London Titans 1 Village Manchester 8
September 9th 2006
GFSN League
Manager’s Report
Not quite the start to my managerial career that I wanted, but I now have the first match under my belt and I’m looking forward to the remainder of the season. Anyone looking at the score line would think the match was a very one-sided affair but those playing and watching know the score is misleading. As the match approached half time, I felt that we were good for the 1-1 score line; we had begun to settle into the pace of the match and were beginning to create some goal scoring opportunities. However, a rapid succession of goals in the few minutes before the break killed the match, despite everyone’s effort to get us back on terms.
Although I was impressed with everyone, including Matt Baker and Phil Brearey who were making their first 11-a-side appearances for the club, the two players who stood out for me were Paul Wheeler and Sam Gray. Paul’s improved aerial play combined with his consistent tackling and passing made tough work for our opponents. Sam’s effort level is a benchmark for us all, chasing any ball that he lost and covering more ground than anyone else.
Last month when the Pink Paper asked me my expectations for the coming season, I said that I hoped we would convert some of our good play in training and at 5-a-side into good play over 90 minutes in 11-a-side games. I’m very confident that we will live up to those expectations and prove to be competitive in all our league and cup games. For the time being, however, I will content myself with the fact that ‘Grandad’ Nixon’s goal means that we aren’t bottom of the GFSN September league table.