Blog Extract Six:
11/10/11
I do not often write much around international breaks, but I must reflect over the fuss around nothing with England. We qualified after all didn’t we? For that I say credit Fabio, he has after all qualified us for the two tournaments he has been in charge for. Even if the World Cup in South Africa was an unmitigated disaster he qualified in this campaign undefeated and top of the group, a clear improvement which is all you can ask for. Capello is also an intelligent enough coach to improve England’s performance at Euro 2012 compared to the World Cup. It is also worth considering England’s record in getting to tournaments before the millennium and the appointment of Sven Goran Erikson, it was not that good. Anyhow 2 – 2 well done England and good luck next summer!
Anyway Palace play Watford on Saturday before a midweek match at Selhurst vs Bristol City, hopefully a reinvigorated Palace post Brighton should pick up six points, but are things ever that straight forward with Palace? It is worth reflecting what a great job Dougie Freedman is doing at the moment. Playing great football and giving youth a chance, while frustrating managers with the experience of Sam Allardyce before standing up for his footballing beliefs and the clubs development in the press room after the match. I have to say I was unsure what game big Sam was watching when I read his post match comments I did not see either team enjoy the level of dominance or chances he thought the hammers enjoyed, to me it was an even game and a draw was a fair result. Well done to Freedman for standing up for how he saw the game develop, he is clearly showing signs of becoming a quality strong willed manager.
It is a big week prior to Watford as I get a new wheelchair, same size and weight as the old one but a lightweight electrical system opens up the possibility of independent train travel to football again, the kind of which I have not enjoyed in years. It will make a big difference though as to how you shall see me getting to the football in the future because I will not get as tired, and it will also make attending disability forums at the club easier. This is an exciting development that could make a big difference going forward into the future. In an earlier blog (4) I talked about new skiing opportunities and these continue this week as when I pick up my wheelchair from Hemel Hempstead on Thursday, I will enjoy my second lesson. - Should be fun.
A couple of quick Watford experiences I have enjoyed with Palace to close this section. Both relate to different parental reactions to my football. The first was during my illness in the early Millennium and my father, wanting to aid my recovery and despite not liking football in a selfless act he took me to Selhurst to watch Palace beat Watford 1 – 0. Yet this did not stop him being so bored that he read the Times newspaper from cover to cover taking absolutely no notice of the match or what was going on on the pitch. This is a great illustration that my dad just wanted to make me happy and aid my recovery. My second experience was in slightly different circumstances. A cracking 5 – 1 Palace win at Vicarage Road in early 2004 in the promotion season. I had just dropped out of Nottingham University and my parents were probably justifiably less than impressed with me, angry enough anyhow not to drive me to the match – a 40 minute car journey. As a result I embarked on an epic solo rail journey from Reading to Clapham Junction to Watford Junction, which took about two hours. On the way back I went from Watford to Reading via Willesden Junction and Richmond finally getting back to Reading three hours later around 8pm. Epic journey for a wheelchair but with a 5 -1 victory, (a Freedman hat-trick incidentally) I could not regret it, doing the trip on my own in my chair was very satisfying.
My parents need not have worried either I sorted myself out in the meantime. 2010’s survival act also started at Watford so I wonder what to expect on Saturday I am sure it will be exciting, do enjoy! Thanks for reading. S B
11/10/11
I do not often write much around international breaks, but I must reflect over the fuss around nothing with England. We qualified after all didn’t we? For that I say credit Fabio, he has after all qualified us for the two tournaments he has been in charge for. Even if the World Cup in South Africa was an unmitigated disaster he qualified in this campaign undefeated and top of the group, a clear improvement which is all you can ask for. Capello is also an intelligent enough coach to improve England’s performance at Euro 2012 compared to the World Cup. It is also worth considering England’s record in getting to tournaments before the millennium and the appointment of Sven Goran Erikson, it was not that good. Anyhow 2 – 2 well done England and good luck next summer!
Anyway Palace play Watford on Saturday before a midweek match at Selhurst vs Bristol City, hopefully a reinvigorated Palace post Brighton should pick up six points, but are things ever that straight forward with Palace? It is worth reflecting what a great job Dougie Freedman is doing at the moment. Playing great football and giving youth a chance, while frustrating managers with the experience of Sam Allardyce before standing up for his footballing beliefs and the clubs development in the press room after the match. I have to say I was unsure what game big Sam was watching when I read his post match comments I did not see either team enjoy the level of dominance or chances he thought the hammers enjoyed, to me it was an even game and a draw was a fair result. Well done to Freedman for standing up for how he saw the game develop, he is clearly showing signs of becoming a quality strong willed manager.
It is a big week prior to Watford as I get a new wheelchair, same size and weight as the old one but a lightweight electrical system opens up the possibility of independent train travel to football again, the kind of which I have not enjoyed in years. It will make a big difference though as to how you shall see me getting to the football in the future because I will not get as tired, and it will also make attending disability forums at the club easier. This is an exciting development that could make a big difference going forward into the future. In an earlier blog (4) I talked about new skiing opportunities and these continue this week as when I pick up my wheelchair from Hemel Hempstead on Thursday, I will enjoy my second lesson. - Should be fun.
A couple of quick Watford experiences I have enjoyed with Palace to close this section. Both relate to different parental reactions to my football. The first was during my illness in the early Millennium and my father, wanting to aid my recovery and despite not liking football in a selfless act he took me to Selhurst to watch Palace beat Watford 1 – 0. Yet this did not stop him being so bored that he read the Times newspaper from cover to cover taking absolutely no notice of the match or what was going on on the pitch. This is a great illustration that my dad just wanted to make me happy and aid my recovery. My second experience was in slightly different circumstances. A cracking 5 – 1 Palace win at Vicarage Road in early 2004 in the promotion season. I had just dropped out of Nottingham University and my parents were probably justifiably less than impressed with me, angry enough anyhow not to drive me to the match – a 40 minute car journey. As a result I embarked on an epic solo rail journey from Reading to Clapham Junction to Watford Junction, which took about two hours. On the way back I went from Watford to Reading via Willesden Junction and Richmond finally getting back to Reading three hours later around 8pm. Epic journey for a wheelchair but with a 5 -1 victory, (a Freedman hat-trick incidentally) I could not regret it, doing the trip on my own in my chair was very satisfying.
My parents need not have worried either I sorted myself out in the meantime. 2010’s survival act also started at Watford so I wonder what to expect on Saturday I am sure it will be exciting, do enjoy! Thanks for reading. S B
No comments:
Post a Comment