Thursday, May 31, 2007

transfer activity

admidst the waves of transfers going around during this annual summer shopping spree, much speculation has been made regarding the bobo lobos' involvement in market. the frantic transfer activity has seen man utd sign hargreaves, nani and anderson; the lobo fans think they at least deserve something to be excited about.

"i think we're at least as big a club as man united, chelsea and liverpool, esp pool. real madrid wants kaka, barca wants cristiano ronaldo, and yea.. though we have our own ronaldinho tay and cristiano zhipengo, we need a new breath of fresh air. and some handsome new faces," said the spokeswoman of lobos supporters' union, the sexy bombshell miss kitty bimbola.

the statement holds some truth. despite bobby gerrard and joe ho's return from injury, disaster has struck the team:

ronaldinho tay twisted his knee while chasing after a lost cause in the match against swai-ji.

cesc fatzegas involved himself illegally in a charity match which saw him hurt both knees.

nemanjang weedic kept himself in the news with a viral fever, and then promptly knocked himself out with some hard liquor.

walter sumuel has turned up for training looking very tired, suspicously looking like a dude having an unwanted sex hangover.

faberto carlos reported to the medical officers, complaining of stomach pains and subsequently turning up late for sessions and matches.

however, wee der leong has had some serious steroids for the last few matches. he has repeatedly thrown himself at loose balls and dangerous looking feet, which is rather disturbing. cristiano zhipengo has turned up more regularly, and despite not finding his scoring boots yet, has shown some lethal form. cong scholes has remained his usual consistent self. leo chunavaro displayed some enthusiasm regarding attacking, which in normal circumstances would be quite worrying. hence it's not all that bleak.

gaffer hoberto mancini has been diplomatic regarding the transfer news.

"with ronnie tay and cesc tze down, we do need an attacking edge," said hoberto. "however, i'm confident that we have the players to step up. of course, any reinforcement candidates which the players have in mind will be seriously considered."

"the main issue now is attendance. there's no point being ronaldo if you don't turn up. in that sense, even pennant is more useful."

hoberto is understood to be fiercely loyal to his players. however, the loss in the previous match saw a whole team of attackers lined up against the opponent, which no doubt left most supporters bewildered. spokeswoman bimbola was esp vocal in the protest, and for weeks after there were rumours of a new defender. hoberto moved in swiftly to squash them, but with the latest injuries and discord, one or two players would fit in nicely. names have been mentioned, old friends have been talked about.

the next month will reveal all.

Friday, May 25, 2007

dudes some updates.

sunday we are going to have a birthday lunch with mr tay. before that soccer in the morning against some of my friends. relaxing game, no stress, don't pia too much too.

rematch against hornyteam in limbo. their spokesman has not replied.

rematch against swa-ji subjected to agreed venue.

match against qixian's team: to be decided subjected to injury situation.

injury list:
yuxian - knee injury
yewtze - calf injury
wee theng - recurring fever

Thursday, May 17, 2007

some interesting statistics for you guys.

on our journey so far.

matches played: 8
wins: 6/ draws: 1/ losses: 1/
goals scored: 48
goals conceded: 22

pichichi chart (as of 16th may 2007)
yuxian 16
zhipeng 9
yewtze 7
congjing 6
bobby 4
jiaxuan 3
leonard 2
sum 1

number of opposition antagonised: 3
number of clean sheets: 1
number of matches with all players: 1

Monday, May 14, 2007

match report
score: swai-ji 5 el lobos 4
scorers: yuxian 2, zhipeng 1, jiaxuan 1
attendance: 14.000

report: it's not about the loss that we should be worried about. i think everyone gave a fair effort, and though contribution wasn't effective on some parts, i think a draw would have been a desired result. tay's injury was nerve-wracking though, a very severe blow to our team aspirations. this is how the match went: (please forgive for inaccuracies)


the players who turned up were all forwards. no specialised defenders, no specialised dms even.
clearly a defensive effort was needed.

the team started off with leonard in goal, congjing and yewtze in a makeshift defence, tay and jx as the holding midfielders behind zhipeng. a cautious approach, to cover any defensive inadequacies. which backfired somewhat, due to tay instinctive forages up court and zp's sudden defensive mentality.

within minutes the team was two-nil down. the first, a moment of indecisiveness from jx, which allowed the opponent to chase a ball that should have been cleared sooner. despite the acute angle forced by the player, the opposition forward manage to get a shot in, a powerful one which leo could not save. the second, was a one-on-one chance. due to lack of understanding between the players, the ball was allowed to run, and the oppo striker made no mistake. as we feared: clinical and physical.

tay pulled one back, doing his trademark move of twisting past the attacker, turning the other way around before blasting the ball with his left foot. however, this served little to stem the tide. the ongoing midfield battle between yewtze and a pissed-off looking fellow was not going our way, due to superior height and size. hence, the team was left with nothing but long balls.


