Volunteer Arms Football Club » 1811

Apologies 27/10/2009

treestump89 — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:55:06 +0000

Sorry for the extremely long break, summer came along, pitches dried up, and numerous other shenanigans. The Owen Coyle Super League title still lies undecided, but will come to a resolution shortly. One extremely outrageous development over this break was the decision by East Lothian Council to only allow one pitch at Fisherrow to be used each night. This was in response to feedback from users that the pitches got wrecked because of overuse. I don’t know what users, because they sure as hell didnt ask me. The problem last year was inclement weather, not overuse, and this situation has left us scrambling for pitches and having to use Monday nights for our next two games. However, at least we’ve got fixtures lined up now. The first of which a friendly against Owen Coyle Super League opponents Sykes FC. A match hotly awaited after Sykes extinguished our hopes of the title in their victory at the hallowed grounds of Fisherrow. Our second upcoming fixture is against longtime rivals 1811 witchery that promises goals galore as our first encounter saw a horsing at Fisherrow but a 30 yard goal for VAFC, and another outing resulting in a 4-4 draw. Hopefully everyone’s fired up for these games and haven’t developed any variety of belly in the long break between games.

Keep the faith

League Information 3/5/2009

treestump89 — Sun, 03 May 2009 12:24:15 +0000

Since things are starting to get a little more definite about this league me and Richie of Teuchters FC have been talking about for months its presumably time to divulge some more information about the set up.

As its just a short summer league there will be 4 teams involved, at the minute these are; VAFC, Teuchters FC, Dunbar FC, and 1811 Witchery FC (to be confirmed). Each team will play each other twice, one at home, and one away. Games will be fortnightly, but may have to be condensed to weekly at the end of the season depending when we start. It will be up to the designated home team to arrange and pay for the pitch (everyone will work out equal by the end of the season due to all teams playing 3 home and 3 away games). A £90 team registration fee will cover the provision of referees who will deliver match reports to myself and Richie. I’ll probably set up a similar website to this for the league, just to keep track of things. Usual rules regarding suspensions, red card 1 match ban, 3 bookings 1 match ban, 3pts for a win, 1 for a draw.

Expect solid confirmation of this set up within the next 7 days.

Keep the faith

Fixture Jiggery Pokery 7/4/2009

treestump89 — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:05:28 +0000

Right, no fixture this week. Essentially the main trouble is too short notice, being in Shetland, or being in Plockton. However there have been plenty offers for next week from 1811 Witchery FC, Arthur’s Feet FC, and also Wester Hailes have asked us to make an epic trek to the Gyle for a game. Not entirely sure about that proposal as it is gonna be played on a pitch without floodlights at 6.30, a definite gamble there. Most likely solution is a game against either Arthur’s Feet or 1811 Witchery. Will of course keep you informed as always.

Keep the faith

More Fixture News 6/4/2009

treestump89 — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:19:10 +0000

Unfortunately due to the promising start 1811 Witchery FC aren’t able to get a squad together for Wednesday. Gordon’s Napier mate is also unable to get a team together due to them losing their league on the last day of the season. So now I’ve opted for the last resort and asked Wester Hailes if they fancy another crack at the famous Deuchars and Fags. Hopefully I’ll be able to confirm in the next 24 hours but as you can now come to expect time will only tell.

Keep the faith

Match Report vs 1811 Witchery FC 3/3/2009

treestump89 — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:17:41 +0000

With two different groups to prove a point to we were massively fired up for the big rematch we had all been waiting for. Primarily we were out to settle the score from the last match where we were drubbed 8-0 on the astroturf at St Daves. Secondly after some intense and seething criticism from the Mulgrew family it was essential to prove that the expulsion of Ciaran Mulgrew from the side would prove fruitful.

Fisherrow was in peculiarly good nick after some promising weather, but some particularly inclement weather was forecast for during the game, including wintery showers. It was really good to see pitch 1 back in action too with an earlier kick off fully underway upon my arrival to Fisherrow, the true home for any Musselburgh based team.

