Who's still playing?

[RobW]

Rose like a salmon again last night and scored another header from a corner. Also cracked a fantastic half volley against the foot of the post before ballsing up the rebound. A fine come back victory for the reds who were trailing 4-1 (6 v 7) at half time, only to turn things round in the second half when we got the extra player.

Unfortunately I got kicked hard right on my big toe 2 weeks ago and though the bruises have gone it's not 100% right. I've been waiting to be referred for a scan for nearly a week, and probably shouldn't have played last night, but we were low on numbers. Doubtful i'll play Tuesday nights until after the Hackney Half.

[treibeis]

I feel that I really, really should quit playing while I'm ahead after a game like this, rather than due to a wrecked knee or ankle joint.

No, don't. Play until you really can't anymore. We're about the same age. I broke my ankle a year ago and I'll never play again. I can't even run to get a bus that's arrived 10 seconds too early, and I'm not overweight or that; I'm just a cripple. I'm 54 and I can't run.

Seriously, keep on playing.

[Abertwisted]

Turning 56 in August and still going. Season starts this Sunday. Play in the over 45s North A Division here in Perth. Some good teams and very good players still trotting around. One team in particular have gathered the 'best' masters players which makes them very difficult to play. This bloke scored all three against us in our home game last year...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Sikora

[imp]

No, don't. Play until you really can't anymore. We're about the same age. I broke my ankle a year ago and I'll never play again. I can't even run to get a bus that's arrived 10 seconds too early, and I'm not overweight or that; I'm just a cripple. I'm 54 and I can't run.

Seriously, keep on playing.

I like that advice. Frau imp, though, is currently procuring a horse‘s head to be desposited outside the main hut of Hamburg’s most prestigious mini-golf enterprise.

[treibeis]

I like that advice. Frau imp, though, is currently procuring a horse‘s head to be desposited outside the main hut of Hamburg’s most prestigious mini-golf enterprise.

A horse's head being deposited outside the hut would be a fucking godsend, particularly at the weekend. Ask Sits.

[Sits]

A horse's head being deposited outside the hut would be a fucking godsend, particularly at the weekend. Ask Sits.

All I’m doing is sitting here, reading the thread and suddenly this. But actually your previous post made me sad and I’m sorry you can’t play any more. I stopped playing nearly 18 years ago at 40, a promise I made to to my brother (my transplant donor) plus Mrs. S and the kids. I’d be lying if I said I’ve not missed it over the years but not so much now. I’ve pretty much stopped dreaming I’m playing now.

[RobW]

Managed to almost get my big toe kicked off my foot last night. Real pain for the last 15 minutes and big bruise this morning.

Injured my other big toe last night, simply by blocking a shot. Massive purple bruising again, and wouldn't be surprised if I have chipped a bone like last time. Course, i'm supposed to be running the Manchester Half Marathon in 2 and a bit weeks, so that's fucked up my preparation (and maybe scuppered the whole thing).

Ordered a pair of Adidas Kaisers last night in the pub, to replace my cheap, shit and not at all protective pair of Predators. Toe protectors ordered this morning.

[Foot of Astaire's]

Works 5/6/7 a side restarted a couple of weeks back. At 54 I'm usually the oldest or 2nd oldest on the pitch. All the physical pain I was in the day after the first game, it was murder just walking downstairs, was more than made up for with the boost to my mental health. I'd forgotten how much of a buzz it is, just playing a sport I love with good mates and colleagues. I hope I can carry on for at least another year or two.

[Janik]

I think I mentioned this somewhere else on here, but I went along to my work 5/6/7 a-side thing a couple of weeks ago, for the first time in ages. We have rolling goalkeepers, and towards the end of the session I volunteered to take my turn (as I knew I was tiring). And once in goal... I managed to give myself a groin strain! It wasn't even diving for the ball; I was primed and ready to leap, but the centre-back blocked the shot - I tweaked the muscle by not throwing myself when I was all set to. Or, to put it another way, I managed to pull a muscle when standing still!

