Fantasy Queensland
The bad news is that as this A-Leage thing kicks off again I have realised that work commitments will prevent me from seeing many games at all. I’ll be able to see the Saturday night ones and the late Sunday night ones. So today’s game between Roar and Phoenix was the first true season Roar game I’ve missed for two years or so.
It’s good to see a few bloggers spark up, but fewer seem active so far (I can hardly be saying this self-righteously). I’ll be following the A-League media closely, and it’s good to hear the voices beyond the mainstream.
Now the Roar has these new players. To be honest I’d still have to go to the web page to remember their names but they sound hopeful and, ahem… hopefully they’ll be great. One of them popped a goal earlier today. The’Roar were tipped to lose that match so maybe the draw was good, and I’m sure Frank will say that, “with the two home games to follow” and all that. Let’s say in relative ignorance I’m cautiously optimistic about the Roar’s chances. I agree with Ed Vegas’s critique of Tony’s pre-season review, let’s say, for similar hopelessly partisan reasons.
And my fantasy team is up, in both Tony’s league (details in the aforelinked post) and Peter and Eric’s, and it has a theme. It is, as much as possible within the rules, a Queensland State of Origin Team.
My main problem was I could only choose four Roar players, and most A-League players from Queensland, unsurprisingly, play for the Roar.
In the mid-field I have Matty McKay of course, as captain. In the full vision of this program it is Frank Farina and Matty McKay who put up the challenge, to NSW and Victoria. It would be a home and away round-robbin with the winner taking all, played over a four week period of the off-season.
I’m getting my description of my fantasy league team, which has all sorts of compromises because of the rules, with the real vision behind it. To carry on with the latter the idea would be that any A-League or Youth league players could be called into the team. Internationals from the home state would be completely up to the club to negotiate for (good luck to them) but there would be no salary cap to do so. The organising clubs would naturally be Queensland Roar, Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory.
The overall philosophy of the idea is that it is a short tournament that could get a mass following in a concentrated way hence raising revenue and attracting people to the game, in a uniquely Australian way. There’s no reason why South Australia, WA or even New Zealand could not have teams in such a competition, except firstly that I’m not sure if they’d find enough home-state bred ploayers in the A-League to field, say, 16 including 2 goal keepers, and secondly because as far as I’m concerned the real contest is between Queensland and NSW and I have no good excuse to leave Victoria out.
Clint Bolton (SFC)
Andrew Packer (QR) – Jon McKain (WP) – Karl Dodd (WP) – Michael Thwaite (MV)
Zullo (QR) – McKay (QR) – Steve Corica (QR) – David Dodd (QR) – Robbie Kruse (QR)
Dario Vidocic (on the bench in Germany) – Tahj Minniecon (QR)
On the bench I’ve got keeper Griffin McMaster (QR), Ben Griffin (QR), James Downey (PG), Chris Grossman (QR) and Tim Smits (QR).
But for the Foxsports Fantasy League you can only have four Roar players, and are restricted as to which positions you can place only 12 players in to, so I’ve done my best within the rules, and have only had to draft one defender in to complete my team. If will not be competitive naturally, because it is constructed so irrationally, but I’d be keen to see someone similarly construct a NSW or Victoria fantasy league team for some real competition.
Because as everybody universally knows, Queenslanders are better.
Goalkeeping for Loonies
With West End United in my first official season ever we were an over 35s team who somehow got conned into being in a young man’s comp. We lost every game, but had a lot of fun and I daresay were forced to improve a tight passing game in an attempt to combat the speed and strength of youth. Jamie, our Mexican goalkeeper, was injured for a few weeks. The email went out, “We need a goalkeeper.” In my stupid enthusiasm I emailed back, “Call me a desperation plan,” and quite promptly received the reply, “Dear Desperation Plan…” I’ve crapped on about all that in other blogs (there’s no links in this post for the technical reason that I’m working without a mouse and having multiple windows open would be just too tedious), but that’s a brief.
