Waterlooville Boys Blog. – Episode 1 – A long time coming.

As my tenure with Waterlooville Boys approaches its second year anniversary, I thought to myself I should start blogging on the progress of the side.

Shortly after writing that I thought, perhaps this would have been easier if I started writing this thing two years ago!

A lot has changed in two years; believe me I still remember the first session now.

Me and the manger, Nathan Sutton, prepared for what we hoped would be a long session filled with frolicking-fun and of course, beautiful football.

One boy showed up.

Back to the drawing board.

After thinking back to how it was then, I’m glad I started writing this now!

So it’s taken us two years to assemble a squad we believe can accomplish great things. It would have been sooner, but we don’t get a budget like the professionals with lucrative salaries, and sponsorship deals. The best we offer is a Mars bar, if you’re the man of the match. (You’d be surprised how much that works)

Since that memorable first session we’ve developed our squad, as well as laying the foundations for the next generation of Waterlooville footballers, in helping form the under 8’s.

Focussing on our team, it’s clear to see we have the make up in place to create a force in the southern divisions of football. On top of that we have a great set of parents behind us who really have helped, in getting us to where we are now. Cheers folks.

The boys have spent the last year playing friendly matches against teams of mixed abilities, in preparation for next season’s struggles. The results have been mixed in all honesty, we’ve been on the end of thumping’s from teams fielding less players, and dealt our own 10-1 destructions.

In more recent weeks the boys have been playing in their first set of competitive tournaments. We haven’t been expecting them to win the thing, but they have shown competence in their play, which is always pleasing.

One glimpse of magic I wont forget in a hurry is Mr Fry’s last minute free kick, which he put in the top corner, under immense pressure. It was like watching Beckham against Greece all over.

With the football season currently off, there isn’t a great deal to write home about. So I’ll save the juicy reports for the upcoming friendlies and tournaments, for now let’s introduce the team.

Alex Dover – Bit of weird one is our Alex. Bursting onto the scene two years ago he showed great promise on the ball. A natural dribbler with both feet, something rare to come by at that age. Recent events however have seen him move between the sticks, something the management team weren’t so pleased with initially. The cheeky – chappy has since made the position his own with a string of jaw-dropping performances, including saving a penalty on debut. Whether he stays there permanently mind, is yet to be seen.

Christian Sims C – Captain fantastic has only been with the club 12 months. When he joined the side he was just another squad player, which shows you just how long 12 months can be in football. Starting out as a centre back he quickly proved his worth in other areas of the pitch, forcing us to move him to midfield. For a youngster he communicates extremely well, and leads by example with his attitude and work ethic. Sometimes I forget he’s just a kid. We hope he will be lifting the trophies for the team, come next year!

Stirling Grout – Bit of a mixed bag is Stirling. He arrived the second week of training with top corner shooting comparable to Alan Shearer. He soon made it known his real passion was tackling, kicking people if the opportunity should arrive. The centre-back position was his to lose, but following stiff competition, he now has to fight for his place along with the rest of the squad. We do still see glimpses of the Stirling that used to terrify our own players, (let alone the opponents) however consistency is where he is falling short of the mark. With a little work, we hope to re-kindle the form he’s capable of.

Henry Lane – Henry’s only been with the side a few months. One thing I like about him is he has no fear. Always asking to play, “when can I come on” I love it when I hear that from a player. We’ve tried him in a couple of positions and to be honest we’re not certain where’s best for him. He’s learning new things all the time and shows a real passion to improve which is brilliant. We hope to find him a cemented position soon as he adds a different dimension to the team.

Charlie Oliver – Charlie has perhaps come the furthest in the last 12 months. A year ago he was a shadow of the player he is today. Still, he is not the finished article, like all of our players. He has come to the teams rescue in its time of need on countless occasions. Making our job picking the defence even harder! With some more work on his technical ability I can see him establishing himself at the back. The hardest part for him, will be keeping the piranhas from snapping at his heels, trying to get into his position.

Freddie Stewart – Freddie is the latest addition to the squad, giving us two left footed players. However Freddie isn’t the same player as Daniel and prefers to get stuck in. The whole match –day experience is still new to him, and will take time for him to find his feet. But we’ve seen enough in training to believe he will become an asset to the side. For now we will concentrate on the basics, as we look to bring him up to speed with the others.

Nathan Best – Nathan is perhaps one of the bravest in the team. His first session two years ago resulted in him flying towards my ankles with an inch-perfect challenge. He shows tremendous tenacity when in the right frame of mind. He reminds me of a young Roy Keane running from box to box, playing with his heart on his sleeve. He’s made it known he wants to be captain, but as I mentioned sometimes his temperament and attitude can take a turn for the worse. With the right focus, he can become one of the squads star men.

Daniel Baines – Daniel arrived at the same time as Nathan, but has only recently returned to the fold at Waterlooville. He’s clearly lost some of his natural ability from his time out, but a few hard weeks graft should restore that. Daniel’s break from the game has seemingly made him hungrier than ever. Similar to Henry he doesn’t like sitting on the bench, wanting to be involved in everything. His left foot is his best asset, and he can comfortably pick a pass. However it’s still early days for this blonde-bombshell, and I think time will only improve his contribution to the team.

Joe Carey – Joe is our only player with what you would call a: “football pedigree”. His Grandfather formerly played for the mighty Tottenham Hotspur in the 80’s, and his understanding of the game already is incredible. His style reminds me of an old fashioned English centre forward, similar to Teddy Sheringham. The curly-haired forward hasn’t quite been able to show the potency in front of goal he has in training. With a slight confidence boost we’re certain he can be the man to grab the goals.

Harvey Fry – Harvy arrived a couple years back as the outstanding player in the team. Possessing a low centre of gravity he was quick on the ball, and even quicker turning on it. At times he has carried the team with his skill and pace, but now that weight has been lifted from his shoulders with arrival of alternative forward players. The curly-fry has recently moved into midfield, a role I think he prefers. His link up play with Joe at times looks almost second nature, which is what we want to see more of. Oh, and he loves to score free-kicks.

So there it is, the ten-man-strong-squad. Me and my friend (the gaffer) may have been doing this for two years, but really we’re just starting to get to the good bit.

The team were meant to be entering a tournament this weekend, however it will be training as usual come Saturday. Unfortunately I won’t be able to make this weekend, as my first holiday in seven years see’s me go all the way to the…. Isle of Wight. Fantastic.

Aside from football the team has some big bonding events coming up, including a tour around the home of football – Wembley Stadium. So you can expect to see all of that in the near future.

Anyhow this blog will be frequently updated from here on, so stay tuned to find out what crazy adventures the team are on. But for now – Up the village.

Over and out.

By: James Newnham
Twitter: @Jamesnewnham