Orangemen vs The Ref

Another terrific showing, numbers wise, for the Orangemen. We are finally getting our numbers up and out to the field. I felt this season we have been in a rebuilding and recruiting year and along with renewed participation from some regulars we are doing extremely well. What’s left is for the manager to get us organized as we have plenty of raw material to work with. That said I’ve got some serious criticism to lay down first and then I’ll comment on a few other things.

Here are the important takeaways from the game last night:

On field discipline:

First, I’ve said this before and you will no doubt hear it again. Only Mooch talks to the ref. If others talk to the ref it is a sign of disrespect and two things can happen. One, it pisses the ref off to the point where he takes personal retribution against us with fewer and fewer calls going our way...like last night. Two, if others talk to the ref it reduces the effectiveness of me talking to the ref. When a couple of guys are already up in his face, the last thing he needs is another guy up in his face regardless of whether it’s the manager. Only Mooch talks to the ref.

Second, The ref makes the call. Reversing the refs call on our own is another sign of disrespect. Whether that be to correct a touch out of bounds or more seriously to correct a goal that is not given. Both things occurred last night. The correct way to handle the ball out of bounds is for the player to raise his hand and point to himself thus conceding to the ref that he touched the ball last. This will also appease the opponent if they see the player conceding. The ref may or may not change the call. In the case of a goal that’s for the manager on both sides to conference with the ref. The ref makes the call.

Third, we don’t learn the rules of the game on the field. So last night we had a least four or five people talking to the ref for clarification and asking him, in my opinion, pretty strange questions about hand-balls, off-sides, and shoulder-charging, etc. We all know how to play, we all know the rules. He knows we know the rules. So you can’t feign ignorance and think he doesn’t see right through your protest. The only gesture anyone on the field should be making towards the ref is a shoulder shrug, with your arms and palms open, and your mouth wide shut. We don’t learn the rules of the game on the field.

Forth, No fighting period. Last night was the closest we’ve come to a fight in a long time. I’ve got zero tolerance for fighting. Start a fight and take a swing and you’re gone, permanently. Threaten another player and you will be suspended. I’m not entirely sure what happened last night but it sounded like some threatening was going on. If it’s reported to me credibly I’ll look into it. If you threatened a another player consider yourself suspended. No fighting period.

Expectations:

When we have a crowded bench we can’t wait for folks to be drop dead tired before taking a blow...so after a 20 minute shift on, everybody should be looking for five minutes off. This is situation dependent but the expectation should be there. Of course no one should be conserving energy with a loaded bench. Everyone should be going full tilt if they know they have relief on the bench. 

The Orangemen have always had an everybody plays philosophy. I will continue to support this strong tradition. However, in the coming weeks, now that we have plenty of raw material, I will be experimenting with systems of play that could make us more effective on the field. Some of this includes substituting lines and reshaping our system depending who’s upon who’s on the field. 

In the coming weeks I will share with you various systems of play to get your feedback. Traditionally the Orangemen load the center of the field with our strongest players and we attack through that center column...then we drop back and defend centrally as well. In the future I will be experimenting with ways to load other areas of the field even if just for a period of time.

Now onto the game:

 We played well last night. As Ben was overheard saying, the score doesn’t matter so much as long as we played well. I certainly agree with that and it’s particularly gratifying if we show improvement along the way. We’ve got some real talent starting to show up and we can all learn a thing or two about how to play...everybody has to be open to learn. For instance, everybody saw my buffoonery when I stepped onto the field. I was immediately in a position to control a ball being played over the top. I got there in plenty of time to put a touch on the ball. Rather than touching the ball I slowed down and expected the ball to bounce softly so I could bring in under control. As I slowed down, one of their extremely fast midfielder, Mike I think was his name, beat me to the ball and touched it back into the air. Two more times in succession, we chased back after the ball and each time I waited for the ball to come down so I could control it and Mike would beat me to it. The valuable advice that Ben gave me was to just get a touch on the ball even if I can’t control it. A touch would have broken up Mike’s momentum and sent him wide, screwed up his timing, or broken up the play. It’s against every fiber of my being to play out of control, but Ben is absolutely right. Any touch is better than no touch, which was what I got...no touch...three times. 

 So we lost...4 to 1 with an own goal conceded and a questionable call that the ref was originally taking back since the play for all practically had ended with a skirmish in the box. Therefore the score was closer to 2 to 1. Feels like we played pretty well. Both Herndon teams are very aggressive opponents but we havebeaten them before. From my email above, you should all get the feelingthat although we played well, it was our behavior after the action, that caused us more difficulties. A lot of cards issued last night, more than usual, and all of them more or less for attitude rather than offense. Enough said...it was a fabulous night and most had fun...