So when it came to the first game of the futsal team, The Red Eye Pirates, Dorian, the co-manager (with his partner Harmony), basically said to me, “Hamish, you’re the goalie because you’re the only one with any goalkeeping experience whatsoever.” I do like it and I’ve stayed. Frankly I’d step aside in a second if the team decided they wanted a good goalie, but they won’t hear of it. They keep lying and telling me that I’m great, which is very nice. They’re a great, fun bunch of folk. Love them all.
Anyway that’s the answer to the first question of how I became a goalie. The rest is some notes on what it means for a 40 year old novice to attempt to become a good goalie. Occasionally I try to talk about this with people and it’s inherently boring, because it’s so personal, but here I can write about it with the knowledge that noone need read it or apologise for not doing so. This blog is part-diary sometimes and to those who read regularly, my apologies. Indulge me or not – it’s not important.
A bloke from another team who I see sometimes in town told me that he thought we had an initial advantage when the opposition shows up and sees us, some of us old and wiry, sitting around smoking cigarettes. We look like easy meat. That first time we beat this guys team and he reckons by the time they’d realised we weren’t that easy, it was too late, and we beat them. Needless to say the second time we played them they convincingly bested us.
But for the bunch of party animals we are, we’ve started doing ok. We’ve won four of the last five and last Tuesday we played a team that beat us 1st time 10:8, and did them 6:3. I had a good game – maybe one of my best – but there are still glaring reasons why I’m not a real goalkeeper but more of a committed reflex machine.
Next question is, ‘How do I improve?’
My limitations are many. My footwork is relatively hopeless, especially as it’s now firmly out of practice. So even for kicks from close to the box or from our end of the sideline, someone else takes it. There’s no goal kicks in futsal, and I think my goal-throws are fine and improving. But that’s a big disadvantage as it takes one of only four outfielders out of the place for options. Kicking back to me is risky as since I can’t catch it (yes, I did that once), I will often stuff up the trap and/or redelivery. And only when I spot a very nervous, poor attacker will I take them on outside the box (I will come out, but not try to tackle or dribble past them unless they’re clearly pathetic). Actually taking bold runs with the ball as some goalies do (to a very interesting effect I think – it’s disconcerting and often players see the empty goal and forget that they are still defending) is out of the question.
So obviously I should work on my footwork, but I don’t much except for an occasional kick with Jacob or a little before the games with the team. Whatsmore it will take a lot of work on my footwork to bring it to a point where it could make me a more useful goalie – ie where I could take on kicking roles that others now are doing for me.
So it’s back to this nervous, hyped, strangely focussed reflex machine. I’m steadily improving my timing when it comes to running out, I have no fear for my life which is handy on the ground in my area, and I do have ok reflexes. Probably my biggest asset from the perspective of the rest of the Pirates is that I actually want to do it.
This wouldn’t even apply to last Tuesday’s game because I made my best saves with my feet (oh, and one with my face from about 2 meters which had me off stinging for a few minutes), but my biggest frustration, which I think is eminently improvable, is that I often get my hand to a ball but the ball goes straight through to the net. These are the saves I reckon I can get better at, in two ways.
First I’ve got to learn, and make it a reflex knowledge, when to use my open hand and when to punch. I’ve practiced punching a bit with Jacob (we sort of drill each other at goalkeeping sometimes, as he does a bit of goalkeeping in Indoor), and I reckon I’m even quite accurate, but it’s yet to become a fluid reflex in the heat of play. The second thing is to just work on strengthening my fingers, hands and wrists, which I’ve been doing. It just seems like the most immediate way I can work on stopping some extra goals.
Meanwhile, in my first game this season I did something to my right pinky, in the third game I took a similar sprain to my left pinkie. Then about 4 games ago I did this to my right thumb. All of these minor injuries sort of get a bit less tender during the week, but none of them have recovered, so I now go from week to week with three somewhat sprained digits. I’m barely aware of it during a game and I don’t think it effects how I play, but I do wonder what the Pirate’s physio would say if such a creature existed.
