One more friendly
28th July 2014:
I drove back to Birmingham today morning, half hoping that Harrison would call and I wouldn't have to worry about Goalkeepers anymore. No luck, Harrison does not call.
Afternoon, I get a mail from Harrison, eagerly I open the mail hoping to see confirmation of a goalkeeper willing to talk to us, but again my hopes are dashed. Gavin Harrison has sent over a sketch of our next friendly opponent, Oadby Town FC. The club is based near Leicester about hour and half away.
Harrison has pointed out that the team typically plays with a 4-4-1-1 formation and most of their attacks run through their left wing. Note to self: Talk to Andrewartha (RB) to be more focused and defense minded, he should also be asked to mark their left winger.
Harrison suggested that Oadby would pose questions defensively, and the team should be focusing in fending off attacks, we have already set the team to do defensive drills before the game. Scott needs to be told to increase the intensity of the same.
29th July 2914:
I reached Lye in the morning and asked Scott to take extra care on defense and ensure that we do not have a brain-freeze as in last game against Kidlington. Two individual mistakes cost us the game, we do not want a repeat of that.
I get called in by Helen with an urgent message: "Your mobile has been ringing incessantly. Please contact Gavin urgently."
Taking a final look at the training, I rush over to the locker room where I have kept my cell. There are about a dozen calls, couple of voice mails and couple of dozen texts from Gavin Harrison. All repeating one message only. "Call me, urgent."
I call up the scout immediately, "What's up mate? What's the rush?" From the other end, I could hear the eagerness in Gavin's voice, "Michael Cotterill has agreed to trial with us. Please talk to him as early as you can, I have sent over the details on your mail id."
I open the mail, sure enough there are contact details of Cotterill, thankfully he does not have an agent. I have heard agents can be a pain in the *** to deal with. I call up Cotterill, who replies rather suspiciously, "Who is this?"
"Hi, Michael. I am Phoenix and I manage the Lye Town FC. My colleague Gavin Harrison must have talked to you over last few days regarding the trial arrangement with my club."
"Oh!! yes. I did talk to him about it. When do you wish me to start and how long would you be willing to offer me the trial?"
"I think, we should go for one week. Gives us enough time to decide the next step, and also leaves you open to pursue other leads if there any."
"Sure, seems good enough."
I conclude the discussion by promising to send over the documents to complete the formalities.
"Helen," I approach the secretary/accountant/administrator, "Please draft a contract for a trial agreement for one Mr. Michael Cotterill. I have forwarded you the details on the mail." Helen, gives me a thumbs up and I get out with a spring in my step hoping that after a week we could pursuade Cotterill to stay with us for a longer duration.
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Hopefully, we will be able to complete the formalities in time for tomorrow's game.
30th July 2014:
I receive a piece of good news early in the morning. Cottrill will be available to play for us tomorrow and has arrived in town yesterday night. Helen has got him stashed away in some relative's B&B for a night, but we will have to sort out his lodging by today evening.
We face Oadby Town FC in my second game in charge. We have the game scheduled at 7:45 PM, the boys and Scott have been at it since morning. They are paying a lot of attention to tackling, shadowing and trying out the tactics in 5v5 games. I have to say, we are still as bad as could be. I just hope we can match Oadby Town when we face them.
Predictably, I put Cottrill in the goal, relegating Luchford to the bench.
My team selection:
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I have had a chat with Andrewartha(RB) and Barlow(AM-R) and asked them not to lose focus of their defensive duties. The back line has been asked to stay deep and not foray blindly away from their line. Most importantly they have been asked to maintain the shape of the back four. I hope that they follow instructions. A lot is riding on Leonard and how he performs as my holding midfielder. I am looking to him to break up any play that Oadby can construct. He is a pretty young and raw lad, and I do realize that I am putting him under unwarranted pressure, but I have limited options.
