Have just got home from another debacle...our 'umpteenth' 7-a-side League defeat in a row, this time by a 10-1 margin.

The main reason for that was because we were playing quality opposition (again) without our best players, and because four half-decent players dropped out at the last minute and had to be replaced by myself (too old), Ed Mehmet (not good enough) and Loveday's mate from Edmonton Cricket Club Adam Bilimoria, who was clearly very unfit.

I am NOT having a go at Ed or 'Billy', as they both gave 100%, as did I.
What I am annoyed about is the sheer number of players who keep dropping out less than an hour before kick-off, leaving me to be informed of that by others while I am driving to the venue.
What the fack can I do about it when THAT happens !!!?

We have the likes of Danny Hagan, Tony King, Terry Moore, Kizza & others all willing to play two nights a week, but they are invariably just sitting at home doing nothing thanks to players suddenly deciding an hour before kick-off that they are studying for exams, or it looked like it was going to rain, or they suddenly decided to work overtime, or they couldn't find out the kick-off time (or my phone number) because the website was offline...or whatever.

There is no doubt about it...if the likes of Danny Hagan, Terry & maybe Rob Brown had all played instead of myself, Ed & Billy, there is no way that we would lost 10-1, and in fact we probably would have given them a reasonably close game, maybe only losing by the odd goal or two ?

I'm sorry, but this is like 'kickabout over the park' stuff at the moment, where it 'doesn't matter' if somebody drops out !
Well it DOES matter !
We are a proper club playing competitive matches, and those players being brought along to play 7-a-side need to be told that.

It is also like a kickabout over the park the way we are PLAYING at the moment, and unless we can find an 11-a-side Astroturf to train on next season (which we WON'T ), that sort of thing is going to continue, as (in my opinion) it is impossible to coach our younger players to play a team game and the basics of 11-a-side in a competitive 7-a-side match, as we can't stop the play and tell them where they are going wrong.

Fortunately we have no match next Monday.
However, I am on holiday next week, so Trevor is going to have to pick the squad for our next Monday Night match (on the 30th June...another 9.00.p.m. kick-off).

So...
1) Does he pick Tony King, Danny Hagan, Terry Moore, Kizza & others for that and leave out all the 'youngsters' and new players (apart from maybe Tem & Oz) ?

2) Do we ask the likes of Stuart Dorward, Conor, Shaun O'Neill, John Beasley & others from the 'old school' to play a one-off match so that we 'win' for a change ?

3) Do we pick all the youngsters again and inform those who let us down this week that they MUST try and decide if they are playing or not by mid-afternoon of the day of the match and put it on the Forum (or text me) if they are playing or not.

The suggestion by Steve Cokell & Tony Speller in the bar afterwards was that from now onwards I should text all players in the squad on the morning of the match to check if they are playing or not, and that if any do not text back by say 5.00.p.m, then I take it that they are NOT playing and therefore call up replacements.
That one is not a bad idea, but I will have to get my mobile phone bills itemised and charge the club.

Your suggestions are welcome.
We are in a mess at the moment, and we need to get out of it as soon as possible, otherwise players will start leaving or will change their minds about joining.

Go with Option number 1. Our regular players on a sunday would benefit more with fitness they'll gain from playing twice a week, plus playing together would feel more like training. So the likes of T.king and Hagan is a better idea.

I agree with Steve, if people are treating it like a kick about and have no intentions of playing Sunday's cant see why they should be picked above those who will be.

All the youngsters Oz has been bringing along ARE interested in playing for us on Sundays.

The problem we had last night was that Oz had no idea that three of them were not playing until he went round their houses 45 minutes before kick-off to pick them up and give them a lift.
I am not blaming Oz for them dropping out last night, but I AM 'blaming' him to some extent for presumably not making them aware that this is NOT a 'kickabout over the park', but a competitive match for a proper club where they need to inform him (or myself directly, preferably via the Forum) EARLIER IN THE DAY if they cannot play so that we have time to find adequate replacements for the standard of opposition we are playing.
If Oz DID tell them that when they asked to join the club but they ignored him because they think it's like a 'kickabout over the park' (so he had every right to think they were playing when he went round to pick them up), then fair enough. If that's the case, we won't bother with those players again.
It may be that only two of them were at fault. I don't know.
This was what I was trying to say to him last night on the final whistle but he just 'went into one' and wouldn't listen.

It's not just players that Oz is bringing along though.
I have had loads of other instances in the last year or so at both 7-a-side AND 11-a-side where players have turned up to a match (or phoned me on my mobile while I have been driving to a match) to say 'Oh by the way, xxxxxx isn't playing. He's working late/ill/babysitting'.

Obviously, everyone was in a really foul mood after my final whistle rant last night and I saw Oz, James & Tem all storm off and go straight home.
I would play all three of them in our next Monday night match though, together with Steve, Speller & Loveday.
O.K., none of them played well last night, but to be honest we were outclassed all round.
We then use Danny Hagan & Tony King, etc. on Monday nights as well to replace those who let us down last night.

