Is anything happening with Loveday's idea of Monday night training sessions...starting from this coming Monday (22nd Feb) ?

Was this discussed on Sunday in the changing rooms or down the Pub ?
Has it been booked up yet ?

Clearly it has not been booked up as you told me not to book it until after discussions on Sunday.

I will book it up so long as it is still available and the club give me th go ahead.

I don't think there is any danger of anybody else booking it on a Monday night to be honest, so I think we are safe discussing it on here...which is much easier than by e-mail.
I would like to get everybody's opinion first, as I am assuming it was not discussed on Sunday ?

Club members please note: This is a regular Monday Night Training session we are proposing, starting from this coming Monday night on the floodlit 'grass'/mud area round the back of the Barrass Stadium (where we trained briefly at the start of last season).
On that occasion we didn't officially book the training pitch, but this time we will be, and it only costs £15.00 for two hours.
Obviously that suggests there are no changing rooms & showers, but that was the case last season when Terry Moore let us use Old Eds' floodlit bit in the stadium, so there is no reason why our players can't just bring a change of clothing and get changed in their cars if necessary.

We will be booking the pitch from 6.30-8.30.p.m. and aiming to start by 7.00.p.m. at the latest.
The first hour will be a manic fitness session organised by Jacko and hopefully Barney, which will include fast two-touch small-sided games, then we will do shooting, crossing, passing, etc. practice for the last half-hour.
We will NOT be standing around getting cold doing tactical stuff. As key players like Conor & Stuart won't be there, there is no point anyway.
The main aim is to improve our fitness, sharpness and touch in order to cope with any more lengthy spells when we have games called off on Sundays.
We would not have lost to Yavruvatan and drawn with St. Margaretsbury if we had had this then (in my opinion).

The reason we are going to train on Monday nights is because there is no Champions League on TV and Monday nights do not interfere with Saturday team training sessions, work 5-a-sides, my filming commitments, and various other things.
We used to train on Monday nights back in the early/mid-90's and had excellent turn-outs. Obviously, some players were unable to attend after picking up injuries over the weekend, but if players say they are not going to train on a Monday night because they are 'too stiff' from playing the day before, well I'm sorry, but that's no excuse whatsoever.

If we book this session, as far as I am concerned, there is no reason why the following players cannot get there ready for a 7.00.p.m. start on a fairly regular basis...even if they have to come straight from work in a suit and walk for 25 minutes from Edmonton Green Station !? (unless they inform us otherwise on here...NOW):
Jacko, Barney, Loveday, Steve Cokell, Tony King, Tem, Kris, Danny Hagan, Terry Moore, Jim, Gavin Mardell & various other players from Jim's Saturday side (including Aaron Illsley...hopefully and Tim Beeden ?).

There are also other possibles as follows:
Rob Brown, Terry Brown, Danny Smith & Jamie Martin...If they are prepared to come straight from work when they live in Cheshunt ? I have a feeling that getting to the Barrass for 7.00.p.m. may be too inconvenient, but I hope I'm wrong ?
Daley...It was him who wanted training most of all and was going to leave because we didn't. I suspect though, that his idea of training was so that he could work on his partnership with Conor (and Stuart) in doing more tactical staff (e.g. movement/set-pieces), but they are not going to be there. Also, I know he still works nights and he arranged to get one night off a week to train with McKenzie Rangers. That was obviously not a Monday night though. Again, I hope I am wrong and that he can attend...and bring Jamile Little and Ramel Palmer with him, both of whom are still registered.
Kizza...Said he is moving to live in Chelsea soon ! I very much doubt if he will be able to come training if that's the case ?
Darryl...Works late and lives too far away ?
Foysol...He came training last season a couple of times, but he may have too many business interests now.
Rob Jackson...Tem's mate who played 7-a-side last Summer. He is registered.

I also get prospective new players phoning up every other week wanting to come training, while Loveday said he can get players from Norsemen to come along to make up the numbers (I don't know if he means Danny Green & Scott Jenkins ? ), and Terry Moore says he can get players from Old Eds. (Colin Bester ?).