After our truly dreadful result against The God Squad the decision had been made to ring in the changes. A few new faces were brought in to assess if they were going to be able to fill in gaps in the squad and do us a job. With Mike Kinsella ruled out due to work commitments we brought in the first of two new Polish signings Jacob, a goalkeeper of particularly good repute who played despite an injury, albeit completely off his nut on painkillers. The other of these was a tall physical central defender called Andy, like Jacob Andy is one of Marcin’s mates that had been drafted in to fill in for unavailable players. With all of our centre-halves ruled out due to injury and sickness Owen called upon the first of two brother to make their debuts against the Witchery. An experienced player at under-21 level Joey was willing to slot in at centre half and we were fully confident he would be a suitable player to fill the shoes of Plockton’s favourite son Gordon Mackenzie. Joey’s brother Yorkie was drafted in at left-mid with promise of industry, creative play, and the ability to track back.

Sticking to what we know we went again with the flat 4-4-2 that looked set to reap success due to a far stronger midfield contingent. In goal as I have already mentioned was Jacob, in defence (from left to right) J. Dick (captain), Joey, Marcin, D. Kinsella, in midfield (l-r); Yorkie, Clarky, R. Mckenna, O. Kinsella, and finally starting up front were Val and Tulloch. Starting on the bench were; Calum Day, Ken Dick, and Andy. With our new Polish contingent came a small following consisting mainly of Marcin’s sisters, and Damo Scott and Dougie Todman, good chums of mine from St Daves had made the epic journey from Morningside and Loanhead respectively to watch the game. Big Gordon also managed to fire down, but purely as a spectator (or did he…).

The game soon got underway with man in the middle Chris Muir conducting the pleasantries. 1811 Witchery kicked off the match but posession was soon regained by VAFC. From this point we got straight into a positive start making some brilliant flowing play in the middle of park inevitably leading to some smart through balls and a couple threatening attempts. With some clever early pressure it didn’t take long for Staggs to open the account for the evening with an attack that began as many did with Tulloch winning the ball in the middle of the park from a goal kick. Some deft movement in midfield eventually lead to Ryan “Georgey Best” Mckenna jinking his way past a couple of blue shirts and eventually playing a superb through ball to Yorkie that was chased into the box and put away into the back of the net to give Staggs the psychologically crucial lead. Play resumed again much as it had started with a couple good attacks from Staggs but it was soon time for the Witchery to turn up the heat with some intelligent play leading to a shot from within the 18 yard box that saw a truly dreadful scuffed clearance from me that was stabbed home from 6 yards to regain parity. By this point the match was shaping up to be a far more competitive affair than at St David’s and it became evident the tie would be hard to settle. With my confidence at a massive low after being responsible for us conceding our lead I had to keep my head down and power through and make up for such a dire performance. It didn’t take long for me to pick myself up. Within 10 minutes of conceding in such embarrassing fashion I was presented with an option for redemption. Picking up the ball within our half after a Witchery attack I spotted Owen in space on the wing near their 18 yard box. My well timed overhead through ball found Owen in good space and with one touch to control the ball and one touch to take it within range Kinsella sent us back into the lead with a driving shot from tight angle and 20 yards that nestled in the bottom left corner perfectly. If we were able to control the match and go in at half time with the lead in the bag it would have been a perfect start to the game but however it was not to be. Not a bunch to be downhearted the Witchery kept up some good pressure and with an attack down the centre they took the lead again. Joey was unfortunate not to win the ball off the attacking blue shirt with a well timed challenge but the ball broke through and clean through on goal the Witchery converted despite my best attempts to put off the attacker with a blood curdling scream in the earhole.

Half time soon arrived and we were more than happy to in at half time equal after a hard fought half. There was a general feeling that we could have been sitting on a lead but there was no sense of discontent. Despite the battle the first half proved to be most of the lads were in fine fettle, and only Marcin volunteered himself to be substituted for his mate Andy. The message was clear, good first half and just go back out there and continue to play our own brand of football.