I don't agree with certain established club members who think that our younger players will 'never' learn how to make the transition from playing 'kickabout over the park & Youth 7-a-side League/Youth 11-a-side Astroturf Friendly matches between themselves' to playing for us against Ryman League Premier-Division quality players in competitive 11-a-side matches.
I happen to think that all the players Oz has brought along so far (with one obvious exception) have just as much natural ability as some of our 'Greats Of The Past' had when they were their age, James in particular. Our Greats Of The Past were much more fortunate to be playing in Division 5 when they first started playing mens' football, and therefore any naievity they had was not so apparent at that level.

If we don't have training next season, we will just have to shout more from the touchline at them and coach them that way...starting at 7-a-side matches.

Sorry i played bad yesterday, i was called 25 minutes before kick off, iv'e been unwell and injured, i came as a favour to Oz and the rest of the team as he said you would be short on players, i know for 100% i can play better than i did and i'm fitter generally than i looked yesterday, just thought id make that clear anyway.

Good luck o whatever you decide.

Just for the record Lol, I didn't storm off after last nights game with Oz and James. I went to the bar to have a chat with Trev.

On another note, I'll let Eugene and Toni know that if they want to play for this club they have got to take it seriously.

I am under the impression regarding Eugene that when he played the previous week, it was a case of someone saying to him 'Do you want a game of 7-a-side tonight ?' and that was it, so he turned up without realising it was a 'serious' match for a proper club and was none the wiser afterwards !?

We have ALL done the 'I'm not coming cos it's raining' thing for kickabouts over the park when we were youngsters (except for Jacko as he's a Northerner ? ).
Whether that WAS Eugene's excuse for 'disappearing' when Oz/Tem called him last night I don't know, but I thought he looked a decent player when he turned up the week before.

If Tem or Oz can assure me that Eugene, Antonio & Adriano all now realise who they are playing for (and maybe reading http://www.edmontonrovers.co.uk/The%20Present/all_about.htm will help !), then I will certainly pick them again, although probably not all for the same match.

lol lets get this right i dnt care wat u say but this team is not going to ever exceed in life if we dnt get any youngesters if u coming with that ball S*** of ugin dnt like playing in the rain then forget his parents was in hospital so wat do u want the guy to do come and play football whlie his parents r dieing its ok with u takling the piss out of people the way we play and wen we do mistakes.

you got to understand every person does mistakes and have bad days but u cussing then on the web site doesnt help in futre u got to stop taking the piss out of people thats y i blow a fit on u becoz u come out with so much rubbish its unberlivebal so stop it i spoke to trev before the seven a side and asked him if i could bring along some of my mates to play along and i have he said to0 me the seven a side is like traing and for any new comers.
ok iam sorry i did not phone them a day before the game but u got to understand i have a life as well i work!!!!!!!! so dnt get u anger out on me and started to blame me the rubbish u got becoz if we never have any younger plays in this squad u guys wont have a furte no affens to any of the guys but so of the players dnt want to be playing untill there dead. so not me my self out U GOT TO SORT UR SELF OUT AND STOP TAKING THE PISS OUT OF PEOPLE WHEN THEY DO MISTAKES!!!!!!

there is loads more things this team is got to understand is that this team needs traing if we dnt have traing nobody will want to play for this team so u go to count ur self lucky that we got new players. y do u think any plays want to stay at this team with u lol taking the piss out of them u piss me of some times even wen i conceed goals with ball s*** saying about my high i know u doing the squad every week but u got to understand u cant just pick any players if u dnt see how the players play so instead of all those sugesten u gave like 1, bull s*** 2,bull s*** 3, bull s*** i think u should look thoug the yellow pages and find an astrotuff so we can train on we give the team enough mony every week wat do u lot do with the money ?????? so if that was me i think we should be paying nothing becoz we dnt train so wat is the pointpaying money if we r not traing. if trev cant find us a traing ground then as his helper or colleuge u should finds us a traing pitch to train and see how these new players r themn u can pick u squard for the games thats wat i think should of been in one of ur suggestins.

Oz i agree with some of your points fella. It is NOT your responsibility to chase players even if they are your friends and get them to the game, we are all adults and i am sure, correct me if i am wrong that everyone should be able to make some sort of contact to say if they are not playing.

As for the fella not turning up because it was raining, you cannot have a go at Lol for that as he was only going by what i said and what i was told in the changing rooms. Young players are required but as last season showed these players also have a responsibility to turn up or get in touch, same as everyone else.

I think if your honest with yourself we have played pretty poorly recently and all made mistakes.

On a seperate note: It seems that club morale is low at the moment and after a long exhausting season last year and a lack of attendance at the end of season do i suggest that we organise some sort of booze up or activity to get things moving in the right direction for the up coming season.

as his helper or colleuge (in relation to Trev)

Undoubtedly the funniest description of Lol I have ever read. Just like Homer's helper monkey, Mojo.

