Stalemate: Unido 1-1 NTU Hall 11

(Post-dated!)

After swearing off the Yishun pitch, it was a wonder that we actually returned to face these opponents on this patch. Various comments heard regarding the state of the pitch after the draw with Shangwei's new-look team are better left unsaid.

But a bad pitch is better than no pitch as we faced up against a NTU Hall 11 side made up of players who probably were in the same age group as ourselves. They had their grey shirts, with "Eleven" emblazoned on the back, two guys with the number "11", and even a captain in the number 6, who didn't really call the shots (so I dunno what the armband was for anyway). But they had despatched our last opponents on that pitch 5-0 (we could only manage a 0-0 stalemate!) so it was going to be an uphill task.

In addition, we were in our dreaded yellow kit, which made the task seem even more ominous.

The match got underway in the hot 11am sun, and it was a tight encounter in the centre of the park, as both teams played three across. Leslie was left alone up front, with support from Seng, who was making his first return after a period out with some groin trouble. Reuben was in goal for Jackson, who had to "serve the nation".

Hall 11 broke the deadlock first, a through ball well put away by their number 11 with gold hair (the other fella had black hair). However, it didn't take Leslie long to show why he was the first choice striker, chasing down a loose ball and from a narrow angle, slotting home to bring us level just minutes later.

It was 1-1 at half time, as the sun bore down relentlessly on these madmen who were duking it out in midfield. After the restart, both sides had glorious chances to win it, but scuffed shots and lucky blocks ruled the day as the match finished 1-1.

The curse of the yellow jersey - yet to be broken.

Commitment

Hi all,

let me share my two cents for this matter.

First of all, I understand that I have not been joining you guys for the matches on Sunday due to my work commitments. I am truly sorry about it and hope you guys understand.

Secondly, I may appear to be joking all the time and may appear not serious most of the time I might say. It is not to make light of the whole situation, but rather, I believe that the atmosphere plays a part as well. If we are happy, we will be enjoying right?

We have not been playing together for too long on the pitch despite us having played together for some years already. However, I would like to say that sometimes, it is not winning that matters. Yes, to win is an added bonus but I feel that enjoying and playing to our potential is another matter. It sure feels good to win but what do we get from winning? Nothing right? Perhaps we feel too pressurized to win and that is why we try to over-do things sometimes. It is good to have desire to win but let us work together as a team and improve together.

I agree with what Jun Qiang has written. We need to have a unified direction. I would prefer us to play well and lose rather than to play like school kids and come out with a win. If we could think about it this way. It is easier for people to see your strengths and weaknesses than yourself. No one likes to hear negative aspects about themselves but I feel we need to be professional about this. I have been criticized before, Jun Qiang has told me off before, KS has given me advice, even Weirong too. But never once I took it personally. I do not have to agree with what they say, but keeping an open mind and having some food for thought would not hurt a bit.

What I really want to say is, understand why others are giving you advice and why several issues are brought up for discussion. If you choose to take it personally, it would not benefit everyone. No one would want to target anyone. We are a team, so lets hear each other's voices and more forward. This is what commitment is about. We commit to the same cause and we commit to improving together.

Given the time constraints and work commitments, I can understand if our meet-up sessions are short or we do not have the energy to last the full match. This would no doubt affect our fitness. However, if we make the effort, we can do it. I am doing my own running every Tues and Thurs. I understand my own limitations. I cannot run 10km like Jun Qiang at one go. But what I am doing is 3km every running session, working on my breathing and acceleration. The idea is not to be super fit but rather, being in shape. I do not think our team would mind if we can give a good 25 mins in a match as compared to a lacklustre 90 mins of ball-watching and non-involvement.

It all boils down to being committed. I am happy with this team because we do not take criticisms negatively. However, our understanding as a team needs some working on. As of right now, everyone is doing their own thing on the pitch. While I agree that training sessions would benefit greatly, there is a need to keep in mind the attendance. I propose to having our tactics written on this blog, with illustrations. We can scan a copy of our tactics so everyone could see them even if we miss the training sessions. If we can picture what our specific role is, I think it will be easier to execute. Of course it takes time to draw out and coordinate, but this is one avenue we could explore.

We are still not tactically-sound. We cannot depend on having a manager to draw out plays or plan training sessions for us. So I think it would be good if we could sit down and analyse what each person's strengths and weaknesses are and we plan our tactics accordingly. We could have several simulations where we could adopt for various matches and to adapt during matches when things are not working out.