So there you have it.
Can I have some feedback today & tomorrow please ?
We will probably need to book the pitch on Thursday to get it for next Monday.

I can't make it till 7.30

i will try and make it. I'm working in Battersea and i can only leave early every now and then. If we had a mid week game for instance, i could swing it as it would only be here and there and of course if Jacko can't make the game. Plus it's a long day for me being at work from 6.45am!! But i will try.

I'll be there

Generally, work permitting, I would be able to attend for 6.30pm.

Will defo attend if it goes ahead

as have lectures think can make 7:30

i don t work night any more so i can train.

May not be able to make this week but will not be able to make it for 7 anyway, 7:30 at best.

Well, it looks like we have a reasonable amount of interest so far, although it's a bit worrying that Barney, Terry Moore and Danny Hagan have not replied yet. Do they do other things on Mondays that they don't want to admit !?

I have told Enfield Council that we want to go ahead with booking it anyway, but they have said that it will be from Monday 1st March instead of this coming Monday (22nd Feb.) as they have to get the paperwork/invoicing sorted out first.

Also, because Steve Cokell, Tony King & Kris said they can't get there until 7.30.p.m. at the earliest, I asked if we could book from 7.00.-9.00.p.m. instead, but unfortunately another team has got the pitch booked between 8.30.p.m. & 9.30.p.m.
That means we are going to have probably only four or five players there between 6.30 & 7.00.p.m. for Jacko's manic warm-up session, with most players only getting 30-45 minutes worth of training because they wont be able to get there until sometime between 7.30. & 8.00.p.m.
However, that is just something we will have to put up with. It is better than nothing.

I assume these players are intending going home first straight from work to eat something and get changed, which is why they will be late ? This is when people get into Sofa Mode and then don't turn up at all (in my opinion).
That shouldn't be an excuse for Kris as he lives right next to the ground, but I can certainly see players not having the motivation to go out again for a 30-minute drive/cab/bus ride/walk to get there on a cold, wet & windy night after going home from work first.

At the moment, it is unclear whether we can use the Barrass changing rooms & showers or not. The bloke at Enfield Council had no idea.
If we can use them, then I think players should make an effort to come to training straight from work.

More details will be announced once I have received confirmation.

Dont panic lol i will turn up

Nope thats not the reason at all Lol.

Good.
It must just be Conor who is like that then, seeing as he first came up with that 'Sofa Mode' comment.

I must admit though, if I could actually get a sofa through my front door into my house, I would be reluctant to go training after sitting down on one.

Right...there's been a slight hitch.

Enfield Council are now saying that we can only use the floodlit area between 6.30.p.m. and 8.00.p.m. (as opposed to 8.30.p.m.).
They have also confirmed that there are definitely no changing rooms & showers available.

I have told them that we will give them an answer on Monday.

The way I see it is if we have to finish at 8.00.p.m., then it will not be worthwhile for a large number of players who cannot get there until 7.30.p.m.ish.
...unless Terry Moore can open up the Old Eds clubhouse, get their floodlights out, and along with our own portable floodlight, we then have shooting practice into the back of the goal on the stadium pitch from 8.00.p.m. until 'whenever'.
It will be a lot of pissing about moving equipment, but the only other options I can see are to train on the floodlit 'mud' area at the Barrass with only 5 or 6 players there or to hire a much more expensive Astroturf pitch somewhere...and on Monday nights, most of those are booked up for 5-a-side Leagues. (Certainly the Southbury Leisure Centre Astroturfs are).

Unfortunately, Terry Moore cannot post on this Forum from work and he doesn't have a computer working at home (as far as I know), so it looks like we will have to wait until Sunday to find out from him if it's a possibility.

Your thoughts in the meantime please...

Monday nights = not good for me. I definitely can't make Monday 1st March, as I'm on holiday, after that, I'm probably looking at attending 1 in 4.

Unfortunately, following discussions between players at our match against East Herts on Sunday, it has now become clear that Monday Night Training sessions (or indeed training sessions on any other night of the week) are simply not going to happen.
The main reason for this is because Enfield Council have now informed us that we can only hire the floodlit area outside the Barrass Stadium between 6.30 & 8.00.p.m. (instead of until 8.30.p.m.) on Monday evenings, so with numerous players not being able to get there from work until 7.30.p.m., there is no point in them only having a 30-minute session.