To answer Loveday's last point...Absolutely !
It's called the A.G.M. (which is when we hand out the end-of-season-awards and watch the Goal Of The Season DVD, etc.).
...but only about 30% of our current players are likely to be in attendance because they have more important priorities...and that would be the case whatever we do. It's just because people lead busier lives nowadays.
If EVERYBODY turned up (including all prospective new players), had a few beers and watched the DVD's together, it would make a massive difference to team spirit.
That was what used to happen in the mid-90's and it ended up with us finishing joint-second in the Premier Division.

To answer some of Oz's points, I am actually quite offended by some of the allegations he is making, and I would like him to retract the comment he has made regarding Eugene.
AT NO TIME on Monday was I told that his parents are in hospital, and to accuse me of actually KNOWING that and taking the piss out of such a heartbreaking situation is downright scandalous.

Yes, I take the piss out of players. Similar things are said in the changing rooms where it is called 'banter'. I am never in the changing rooms, so I do it on here....where I admit I do go over the top at times, and I will apologise if necessary.
What I would say to Oz (and the other youngsters) is that if they cannot tolerate a bit of banter and piss-taking, then they are not going to survive in men's football.
They are lucky that master wise-crackers Junior (John Beasley) and Shaun O'Neill are not still playing for us...although with a bit of luck they might be next season !!!???

In most cases though, I am just stating the obvious, which is what the Video Notes are all about.
Oz, when I mention that you have let in goals because of a lack of height, it's a FACT and a legitimate REASON for us conceding. I am NOT taking the piss for facks sake !!!
Are we saying you should leave the club because you are not tall enough/good enough ? NO WE ARE NOT !!!
It's only the same as us conceding a goal when Wooly, Terry, Loveday & Speller are too slow and can't sprint.

Oz, the other allegation you have made that I am really annoyed about is that you think I have made no effort to find somewhere for us to have training next season.
In addition to that, you are saying that I think the youngsters are ALL rubbish so we don't need training and should rely on the older players, and you are even suggesting that myself and Trevor are trousering club money !!!
Where the hell did you get those ideas from ?!!!
Despite being massively busy with filming & editing work at the moment, I have spent hours during the past few weeks trying to find somewhere for us to train.
The simple fact is that we cannot get an Astroturf anywhere locally between 8.00. & 9.00.p.m. on a Thursday night because Non-League (Semi-Pro) Saturday clubs train at those times.
Bearing in mind that a lot of players cannot train on Tuesday or Wednesday nights, the Management Committee are still discussing what to do, but we are NOT going to book a 5-a-side court just yet until that is a last resort.
I can assure you that we DEFINITELY want to use a Astroturf with an 11-a-side goal...for YOUR benefit, Oz !!!...and with an 11-a-side penalty area marked out so that we can coach the youngsters how to play 11-a-side properly.
You obviously have no idea how much these pitches cost. If we have training, the £5.00 weekly subs will NOT cover the cost.

Regarding the youngsters, the reason I was so upset on Monday Night was because...unlike other club members who are extremely pessimistic about their ability...I was actually really looking forward to seeing Eugene, Antonio, Adriano & James play against semi-pro standard opposition.
Personally, I think they are all very promising players and they can be the future of this club...if we have training.

lol iam sorry for some of the stuff i said and want to say thanks to all the lads that understand my situation and iam sorry for it but some things had to be said so we put things behind us and look forward to the next game

I second that.

Are we allowed to take the piss out of your spelling though, Oz ?

you guys are onborlivibell

on the AGM front the Beehive are more than happy to do something - just got to check available dates fromt them

Fromt? You borrahed Oz's Dciktoinarie?

Stu, I'll be e-mailing you an Agenda in a couple of hours' time.

On next week's episode..... Grammar, and all that other ball s***.

Those Oz replies must have been written by Jacko!
Big George-esque, the similarity is uncanny

Vintage forum!

Good old Yellow Pages!

I wanna know two things. 1) How the fook did Lol work out what was writen? 2) Who typed Oz's apology?

Deej, over the years since this website has been up and running, I suspect that reading our piss-taking replies on this Forum has helped many a Rovers player in their education and mastery of the English language when their schools have previously failed them.

all bar osborn

I think its easily the funniest thing i've ever read on here!

Isn't it great that every time someone messes something up on here it always comes back to how stupid Osborn is.

Marvellous

Osborn's classic 'Profit Of Dome' (instead of Prophet Of Doom) was one of the funnier ones, but I seem to remember one of the Cokell's posting (anonymously) an article about our players under the headline 'Fashion Fopars' (instead of 'Fashion Faux Pas').
I know it's French, but even so...

There were numerous other spelling and grammar mistakes in it as well.
Neither Steve or Gary would admit it was them.

I have scrapbooks full of funny Forum postings from the Osborn era....and believe me, it wasn't just him !

I'll resurrect a few of them on here when I get time.

It was not me!

where and wot time is the game on thursday. I want to play if im allowed 2.

quality post, have to admit that was mine , but spelling errors were deliberate!!
have to say lol your posts on this debate have been first class!!