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Tonight's Teams
Mary's Moaners
Keith Mastin
Bryn Meredith
Martin Wilde
Bud Jackson
Malc Hough
Keith Proudfoot
Chris Anthony
Nigel Caldwell
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Sunday 21st October 2007 : Everything’s
gone Pear shaped!! England played like they didn’t give a toss and
lost to a very poor Russian side who will now qualify for the
European Finals ahead of our bunch of overpaid wasters. The Rugby
Union boy’s lost to South Africa in the Rugby World Cup Final but
unlike their round ball colleagues played with a passion and
dedication which was awesome. Then finally Louis Hamilton hit the
panic button and succumbed to engine problems that left his F1 World
Championship hopes in tatters but, sheer guts and determination
drove him from 18th place back to 7th and a very honourable F1 WC
runner up. So it was with a heavy heart that eight vets (all English
thanks to the mysterious non appearance of our old Jocko) turned out
at the Leisure Centre for their Sunday thrash. My shadow squad with
the help of Nigel faced a strong looking Mary’s Moaners select and
soon felt the might of their twin strike force as Bryn and Martin
went goal crazy. Proudy was working overtime to encourage the three
oldies around him to get into gear. Thankfully Nigel was the first
to get into playing mode as he tackled and worked tirelessly to
prevent the Moaners over running us. The first game ended in a
comfortable 10-4 win for Mary’s with Zsu Zsu and Bud Jackson giving
great support. Proudy hit the opener in the next game but Mary’s yet
again turned up the pressure helped by my three own goals in a short
spell whilst in nets. This game was a bit closer as Mary’s ran out
10-6 winners. The third game was a complete turn around as we hit a
vein of total football which was un-defendable. Slick passing between
all four players set up a 10-2 win in which I managed to poach eight
of our goals. Chris like myself was finding the going tough but
played as well as I’ve seen in that particular game with some sweet
passing. The Moaners deservedly took the honours overall tonight
with a golden goal winner to end a very satisfying game of five a
side. Zsu Zsu continues to impress in goals but tonight impressed
sartorially in his new black Charlton shirt, no longer a scruffy old
hippie just, an old hippie. I can’t end without a mention of the
night’s highlight which was a last ditch goal saving tackle by Nigel
which ended with the lad doing a triple salco and still managing to
clear the ball midway through his mid air spin, outrageous skill or
complete madness? |
Tonight's Teams
Mary's Moaners
Keith Mastin
Bryn Meredith
Martin Wilde
Karl English
Malc Hough
Keith Proudfoot
Chris Anthony
Bud Jackson
Paul Dennis
Matt Pink
Richard Evans
Malcolm Stubbs
Paul Garner
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Sunday 28th October 2007 : Third place in the Premiership and City
go and lose to Chelsea 6-0, who would believe it eh? Well last time
that happened, coincidently exactly 12 years and 1 day ago, at
Liverpool, they were relegated!! Again coincidently the next game
they played was against Bolton although this week it's a League cup
game and not a Premier clash. Well to escape the turmoil of a
battered ego the Hough's bobbed over to Poulton Le
 Fylde
to spend Sunday with our daughter's family which nearly led to me
missing tonight's Sunday Vets bash. The Motorway was no more than a
crawl from Blackpool to the Manchester turn off on the M6 but
thankfully with the help of some kamikaze driving I just made the
kick off. Three teams provided an extremely entertaining
hour and a half's football with Matt's team taking the honours
mainly due to a full set of fit and reasonably young bodies. Mary's
Moaners gave them a good run for their money with Bryn and Martin
now looking like possibly the most effective pairing at this moment
in time. Karl gave them great support and whacked in a few of his
left foot specials as well. Matt's team played with great pace and
their pass and move tactics were too much at times for their aging
opponents. Great to see Richard and Malc back after their serious
injuries, Malc had to undergo surgery on his groin and looked pretty
sharp as a result especially after it was tested by a thudding
impact from Karl's lethal left foot shot. As for my team, we never
reached the height's of last week although we did have our moments.
Proudy and Paul worked their socks off and both found the net with
creditable efforts whilst myself, Chris and Bud had to scrap for our
crumbs. Paul Garner, making his first appearance this month netted
the goal of the night with a pile-driver from his own half, not once
but twice.
