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    #51
    Very odd game last night which ended 4-4 but could easily have been 10 each. First wasn't scored until 28 minutes in, and then I cocked up immediately to let the 'blues' equalise. Once again, I managed to cross the ball directly onto the top of the bar. Personally speaking, not one of my finest games, which I put down to wearing old shinpads and too much dew.

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      #52
      Played like shit today. Garbage. Laughable. Scored two goals to win the game. Funny old game.

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        #53
        Monday night we old men played again with the club's U19 squad on the full pitch, but this time we were allowed to have most of their first choice defence - I lined up at right-back (older than the ages of my three fellow defenders combined) and received several passes from the keeper and the centre half, which I promptly and successfully passed on to our right-sided midfielder to despatch as he saw fit. It was an unspectacular, Kroos/Wilkins-style performance, with a handful of tackles thrown in, but I was content enough to avoid screw-ups and injuries. We won 4-0.

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          #54
          Due to a short number at training for my u11s last night, the other coach and I decided we'd be goalkeepers and let the other 10 play 5-a-side against each other.

          I'm now aching in places that I forgot could ache.

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            #55
            Lost 3-2 last night having been 2-0 up, proving once and for all that "2-0 is the most dangerous lead"

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              #56
              Originally posted by imp View Post
              It was an unspectacular, Kroos/Wilkins-style performance
              So you touched the ball 200 times and then chucked it in the ref's face?

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                #57
                Originally posted by treibeis View Post
                So you touched the ball 200 times and then chucked it in the ref's face?
                No, it simply meant that after the game no one could remember whether I'd actually been playing or not.

                It was back to 6 v 6 old men on Monday night. I think it finished about 35-25 for us - the yellow vests. I hurt a finger diving to save a ball that I was never going to save. But I got a finger on it. A now hurt finger.

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                  #58
                  Originally posted by imp View Post

                  No, it simply meant that after the game no one could remember whether I'd actually been playing or not.

                  It was back to 6 v 6 old men on Monday night. I think it finished about 35-25 for us - the yellow vests. I hurt a finger diving to save a ball that I was never going to save. But I got a finger on it. A now hurt finger.
                  "Dived"? You "toppled".

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                    #59
                    Originally posted by imp View Post
                    I've also never pulled a muscle when playing on artificial turf.
                    That rings true for me too. Played on grass a few times this summer, and promptly pulled a groin muscle midway through a 6-a-side match: attempting to launch a long ball upfield, overstretched and my right boot got caught up a bit in the long grass and something went 'twang'. Took a good six weeks for that to heal up enough for me to risk playing again, but all seems to be much better now. We've moved back inside now, as the old pitch in Mahone Bay doesn't drain well at all and has turned into a bit of a pudding. So that means we're back to 4-a-side in the old school gym - wooden floor, no touchlines, the game never really stops for more than a few seconds. Great for overall fitness and in theory my ball control should improve again... but am blowing out of every orifice after about 15 minutes, especially if there are a couple of the stronger players on the other team and I'm chasing shadows.

                    Still, am just really enjoying playing again. I'd stopped for my last couple of years in Germany but found a group playing locally in early 2020. Bar the obvious Covid-shaped disruptions, we've managed to keep a weekly game going and we've started youth football sessions for ages 4-16. 150 kids signed up for the winter session (starting on Sunday) so taking care of the U9 group should keep me out of mischief during the long dark...

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                      #60
                      JVL, I've completely lost track of you - and have just located Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, on Google Maps. Impressive that you've found a pick-up game in a town that size. I hope they all still revere Stan Rogers up that way.

                      treibeis - I think "leapt" is the word you were looking for. "Toppled" is what I once did in a bar in Washington DC in summer 1999, a night where I also injured my hand. But that was in the last century, I'm in better shape now.

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                        #61
                        Stan is still very popular around these parts - he even got a stamp issued in his honour this year:



                        I have been lucky to find a game locally, with a good core group turning up every week, a real mix from all over the world, plus an increasing number of Canadians, many of whom haven't played for years and are getting back into the sport as their kids get older and start playing. The pick-up game is turning into a 'proper' club now and I've somehow fallen into the role of club secretary. Apparently a childhood spent following my Dad around the boardrooms of the Isthmian League means I'm the person with the best qualifications for the job!