Decision-making is another key area which I feel needs to be addressed. Everyone makes mistakes. But what is important is to learn from it. We may make a bad pass, over-dribble or miss a clearance. I think it is ok as long if we learn from it and not repeat the same mistake. We should improve our decision-making by understanding each and everyone's role. I am not saying the same persons will get to shoot all the time or who must stay in our half all the time. But rather, knowing what the situation demands for it. KS goes up once in a while for corners and free kicks or even counter attacks. It is easy to be caught up in the situation and everyone charges forward wanting to score. But we cannot have 11 players in our opponent's half right? If KS goes up then someone must cover him and be prepared to reat in the even of a swift counter attack. We must be ready to chase, slow down the opposition or even foul when necessary.

Therefore our tactics are important. We could plan like having 6 men going up, positioning in specific areas during attacks and who will stay back during corners. Of course there can be times where roles are changed as long there is communication between the parties. We know that we can play soccer, individually that is. It will be a great achievement if we could gel as one. And to do that, we need to have the commitment of every player. So perhaps another session of meeting up and discussing setplays and tactics would benefit us more instead of our pre-match talk 30 seconds before kick-off.

Pardon this long post, I was unaware that you guys met so I am voicing out some thoughts which I have. By the way, I am in the midst of changing my work schedule so I can join the matches on Sunday. But this would also mean my Saturdays will be burnt as I have to work either Saturday or Sunday. So I would not be able to join the Saturday sessions from May onwards.

Hope no one is offended by my thoughts. Not targetting at anyone, just something general. I am committed to this team and I will continue to do my best. Anyway, I look forward to the next match! Cheers!

Regards,

Sherman

Directions

The visions of the team are shared by everyone who voiced out on the Sunday night team dinner/ meeting.

They can be summarised by 3 keys words : Win, Enjoy and Team


Nobody in the team likes losing. Everyone wants to feel like a winner. Even as semi-pro, even as a recreational player. The team is losing its unified goals and directions, losing focus and forgetting how to win.

We attributed the key to winning under 2 aspects : 1.Physical 2. Psychological

Physical:

1. Fitness - Do we play to keep fit or keep fit to play? My advice is.. if you keep yourself fit, you will find it easier to play. You can think better, react faster, stay longer and most imptly focus on how to play at an optimal level. Work commitments, school commitments, Spouse commitments. These are just excuses and you know it better than anyone else. I am not asking for everyone to be incredible fit, but it takes more than lasting a game by walking through, its abt being able to run with the ball and able to still react without being "Shacked, cannot think"

2. Training - Being a recreational team makes it more difficult to conduct proper training. Equipment wise we are still doing fine, but its the facilities (field) and time commitments that are problematic. Since we are not professionals, I don't pay u to attend trainings and games and we have our full time work, lets be realistic.

Suggestions being brought up include : 1. Meeting earlier before games for simple team warm up and trainings 2. Meeting on sat to play training match within our own team.

Areas we have to work on :

-Tactics : We can arrive 15 mins earlier before warm ups for changing of gears and for tactics briefing with the aid of a sketch board.

-Shooting : Proper shooting exercise can be done during warm ups ( not dead ball shooting)

-Set Pieces : Corner kicks and free kicks drill ( who, where and how to move and to familise with the taker's range) can also be done during warming up

-Off the ball movements (how to make off the ball running to draw defenders, to creat space for team mates to shoot or pass) Certain small details can be gone through and for individual to keep in mind the match.

-Crosses : Same as the set pieces drill, we have systematic crossing exercise (i.e 1-2 crosses, high/low sharp crosses)

-Passing : Long, short passing , 1 or 2 touches between 3 to 5 guys

-Close Control : can be honed with the passing drill

The whole of warming up can be done in 25 mins. - 5 mins for stretch and light jogs, 15 mins to do a combi of shooting, crossing, set pieces 5 mins for passing exercise.

we can re arrange the sequences for the warming up drills but tactics briefing is a must from now on since alot of us are lost about our game plan during the match.
So i suggest we arrive 30 to 45 mins earlier before the proper kick off.

To encourage everyone to keep on time: we will devise a pts awarding system for all time keepers
Failure to do so will result in a fine.


For the awarding system, I suggest a pt allocation system where a scorer gets 5 pts, an assist 5 pts, a clean sheet will have 5 pts for the Gk and defenders.

A foul throw will have 1 pt deducted, a yellow 2 pts and a red 5 pts off. Late comers will be fined and have 3 pts deducted.

We can work on this system and your suggestions are more than welcome but pls try to be constructive and more concrete with your ideas.( Try to jot them down so that i can organise it)

We can come up with monthly winners and annual winners and prizes such as a trophy, a voucher or even a football jersey can be awarded thru the contributions of a team fund.