We might be party animals. Look, it is not unknown for us to have a couple of beers before a game or for some to even have a nasty, unidentifiable smoke. Beers after the game is compulsory – that’s explicit. But we are still strangely competitive, and we have a great desire to win. We’re trying to get regular Sunday training going (have done a couple but shockingly I haven’t made it yet), and we discuss tactics a lot – probably much more than teams who have star players they can rely on. (To be perfectly honest, our victory last week was partly because we had Peter as a guest, who is very competent on the ball and can strike – he scored three of our six goals. Peter is, needless to say perhaps, not a party animal.) So we do improve, and we have a hoot in the process.
But keepers apparently peak at about 36. I begun when I was 38. I’m after a sort of sub-curve of improvement, given that I never played before. Maybe I’ve got until I’m about 42 to peak in my ‘skills’. Meanwhile, that strange, focussed, rudely existential place, when I am in goal… well, I wouldn’t give it up for anything. There is no other time in my living which compares to that mental and physical experience. For that alone it’s worth it. Thank you to the Pirates for having me.
Country profile: South Africa
Diversity is a key feature of South Africa, where 11 languages are recognised as official, where community leaders include rabbis and chieftains, rugby players and returned exiles, where traditional healers ply their trade around the corner from stockbrokers and where housing ranges from mud huts to palatial homes with swimming pools.
The diverse communities, however, have not had much representation for long.
Overview
Overview
Facts
Leaders
Media
Until 1994 South Africa was ruled by a white minority government which was so determined to hang onto power that it took activists most of the last century before they succeeded in their fight to get rid of apartheid and extend democracy to the rest of the population.
AT-A-GLANCE
Politics: The ANC scored its fourth election victory in April 2009.
Economy: One of continent’s biggest economies. Poverty widespread, high crime rate associated with high unemployment. Economy moved into recession in May 2009.
International: Plays a leading role in diplomatic and anti-poverty initiatives in Africa. Emerged from international isolation in 1994 at the end of the apartheid era.
Timeline
The white government which came to power in 1948 enforced a separation of races with its policy called apartheid. It dictated that black and white communities should live in separate areas, travel in different buses and stand in their own queues.
The government introduced grand social engineering schemes such as the forced resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people. It poisoned and bombed opponents and encouraged trouble in neighbouring countries.
The apartheid government eventually negotiated itself out of power, and the new leadership encouraged reconciliation. But the cost of the years of conflict will be paid for a long time yet, not least in terms of lawlessness, social disruption and lost education.
South Africa faces major problems, but having held four successful national elections as well as local polls since the end of white rule, a democratic culture appears to be taking hold, allowing people at least some say in the search for solutions.
Very much Africa’s superpower, South Africa has the continent’s biggest economy, though this went into recession in May 2009 following a sharp slowdown in the mining and manufacturing sectors.
Many South Africans remain poor and unemployment is high – a factor blamed for a wave of violent attacks against migrant workers from other African countries in 2008 and protests by township residents over poor living conditions in July 2009.
Land redistribution is an ongoing issue. Most farmland is still white-owned. Having so far acquired land on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis, officials have signalled that large-scale expropriations are on the cards. The government aims to transfer 30% of farmland to black South Africans by 2014.
South Africa has the second-highest number of HIV/Aids patients in the world. Around one in seven of its citizens is infected with HIV. Free anti-retroviral drugs are available under a state-funded scheme.
Facts
Overview
Facts
Leaders
Media
Full name: Republic of South Africa
Population: 48.8 million (UN, 2008)
Capitals: Pretoria (executive capital); Cape Town (legislative capital); Bloemfontein (judicial capital)
Largest city: Johannesburg
Area: 1.22 million sq km (470,693 sq miles)
Major languages: 11 official languages including English, Afrikaans, Sesotho, Setswana, Xhosa and Zulu
Major religion: Christianity, Islam, indigenous beliefs
Life expectancy: 49 years (men), 50 years (women)
Monetary unit: 1 Rand = 100 cents
Main exports: Gold, diamonds, metals and minerals, cars, machinery
GNI per capita: US $5,760 (World Bank, 2007)
Internet domain: .za
International dialling code: +27
Leaders
Overview
Facts
Leaders
Media
President:
Jacob Zuma
The leader of the ANC, Jacob Zuma, was officially chosen as the country’s president by the newly-elected parliament in May 2009.