The where the hell are they list is growing by the week with the
most worrying being Steve Hart, John Goodwin and Rick Pott, Steve
Gerrard has been on an extensive training course over in Ireland in
order to be able to complete 90 minutes without the assistance of
oxygen. |
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Tonight's Teams
Mary's Moaners
Keith Mastin
Bryn Meredith
Martin Wilde
John Goodwin
Ron Buttery
Malc Hough
Keith Proudfoot
Chris Anthony
Steve Gerrard
Steve Hart
Matt Pink
Paul Garner
Karl English
Nigel Caldwell
Michael Jackson
Rick Pott
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Sunday 4th November 2007 : Much to admire at the Leisure Centre
tonight with a seriously competitive five a side contest between
three excellent teams. With the Mary's Moaners and my squad at full
strength we locked horns in the first match with the Moaners coming
out well on top. Maybe the return of Steve Hart and Steve Gerrard
after long lay offs left us a bit disjointed but the Mary's team
were anything but. Ron's return together with John's first game in a
number of weeks gave Martin and Bryn licence to form a very
effective strike force that worked well early on. Matt's team were
also in the shake up and again were bolstered by a fit again Rick
Pott. Rick scored the goal of the night with a superb drive after
ghosting past big Ron. As the evening wore on it was obvious the
Matt's team were going to end up top dogs but not before my team had
pegged them back with their only two defeats. The two Steve's both
made impressive returns although good goalkeeping restricted the
scoring. Miss of the night had to be Zsu Zsu Mastin's when he set
himself up for a long range drive but completely missed the ball and
fell in a heap on the floor, the ball stayed where it was until the
alert Steve Gerrard galloped forward and lashed it past the bemused
John Goodwin in goal. this was Scouse Ron's moment to point out the
error of the old hippies ways in the style that he has become famous
for. Like I said at the start there was much to admire tonight at
the Leisure centre including the new tabards provided for us by the
New Mills Carnival Committee. Very natty black mesh numbers which
are designed to distinguish between the different teams, sadly they
are all black, yes all four sets of them!!
 They
do have different colour patches on them, a little bit like those
prison bibs you see on the TV. There's white on black, red on black,
yellow on black and the best yet, black on black (click picture for
larger size). Still well done Zsu Zsu for your unstinting effort in
persuading the committee that we actually helped on carnival day,
that alone is worthy of praise. It would be good if we could get the
same turn out next week although Proudy is taking his daughter to
her first football match at Old Tra££ord so we will be one short but
no excuses for anyone else. |
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Tonight's Teams
Mary's Moaners
Keith Mastin
Martin Wilde
John Goodwin
Ron Buttery
Malc Hough
Chris Anthony
Steve Gerrard
Malcolm Stubbs
Paul Garner
Nigel Caldwell
Richard Evans
Rick Pott
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Sunday 11th November 2007 : Zsu Zsu's
60th birthday last month slipped by without mention but we should
have guessed that something was occurring when he turned out in that
new Charlton shirt. Well done Keith on reaching this milestone and
may you go on for many more years to come.
We had to compete with City and Uni£ed both playing this afternoon
with City on Sky. Thankfully we had a full compliment of Blues
including Steve Gerrard in his snazzy new City shirt. I think this
must have inspired the lad because tonight he was on fire in front
of goal. In general my squad played some of the best football we've
performed for quite a while. With Malc Stubbs drafted in we passed
well and worked hard for each other and after a stuttering start
probably ended up the strongest side. Mary's Moaners were always
competitive but prone to bouts of internal friction. Martin Wilde
was like a ship without a rudder with his striking partner allegedly
sunning himself somewhere off the coast of West Africa. Ron did his
best to encourage his team mates in his own particular style and
actually managed quite a few classy strikes. Richard Evans was back
to lead the Youth Squad who were not at their best but still added
to a well contested and for me at least, very enjoyable night's
football.
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Mary's Moaners - Reds
Keith Mastin
Martin Wilde
John Goodwin
Karl English
Bud Jackson
Whites
Malc Hough
Chris Anthony
Steve Gerrard
Keith Proudfoot
Paul DennisYellows
Matt Pink
Paul Garner
Nigel Caldwell
Richard Evans
Rick Pott
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Sunday 18th November 2007 : What an
eventful weekend!! Scotland out - England back in, perhaps. Who
would have thought that Israel would turn over the Russians and
Scotland would give the Italians a rare old scare. So it's fingers
crossed for Wednesday when a draw against the Croatians will be
enough for England - memories of Poland and Jan Tomaszewski the 6'
4" keeper in 1973. I don't have a good feeling about this one.