Psychological-

To be able to win, mentality we must be prepared.

Even if we play unknown opponents every week, we must approach each game with our full concentration. Like I said, we only get to be footballers once every week, so we must be professional.

Full concentration meaning - to be constantly aware of the team's tactics, to be aware of team mates movement. A small slip can lead to conceding of a goal or a extra sprint or movement can result in a goal for us. So we must not switch off and let our minds wander.

Trust - This is a big word. But I am sure everyone understands its importance in any group, team or organisation. What we want is to be able to express ourselves , our skills without being reprimanded heavily if we screw it up. To be able to achieve that, I suggest the screwing party and the receiving party keep these few pts in mind :

1. Responsibility -

Picture this, you chase after the opponent long and hard and finally put in a smart tackle or timely interception in our own half. you move the ball quickly and made a beautiful long range pass to an unmarked teamate who can a quick pass to the strikers and counter hit the opponent. This team mate decide to take on the defence himself and being heavily hounded by 2 -3 defenders, loses the ball and from which the opposition counter us and scold.

You: feel Angry, wasted, disappointed and wary of passing the ball to that team mate in the future.

Your team mate: Disappointed with himself, feel blamed and unhappy with losing the ball.

My pt is simple. Nobody does anything stupid on purpose to make our team lose. I didn't try to mis control the ball or mis pass the ball to let our team lose.

What we can do in this situation is :

Trust and be responsible

Trust- learn to understand everyone has their own strength and weakness. I can't shoot but i can run at the defence. But if i am in a better position, you should at least let me try to take aim, who knows out of the 10 times, I can get it hard and strong shot in.

But keep in mind, trusting doesn't mean you don't support your team mates. When he is holding the ball, make spaces for him so that he can pass to you if need be, watch his back and be prepared to fill in his position until he moves back.

Most importantly, learn to understand the difficulties of your team mate and trust his intention. Instead of sniggering, despising him, learn to accept and try to cover his weakness for him. For he will do the same for you.

Responsible - Learn to accept that sometimes we can't improve on our weakness overnight. It takes time. If you are the one witnessing your teammate losing the ball away, you wun feel too happy about it as well. Therefore, learn to accept responsibilities. If you want to shoot, dribble.. be very sure not to screw it up. But if you screw it up, try to understand where the frustration of your team mates are coming from. If you get a negative response, be responsible, accept it, move forward and try to win the ball back or make better decisions next time. DO not be afraid to play confidently but remember we are a TEAM and we are responsible for another.

Keep this in mind, its part of the emotions in the game. At the end of the day, after the match, We are not only team mates., we are still FRIENDS.


Change of positions and substitutions

There was a mention of the desired change or adding of positions to many players. We can make experiments but not at a over haul extent. Making some changes and try outs during certain games or during training matches within ourselves can definitely be done.
Regarding the substitutions issue, I am sorry but in every game there are bound to be some stronger and weaker players. But it doesn't mean it stays the same everytime. Nor it means the so called weaker players cannot get to play or start. It all depends on the tactics, the turn out. Like I said before, no one is indispensible.


Therefore I urge everyone to try to understand and be patient. For now, the main aim of the team is to improve and move forward together.

Yours Truly,

Junqiang

Moving on: Unido 0-1 Maroon Kids

Twenty-five year olds just don't have the same lung capacity as those spritely-ORDed twenty year old fresh faces. It's a damning cycle: You enlist, eat well, exercise a lot, then ORD and hit the downward spiral. You end up flunking the annual IPPT (ok, so maybe its just me) and get breathless chasing that kid who glides effortlessly along.

Such was the theme of yesterday's game against a side made up of these 20-year olds.

The tactic of the day was to defend, and attack, as a team (for those who missed it, see KS's last post here. Well, we did...or at least tried to do that. Those kids were freakishly quick, and seemed not to run out of breath. They closed us down at every opportunity and didn't allow us to settle down.

Even the referee asked JQ why we were out of sorts.

Anyway, on to the match details: we managed to carve out a few opportunities, the closest being Zhiwei springing the offside trap to slot past the onrushing keeper, only to see the ball bounce agonisingly wide of the post. KS also had a clear header on goal which he put over the bar. Otherwise, our attack lacked bite, probably due to the new tactic we had adopted.

Although we were losing the midfield battle, at least it didn't translate into too many opportunities for them. Jackson was brilliant, tipping over what seemed to be certain goals, but unfortunately, near the end, he was beaten by a combination of poor marking and fortune on the opponent's end.

