New Year.. New Training Ground
Hi there,
Been a long time since i update u guys abt my training. The recent failure to qualify for Euro really was disappointing. My 100 caps for England colours will be more meaningful if it is a game in Euro. However, i told myself, i still need to maintain my fitness and if possible, be available for England in World Cup. I know i may be past my prime but i still hope that i could do something for England during that time.
Arse Wanker ( wat i used to call him ) or more famously known as Arsene Wenger is kind enough to allow me to train with his lads over at London. It is a great opportunity for me to train with the best and maintain my fitness. Although i would prefer to train with Manchester United, it is always good to try out new things.
Training over at Arsenal is great. The coaches and players were all very professional. Ces the Fag was keen to learn more things from me to improve on his freekicks and crossings. He was so happy to have me ( can be seen from the pic ).
Will update more as i train more with Arsenal.
DB07 / DB23,
Cheers.
What Happened?
This blog inactive for so long.. .since i am very free ( unlike jay chou ) , i should turn this into my personal blog. WAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Stay tune for more updates.
What's wrong?
Its obvious that the team attendance has declined since the start of the team. It has been especially so for the past couple of months, except that day when 18 turned up for the match.
I do hope that these few weeks its just coincidence that many of us happen to be busy and cant play. Of course, there are people who i havent seen for a long, who's absences cannot be attributed to coincidence.
But if the commitment level is really waning it would be such a tragedy and shame. We've played tgt for over a year and we've forged strong ties on and off the field.
If something has gone wrong, i'm not sure why. I'll list a few things for you all to think about:
1. Lost of motivation to play football altogether?
2. The team has stayed stagnant for too long? ie not joining a league, not progressing?
3. Lost the sense of belonging to the team?
4. Other priorities in life that uses up ur sunday mornings?
dont hold back any comments... perhaps the team needs a shake-up
jin
Add on
something to add on.
We also cannot ask the refree to book the field once we confirm the attendance because that will be too late. Field that we got all must be balloted and that need at least one month in advance.
And if the opponent confirm and we last min cancel, we have to pay for the cost of the field which in this case is $50.
And we have been paying at a very cheap rate ever since i got that refree... we pay $50 for the field only... if we get outisde refree it will cost at least $80 and might get fuck up team ( like the ref we used to have.. playing with the same opponent at least twice)
And yup, i think we should take a break from soccer for a while... no point keep booking field and we have to go around borrowing players..... so maybe oct we dun book field.... and then after that will be exam for those people studying.... so dec might be a time to jugde our committment again.
Btw roger if this sunday cancel again... must pay for the field.. cos is already friday and very difficult to look for opponent.
And if we keep cancel the match, might tarnish the reputation of the ref... he's already charing us a cheaper price... so yup....
just my humble opinion... no hard feelings
alex
Team commitment
Guys, I think its time to reflect and think about our commitment for this team.. We started this team basically is to gather our friends and play football on weekends.. We didnt join leagues because i feel that we do not have the level of commitment yet.. I know most of you are schooling and some stil in NS, but i think on a Sunday morning, there isnt much activities to do.. Talking about the commitment level, Chee wah and I feel that once we see that the level is there, we could be able to join a league soon and have regular football.. Sadly, i do not see this coming in the near future.. Our squad is supposed to have around 20 players but nowadays the turnout is to the bare minimum and at times we were playing with just 8 players..
I know a few of you have gone or going overseas for training, i could only wish you all the best and have a safe journey.. Some with serious injuries like Hanyong.. Let me briefly touch on how the matches are being arranged and this will lead to another problem that's evident recently.. Alex's friend who is the referee will book the pitches and arrange for opponents for our team.. He will let me or Chee wah know that there's a match coming up this sunday.. After which i will sent out a SMS to my side of people and Chee wah will do likewise for his side.. The ideal situation is that we will know the strength of the squad by Friday and call in replacements.. This is not happening my dear people!! Chee wah is not getting the responses fast and i understand that you may have other commitments which you cant confirm now but we will appreciate the fact that you reply by stating that you will get back to us, and instead we are hanging in limbo not knowing the strength at all..
This is a serious problem to be addressed, both of us have been SMSing to all of you since March 2006 and if you add up all the costs, it could buy a latest digital camera with 8 mega pixels..
Some players which i do not wish to mention, have been out of the team for quite sometime already and i feel that its not just injuries that's hindering you.. I dont even know how many of you out there are reading this blog and checking for updates..
Lastly, both Chee wah and I just have to say that if you are not committed anymore, please do not waste your time and ours, do let us know and we wish you all the best.. If you have the intention to carry on, do reply us on your availability for matches asap, if not you will be the next one that is going to send out the SMSes to confirm the attendance..
Please take some time to reflect on this and feel free to reply through the tagboard or post and entry..
Thank you!!
Roger
Match review for 12 Aug
Score: 1-1
Lineup: Wen Hao(Gk), Han wee, Clement, Roger, Alex, Alvin, Rizal, Jin, Guo wei, Shaun, Fong
Scorer: Shaun
Comments:
Another disappointing turnout. Exactly 11 came for the match. Time for new players?
Our first half display defensively was poor. The backline had no problems, the only issue is that the midfield doesnt cover for the back four. Like i've said before its crucial to keep our shape as a team. The weather was bad and we were tiring but we need to run for each other. Second half was much better and the line was held very well. They were getting caught offside all the time. Attacking wise i think we lacked a playmaker skillful enough to bring the ball in through a packed defence. Our passing and movement in the final third needs to be improved.
Match review for August 5th
Score: 5-1
Scorers: Jin, Han Wee, Darren, Kenneth, cant remember who...
Line Up: Soon, Alex, Clement, Wen Hao, Han Wee, Fong, JH, Rizal, Jin, Darren, Kenneth
Comments: Nice scoreline, but not a very good performance. Our passing was sloppy at times, and during the 2nd half, towards the end, we totally lost our shape. There was a huge gap between defence and attack. We havent played for the past two weeks but thats no excuse. Keeping our shape as a team must happen all the time.
On the positive side, great goal from Kenneth. Darren and Fong were running riot down either flank. Chee Wah, all the funds left after buying Fong, just splash it on Darren. And we have adopted a new Umbro ball.
Notice: NTU guys, trials for IVP are on Mon 13th and Fri 15th August, 5pm. Don worry too much, just come and try.