Well tonight I decided the flu wasn't a reason why I should miss my
weekly fix at the Leisure Centre and was pleasantly surprised to see
fifteen players. Mary's were missing Ron and Bryn but drafted in
Karl English to be an honourable moaner for the night, a position he
filled with gusto. My squad was only missing Steve Hart but Paul
Dennis brought us up to strength and Matt's squad was as strong as
any he has mustered for quite a while. So we were all set for a
close contest which it turned out to be with most games decided by a
single goal. For some reason which I cannot put a finger on a
slightly unpleasant undercurrent developed as the evening wore on.
This inevitably spilled over mainly after a mistimed tackle was
judged to be a lot worse than it actually was and after words were
exchanged a couple of players left the action. Viewing from the
balcony the non playing team all thought the incident was no more
than a genuine attempt, if somewhat badly timed, to tackle the
player with the ball who was moving at a fair old pace. But
adrenaline and passion were all there in buckets full and all hell
was let loose. Like I said I don't know why tonight there should
have been this undercurrent but there was so let's put it in the
past, like Scotland's latest World Cup attempt and get back to
enjoying what to most of us is a very enjoyable night out with our
mates.
No man of the match this week but a couple of weeks ago Bryn
cleverly suggested the worst player on the night should take the
tabards home and wash them. Well if you get to read this Bryn - I
took them home tonight and thoroughly deserved to..... |
Mary's Moaners
Keith Mastin
Martin Wilde
John Goodwin
Karl English
Bryn Meredith
Yellows
Matt Pink
Malc Hough
Chris Anthony
Bud Jackson
Richard Evans
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Sunday 25th November 2007 : As I said
last week I didn't have a good feeling about our European Qualifying
match and so proved to be. There have been many discussions as to
why we failed to beat Croatia but the main reason as far as I'm
concerned is they were better than England in every department.
Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say we weren't
good enough. A similar argument could be used for Matt's team
tonight as they failed to win a single game (four in all) against a
revitalised Mary's Moaners. Six nil up in the second game looked to
be enough but Mary's piled on the pressure and battled back to take
it 10-8. Martin was in superb form and with his old striking partner
Bryn back in the fold to add his share of goals, Mary's were always
in the driving seat. Matt as usual ran and ran but tonight his
shooting boots were left at home. Speed merchant Richard also gave
his all but somehow the goals would not come. Chris and myself, more
your pass and move merchants were finding it hard to match our teams
speedy twosome. Bud on the other hand helped himself to quite a few
exceptionally good strikes. As I have already said the moaners were
certainly on a mission tonight and were definitely the best team on
the night. Karl and John were strong in the tackle and no slouches
when it came to scoring. All in all a very good session highlighted
by the traditional Golden Goal at the end which was scored by Matt's
Yellows when Chris rounded off a flowing move with a crisp volley
into the top corner. We need to get back to three teams next week so
come on lads, get your arses down and let's see if we can arrange a
Christmas EGM of sorts before July. |
Tonight's
Players
Keith Mastin
Bryn Meredith
John Goodwin
Bud Jackson
Keith Proudfoot
Malc Hough
Rick Pott
Chris Anthony
Nigel Caldwell
Robbie Westwood
Ron Buttery
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Sunday
2nd December 2007 : With a number of regular vets missing
tonight we still managed a very enjoyable ninety minute
session with the players rotating. With us entering the
traditionally festive month of the year it was good to have
a light hearted session, hope it wasn't the calm before the
storm! Bryn reminded me that we had decided that the player
with the worst miss of the night would be taking the tabards
home to wash but that had to go on the back burner because I
forgot to bring them. On the playing side I think everybody
had their moments this evening but it was especially good to
see Robbie banging in the goals after another prolonged lay
off with a bad ankle. Ron gave Robbie's ankle a thorough
work out with a few tickles, sorry tackles that left the
little fella reeling a bit but as ever he didn't give up, in
fact, he left the rotund Scouser in a heap after another
coming together later on. Pick of the goal scorers tonight
were Proudy, Bryn and Ron who all hit the net with fizzing
drives.