The defender ghosted in unmarked to score at the near post, a downward header that really, really, should not have been given away. We did try to hit back, as the urgency increased and we began stringing some passes together, but as usual, it was too little, too late.

MOTM: Jackson - for his superb saves which kept us in it and kept the score to a respectable one goal only.

Details for the match on 5th April

Venue: Yishun Ring Road blk 367

Time: 1030hrs

'Dresscode": Yellow

Opponents: NTU Hall 11

http://www.streetdirectory.com/asia_travel/travel/travel_id_3573/travel_site_126254/

30th March 2008

hi all, this sunday's match 30 march 2008 will be at Serangoon Secondary School again

Location is as per link below.

Jersey Colour : BLUE
Time to Reach : 830am
Venue : Serangoon Secondary School
How to get there : for those of u taking buses, u can take 27 from Tampines ; and alight at the 1st stop into sengkang , switch to 136; alternatively pls make ur arrangments with KS or others to pick up at sengkang MRT.
Map : http://www.streetdirectory.com/asia_travel/travel/travel_id_25474/travel_site

Guys can we all try to make it there earlier? We really do need time to warm up and everything.

A center back perspective and rant on the last match

well, forgive me for ranting, but there are certain issues that i think need raising, which all of us should take note of regarding the previous match...

overall, i think we did quite well, not conceding any goals... i was guilty of a couple of bloopers; think the backpass in the first half was bad, but jackson managed to redeem me.

At the end of the pitch, i think that we can't push all the blame towards the strikers for not scoring, some might argue that they are not clinical enough. But i would rather think that there is a problem with the team as well, when we are attacking. Defensively i think we learnt a lot since we first started off, but in terms of attacking as a unit we still have much to learn. When we attack, i realized we tend to just pass the ball forward and then stay in our original positions. This applies to all of us, me included. The reason why we need to move off the ball, is to provide more space for the ball, more options for the man on the ball. Soccer is not about the man on the ball, it's about the men off the ball. As a result, our strike unit, and our midfield unit and our defense units are just that units, not a team. Maybe what we should think about is not pushing the ball forward all the time, but rather moving off the ball and stroking the ball around, involving the defence and midfield and strikers in attacking.

The other rant that i have is about the time that we need to arrive for matches. I do understand that some of us do stay a distance away, and that some of our matches are early in the morning at 9am. but it gets kind of frustrating when i make an effort to arrive on time every match, only to see people turning up late, people need morning calls at 8am or 10am, and who can't be responsible enough to ask for morning calls. The last match was especially bad. We were supposed to be there at 1030 and when the referee blowed the whistle at 11am, we still didn't have enuff. I do know that we are a casual soccer team, sunday warriors if u like, group of friends who play recreationary, but there's a reason why we need to arrive early: to practise our set pieces, crosses, running off the ball and warming up, which I reckon we all dearly need. Not to say that we must always reach half an hour earlier, but trying to is better than not. What really pisses me off is the attitude that some of us have been showing towards punctuality which is quite bad.

Forgive me for ranting, but i think the team needs to talk this through a bit. As u all say, regardless of what happens we are a team, but if this is the attitude that some of us want to bring to the team, then are we still a team or just a bunch of rag-tag misfits?

Pre-Match and outing

Hey all,

Lets prepare for the up coming match...

Reuben is maybe right, I don't believe they will be push overs.

BUT we have improved leaps & bounds ourselves, we won't be easy oppositions for them.

So please rest , eat and prepare yourselves well for the match.

Next thing, Sat nite, Singapore will play Australia at the National Stadium at 730pm. Harry Kewell will be turning out for them, so I am quite keen to watch. Anyone interested to go together? Pls let me know and we can meet up for the match and dinner.

Match on 22nd March

Here are the details for the highly anticipated "we think we can thrash them but we wont" match against shangwei's team.

Venue: Yishun Ring Road BLK 367
Time: 1100-1300
Reach at : 1030am
Colour: The cursed yellow

http://www.streetdirectory.com/asia_travel/travel/travel_id_25261/travel_site_1/

ks - ya the field is not bad played there once.. it's near Yishun ITE those driving go by Lentor then Yishun Ave 1 then Ave 6

16 MARCH MATCH SUNDAY

hi all, this sunday's match 16 march 2008 will ALSO be at Serangoon Secondary School.

Location is as per link below.

Jersey Colour : BLUE
Time to Reach : 830am
Venue : Serangoon Secondary School
How to get there : for those of u taking buses, u can take 27 from Tampines ; and alight at the 1st stop into sengkang , switch to 136; alternatively pls make ur arrangments with KS or others to pick up at sengkang MRT.
Map : http://www.streetdirectory.com/asia_travel/travel/travel_id_25474/travel_site_1/

Sun 9am 9 March 2008

hi all, this sunday's match 9 march 2008 will be at Serangoon Secondary School. Location is as per link below.