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                          #62
                          Originally posted by JVL View Post
                          Stan is still very popular around these parts - he even got a stamp issued in his honour this year:



                          I have been lucky to find a game locally, with a good core group turning up every week, a real mix from all over the world, plus an increasing number of Canadians, many of whom haven't played for years and are getting back into the sport as their kids get older and start playing. The pick-up game is turning into a 'proper' club now and I've somehow fallen into the role of club secretary. Apparently a childhood spent following my Dad around the boardrooms of the Isthmian League means I'm the person with the best qualifications for the job!
                          I ended up as club treasurer three times. I think what happens is when they ask for a volunteer, everyone else takes a step back.

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                            #63
                            Originally posted by JVL View Post
                            Stan is still very popular around these parts - he even got a stamp issued in his honour this year:



                            I have been lucky to find a game locally, with a good core group turning up every week, a real mix from all over the world, plus an increasing number of Canadians, many of whom haven't played for years and are getting back into the sport as their kids get older and start playing. The pick-up game is turning into a 'proper' club now and I've somehow fallen into the role of club secretary. Apparently a childhood spent following my Dad around the boardrooms of the Isthmian League means I'm the person with the best qualifications for the job!
                            What a fine stamp - if you've got any lying around, can you send me a postcard?

                            Treasurer - the job for life, you can only give it up by moving continents or engineering a fight to fall out with everyone at the club and then storming out and slamming the door. Once someone else has been appointed treasurer, you can come back after a decent period of, say, seven days, blaming your outburst on the stress of having been treasurer.

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                              #64
                              6 v 7 last night and a very one sided game. We had the man advantage for the first half and despite two teammates each getting 3 goals, it really should have been double figures. Some absolute woeful finishing and comical defending. On a personal note, I thought I played alright and some of my passing was Molby-esque (along with my figure).

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                                #65
                                Originally posted by RobW View Post
                                On a personal note, I thought I played alright and some of my passing was Molby-esque (along with my figure).
                                I used to play in the week with people like you. Hitting sixty-yard passes from the centre circle with the outside of their boot, and then moaning that nobody got on the end of it.

                                Trouble was, the pitch was only 50 yards long.

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                                  #66
                                  Missed this thread but I have been playing 5/6 a side indoors for years now. For the last decade and a bit, I have been playing with a load of lads that grew out of the fathers of a youth football team. This means that not only is it us old lags but now wonderfully, it has attracted the now much older kids of that team. Indeed, it now regularly attracts a 14 year old son of a mate who is a good 7 years younger than the rest of the younger cohort. What's lovely is that he only plays with us as football at his age level is too competitive and he prefers playing with a load of old duffers that play just for fun. The upper range is our 67 year old "manager" who, although he has had a stroke, is still doing well, mind you he is an ex-fireman. We have had a a fair amount of injuries, some serious, but a few of us that started out are still playing. Tragically, we had a death of one of our originals fairly early on.

                                  We had a brief sojourn in between and post-covid playing outside with much larger teams - indeed, we played 11-a-side one night - and we have tried to keep that going on a separate night for the youngsters and more enthusiastic who could play both nights while most of us oldies returned inside. The outside games with the mysteries of over-head-height play and kick-ins (with the inevitable rest when the ball zoomed off or over the fence into the woods) was really good fun but less goal-rich. Indeed, the last time my son played with us, he scored the only goal of the match, a wonderful solo effort which annoys me somewhat that he hasn't kept playing. The lack of goals meant I didn't score for a good 2 years. I have now gone back to my usual scoring rate of 1 in every 3 games while everyone else happily knocks in 3 or 4 a match. We occasionally play an 11-a-side game against similarly decrepit players and I occasionally play Bath City supporters' games at Twerton Park. In these, I firmly know my place as a grizzled centre half.

                                  Of course, the after-football drinks are as much a part of the evening as the football itself. If you don't play football but go to the apres-football, it was always the "greatest game ever" and, of course, it's not the same if you play football and don't have a couple of pints afterwards. The indoor game is on a Thursday night so, with the drink after, it feels like the start of the weekend.

