Gentle, placid, loyal.
Rest in Peace, my Fat Boy.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Man's Best Friend
Fat Boy, Wauschberg, Bowserhead, Fat Ass, Schnauzerhead, Goanny Wallopators, Stinky, Bowser. Mine, and my family's, dog since 2001.
Gentle, placid, loyal.
Rest in Peace, my Fat Boy.
Gentle, placid, loyal.
Rest in Peace, my Fat Boy.
I've told you everything I need to say.
The situation being as it is, I can't give too much of myself.
Otherwise I'll stop functioning, I'll drain myself.
Returns don't equal demands.
Expecting that much is unfair. I know, and you know, how I feel, and that's all I should have had to say. I don't need to reiterate.
I think I do enough. My actions speak louder than my words, in any case.
The situation being as it is, I can't give too much of myself.
Otherwise I'll stop functioning, I'll drain myself.
Returns don't equal demands.
Expecting that much is unfair. I know, and you know, how I feel, and that's all I should have had to say. I don't need to reiterate.
I think I do enough. My actions speak louder than my words, in any case.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Season 2011
Yesterday, we had a game against Queens Park Rangers at Heffron.
The pitch was really crap and we had only 13 players.
We've been taken out of contention for the finals and have nothing to play for anymore.
People have taken holidays right now and are sick and things, so on Sunday we were light on midfielders. As a result I got chucked into central midfield.
It's the first time I've played there for a full game in a couple of seasons.
It used to be my favourite position but I thought I'd have a crap game.
The game itself was failure, we lost 4-0.
I actually had a lot of fun, though, and played pretty well. I didn't give the ball away once. I'd forgotten what it was like to play in the centre. It's a lot different to the wing. The wing is a lot of hit and miss, and you don't dictate anything. You live off what little you get and you only get a couple of chances to play, a game.
Playing centrally is different. There's a lot more pressure but I really enjoy playing there because you get a chance to be creative. When you play well there, it's great.
Having no pressure like we do now helps too.
The coach keeps saying things like we keep letting ourselves down on avoidable situations and keeps downplaying our failures, attributing them to lapses of concentration or problems with our set pieces and things. The truth is, we're just not good enough. That, along with the fact he's never set us up with the best players in their best positions. The best passers aren't in central midfield. Our best strikers aren't upfront, or aren't really strikers. Our defenders are too weak in too many areas - positioning, winning the ball, too much diving in, decision-making.
We have one central defender who is one the most deceptively crap players I've ever seen. He looks like he should be a good defender. He's pretty solid, a decent height and looks like he knows what he's doing. Put him on the pitch, though, and he's absolutely hopeless. Yesterday he struggled to play passes 10 metres away. I don't think he hit one on target. Not only that, but he gets turned so very easily, only ever dives in, and can't head a ball. He's weak in all the areas he shouldn't be as a defender.
As a team, we've failed to score enough goals. We've not had the right players, or good enough finishers to do it. We've also not had the supply from midfield to do it.
Our best striker is effective at passing and holding the ball up, but unfortunately he cannot finish at all. The couple of goals he has got have been a tap in (from my free kick off the post) and a freakish goal from nothing. Our other strikers are not technically good enough to create anything meaningful.
I don't want to talk myself up, but I wasn't picked to begin with and I think this reflects on the coach. I'm actually top scorer, and I've only started about 4 games.
He doesn't really know what he's doing. He pulls off players that have done nothing wrong and leaves on players that are actually hindering the team. The reason that we were doing badly was never actually addressed, he'd make a different inconsequential change to a player that could have made a difference. I think he had his favourites, too, which is always a bad idea for a coach, especially if they're not your match-winners. In my own case, I think I'd shown what I could do pre-season. In one of the trials I had a goal and four assists in a 6-1 win, admittedly against a weaker team, but without doubt demonstrating that maybe I was a player that could help win a game.
