Match report 21 September 2009

A 9 versus 8 cracker tonight.

Dickon, Nick, Tim, Chris, Andrew, Yusuf, Henry, Lionel and later Francesco would be considered a mighty force by many a sane man and a few insane ones, but they were up against an organised and disciplined side in David, Danny, Martin, John, Rory, Tomas, Ben, and Paul.

Dickon, Nick, Henry, and Lionel worked like tigers at the back prowling their perimeter and snarling at any potential attacks and were largely successful at preventing the opposition making headway; Tim, Chris, and Francesco plied their trade in midfield like eagles swooping on loose ball and carving their way elegantly through any space they could find; whilst Andrew and Yusuf were like foxes, jinxing this way and that, losing their markers and causing havoc with their opponents.

But it wasn't enough, David had shrewdly organised the 8 men in advance. They worked like a well oiled machine, a compact unit, a precision mechanism.

Martin was invaluable at the back, closing down the opposition and breaking down attacks, David, after an assured stint in goal, pulled the opposition defence apart up front, Ben and Paul won 50:50 balls all over the park and once they won the ball distributed the ball with class and ease; Tom once more was lethal up front and proved a highly effective outlet (as David O'Leary once said of Robbie Fowler but he could have been talking about Tomas "You could run a university course on how to score goals based on his finishing"); meanwhile Rory once more combined dogged and determined defence with acute and astute attack; but man of the match goes to John, who was a human dynamo and in spite of some tough tackles soldiered on to stamp his mark on the game - as Lizarazu said of Zinedine Zidane "When we don't know what to do, we give it to him and he works something out."

Match report 15 September 2009

No match report tonight on the 22 man game.

Instead of my pearls of wisdom tonight I am instead reflecting on the words of two modern day sages, Peter Jones of Dragons Den, and Chris Rock.

According to Peter Jones:

"There is really no such thing as failure, only feedback."

Whilst Chris Rock pointed out:

"You know, only dumb people try to impress smart people. Smart people just do what they do."

In the meantime, the man of the match goes to Tomas, who scored a quality hat-trick.

Match Report 7 September 2009

A cracking 12 v 11 tonight.

It was a fantastic blend of the old and the new with the return of old favourites not seen on the grass this year such as Henry and Merrick and the arrival on the scene of miscellaneous continentals who played with panache and verve.

As Muhammad Ali wisely said "Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them — a desire, a dream, and a vision" and the bibless definitely displayed vision as they strutted their stuff, passing the ball seamlessly as they made incisive attacks with penetrative passing movements.

But, the bibbed ones were not overawed and they remembered the wise words of Gandhi, who once said: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win" and sure enough they won the game 2-1 with a splendid display of spirit, resolve and determination.

With so many heroes on the pitch it seems invidious to pick out one man of the match, but our anonymous judge wishes to highlight the displays of Rob and Pedro for the bibless and Jason and Josep for the bibbed ones.

Rob and Pedro were reminiscent of Gerrard and Torres at their best mesmerising the opposition and creating numerous chances for their side, whilst Jason and Josep were akin to Ballack and Lampard breaking down attacks and swiftly turning the tables on the opposition, constructing lethal attacks from an initially defensive position.