Jacob Zuma trod a rocky road to the presidency
Born to a Zulu family in 1942, Mr Zuma has spent his entire adult life since 1959 in the service of the ANC. He joined its armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe in 1962 and was arrested the following year. He spent ten years in prison for conspiracy to overthrow the apartheid-era government.
After his release he left South Africa and was a leading figure in the ANC abroad until he returned home in 1990 to take part in the talks that brought apartheid to an end.
Mr Zuma was prominent in promoting the ANC among Zulus who had voted for the Inkatha Freedom Party in the first free elections in 1994, and was consistently elected to senior ANC posts. In 1999, he became the deputy president of South Africa under President Thabo Mbeki.
Mr Zuma’s standing in the country fell rapidly after he was named in an arms-smuggling case, and President Mbeki dismissed him from the deputy presidency in 2005. Prosecutors then brought corruption charges against him, and shortly afterwards he was charged with rape.
He was acquitted of the rape charge the following year, and his support on the populist left of the party ensured that he was able to defeat President Mbeki in elections for the ANC leadership in December 2007.
Mr Zuma looked set to become president of South Africa after the 2009 parliamentary elections, but the corruption allegations persisted. It was not until April 2009 – weeks before the parliamentary polls – that state prosecutors finally threw out the charges on the grounds that there had been political interference.
The opposition said this was a technicality and that Mr Zuma ought to answer the charges in court. Nonetheless, he led the ANC to a convincing election victory and was duly inaugurated on 9 May.
Media
Overview
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Leaders
Media
South Africa is the continent’s major media player, and its many broadcasters and publications reflect the diversity of the population.
Established state-run and commercial TV networks broadcast nationally, and hundreds of thousands of viewers subscribe to satellite and cable pay-TV services.
Deregulation in 1996 led to a proliferation of radio stations. Listeners in Johannesburg alone can choose from among some 40 radio services, from the national broadcasts of the state-owned South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to community stations targeting local neighbourhoods or ethnic groups.
The constitution provides for freedom of the press, and this is generally respected. Laws, regulation and political control of media content are considered to be moderate and there is little evidence of repressive measures against journalists.
Newspapers and magazines publish reports and comment critical of the government and the state-owned SABC is far more independent now than during the apartheid era.
The press
The Star - Johannesburg-based daily, city’s oldest newspaper
The Sowetan – Johannesburg-based tabloid
Daily Sun – mass-circulation tabloid
Beeld – largest Afrikaans daily
Mail & Guardian – weekly, operates Mail & Guardian online
Business Day – daily
Financial Mail - business weekly
Sunday Times/The Times – South Africa’s oldest Sunday newspaper; publishes subscription-only daily
Television
SABC – state broadcaster, operates three national TV networks, two pay-TV channels
e.tv – free-to-air commercial network
M-Net – pay-TV, pan-African audience
Radio
SABC – state broadcaster with 20 regional and national services in 11 languages, including: national English-language network SAfm; contemporary music station 5 FM; national Afrikaans station Radio Sonder Grense; national Zulu station Ukhozi FM; Sesotho station Lesedi FM
Channel Africa – SABC’s external radio service, targeted at the African continent
YFM – popular Johannesburg commercial R&B, soul and hip-hop station
702 Talk Radio - Johannesburg commercial news and talk station
News agency
South African Press Association (SAPA)
AC Milan – A Club Currently in Crisis !
If last night’s results and performances in the Audi Cup ( which they lost 4-1 to Bayern Munich ) is anything to go by , then AC Milan will surely find the going ahead of them even tougher when the new Italian Serie A Season kicks off end of next month . Following their latest defeat last night , this is already the club’s fourth straight defeat in their Pre – Season Friendly Matches after earlier defeats to EPL powerhouse Chelsea , Milan city rival – Inter Milan and Club America in the US .
Together with their 4 -1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Audi Cup Semi Final Match last night , and earlier losses to Chelsea ( 2 -1 ) , Inter Milan ( 2 – 0 ) and Club America ( 2 -1 ) in their Pre – Season Tour of the US in the World Football Challenge Tournament , it seems that the depatures of Brazillian striker Kaka ( to Real Madrid ) , coach Carlos Ancoletti ( to Chelsea ) & David Beckham ( to LA Galaxy ) after his loan spell with the club ended last Season has certainly hit the club really hard !
