Let the bad results roll

Played a game this Sunday and we lost 3-1, which might not sound too bad, but, the only thing is that we only play well in spells and have absolute nightmares for the rest of the game.
I tried to get the team to push out and get the opposition off-side but that backfired as only half the players actually pushed out and the other half didn’t.
I am going to take a couple of weeks off from it I think and really push with my new fitness resume to get my self Sharpe and ready for football, otherwise I think I could easily pack it all in, as I can’t see us winning another game at all this season.
The manager will always play the Team secretary and treasurer, who are the two worse players in the team, but this isn’t going to change and that means that every week two better players are stuck on the bench. We are definitely relegated, which I’m hoping will help pull the socks up for a lot of the players who think they are above what the team is actually capable of accomplishing, as at the moment we don’t have a good enough starting 11 for this league at the moment.

Been Busy

I haven’t been writing recently as I have been far too busy, in the middle of completing my CISCO CCNA qualification, which is going unbelievably well.

Football:
Results haven’t been going are way recently, losing last Sunday to Duke of York, and scrapping a draw against Potters Wheel. Both of these should have been wins, but what can you do…eh…

Team Training has now completely fallen by the wayside and it’s left to the individual now, which in my case is fine as I do plenty of keep fit etc. but what about the players who do nothing? Will they just get fatter and slower?

Trying to get some sort of training resume sorted to help manage my time better, I’m not a professional athlete, so I’m not going to let it take over my life, just to be a healthy part of it.

Monday:
Run – 3miles
Upper Body Exercise – Arm 4 * 10
Shoulder 3 * 10
Sit up 4 * 20
Press up 3 * 10
Tuesday:
Rest

Wednesday:
Run – 3miles
Lower Body Exercise – Squat 4 * 10
Weighted Squat 3 * 10
Step 3 * 10
Sit up 4 * 20
Press up 3 * 10

Thursday:
Rest

Friday:
Football or Run

Saturday:
Ball Skills

General Exercises - Squat 3 * 10
Arm 3 * 10
Shoulder 2 * 10
Sit up 3 * 20
Press up 2 * 10

Sunday:
Football Match or Training

Round Three – Staffs Cup 1st Round

After a second successive knock down, though this time not as excessive, a 3-1 defeat at home to Corner Pin though Seabridge hit the woodwork twice and also had two chances cleared off the line, the outcome of the game could have been completely different. Seabridge just manage to muster 11 players for a tough cup fixture against Yarnfield College.

Lee Wilshaw returns to the Seabridge side after a season out whilst his wife had a baby, also the Seabridge featured two new faces to the side:
Chris Williams – A central defender;
Joe Fletcher – a young fast striker;

Seabridge dominated the game and could not find the back off the net as Seabridge had two shots tipped over the bar by the Yarnfield keeper, final result 2-1 to Yarnfield College, but that could have easily been 4-2 to the Seabridge:

Fletcher – 6 Poor performance again, poor keeping for second goal;

Cooper – 8 Great performance, tackled hard and attacked well, setting up Seabridge goal;
Joseph – 7 Dissapointed to be playing full back after a great performance upfront the previous week;
Chris Williams – 6 First match and lacked sharpness, but looks like he could be a v.good Centre half;
Wilson – 6 was at fault for second goal, though was fairly solid for the rest of the game;

Smith – 6 Battled in midfield but lacked game sharpness;
Orpe – 8 fought well and tried to create passing movement when available;
Wilshaw – 7 played like he hadn’t been away, coming close to scoring;
Riley – 7 Scored and was a constant threat to the opposition full back;

Joe Fletcher – 6 quite first game, not really managing to accomplish much;
Thursfield – 6 Won his fair share of headers but didn’t manage to do anything else.

Orpe gained his second M-O-M award, and Cooper gains his 3rd assist of the campaign.

After three games the Fantasy Football table is as follows:
Joseph11
Orpe9
Riley8
Turner7
Thursfield3

I am currently in 6th place with two points; Thursfield is in 5th place on appearances alone, but Joseph has taken the top spot for the first time ever, and new guy Orpe is close on Joseph’s heels with 9 points after gaining MOM twice.

Round Two – Corner Pin

After a knock down in round one of the league Seabridge just about pick them selves up for another tough round against rejuvenated opponents Corner Pin.

Corner Pin has had some previous players return injecting some quality into what was a very poor side last year.

After a poor training session by the Seabridge last Sunday, people (including me) fear that another knock down could be on the cards this Sunday.