Next week with only two or three more sessions before
Christmas it would be good to see all the bodies still
capable of dragging themselves down to the Leisure Centre to
do just that. I have to visit Christies Hospital with my
wife Janice tomorrow and as I look round that waiting area I
know I'll see scores of guys that would love to have that
opportunity, for some of them just once would do - we don't
know how lucky we are or as Joni Mitchell sang, "you don't
know what you've got 'til it's gone." |
Possibly the last of
the series of Old Vets
Number 20
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Tonight's
Players
Mary's Moaners - Reds
Keith Mastin
Martin Wilde
John Goodwin
Bryn Meredith
Whites
Malc Hough
Keith Proudfoot
Paul Garner
Chris Todd
Yellows
Matt Pink
Bud Jackson
Richard Evans
Rick Pott
Malcolm Stubbs
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If Scouse Ron
was a Penguin
He'd probably be the
nastiest penguin ever
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Sunday 9th December 2007
: What a rollercoaster of emotions this weekend. Amir Khan
demolished Graham Earl in 72 seconds to retain his
Commonwealth lightweight title, Ricky Hatton lost to
Floyd Mayweather who retained
his WBC welterweight crown in Las Vegas in the early hours
and City lost to Spurs in the afternoon. Thank goodness for
Sunday night at the Leisure Centre where everyone is always
a winner, errr... except my team who didn't manage a single
win all evening. Mary's Moaners with their shadow squad
battled it out with Matt's team for the honour of top dog
and in the end it was pretty much even Stevens. With my
squad down to myself and Proudy we drafted in Paul Garner
and newcomer Chris Todd. Chris a Bolton fan found the going
quite tough early doors, not surprising really due to a
combination of being thrust in at the deep end with a bunch
of strangers and a pair of non grip trainers. Chris
started to get his act together as the night wore on and
should find the going easier the more he plays. Matt as
usual took on the scoring responsibilities for his team
which included some fair old raspers. For Mary's Moaners
John caught the eye tonight in one of his best performances
for quite a while. One of his goals was pure class as he
controlled the ball with his first touch before swivelling
round and slotting it past the keeper. Overall another one
of those sessions that seemed to end far too quickly
although I fear Chris will know just how hard it was when he
gets up in the morning.
Next week is the last before Christmas, the next after that
will be 6th January 2008 |
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Tonight's
Players
Mary's Moaners
John Goodwin
Martin Wilde
Zsu Zsu Mastin
Michael Jackson
The Rest
Malc Hough
Chris Todd
Richard Evans
Rick Pott
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Sunday 16th
December 2007 : It was a sad week as far as I was concerned
when the FA announced the appointment of Fabio Capello and his
bunch of Italian hangers on as the new England coaching team. What
is the point of having a National team if you can't provide a
manager from the same country to manage them. It's OK for minor
nations such as Korea and Scotland but the country that brought the
game to the world now puts it's players in the charge of an Italian
who will probably introduce them to the finer arts of cheating,
diving and other dubious practices. If they are as good as the FA
think they are why aren't they managing their own country?
The vets just managed to get eight players out this evening to
provide a lung busting 4 a side session with the benches making an
unwelcome comeback. The Moaners were put firmly in their place after
their recent run of good form as my cobbled together team gelled
extremely well. After a highly competitive first game which the
Moaners only just lost 8-10 Martin's back trouble returned possibly
leaving his team with just too much to do. Chris Todd after his
baptism of fire last week showed some fine touches and it wasn't too
long before he hit his first vets goal. Richard Evans and Rick Pott
were full of running and benefited greatly from the accurate passing
of their team mates. Although I got the tabbards to wash by way of
the worst miss of the night, I hit the net more often than I have
done for many moons. Zsu Zsu worked hard but his play-making skills
were not at their best tonight leaving John to forage a lonely and
mainly unsuccessful path up front. Martin battled on bravely in
spite of his injury but couldn't prevent his team going down 4-10 in
the second game. Bud was the scorer of the sometimes traditional
golden goal to salvage a little pride for the battered Mary's
Moaners. Well that's it for this year so to each and every one of
the lads who have made the effort to get down on a Sunday night
whether it be the odd game or every week, have a great Christmas and
may the New Year see you all in good health. Without you lot there
would be no vets. All the best from me and my family.
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