The strain cleared up in around 10 days, but I won't be going back any time soon.

[EIM]

We've got an 11 a side game on Sunday against Manchester Village FC, so yesterday's kick about was a proper coaching session. I can barely walk this morning. I'm fucked. Playing sixes tonight and I'm already dreading it.

[RobW]

My manager's response was "You've got to stop. You're middle aged now". Cheeky fucker. There are at least half a dozen older playing as well.

[Janik]

Are they still picking you? If so, why would you stop?

[RobW]

Are they still picking you? If so, why would you stop?

I meant my line manager at work. Thankfully, we're not that organised at football, or I wouldn't play at all.

[moo cowe]

7 a side in my regular Thursday outing. Two carrying injuries played in goal, so no rest. Lasted the hour, stairs a problem today.

[lambers]

Thanks to an invite from a fellow dad from my antenatal class, I played at the start of September for the first time in over three years. I survived the first encounter, but a week later managed to tweak my groin when passing the football. Had a couple of weeks off, but am hoping to play tomorrow again.

My early forays back have confirmed that my fitness isn't where it was, but pleasingly my reading of the game (typically my strongest attribute) is pretty much still there. Hoping my passing touch will fully return (without compromising the groin), and I'll be where I was at pre-covid, just with less stamina but with the same lack of pace.

[Billy Casper]

I've played 5 or 6 times over the last 10 weeks after not playing for about 5 years. There's five or six dads and our children who are mostly aged 15 or a bit younger. We play on an old fashioned (think QPR or Oldham) astroturf pitch that gets sanded seemingly every week and I'm the oldest there by a good twelve or fifteen years.

My body has held up surprisingly well (until pulling a thigh muscle this week!) and although I know exactly what I should do with the ball, my touch/passing isn't what I'd like but it is getting better..

I'm still irritated when my (15 year old) team mates don't put the work in defensively that I think they should, but I've managed to keep my mouth shut.

My son has a friend who is reluctant to pass the ball. I've watched him for years being selfish and not pass the ball to a team mate (specifically my son) when they're in a much better position than he is. He also talks a much better game than he delivers. As each year has gone by this has slowly begun to really wind me up and I've always thought he needs someone to just shut him down on the pitch... This week I was up against him and took the ball off him or blocked his shot Every. Single. Time.

Try passing next time Declan.

[Foot of Astaire's]

We had a young lad turn up this week, around 18 or 19, and watching him with a ball in the warm up, I was hoping he might be on my side and would do my running for me. He turned out to be a right idle sod. Looked great when he was attacking with the ball but clearly couldn't be arsed defending.

Every time I set off up the pitch, he waved his arm in a 'someone pick him up' type gesture but clearly didn't fancy tracking back himself. With my standard of finishing he may have got away with it but I played someone else in each time and got 4 or 5 assists in a relatively easy win. Even in 6 a side you can't win anything with kids.

[lambers]

My early forays back have confirmed that my fitness isn't where it was, but pleasingly my reading of the game (typically my strongest attribute) is pretty much still there. Hoping my passing touch will fully return (without compromising the groin), and I'll be where I was at pre-covid, just with less stamina but with the same lack of pace.

I've been playing consistently once a week since this post, with the only exception being five weeks off after fracturing my wrist. That break pretty much lost the small gains in stamina that I'd made, but I'm hopeful it will pick up again. My passing is basically back to its old level, although I've definitely not got the power for any long passes right now.

As a special treat, the organiser of our group has arranged for us to play at the home of Farnborough Town this weekend. It'll be my first time playing on actual grass for maybe 12 years. I went looking for my old boots, and was amazed to find that they're actually still in good nick. Visually, anyway. Hopefully they won't fall apart within five minutes of wearing them.

[Botswana Meat Commission]

I had hoped this was going to be about what leagues play through the summer months and some here were going through be watching football in the Scottish Hebrides Villages League and would document it here, with pictures.

Anyway, no I don’t play but I’ve downloaded Couch to 5k again and plan on doing that after work again.