If all Seabridge players turn up for Sundays game I predict a tough and closely fought game between the two sides, in which the Seabridge could just edge the game.
My predicted team for Sunday is as follows:

GK – Fletcher – Poor performance Sunday, keeping faith he can redeem himself

RB – Cooper –Unlucky start to first game, keep confidence levels high and perform;
LB – Walker- Came on Sunday and performed well, good pace and heading ability
CB – Ray – Not as Sharpe as previous seasons, though this could be down to morale;
CB – Wilson – Relish big games, think he will be looking forward to tough match;

DM – Smith – Battler in midfield and looking forward to another ball winning season;
AM – Turner – As long as he uses vision on the ball, will be main supplier to forwards;
RM – Joseph – Need battling performance and more attacking play;
LM – Riley – Drifted out of last weeks game, need his to stay focused on job at hand;

FW – Orpe – Fitness and skill on ball will give the CP defense all sorts of problems;
FW – Beaman, P – Technique with ball at feet is brilliant; as long as he stays on the pitch he should score a hatful.

This game we need to keep the ball on the ground and work Corner Pin, there fitness will not be very high and we could have them on there knees by half time if we play the ball around well enough. The wingers need to push there full backs and tire them out to make are job in the last 15 minutes an easy game. If all players do turn up, I could see Beaman and Orpe becoming a good combination in attack, one with vision and the technique, the other strong, fit and able.

Based on full squad score 3 – 1 to Seabridge.
Based on depleted squad, score 1 – 1

First Game...First Loss

What a dreadful first match this weekend, poor performance by everyone led to a 5-1 drubbing which was by no way fun or enjoyable.
First half started with Seabridge kicking up the slope and a crossed ball from right to left from the New Inn winger came back post where Cooper was over run by two New Inn players and the all three players bundled the ball into the net with Cooper having to admit the own goal.
Then in quick succession New Inn hit three long balls over the Seabridge defence (Bailey) and the New Inn striker beat Bailey for pace and lobbed the ball over the watching Seabridge keeper, all three carbon copy.
Cooper redeemed him self slightly as he hit a long free kick back post where Turner met the ball with powerful header to get a goal back, a similar situation minutes before halftime led to Turner missing a header back post.
Next half Seabridge hitting down the slope managed to gain some momemtum but a lack luster strike partnership, didn't managed to yield nothing as the midfield were having to put in all the offensive effort.
Then to make matters worse, ten minutes before the final whistle a reckless challenge by Cooper brought down a New Inn player in the box and conceded a penalty, 5-1 to New Inn.
A very poor game by myself and the rest of the Seabridge team. Now we are sitting at the bottom of the league, but on the positive side the only way is up.

Fletcher - 6

Cooper - 5
Bailey - 5
Ray - 6
Wilson - 6

Joseph - 6
Riley - 5
Orpe - 7
Turner - 7

Thursfield - 5
Lockett - 5

Subs:
Walker - 6
Beech - 5
Nixon, D - 6

Man of the Match - Orpe

Fantasy Football update:
Turner 6
Orpe 4
Cooper -3

First Game of the season: Preview

Sunday is the first game of the league campaign and the year Seabridge prove they are a team to be reckoned with, though you would be correct in thinking otherwise as the pre-season matches have shown a depleted and exacerbated Seabridge.
After a good 1-1 Draw with Britannia in which the Seabridge were unlucky not to win and fielding a strong squad of 22 players, hopes were high.
A second fixture against Redgate First team, who are far superior to us ended in a 5-0 defeat, but not to be too disheartened.
Then a great 3-1 victory against last season rivals Sealion, revenge was sweet though we did notice far less numbers than previously, the rot soon sets in and a embarrassing 5-0 defeat to Loggerheads with only just scraping 11 players together.
Next was AFC Clayton, and another poor turn out and heavy defeat losing 7-2, and once again only fielding 11 players.
Final fixture against fellow league team London Road Tavern and once again only 11 players and another heavy 5-0 defeat.

Friendly Results as follows:

Britannia 1 - 1 Beaman, P
Redgate 5 – 0
Sealion 1 – 3 Smith, Martin, Cooke
Loggerheads 5 – 0
AFC Clayton 7 – 2 Frasier ×2
London Road Tavern 5 – 0

So as you can see not very good!

Five players have also left the team over the pre-season leaving the Seabridge with a modest squad of roughly 16 players. If all these 16 turn up Sunday we would have a good team, but I can’t see it happening.