My friend that came to try out was played on the wing despite stating he was a sweeper by upbringing. He was then dropped without actually being given a go in the position he was trying out for. That's not the way to coach.
He's led us poorly, and I won't be playing for that team again.
I can take losing and having team-mates that aren't going to win games.
I can't take it when the coaching won't even give you the best chance.
The pitch was really crap and we had only 13 players.
We've been taken out of contention for the finals and have nothing to play for anymore.
People have taken holidays right now and are sick and things, so on Sunday we were light on midfielders. As a result I got chucked into central midfield.
It's the first time I've played there for a full game in a couple of seasons.
It used to be my favourite position but I thought I'd have a crap game.
The game itself was failure, we lost 4-0.
I actually had a lot of fun, though, and played pretty well. I didn't give the ball away once. I'd forgotten what it was like to play in the centre. It's a lot different to the wing. The wing is a lot of hit and miss, and you don't dictate anything. You live off what little you get and you only get a couple of chances to play, a game.
Playing centrally is different. There's a lot more pressure but I really enjoy playing there because you get a chance to be creative. When you play well there, it's great.
Having no pressure like we do now helps too.
The coach keeps saying things like we keep letting ourselves down on avoidable situations and keeps downplaying our failures, attributing them to lapses of concentration or problems with our set pieces and things. The truth is, we're just not good enough. That, along with the fact he's never set us up with the best players in their best positions. The best passers aren't in central midfield. Our best strikers aren't upfront, or aren't really strikers. Our defenders are too weak in too many areas - positioning, winning the ball, too much diving in, decision-making.
We have one central defender who is one the most deceptively crap players I've ever seen. He looks like he should be a good defender. He's pretty solid, a decent height and looks like he knows what he's doing. Put him on the pitch, though, and he's absolutely hopeless. Yesterday he struggled to play passes 10 metres away. I don't think he hit one on target. Not only that, but he gets turned so very easily, only ever dives in, and can't head a ball. He's weak in all the areas he shouldn't be as a defender.
As a team, we've failed to score enough goals. We've not had the right players, or good enough finishers to do it. We've also not had the supply from midfield to do it.
Our best striker is effective at passing and holding the ball up, but unfortunately he cannot finish at all. The couple of goals he has got have been a tap in (from my free kick off the post) and a freakish goal from nothing. Our other strikers are not technically good enough to create anything meaningful.
I don't want to talk myself up, but I wasn't picked to begin with and I think this reflects on the coach. I'm actually top scorer, and I've only started about 4 games.
He doesn't really know what he's doing. He pulls off players that have done nothing wrong and leaves on players that are actually hindering the team. The reason that we were doing badly was never actually addressed, he'd make a different inconsequential change to a player that could have made a difference. I think he had his favourites, too, which is always a bad idea for a coach, especially if they're not your match-winners. In my own case, I think I'd shown what I could do pre-season. In one of the trials I had a goal and four assists in a 6-1 win, admittedly against a weaker team, but without doubt demonstrating that maybe I was a player that could help win a game.
My friend that came to try out was played on the wing despite stating he was a sweeper by upbringing. He was then dropped without actually being given a go in the position he was trying out for. That's not the way to coach.
He's led us poorly, and I won't be playing for that team again.
I can take losing and having team-mates that aren't going to win games.
I can't take it when the coaching won't even give you the best chance.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Fiji Snaps
Looking out towards the "mainland".
Kuata Island in the background.
Just before sunrise.
Sunrise.
Over the uninhabited part of Waya Lailai, Waya's in the distance.
Looking further north towards Naviti.
Leaving Waya Lailai. The village is in the foreground.
The result of a trek through tropical forest. Nationalities, L-R: Scottish, English, Australian, Indian, Thai/Indian, Dutch, Australian, me.
Coastal sunset, Korovou. The photo above was taken on the other side of the headland in this photo.
More of the same.
White Sandy Beach.
Last night in Fiji, bonfire going.
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