one goal a piece from tay and the opposition brought the scores to 3-2. by now, the formation had reverted to tay and zp forwards, jx in the middle, with the behind intact. with half time approaching, the team tried to muster any source of energy available. to no avail. pressed back, only some last ditch defending by cj, and some safe keeping from leo kept the score down.

after the break, a play of genius brought the team level. a long punt from leo was unintentionally hit to perfection, finding zp at the edge of the box. even so, zp needed composure and astute control to bring the ball down, before turning and finishing past a startled keeper. having missed 90% of his chances so far, this goal brought the team level, albeit rather undeservingly.

then disaster struck. just when everything seemed to be going our way, tay challenged for a stray ball, and as he missed, fell awkwardly. twisting his knee, it was three minutes before his teammates realised that this injury was for real. the shock barely settling in, both sides were reduced to five.

tay came back hobbling to be the keeper some ten minutes later, thus someone tall from our side was finally allowed to defend. suddenly, the guided long passes from the opposition were cut off, as leo started to impose himself. 'heheh i bet u guys are happy now. got defender behind liao.' leo, you don't know how true your words were la. at any rate, yewtze was freed to play in his usual role. jx and zp on the wings, and the play started to open up. however, a mix-up between cj and new keeper tay allowed another forward to sneak through. 3-4. this doesn't mean the defence was less steady; mistakes are made anyway. and cj was already playing the game of his life. life's just unfair sometimes. anyway tay reinjured his knee due to some ill-advised return to outfield duty, the situation looked bleak again. in all, leo was out for some ten minutes, headed away a dozen crucial balls, but yea it looked sad again.

jx, who had been struggling due to a bout of food poisoning, chose this moment to spring out of anonymity. the defender had obviously not been expecting anything out of him, and thus was stunned when the foward turned and cut past him. a quick burst of speed, and a decisive finish which leveled the score(s).

the lack of substitutes was taking it's toil though. due to fatigue, the players were not able to cover as effectively, especially jx, who had spent all his energy wastefully chasing defenders. a lapse from his side, and the opposition full back was able to chest the ball into an empty net after a mix-up back in defence.

anyway it's a damn long report. damn tired. good game. but i need to say this: if sum and weetheng were here, even bob, or tay had stayed healthy, don't think we would have lost.

manofthematch: congjing
he wasn't a defender, at least not for our team. but he sure played like one. tenacity, and a grit seldom seen in a lobo. spirit there cong.

moanofthematch: some-very-angry-player
wah lan eh, really need to be so serious. not only excessively physical, but somehow the whole world seemed to be against him. cool it dude.

quoteofthematch: 'i've never beaten my senior in two years leh. i'm sure i can do it now la.' a stressed zp on winning headers. and grounders.

conclusion: with tay out, we might still have enough firepower. defensively, it would be better if those two came back. rematch one day.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

friendly on 13th may, sunday
venue: NIE futsal court
match time: 0900
water parade: 0845
opponents: swai-ji (congjing's friends)

this is crap. blogger seems to have lost its bearings. at any rate at least we can still type posts.

anyway this is serious guys. someone's challenging our honour here. we've not lost yet; it's all been wins and a solitary draw. but then again, never have we met an equal foe. never has adversity threatened enough to force a temporary fusion of teamwork and character. and believe me, this is not the best of times to face a test of courage and will.

currentsituation: unavailable list includes bob, sum and wee leong.
wouldn't have wanted the trio to miss this, esp sum. got this niggling feeling that some really serious defending will suffice. composure will be crucial.

leo, with his toe injury, will keep. wee theng and congjing to defend, yewtze to play a more defensive and dominant role. up front zhipeng and tay. word of caution: please do not camp in opposition territory, unless it's for the purpose of marking out the ball holders. forwards do pick your man, esp the running full backs as they open up the play.

not confirmed whether liangfa is turning up, so cj reverting to the full back is a calculated risk. tay to link up with him, as two of you would when pairing up front. if liangfa comes cj to come off the bench.

opponents: all school team players by the looks of it. ny, aj, sa etc. means that there will be the presence of discipline which is so dangerous, and which is what we've been trying to instill unsuccessfully at times.

benchmark is around yewtze's standard for congjing's friend. rest are unknowns; hopefully none near tay.

objective: to fight for one another. to hold the fort. to cover any blind spots. so many times this has been emphasized, and for the simple reason that we can do it. please, let us defend as one for once.

confidence, such a dangerous thing to have. either it fires you up, or you burn with it. for those who have it in them, and are worthy, do not fear to flaunt it.

conclusion: i'm not praying for a win cos i know it's within our reach. lets make victory a formality.