The second half was soon underway with fire in our bellies to nick a winner or even open up a lead. The half opened with a blazing shot from Val on the half way line that fell short of goal, but certainly proved useful in getting our players up the park to apply some pressure. We remained consistent and did well to fight off a batch of Witchery attacks, many of which coming from corner kicks that were well defended which was a refreshing thing to see. The play in the middle of the park continued to be creative and the through balls were raining in and Ryan Mckenna was unfortunate to be deemed offside by Chris Muir when played through on goal. There were further chances for each team with the corners continuing to rain in from the Witchery but to no avail. In the last 15 minutes a couple tactical substitutions were made with Val going off for Calum Day, and Yorkie coming off for veteran winger Ken Dick. Both substitutes got involved straight away with Ken making some promising runs about the park and communicating well with the team. Calum also got straight into it winning the ball in the middle of the park a couple of times and playing some intelligent passes. Gordon Mackenzie eventually caved in to the desire for football and got changed out of his civvies into a pair of shorts to come on for the last 10 minutes for Val. Presumably a bad decision for someone that has ruined the cartilege in their knees from being a sporting machine, but nonetheless proving that playing for VAFC is all about the love of football. The pressure was heaped on by both teams looking to steal the proverbial three points but the whistle was soon blown to end a highly entertaining encounter that really could have gone either way.

It was great to pull off a result like this, particularly against a team that only a month ago rifled us 8-0. Lots of positives to be taken, mainly the fresh faces in the side proved very useful additions to the squad and will be called upon in future. One particular negative was the flashpoint that erupted between Declan Kinsella and the boy he was marking. A heated exchange resulted and it was only resolved when I took Declan by the scruff of the neck and told him to drop it, and Chris Muir got involved to discipline the blue shirt involved. Another potential scuffle ensued between Owen Kinsella and his marker after a pretty harsh challenge, but thankfully no cards were shown. There is evidently work to be done regarding discipline but the football that was on display was so promising that it negated all the jiggery pokery that went on during the game.

When it comes to picking a man of the match I am once again totally spoilt for choice due to the marked improvement in play. Jacob was totally solid in goals and despite injury put in an excellent performance. In defence Joey and Declan were well solid and were involved in some great link up play with the midfield. I thoroughly enjoyed my assist to Owens goal as it is the highlight of my career to date, but my name is not in the ring due to my horrific error early in the game. All the midfield can be proud of themselves with great play between Clarky and Ryan Mckenna in the middle. Clarky once again putting in some brilliant crosses, particularly from corners, and Ryan Mckenna maintaining a cool head to display some effective close control that saw me dub him as a dead likeness for George Best. Both wingers proved themselves of immense value, mainly due to them netting a goal each, but also due to some good tracking back and creative through balls. However, scooping the man of the match award for our best team performance yet is Matthew Tulloch. His intensnely industrious play was vital to the success of the team. Happy to come back to the middle of the park to win the ball numerous times from goal kicks but driving forward constantly contributing pricelessly to keep up the pressure required to grab a result

I think it would be reasonable to say the Mulscrew family have been silenced.

Keep the faith,

Update 23/2/2009

treestump89 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:35:52 +0000

Alright guys, some major steps forward today. Firstly during a massively entertaining 19th Century Literature and Culture lecture I text Gordon Mackenzie for a check up on his progress and also to pick up the number for Ewen Amos from 1811 Witchery FC. His reply contained good news, and bad news. In customary fashion I’ll give you the bad news first, his knee is still pretty mashed and he’s out for another few weeks minimum. The good news is that the Witchery boys are well up for a rematch and he dropped me Amos’ number. So I set about negotiations with Amos and it’s game on for Tuesday the 3rd of March at good old Fisherraw with a 7.30pm kick off. Surely a glorious fixture to herald the return of pitch 1 at Fisherrow.

The next major item of business that occurred today is that I ordered a sample strip from soccerdirectfc.co.uk . I decided to ring them after falling out of touch with Jaz and his colleague Ian was incredibly helpful in setting things up for me and is actually sorting out the sponsor’s logo and also the curvature of the motto on the badge. This guy is a genius if he can do it as after 6 hours of trying I had to admit defeat. Anyway, I ordered a Bilbao style top in emerald with Dicky number 5 on the back and of course our badge and sponsor. I’m counting down the hours until it arrives and I’ll fire a picture up as soon as it does.