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                                    #67
                                    Originally posted by treibeis View Post
                                    I used to play in the week with people like you. Hitting sixty-yard passes from the centre circle with the outside of their boot, and then moaning that nobody got on the end of it.

                                    Trouble was, the pitch was only 50 yards long.
                                    When we went to the outdoor over-head-height game, it brought out the Steven Gerrard in quite a few players with similarly Hollywood and untrappable passes.

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                                      #68
                                      First game of the year, and I regret paying up front for the first seven weeks. We were about 5-0 down inside 15 minutes. I managed to let a real soft one in and then whilst attacking a corner managed to volley the ball square in my face, and then repeated it seconds later, before hooking a volley on target. Very silly game, which felt it ended 15-8 to the opposition although they say there was only four goals in it by the end.

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                                        #69
                                        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. Just as well, as it put me off going to the pub after. Total accident of course, unlike a hard challenge last time which saw our youngest and quickest player hobble off after a robust tackle. Much finger pointing from one opposition player and texts saying "this isn't what Tuesday nights are about" to our organiser. The 'culprit' has since said he can't be arsed dealing with this shit and won't be coming back in the near future. I heard the challenge but did not see it, but don't think our guy even went up to ask how the injured guy was.

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                                          #70
                                          Joined in with my u11s last night (myself and the parent helper played in goal). It was so much fun.

                                          Aching a bit today though

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                                            #71
                                            I last played about three weeks ago on a half field, 10 v 10 with small goals. Sometimes you just have the perfect night and every shot goes in (double hat-trick, though I should stress there were 28 goals in all as we came out 15-13 victors). 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.

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                                              #72
                                              Fortunately i'm missing two games worth next term, and I have a half marathon in late may to prepare for, so do not want to get injured.

                                              Also, in the last two weeks the usual arrangement at Coram's Fields has changed. Security appear to be issuing out keys and dressing rooms without any organisation but rather 'first come first served'. Bit of a worry, plus whoever manages the adjacent park and kid's playground were in process of restructuring and making staff redundant last I heard.

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                                                #73
                                                I've been on a self imposed ban since Monday that will last until the end of the week.

                                                I play most break times with the Year 5 and 6 girls at the school I work at. On Monday, Maisy had been winding me up. If she can't be on Nicola's side (who they all think is the best player - she's decent but no real vision) then she'll cry. If her team go a goal down, she'll cry. If anyone says anything to her... you get the picture. Anyway, her team were winning 3-1 and she was taunting the opposition. Tilly in particular didn't deserve that with the friendship issues she's been having.
                                                I 'help out' on the team that is losing and just play a sweeper role generally. I might also have made some sort of promise in the dim and distant past (three weeks ago) that I wouldn't try and score... With a couple of minutes to go the, erm, sweeper played a delightful through ball for a player to make it 3-2. Game on!
                                                When the game entered it's third minute of stoppage time (and the other members of staff were looking at me to blow the whistle that signifies the end of playtime), a player found himself on the left wing with the ball at his feet. He cut inside, beat the defender and unleashed an unnecessarily hard shot into the the goal (3-3. Scorer - B. Casper 15+3). The referee immediately blew the final whistle and jogged towards the school building. A hero to some, not so much so to others. I apologised to a tearful Maisy twenty minutes later.

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                                                  #74
                                                  Still going strong(ish) at 46, reckon I've another decade in me easy. The lads who used to play next to us on a Monday must have had an average age in the 50s, the guy with the BILLY 70 jersey didn't look like he'd received that birthday present in the past couple of years!
                                                  My Monday night has organically dropped the youngsters, the youngest ones are probably in their 30s, the average age early 40s. It's competitive and fun with almost no bullshit. Wednesday probably has a similar age profile but half a dozen serious players, it's intense, tough going but what a run-out.

                                                  Maisy Big Balls needed that lesson in humility BC! ( I jest)

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                                                    #75
                                                    There's got to be a comic strip in Billy Casper's Stoppage Time Playground Heroics. Of course it's okay to stick one over on the whiny kid who's a bad loser - there's a whole chapter on it in every coaching manual*.

                                                    *bought loads, never properly read one. Speaking as a DFB C-Licence coach, they're all fucking dull.

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