Injury list:
Beaman, P – Knee Damage return unknown
Smith – Ankle Sprain Return 1 to 2 Weeks
Nixon, G – Thigh Strain Return 1 to 2 Weeks

So first game against recently relegated New Inn should be an interesting encounter;
Predicted Squad:
Cooke – GK

Cooper – RB
Bailey – LB
Ray – CB
Nathan ? – CB

Turner – CM
Orpe – CM
Riley – LM
Joseph – RM

Frasier – FW
Thursfield – FW

Predicted score: 3-1 win to the Seabridge
Also the start of the fantasy football…

Seabridge Exodus

An mass Exodus of 5 players have left the club this pre-season, as management watch on worryingly about the future of the club.
Shaun James left Seabridge for League rivals Smithfield FC;
Ian Rushton, Gavin Sidebotham and Ian Martin all left for an unknown club; though they reassure us that it’s not a team in our league;
Dom Brereton (promising young talent) has left to join fellow local team AFC Clayton of Ansels League, who also snatched previous players Jim Hillman and Roy Preston from us last season.

Luckily we have a few new faces joining for the upcoming season:
Brother’s Carl and Paul Beaman join, Paul previous playing at a high Saturday league standard;
Kev Orpe who is current working under “Her Majesties Service” and seems a very useful and fit player;
Wilson and Beech have joined from Goldenhill WMC, Wilson looks useful but Beech is just a benchwarmer;
Ryan Frasier who also played Saturday league standard has joined and score two goals in his first friendly for the club which looks positive;

With the last friendly this Sunday against London Road Tavern, who the pundits state we really should beat, we need a good win. This should boost morale and give us much needed edge in the first game of the season.

Predicted Lineup for Sundays Game:

Goal Keeper – Cooke
Full Back – Cooper
Full Back – Wilson
Centre Back – Bird
Centre Back – Nathan ?
Side Midfield - Beaman, C
Side Midfield – Riley
Centre Midfield – Orpe
Centre Midfield – Turner
Forward – Beaman, P
Forward – Frasier

Predicted score 4-1 win to the Seabridge…we can only wait and see…

First Friendly of the campaign

Venue: Knutton Rec
Kick Off: 11:00am

Britannia FC 1 Seabridge FC 1
Paul Beaman 61”

A good first game, Seabridge had the better of the chances but went a goal down just after half time. Paul Beaman then equalized as his corner kick curled right past the keeper and into the net. Thursfield also missed an almost unbelievable chance as he hit a ball over the bar from 5 yards out. Rushton also hit a one-on-one straight at the keeper, and P. Beaman managed to beat 3 men and hit a shot right into the keepers arms.
Fair result would have been 5 – 2 to the Seabridge.

1st half team
Cooke 6 didn’t have much to do.
Ray 6 Fairly consistent
Bailey 6 Fairly consistent
Cooper 6 Good tackling but lack of concentration meant miss-controlling the ball.
Brereton 6 Good passing and helped with defending duties
Smith 6 Showed good passing at times
Turner 6 Battled well in the middle of the park
Martin 6 Worked hard but lacked technique to make the most of his time on the ball
Rushton 6 Ran constantly up and down the wing.
Orpe 6 Missed a sitter but showed good potential with the ball
Thursfield 5 Hit one over the bar from 3 yards out.

2nd Half Team
Fletcher 7 Shaky start, but kept the team in the game with some brilliant saves
G. Nixon 5 Good passes but speed let him down
Bird 6 Good interceptions and forward runs
Orpe 6 Missed a sitter but showed good potential with the ball
Beech 5 Slow and seemed very off the pace of the game
C. Beaman 5 Disappointing performance
Riley 7 Great runs with the ball, needs to pass a little earlier
Sidebotham 5 didn’t really do anything
Ryan ? 6 Good in the air and challenging for the ball
P. Beaman 7 Great goal and could of had another two, just needs a little improvement with fitness
Kerns 5 some good touches but very far of the pace. Needs to put a lot of effort into training

On the whole we were a lot fitter than them and it showed in the last 10 minutes where we could have had two or three goals.
On a personal note, not a great performance from me, I tackled and headed the ball well but, I kept on taking my eye of the ball which led to me spilling and miss-controlling the ball. Fitness wise I was fine, need to make sure that I concentrate better next game.
Man of the Match was second half keeper Fletcher, as he kept the Seabridge in the game with some top draw saves.
Next fixture is a game a against Redgate Clayton 1st Team, Wednesday 8th, this will be an extremely tough fixture as they are one of the best amateur Saturday league sides, I think it’s best just to try and practice the basics and forget the score line.