Relying very much on the two Brazillians – Ronaldinho and even Pato to fill the void left by the mega stars , it seems that all the goings of the club has put a very deep impact on the club and it seems that the club is already facing a ‘ mini crisis ‘ even before the New Italian Serie A Season has even started ! The performances of the club in their Pre – Season Friendlies has certainly got everyone in the club – from the manager to the players as well as the fans worrying indeed !
Now with their latest defeat to Bayern Munich last night where they conceded two late goals in very quick succession in the last two minutes of play , resulting in an eventual embarrassing 4 -1 defeat to the hosts , the only consolation for the club now , perhaps at this moment , where the morale of the players and the team is at a real low is to win Tonight’s Third Place Playoff Match against Argentine club Boca Juniors ! But it is easier said than done .
A victory Tonight , may not necessary have landed themselves the prestigious Audi Cup Throphy for their efforts , but will surely be a welcome consolation for the whole team as a postive result after a series of setbacks , losses and defeats will definitely go a very long way to lifting the sprits of the whole team and the players’ morale . Hopefully , this will prove to be indeed a real turning point for the better in the club’s fortunes as the club enters the most crucial period of Pre – Season preparations with the new Italian Serie A League Season just exactly a month away . Another defeat however , and the consequences will be seriously unthinkable and would surely bring about really dire repercussions to the club as a whole !
* Catch AC Milan vs Boca Juniors in the Audi Cup 2009 Third Placing Playoff Match TONIGHT LIVE & EXCLUSIVE On Indonesian RCTI Channel at 12.30am ( Singapore Time ) . *
Man United To Play Bayern Munich In Audi Cup Final – A Repeat of 1999 Champions League Final !
It was exactly ten years ago back in 1999 that Man United defeated Bayern Munich in the Champions League Final to lift the prestigious European Cup , completing an unique treble of League & Cup Double ! Now exactly ten years later , these two teams would meet each other yet again in another Cup Final , this time in a Mini Pre – Season two day Audi Cup Tournament , evoking memories of that very special night in Barcelona where the European Cup Final was being played !
That very special night in Spain was on 26 May 1999 & the Venue was Nou Camp – the home ground of Spanish giants Barcelona FC . Man United Fans will surely remember the manner in which they won the European Cup Final in what will definitely go down as one of the classic European Cup Final Matches in UEFA Champions League History . Trailing 1 -0 for the whole of the Match , the Red Devils looked to be staring at the face of defeat , and with the clock fast ticking down to the Final whistle , Man United dreams of a unique treble ( after having already won the EPL Title & the English FA Cup earlier in the Season ) looked to be all but over …
But little did we know that the men in Red were to have something up their sleeves and managed to save the very best for the last in a dramatic late late show of an escape act , managing to escape from the brink of defeat , with only 3 more injury time minutes to be played , Sir Alex Ferguson’s men scored twice in the last two minutes of injury time to overturn the 1-0 deficit to a Final Score victory of 2 -1 in their favour .
* Recap Of That Amazing Night In Barcelona Nou Camp Stadium :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRVAnB4CbMo&feature=related
Now with these two teams set to play each other yet again in another Cup Final – this time , in the Audi Cup Final Tonight , will Bayern Munich be able to exact revenge for the manner in which they lost the 1999 Champions League Final , by beating Sir Alex Ferguson’s men at their very own home ground at Munich’s Allianz Arena Stadium ? If they really managed to do so , considering their form in the Pre Season Friendlies have been very strong so far , the revenge will be even more sweet and complete , doing so in front of their home fans !
Or will Sir Alex Ferguson’s men make Bayern suffer the agony of losing yet another Cup Final , managing to do a unique Cup Final ‘ double ‘ over Bayern Munich , now coached by Louis Van Gaal ?
* Catch Man United vs Bayern Munich in the Audi Cup Final Tonight LIVE & EXCLUSIVE at 2.45am on Indonesian RCTI Channel ! *