Hopefully once this arrives we’ll be able to meet with Nigel and come to some sort of agreement that sees us order a full set and get some punters showing up to support the boys on the pitch. With all this quality news I remain hopeful the boys can turn this into success on the pitch and we really need to step up our game against The Witchery to avenge the defeat at St Daves.

Keep the faith

A Big Parcel of Jiggery Pokery Wrapped In Red Tape 16/2/09

treestump89 — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:47:35 +0000

Howdy, after the afforementioned unprecedented levels of snow and no phonecall from the Brunton regarding a cancellation I grew curious and decided to drop them a line. Peculiarly I wasn’t put on hold at any stage and wasn’t forced to listen to some utter trash on repeat and my call was answered promptly. I asked about the pitch booking I had made for Fisherrow tomorrow at 7pm and was met with the really weird answer of “…which one?”. I was utterly stumped, how on Earth would it be possible for me to make more than one booking. I soon found out that Owen had made a booking on the 1st of February, and I went on to make one on the 10th. The strangest thing is owen made the booking under my name, so surely whatever person answered the phone and took my booking on the 10th would have realised I had already made precisely the same booking already. They were obviously just happy to take my money off me and have me pay for the same pitch twice. This would be alright if it wasn’t for the fact that despite 4 inches of snow lying on the pitch for near enough a week they are still trying to tell me it will be playable for tomorrow, although its not playable for matches today. What a load of nonsense. Surely it doesn’t take a 9am inspection signed in triplicate, sent to the sports department, forwarded to the Brunton Hall, and a copy sent to our old pal the Football Development Officer to know that if a pitch resembles the Somme in monsoon season on Monday afternoon it will most likely be just as bad 24 hours later. However, thanks to this ridiculous paperwork based waltz im forced to do with the council the team’s reputation with The God Squad is at stake as I face delivering a call off with less than 24 hours notice. A football based situation that definitely needs some development from an officer.

Aside from this, I assume you will have seen the debate raging on the ‘About Us’ section of the website. Someone from 1811 Witchery, presumably the boy who writes the match reports has decided to lambast me from behind a computer screen. If you check this out it’s actually pretty hilarious. Apparently the match was only 70 minutes long, Chris Muir decided to be biased towards us in the last ten minutes, and my match report is rubbish.

In regards to the 70 minute accusation, at half time I asked Chris to give me a shout on the hour mark in order to bring on a sub, at this point the match was still pretty tight and I decided Gauson’s services weren’t yet required so I asked for a call 15 minutes from then. On 75 minutes Chris gave me a shout and with us continuing to push I decided to bring Paddy on. He played far longer than minus 5 minutes, it was probably closer to 15 minutes. Giving us the final sum of………….90 minutes. Otherwise known as the normal length of a football match.

With the nature of the matches we have played and Chris has refereed being friendly he generally does tend to favour a side if they are starting to slip far behind. However on this occasion it must be noted that Mulgrew was called dubiously offside 6 times, a similar situation for the Witchery boys. Equal treatment for both sides then. No hint of bias then. Good. Keep up.

I think regarding the quality of my match reports I will choose to refer to our motto, “De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum”.

Anyways, fingers crossed we will be playing tomorrow and will have a quality match against The God Squad.

Keep The Faith,

Information for 1811 Witchery

treestump89 — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:31:01 +0000

Just a couple wee notes for you boys:

- I, Joe Dick am captain of VAFC, not Gordon Mackenzie

- Myself and Owen Kinsella started the team, not Gordon Mackenzie

- There are no bears, moles, or knitting needles harmed in the making of VAFC, Gordon Mackenzie comes to no harm either

- Football matches run to their conclusion in 90 minutes, they are not stopped in mercy of either side, unless either side drops below 7 players, Gordon Mackenzie however,never runs to a conclusion, he just runs forever

- Respect for the official is paramount to a successful game, particularly when said official boasts experience that can be measured in fractions of a century

Cheers, JD