I ask the team to play without any fears as nobody is giving us any chance of winning, curiously this seems to have a detrimental effect on Jevons (CM). No matter, the team is raring to go and I give them one final instruction to enjoy the game. They are off and I head towards the dug out to bite my nails and tear up my hair.
The game starts:
First incidence of interest: As predicted, Oadby start their move (on 3rd minute) on the left . Near the halfline, their GK passes to the CM, who pushes it out wide towards the LM, there is not one boy-in-blue(we are playing in blue today) to shut them down, thankfully Andrewartha (RB) shouts to Hopkins (CM) to close down the LM pushing forward. Hopkins (CM) takes off after the opposition player. Seeing him approach and not having any other Oadby player in site, the LM chooses to take a pot shot at our goal from 30 yards out. Cottrill (GK) punches it away easily, but it drifts out of goalline to result in first corner for Oadby, which comes to nothing as the ball is headed out by Leonard (DM) easily. The players have been instructed by Scott and me repeatedly to mark the players individually at set pieces. Success on the first attempt at least.
First 6 minutes, defense is keeping its shape, but now the problem seems to be between the midfielders Jevons and Hopkins fail to coordinate on a pass forward by Kamara (CD) and the ball is lost out to the opposition. Both of my CMs were just waiting for each other to pick the ball. I rush towards the touchline and start shouting at both of them to talk to each other. Heaven knows, I have yelled at them about communicating with each other. The move started by Oadby breaks down after one more hopeful ping from the left being headed out for a corner by McAuley (CD). I had hoped that the team would not force me to come to the touchline in the first half, but no such luck. Whitcombe (LB) picks the resultant kick early and kicks it out of danger area.
1-0
Rather fortunately, but we are not complaining. On a corner, Evitts launches ball towards the penalty spot. All 11 players of Oadby are crammed in the six yard box. The ball drops down towards Reeves (Oadby), who kicks it directly into the back of Putman, and ball dribbles past the goalkeeper into Oadby net. For a second nobody knows what is happening, the goal mouth is so packed with bodies that we don't even know where the ball is. Suddenly my boys start whooping and running towards the half line, only then we realize that we are a goal up. Scott and I look at each other and grin sheepishly. Is lady luck with me today?
At 40 minutes, we almost concede. The move by Oadby starts from the left, they move the ball along the ground nicely bypassing Barlow (AM-R) easily. Their LM- Porter dummies Andrewartha (RB) who has been pulled out of his position a little as Barlow missed the tackle. Porter centers it to Messenger (Oadby - AM(C)) inside the 18 yard box. There is not one blue shirt near him. Andrewartha(RB) is pulled out of line. Kamara and McAuley (CDs) are backpedalling to maintain the line, while Whitcombe(LB) is busy marking the other flank. As Messenger readies to shoot, Kamara wakes up and rushes towards the ball and throws himself across the line of flight. The ball hits him on his leg and richochets out towards safety.
41": From a throw-in taken by Whitcombe (LB) on the left hand side at about 15 yards from halfway line in Oadby half, Mills (ST) is easily dispossed and ball is pinged towards the Oadby striker who has eluded the offside. Our back line is bypassed and there is all the possibility of a raid reaching the 18 yard box. McAuley (CD) steps in and hauls down the striker in a strong body check. Ref immediately whistles for a stop and Yellow card!!! for a cynical foul on the opposition striker. I show momentary irritation at the ref, but it is just a pretense. The yellow was well deserved.
Ref whistles the end of the half. We have played decently. Most importantly, we have not made any mistakes. The backlines have maintained the shape and nobody has lost their head... yet. If we continue to play like this, I think we will be allright.
I give a few words of encouragement, but I can see that the players are also happy with how they are doing. Without bothering them with any special words we let them sit silently and relax. We need them relaxed for the second half. First half possession wise was edged by Oadby, but we don't care. We have what we want, a goal. How that came about, we do not care.