Jersey Colour : BLUE

Time to Reach : 830am

Venue : Serangoon Secondary School

How to get there : for those of u taking buses, u can take 27 from Tampines ; and alight at the 1st stop into sengkang , switch to 136; alternatively pls make ur arrangments with KS or others to pick up at sengkang MRT.

Map : http://www.streetdirectory.com/asia_travel/travel/travel_id_25474/travel_site_1/

btw, the place is super near alex's place, so can we come up with an agreement that if alex, our lateking is late again, maybe we could fine him, or make the game on him or lunch on him of something? those in favour say aye! =)

For love of the game

Guys,

We have been playing together for as early as 2000 for some of us... While this team has only been playing on field regular since last year, we have been with each other for at least 5 years.
I couldn't help but wonder at times, why we can't play as a team at times. This problem has been bugging me for quite a while...

I have decided give my opinions on several issues.. However, pls believe me that my intend is to get to the root of the problems and help the team move on forward.. it is not to finger point...

1. Passion for the game - No doubt everyone has their way of showing their commitments and fighting spirit during a game, but sometimes I just feel not everyone is giving their all. All referring to the focus, concentration, the hunger to win, the hunger to get the ball. I just don't feel that we want to win the game, in fact sometimes I feel we are just contended to run the game down. I know and accept that its my responsibility to inspire you guys.. hence the rentless runnings at times. Even if i know i run after a loss cause, i feel its worthy if it can inspire u all to carry on fighting.


2. Scoring goals - Yes I know it feels great to score. Everyone who plays this game knows the best feeling is to score. However, I plead with everyone to know their roles and importance. Some of you might think the scorers get all the acclaims and credits while u all do the dirty and unwanted work and don't feel appreciated.. For that, I wish to clarify this once and for all.. Some of us all stronger in certain attributes but weaker in certain aspects..for example, i know my limitations lies in my close control and shooting.. but i also know my strengths... my pt is..when we 1st started out, we place everyone in positions according to their strengths and not preferences. I feel it should be the way, otherwise where is the controlling of the game? where wld the dynamics and the potency of our team be?
You might think defenders are not as important as the strikers or the midfielders...but thats never true.. Anyone playing football week in week out can tell u, that every single position in the team is impt.. otherwise, why do we need 11 players? I firmly believe that if you strive to give ur best in whichever position you play in, u can be a hero anywhere. As for the goals, don't worry so much...if possible we try to let everyone score.. and if we manage to dominate and lead a game, we will rotate our position.. but for now, lets concentrate on our roles ok?

3. Fitness - it shouldn't be a chore guys.. I know how tiring it can get..believe me.. when i do my run every tuesday.. i feel damn slack and draggy.. but i know it will pay off for me in the future games.. Please try to keep yourself fit ..its for ur own good too..warm ups are a must,.. try to do basic stretch.. i dun want anymore injuries.. smokers.. i wun stop u but try to cut down or smoke earlier and not smoke and not do warm ups before the match..it doesn;t show unity in the sense..

4. Team Selection and substitution - I try to play everyone equally as much as possible.. but depending on the match and tactics, i have to make certain calls.. its not telling anyone that he is lousy nor is it biased on my part.. Fitness, game play, form, game attitude and linking up with team are some of the aspects that i consider... try to be understanding on this part..

5. Team spirit - We started out not knowing each other well.. but after so long together, we ought to be very close. I can say you guys are all my important friends in my social circle. The game is like a war, and you guys are my comrades. I am counting on you to watch my back, support me, help me, fight by my side. Conversely, I will be watching your back, supporting u, helping u and fight by urside. There's no point in finger pointing, blaming and passing the buck.If we lose, we lose as a team. Remind each other, advise each other, help each other.. not grunt, not blame. If you try to beat the defenders on your own, I will support you..but dun be too proud to not accept my support and try to dribble on ur own everytime.. look up, look beside.. sometimes its faster to pass den to dribble. We should work as a unit, a team.. and we must work as one.

With that I urge u all to be understanding and responsive. Stand up and be counted!

I will be looking forward to the coming games and emerge victorious!

Back to Back matches

Can i get a show of hands who's ok with playing back to back matches on the 22nd of March(sat morning) and 23rd of march(sunday)? The team we'll be up against on the 22nd is a familiar face, shangwei's team. (We whopped their assess thrice if u remember) .