[RobW]

We are really struggling for numbers on Tuesday evenings - think we managed 9, plus a ringer. Didn't help that one of our lot, who went off with a knee injury a few weeks ago, jarred it again and had to go in goal for most of the hour, nor that I had come back from a week of drinking and smoking in Bilbao. We got absolutely thrashed, but I did manage a poacher's goal and fouled a colleague (he gave me nowhere to go, ran across me, i'll plead my innocence until I die).

[lambers]

As a special treat, the organiser of our group has arranged for us to play at the home of Farnborough Town this weekend. It'll be my first time playing on actual grass for maybe 12 years. I went looking for my old boots, and was amazed to find that they're actually still in good nick. Visually, anyway. Hopefully they won't fall apart within five minutes of wearing them.

My boots survived. I'm in this picture, which would also double as a fiendish "Where's the ball?" contest (if the ball was edited out).
Farnborough 2023-05-05 18.jpg

[RobW]

This is a plea, to anyone around London who fancies playing regularly on a Tuesday night (7pm kick off). Due to lack of numbers, we are in danger of losing our booking on Coram's Fields (https://www.coramsfields.org/sport-facility-hire/) Recently been scrapping to get 5 v 5, and we really need 7 a side at least. We are the only non league-playing sides on the pitches. Any ability welcome, but previous experience of playing would be beneficial. Once a fortnight games, every other Tuesday for an hour. £10 on the night, warm shower included. Age range 20 somethings to late 50s/60. We've had this booking for 20 years, i've played for probably less than half that. Be a real pisser for it to go.

[JVL]

This 47-year-old returned to competitive football for the first time in a while yesterday... we've got enough bodies together to field a South Shore Utd team in the Valley Senior Men's League and I played on the right of a back three for the first match: a 6-1 home win over Canning, which was a great way to start the season of course, but I am sure we are going to be in their position later in the season (no subs for a Friday night away match, blowing out of the collective arse after 60 minutes and shipping four late goals) so we'll see how the season pans out.

["Hold on, buddy!"]

Reposting from my thread before i was kindly redirected here:

I'm mid-40s now, and have been playing regularly (with a 14 month break for ACL surgery) since I was 21.
Although I'm rapidly finding that my ratio of passable to crap games stands at somewhere around 1:4, I still enjoy it and honestly can't forsee a time when I don't play (excepting catastrophic injury, obvz).
I've been running things (collecting subs, sourcing balls, booking pitches, nagging people to turn up) for the past 14 or so years - it's basically a group of mates who get together for a kickabout rather than a competitive league - and I still find myself amazed that it seems to matter as much to the other lads who play as it does to me.
Started out as an energetic, if clueless, striker and have gradually transitioned to that bloke who stands at the back shouting.
One of our lads managed to tear some shoulder ligaments last night and will be out a few weeks. I felt slightly guilty for laughing as he went full-on down after working hard to work back and win a challenge, but then reminded myself that he'dve done exactly the same to me - which is essentially why we all get on so well. Oh, and last night was another one in the 'crap' column, despite managing to score with my left. Have decided I need to do some core strengthening.

[RobW]

Sounds a lot like our regular Tuesday night games. We're the only lot on Coram's Fields that are not part of a league (fortunately, as those games are far too serious for my liking). It's the last game tonight before our summer break, and we are down on numbers again. Might have 5 v 5 if we are lucky, but really need at least 14 players to make it good. Unfortunately, one of our older players is unlikely to come back, plus we lost another to injury weeks ago.
Very hard to convince people to pay £10 a game, especially as the facilities are so bad now. Last time, I think three of the four toilet cubicles had a door missing, there was barely any bog roll and the mirrors above the sinks had gone. Fortunately, the showers do work, even if the drains don't.
I'm sure i'll be fine by 7pm but at the moment I have a sore hip/lower back and it's highly tempting to sink the cans of lager that are in the office fridge prior to leaving and hope for the best.
We have a more relaxed kick about on Regent's Park during the summer, but the state of the 'pitches' there usually end with me rolling my ankle, so i'm not as enthusiastic about those.