In addition to that, a number of other players admitted that they would not attend on Monday nights because they either do other sports or they would be 'too stiff' from playing on both Saturdays and Sundays every weekend.
With that being the case, there is no real point in looking for an alternative venue for training on a Monday night where we may be able to train from 7.30.p.m. until 9.00.p.m. (It would be too expensive anyway, especially if only 6 or 7 players were prepared to turn up every week).

A number of players can make training on either a Tuesday, Wednesday or a Thursday night, but then there are just as many who cannot attend on one or more of those three nights.
We also have several players who cannot attend training on any night because of work & family commitments or because they live too far away. Not that we can book anywhere for training on a Tuesday, Wednesday or a Thursday night anyway. Most floodlit pitches are now used for 5-a-side Leagues on those nights and have been fully booked by established clubs & organisations for years.

At the moment, we will not be entering a team in the Summer 7-a-side League either, because those of our players who organised it last Summer now have too many work & family commitments. This means we will not be able to look at any new players until Pre-Season Training and/or Friendlies on Sunday mornings in August. Basically, we will just be carrying on as we are now for the rest of this season and throughout next season where we just rely on players to go down the gym, play 5-a-side with work teams or go running and swimming on the day(s) it suits them in an effort to get fit of their own accord.

It is clear that the only way we are ever going to be able to have midweek training sessions again is if something like 80-90% of our club members are unmarried younger players in the 18-25 age bracket with no kids and no responsible jobs in the City, etc. where they have to work ridiculously long hours. They would also need to be playing Sunday football only and not have midweek training sessions for Saturday clubs and also not be supporters of Champions League clubs.

At the moment, we are not prepared to 'get rid' of all our over-25's as we would rather be loyal to them and let them play for as long as they want to, even if that means we have no chance of winning a trophy and continue to finish in mid-table every season.

Very Harash words!

You dont sound very happy with your team laurence, maybe you should concentrate on keeping your team happy and playing good football rather than moaning about sorting out training and what not!

There all adults and should keep themself in good shape.

Up the Rovers!

"Get rid of over 25's"?

What you gonna do? Play 2 a side?

Yes, they should keep themselves in good shape, but not all of them can because of work & family commitments.
I am not 'moaning' about that. It's just one of those things.

I am 'not happy'/worried because I can see the club folding at some stage next season.

That's because we are currently in a situation where we cannot attract known Premier/Division One-quality new players to the club because we do not have training (where they can get to know everyone) and because the majority of our current players are perceived as not having the necessary fighting spirit to win trophies and would rather play for fun.
In fact that has been the case since the early 90's. We have always played good football and the majority of our players have not been bothered by the fact that we have not won a trophy for 22 years and not reached a (First Team) Cup Final for 24 years.
Our team spirit has always been good and it still is, despite what it may appear.

What is starting to happen now, and what will continue to happen next season, is that some of our quality players who have played for years (for fun) will leave because of increasing work & family commitments, those of our players who want to 'win at all costs' and have training sessions will then leave because we are losing every week through having a lack of Division One-quality players, and we will not be able to see what any prospective new players are like because we don't have training.
We will then end up having to sign new players without any of our current players having brought them along and seeing them play.
Most of them will almost certainly be 'bullshitters' who claim to have previously played 'Semi-Pro' but have only ever had a kickabout over the park and will be totally out of their depth in Division One. Most of them will be wanting to join us just so that they can get on video and have some clips to post on their Facebook page in the hope that will get them on x-factor and Britains Got Talent.
Some of our players will know who I am talking about there !
The chances of us finding another Kizza or a Danny Hagan (both who asked to join us when they didn't know any of our players) is pretty much zero in my opinion.

We will then get thrashed every week and our remaining Division One-quality players will then say 'What's the point ?' and leave...and that will be it.
No more Rovers...after 35 years.
...and all because our current players cannot go training.

Our current players are all aware of this situation though, and we will continue to try and find a solution in order to keep the club going.