Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Fun and games
Well life's lots of fun at the moment. Loads going on - playing plenty of frisbee and five-aside. Oh and I think I'm supposed to be doing some work in between all the fun stuff but that seems to have taken a back seat at the moment due to a lack of the ability to concentrate (now that's a fun story too....). The weather today is excellent - lovely clear blue sky, though a bit hazey. The shorts are out. I'm showing my scarred legs to the world (too many bad bids for the disc).
The new 5-aside season started last week. We lost one and drew one - pretty annoying considering we'd won one and drawn one against the same teams the week before. (There had been confusion as to when the league was supposed to start). The whole thing ended what had been a great week for me on a high. Ha!
I'm a firm believer in the saying "live and learn" - the idea that you shouldn't dwell too much on mistakes you make but should learn from them in order to try to avoid making the same mistakes again. (Though I'm struggling with the "not dwelling" bit at the moment.) It's not an enjoyable experience to discover you've messed up something but as long as you can work out where you went wrong they can help you in the future. And although its not a nice feeling, another old saying applies here - "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger".
Anyway, enough about mistakes. I think I need a cup of tea.
The new 5-aside season started last week. We lost one and drew one - pretty annoying considering we'd won one and drawn one against the same teams the week before. (There had been confusion as to when the league was supposed to start). The whole thing ended what had been a great week for me on a high. Ha!
I'm a firm believer in the saying "live and learn" - the idea that you shouldn't dwell too much on mistakes you make but should learn from them in order to try to avoid making the same mistakes again. (Though I'm struggling with the "not dwelling" bit at the moment.) It's not an enjoyable experience to discover you've messed up something but as long as you can work out where you went wrong they can help you in the future. And although its not a nice feeling, another old saying applies here - "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger".
Anyway, enough about mistakes. I think I need a cup of tea.
The end of the road
My final article of the season from City's final league game against Scarborough 29/4/06
So another season comes to a close with City having nothing to play for. It’s so dull being an ECFC fan isn’t it? Nothing ever happens! It is of course the first time in 4 years that we’ve reached the final game and not been fighting for something – either league survival or the Conference playoffs – at least we can be sure we won’t be missing out on something by 1 point this season! We have been spoilt for drama over the last few years but have finally returned to mundane final game where whatever happens, we’ll be in the same division next season.
What is there to say about this season that hasn’t already been said? Quality has been lacking at key points, an unprofessional approach hasn’t helped the output and a distinct dearth of creativity has meant little of interest has happened. But despite all these problems I hope someone, somewhere enjoyed reading my articles at some point over the year. It didn’t truly appreciate how difficult it would be when I offered to do this. “600 words, 20 odd times? How hard can that be?” I thought. Ha! How foolish was I!?
On the (more important) playing side of things it has been a disappointing season, particularly after the start we made. I really thought it was going to be our season but we couldn’t maintain the momentum and things have rapidly tailed off since December. It wasn’t that we were playing amazing football in those first few weeks, more that we were winning despite not playing that well. Many people thought, I believe, that once we started playing better there would be no stopping us. Unfortunately that never happened and the rest is history.
Summer for a football fan can be a dull and empty time of year, despite the improved weather. Some will dig out those cricket pads, or do all that gardening or shopping they’ve put off during the season. This year, however, is one of those special years when England are going to win the World Cup (they come round every 4 years, except when we don’t qualify). Not just play and have a chance, but win it. The media will gradually build the country up into a frenzy as the tournament approaches. If the unthinkable then happens (i.e. we don’t actually win) it is a national disgrace and the players are the biggest underachievers in history.
Having said that, though, when discussing our potential side for the summer with a friend, I did reach the conclusion that we have a good chance this year. Many of our best players are reaching their peak, and we have a decent number of genuinely world class players to chose from. (I feel I’ve done my bit for World Cup hype now.)
There have been ups and downs this season, and while you may feel, like me, that overall the season must be rated as a disappointment you know you wouldn’t want to be a fan of any other club. The fans of ECFC have clawed it back from the brink of extinction, and they kept it going until we got “that” draw in the FA Cup last season. We have work parties of volunteers helping out all over the club (and even down at the railway station behind the Old Grandstand). We have one of the largest Supporters’ Trusts in the country in control of the club meaning that the fans have a big say in what happens. As fans of Exeter City we have much to be proud of and we shouldn’t let this season blind us to that.
So another season comes to a close with City having nothing to play for. It’s so dull being an ECFC fan isn’t it? Nothing ever happens! It is of course the first time in 4 years that we’ve reached the final game and not been fighting for something – either league survival or the Conference playoffs – at least we can be sure we won’t be missing out on something by 1 point this season! We have been spoilt for drama over the last few years but have finally returned to mundane final game where whatever happens, we’ll be in the same division next season.
What is there to say about this season that hasn’t already been said? Quality has been lacking at key points, an unprofessional approach hasn’t helped the output and a distinct dearth of creativity has meant little of interest has happened. But despite all these problems I hope someone, somewhere enjoyed reading my articles at some point over the year. It didn’t truly appreciate how difficult it would be when I offered to do this. “600 words, 20 odd times? How hard can that be?” I thought. Ha! How foolish was I!?
On the (more important) playing side of things it has been a disappointing season, particularly after the start we made. I really thought it was going to be our season but we couldn’t maintain the momentum and things have rapidly tailed off since December. It wasn’t that we were playing amazing football in those first few weeks, more that we were winning despite not playing that well. Many people thought, I believe, that once we started playing better there would be no stopping us. Unfortunately that never happened and the rest is history.
Summer for a football fan can be a dull and empty time of year, despite the improved weather. Some will dig out those cricket pads, or do all that gardening or shopping they’ve put off during the season. This year, however, is one of those special years when England are going to win the World Cup (they come round every 4 years, except when we don’t qualify). Not just play and have a chance, but win it. The media will gradually build the country up into a frenzy as the tournament approaches. If the unthinkable then happens (i.e. we don’t actually win) it is a national disgrace and the players are the biggest underachievers in history.
Having said that, though, when discussing our potential side for the summer with a friend, I did reach the conclusion that we have a good chance this year. Many of our best players are reaching their peak, and we have a decent number of genuinely world class players to chose from. (I feel I’ve done my bit for World Cup hype now.)
There have been ups and downs this season, and while you may feel, like me, that overall the season must be rated as a disappointment you know you wouldn’t want to be a fan of any other club. The fans of ECFC have clawed it back from the brink of extinction, and they kept it going until we got “that” draw in the FA Cup last season. We have work parties of volunteers helping out all over the club (and even down at the railway station behind the Old Grandstand). We have one of the largest Supporters’ Trusts in the country in control of the club meaning that the fans have a big say in what happens. As fans of Exeter City we have much to be proud of and we shouldn’t let this season blind us to that.
