24th April 08
Firstly
a big thank-you to the players for their hard work this season and of course to
the parents for their help and support.
While
the lads may feel it’s been a frustrating season in terms of results I’d like to
think they can look beyond that and see the progress that has been made. We have
been more than a match for the best teams in the league and given a bit more
luck in front of goal we would have easily been a top four
team.
It was
ironic that the season should end with a mirror image of so many games this
campaign. Eye came to us as the current league leaders but we could have been 2
or 3 up in the first 15 minutes having carved out some glorious chances. At the
back we comfortably held them for 30 minutes but found ourselves 2-0 down by
half time when their big centre forward was finally able to find a bit of space
to get a couple of shots away. As we pushed to get back into it in the second
half it was inevitable that Eye would exploit that but to lose 4-0 was a
travesty.
I’m left
feeling that I could have written one match report to cover so many of this
season’s games!
However, there are many
positives to come out of the season. A number of players were adjusting to life
in division 1 having moved from lower league teams, and while they may think
it’s been tough and they’ve come off the pitch a bit battered and bruised on
occasions, I’m sure they also feel a great sense of personal pride in the
performances they put in and are hopefully glad they made the
move.
I’m sure
we are all now reflecting on the season just past and during the last few weeks
of training I’ll do the usual individual chats to discuss the way forward. If
anyone has anything they want to discuss in the meantime please grab
me.
In one
respect we are perhaps lucky that our season has finished and our planning can
start now. However, even though some teams are playing into May you can bet your
bottom dollar that they are already tapping up their targets for next season. We
know, and on occasions to our cost, that the current top four are always on the
lookout for the best talent and while I still prefer to work on improving
players on the training ground I still need to consider whether the addition of
some new signings will turn us into serious challengers. It is therefore my
intention to introduce new boys into the remaining training sessions as I plan
for our entry into the Youth League.
Unlike
the Junior Alliance there is no limit to how many players a team can sign in the
Youth League. However, I don’t see this as doing anyone any favours when you
consider you can still only put 16 names on the teamsheet each week and of the
five named subs you can only use 3! I therefore feel that a squad of 16 is
probably still the maximum we’d want in order to cover for injuries and absences
so it will mean there will be weeks when at least 2 players won’t get any game
time. This, I’m sure you’ll agree, is a big issue that we all need to
consider.
So just
a reminder that from Tuesday 29th April we’ll train at the ground
from 6:30. The last session is likely to be 20th May. If I can
squeeze any more friendlies in before then I will. I will be taking a 6-a-side
squad to the Alconbury tournament on Saturday 7th June, squad to be
advised.
Finally,
please don’t forget to return your voting slips for the player of the year
awards to me as soon as possible as we look to formally bring the season to an
end at the presentation night on 30th May.
All the
best