'Big Year' Reaches Climax

As early as January, I was banging the table about this being a 'big year'. I think it started at a party in Maria and Irene's, downstairs in my apartment building. The lads were all there and we were 'well on it'. I'd done my players in/out forecasting and it was clear we would be at our strongest come September. I had started to beat the drum early.

It became nearly a running joke as the year progressed. We all knew there was something in the logic but there's a big gap between January and September especially when you know you are going to be shipping your share of blows along the way.

Nearly exactly ten months on, we arrive at the day and the goal which gave the 'big year' its meaning.

I'd be lying if I said the last month went fantastically smoothly. Injuries and work commitments have disrupted our preparations. This is the nature of the beast though and every club faces the same issues. We finished off this week with two very good sessions and head into the weekend on a positive note.

One of the challenges the week of a tournament is what and how much to say to lads. The tendency can be to use the opportunity to talk just to release your own tension. The added value of what you say will be minimal though and may have more of a negative effect if it just gets lads wound up i.e. they may not be able to relax/sleep properly.

Our game plan is simple and we work on it every night. Our motivation for the weekend is crystal clear. What really needed to be said?

Timmy brought things together nicely at the end of the session last night and no more was needed.

I expect competition will be tough. I see The Hague have had upwards of ten transfers in the last month. Amsterdam will have lads coming back for the weekend and Lux should be at full strength. Guernsey, on their secluded island off the north of France, will have put in massive preparation I'm sure. Whoever wins this weekend will certainly have to earn it.

The Shield go into battle with a strong panel. This competition has exploded, with around 18 teams competing. It annoys me how so many teams rock up for the last tournament (when they didn't attend any others) and skew the competition. I'd be in favour of creating a third tier competition and placing those teams in that.

Credit to the board though, they did make one change by adding a plate competition to it. It means top two go into Shield QF and 3rd/4th into Plate QF.

The lads will be looking for a big finish. The season has been a real roller coaster and they will be hoping to finish on a high. Key to a good performance will be to keep the goal count down.

On the ladies side, the competition is also set-up for a grand finale. Our ladies are going for five in a row but are deadlocked with Holland ladies after two rounds. If the girls pull this one off it will be the hardest one yet and the most satisfying.

Training finished up last night and it was very hard to get lads off the pitch. This season hasn’t felt as long as others and we haven’t had periods where we got sick of it like we may have had in the past. Leaving last night, we realise there will be a hole in our lives in the next few months. Saturday is all about making sure we have something to talk about to fill in that spare time!