I have stored
up some of his comments on Radio Norfolk for use during
Athletic's season. So if you hear any of the following you will
know where they came from.
"We couldn't buy a flick, fart
or a fanny" (obviously a highly technical term).
"They
were all going off on their own fancy damn plan"
"The
whole team went AWOL, it was criminal."
Received an
e-mail today from a long time colleague who is a parish
councillor, fellow school governor and on the Memorial Playing
Field Committee. The latter are inviting the club to a meeting
later this month to discuss improving the relationship with the
football club and other sporting organisations. It will all
help.
Sunday September 14th
The Carrow Road dream is
still alive thanks to an excellent victory by the men's firsts
in their County Cup replay against AFC Gorleston.
It was the
first time we have played at Easton College and I really think
we are going to be hard to beat there. But we did it the hard
way in a game which was a mirror image of last week's.
This
time we were 2-0 down at half-time rather than 2-0 up. This time
we came back and this time we scored three without reply and
held on pretty comfortably. Indeed we finished the stronger
side. I'm sure the excellent playing surface at Easton sapped
the strength of the visitors and we were able to make the most
of it.
The reward for that win is another difficult away tie -
to Yarmouth again to play Bohemians. If we can replicate the
team spirit and will to win in the next round we will be very
difficult to beat.
I had to run the line for the last 15
minutes as our normal linesman Laurie Appleton was working and
his replacement James Rice was called on as a sub. I can't say I
enjoyed the experience as there was instant abuse over a throw
in.
And there was good news from the ladies camp as well. They
made it three wins out of three by beating King's Lynn 3-0 and
they must now be somewhere near the top of the league.
Talking
of Carrow Road. I was at the debacle that they call Norwich
v Crystal Palace yesterday. Where are we going and what
are we doing? We are sliding down the league faster than a
fireman on a slippery pole and seem to be heading straight for a
brick wall.
Yesterday Matt played for Wymondham Town and
captained them to a 4-0 win at Southwold. Both Wymondham and
Hethersett play open and attacking football based on speed and
skill and tactics where the players are allowed to express
themselves. Sadly the same can't be said for the Canaries.
Thursday
September 18th
Much of this week has been spent updating the
Hethersett Athletic web site. It needed a major overhaul and
there were many loose ends to sort out and records to update.
Hopefully
when it is complete it will give a full and up to date picture
of the club. There's still plenty to do, however, before I will
be satisfied with it.
Sunday September 21st
There is no
doubt in my mind that watching Hethersett Men's first team is
infinitely more enjoyable than watching the sterile over coached
rubbish which is served up at Carrow Road by Norwich City.
Indeed
I have dubbed today Champagne Sunday for the club with all three
men's teams and the ladies team all winning.
You need valium
handy to watch our men's first team, however. The last two weeks
have produced five star games in the county cup against AFC
Gorleston and today we had an equally exciting league match at
Acle which got us off the nil points mark.
It was important
that we got something out of this game, but Acle is always a
difficult place to go to and indeed quite intimidating.
Today
we raced into a 3-0 lead with gaols from Paul Franklin, Mark
Appleton and James Rice before Acle pulled one back before
half-time. Acle play attacking football and have some decent
players and so it was no surprise when they continued to come at
us after the break.
The referee, who I thought had a
particularly poor game, then awarded Acle two penalties in quick
succession. There was no disputing the second, but the first
surprised everyone including the Acle players and management. It
brought the scores level at 3-3, but then Dean Fitzgerald popped
up with a cheeky header from a throw in to give us the points. I
think we just about deserved them and we were far from happy at
the attitude of the Acle officials and fans and particularly the
fact that their linesman coached from the sideline throughout
the game - a fact we brought to the referee's attention at
half-time.
There was also some unfairness about bookings and
non bookings. Former Norwich City player Adrian Coote committed
a scything tackle on one of our players and went unpunished
whilst Matt Barrett was booked for persistent fouling despite
none of the fouls being of either the careless or dangerous
nature.
It means that we have three points from our first two
games and should soon push up the league into a challenging
position.
The ladies made it four wins out of four and are top
of the league after beating White Horse Celtic 4-0. At the time
of writing I know that both the reserves and A team also won but
don't have the actual scores as yet.
Meanwhile Norwich City
lost 3-1 at Plymouth and the Pink-Un newspaper has taken to
referring to the manager as Nutty Nigel. This seems pretty
appropriate to me as the man seems to have lost all respect with
his sterile tactics, refusal to give youth a chance and total
inability to win a league match away from home.
At Hethersett
we give the young players a chance. We integrate them into our
teams with the more experienced players and people like Sam
Wenham and James Rice are now regulars in the first team squad.
At Carrow Road the opposite happens. Worthington picks a young
side for the Carling Cup match at Rotherham. They win 4-2 and by
all accounts young players like Robert Eagle play well. So he
drops them all, along with the young centre half Jason Shackell
and brings in 34-year-old Craig Fleming and 37 year old Dion
Dublin. The result is we lose yet again!
The football world
has been shocked by the "bung scandal" this week where
it is alleged that top managers have taken cash incentives from
agents. Now this may be wrong but I really don't think your
average fan is at all bothered if his or her team are being
successful. That's not something us Norwich City fans can feel
at the moment. We may be as white as the driven snow but we are
still plummeting down the Championship at an alarming rate.
The
interesting thing about the bung scandal is we have a television
programme insisting that Bolton manager Sam Allardyce has taken
payments and Allardyce himself denying this. Allardyce knows
whether he took money or not. If he did he has spent the week
deliberately lying. If he didn't then the BBC have been guilty
of some scurrilous journalism (and that wouldn't be the first
time).
Monday September 25th
Yesterday was a strange
day for club results. All four adult teams won and I can't
remember when that last happened, if ever. The youth teams had a
hard day, however, recording just one draw and seven defeats.
I
love statistics - always have and always will and totting up the
club's results for September show that we played 38 matches, won
15, drew 4 and lost 19. We scored 76 goals for and conceded 98.
Those
four successful adult results were: The men's firsts beat Acle
4-3, the reserves beat Bayer 3-2, the A team beat Spixworth 5-1
and the women beat White Horse Seltic 4-0.
Wednesday September
27th
I like to think that the football club is an
integral part of the village of Hethersett, but I sometimes
question this. Football, in common with other sport, is not
fully recognised in the village and this has been the subject of
a number of moans by me in the past. I simply do not feel we get
the recognition that we deserve.
We have not always had the
best of relationships with the memorial playing field committee
either. But hopefully this is all going to change in the near
future. Last night I had a very interesting and useful meeting
with members of the playing field committee that should prove
productive in the future.
We still see the Memorial Playing
Field as our home base and hopefully this will be recognised in
the future by a new sign on the pavilion informing the public
that the field is the home of Hethersett Athletic FC.
We also
have plans to constitute a working party on two Saturdays in
November to clean out the pavilion. This is a real step in the
right direction and could eventually lead to drainage work being
undertaken on the playing field to improve the pitches.
Over
the past couple of days I have been working on the next club
newsletter which we hope to publish this Friday.
Friday
September 29th
Finished the newsletter on time, which is
always good news and it's ready for distribution to teams on
Sunday at the beginning of October.