I asked the players to implement the corner plan 1 where Jevons (CM) stays close to the GK, and Barlow (AM-R) and Mills (ST) stay in the six yard box just to create confusion. Leonard (DM) stays just outside the box to shoot any stray ball coming his way.
Second half starts and almost instantly, Kamara (CD) and McAuley (CD) get verbal assault from Scott and me. Seems they have relaxed a little too much. a ball launched by Oadby behind the back four is drifting away from them and they are just jogging towards it, unaware that a Oadby player is streaking towards it at fast speed. I jump out of the box and yell at them to wake up. This results in creating more confusion as Kamara looks towards me and McAuley becomes aware of the striker sneaking up, but he is farther to the ball than Kamara. He shouts to Kamara, who thankfully realises the danger and passes the ball back to Cottrill(GK). The clearance falls to another Oadby player, who passes the ball to the right. Whitcombe (LB) gets by passed easily, and the resultant cross is met by Tiday (Oadby ST), McAuley couldn't cover him and the ball is volleyed by Tiday and Lye Town net bulges. There was nothing Cottrill could have done about the rocket that was coming.
1-1
Head in our hands, we just watch without doing anything.
1-2
Bad seems to be turning worse. One more lobbed ball and Andrewartha (RB) misses the simplest of headers. Both Kamara and McAuley are busy marking the Oadby forwards. Porter (Oadby LM) latches on to the ball, shakes of the attentions of Andrewartha and pings an inch perfect cross for Taylor (Oadby ST), Kamara cannot reach across this time and again first touch volley and again goal.
I didn't know to laugh or to cry. three minutes, utter disaster.
Oadby smells blood and are on wave after wave after wave. There is nothing we can do currently. They have had roughly dozen shots at us in the first 50 minutes. Yet, they keep on coming.
One more attack, one more goal... well almost. The defense once again loses Taylor, he has just goal keeper to beat from six yards. Cottrill throws himself at the attacker's boots, the ball hits him, painfully, in the chest and is eventually cleared.
I have gone hoarse by shouting at the defenders to concentrate, but they have lost their composure and are have no idea about what is happening around them.
On the hour mark, we lose Mills. He gets involved in retrieving the ball and is hounded by three Oadby players who rough him up. I rage on the side lines, but nobody is paying attention. The ref asks me to pipe down and resume my sit, I glare, but we can see that Mills cannot continue. He is taken straight away to the locker room, where the physio will take a look at him. I motion to Wardley (who had an assist last time out) to get on the field.
One more shot destined for goal, but Cottrill dives full stretch across the goal mouth to deny the excellent Porter, who has harrassed my right side today. Andrewartha has lost control, and has already been cautioned for roughing up Porter a couple of times.
with 25 minutes remaining, I signal for two of the local boys, Joe Brett and Nat Bolland to get ready. I ask Hopkins (CM) and Andrewartha(RB) to be replaced. We are changing out shape to a flat 4-4-2 with two up front. Bolland partnering Wardley and Brett replacing Andrewartha on a straight swap.
Bolland has been asked to pass on the information to shoot whenever the chance occurs and the team has been asked to retain possession, even at the cost of momentum. If we deny them the ball, less chance of a score is my thought.
We have our first shot on target on the 71st minute. Barlow (AM-R) hangs to ball in the 18-yard box from the right. Wardley jumps higher and reaches the ball first, but his attempt at score is pretty weak (he overstretched his neck) and there is no power behind it. The Oadby goalkeeper has no trouble catching it.
In the last 10 minutes, we ship two more. I sit down dejectedly, Scott is also hanging his head. We don't even have any words to tell each other as the game end.
We lost, Oadby did not win, we lost 1-4. I am completely deflated and have no words to say to the team. They understand and nobody ventures to say anything. The numbers are saying everything.
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I will have words with them tomorrow though.
Grinning) Well, what can I say. I married a fast guy. You will need to obtain a work permit though. For the first six months, you will work with Surjeet as a manager in his fast food chain. This will ensure smoother work permit processing.
