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18/1/2010
Greeny's blog
Comparing the
A-League to English football, and the arrival of a familiar
face.
Firstly
I would like to wish everyone a happy New Year and all the best
for 2010.
I begin this, the morning following the emphatic win by the
Phoenix over Brisbane Roar at the West Pac Stadium. It was a
much needed win. That three points would put us fourth on the
ladder with a game in hand. It would put us above Brisbane. It
was a fixture which had been a problem for the Phoenix in recent
times having us never beaten the Roar ever in the history of the
A-League. Thankfully we have put that burden behind us now.
We have had two new arrivals join us in Liam Reddy, the
experienced goalkeeper ironically from Brisbane and my old team
mate in Eugene Dadi. Both have been great additions to our
squad. Liam 'Rocket' Reddy played his first two Phoenix
games on home soil against Adelaide and Central Coast.
He
showed what he is all about in his performances and again on his
home debut was solid and saved us in the early stages. Now
that he has replaced Mark Paston it will give young and talented
goalkeeper Reece Crowther someone else to learn from, and I
think will do him a lot of good.
Eugene and Rocket have been welcomed by all the boys.
Their temperament and attitude have been first class. Eugene and
I spent my first pre-season at Tranmere together and so I know
all about him and hopefully, if I can work my way back into the
team, I will look forward to playing along side him.
From a
strikers point if view it was the perfect debut from Eugene,
scoring two great goals. The first was a spectacular
over-head kick and the second being a predators goal in the six
yard box. Both goals were at the end of good passing moves
throughout the team.
From me personally it's been a frustrating Christmas with my
injury. It was only the second time in my whole career that I
have had Christmas off, ironically so has everyone else in the
UK with the weather being terrible and games being off.
I have spent most of Christmas in the gym and trying to get my
knee right. My rehabilitation has been frustrating as I was
still getting pain during my agility work (hopping, jumping,
squatting etc). Straight line running was okay, but running on
the treadmill for 40 minutes at a time gets a little boring
after doing it everyday.
After
the Christmas period I was able to run at the training ground
which proved to be more difficult for me. Running around and
along side the boys when they are kicking balls, playing
five-a-side, and shooting really grinds you down. You can see
the lads having banter, laughing and joking and you don't feel
part of it. That's the hard part of being injured.
Thankfully this week I was able to join in the warm up with the
boys and then progress into full time training which was
fantastic for me. I am wearing a heavy strapping on my
knee but I don't care as I can see the light at the end of the
tunnel. I am hoping this week is as successful and my knee
improves as it has. We have found that the more football related
stuff I do the better it's getting. I cant wait to train this
week...
Part
2
Training went really well this week. My knee improved ten-fold
and there was a rumour that I maybe involved in the game against
Queensland Fury on Friday. I managed to get train with the
boys on Thursday at the West Pac. The manager and I had a
conversation regarding me and it was agreed that I was going to
be left out. Obviously I was disappointed and you never want to
be told by the manager that your not involved.
The way
I see it, from a players point of view, is that ranting and
raving at the manager why your not playing is not suddenly going
to make him change his mind. He is not going to go to his
coaching staff and say " fellas we will play Greeny as he has
gone mad, drop whoever"!
The way
to go is to get back to the training field and get back to
working hard and showing him that he cannot leave you out. Its
even more difficult when the team is playing so well and getting
results, but when you do get your chance you must take it and
hold on to that shirt.
This was a massive week for us and was so so important that we
got a result against the Fury. The conditions to be honest were
ridiculous. Players don't mind the cold and rain, but with gale
force winds added to that, it was going to be a tough night at
the office.
We really needed to get one over the Fury. We have taken
the lead in both of the previous fixtures, home and away, but
have been unable to hold the lead. In the opening half,
whether it was the conditions or we just were not at the races,
we didn't start particularly well.
I
personally thought that they played some really good stuff and
created one or two decent opportunities. It was important
for us to start well in the second half. Thankfully, we
did, and got that all important goal with a great headed goal
from Eugene making that 3 in 2 for him. Paul Iffil scored
a trademark goal too, cutting inside from the right and striking
a right footed shot through a crowded area into the bottom left
hand corner.
Finally,
congratulations to John Mackain on scoring our third with a
lofted header and his first goal for the Phoenix. The
three points cemented our place in the top six and has left us
in fifth with Newcastle Jets getting a result against Brisbane.
I feel for the supporters in the UK as the Christmas period
usually is a great spectacle. Boxing Day, after spending
Christmas indoors, is a great fixture, followed by three games
in a week. The weather has brought the whole country to a
standstill and I can tell you the players will be fed up too.
The Bank
Holiday periods are great times to play because you hardly ever
train. The games are coming thick and fast and that's where you
want to be - out on the field. Knowing Les Parry, I can
imagine that the weather has enabled him to keep the players in
peak shape in the gym, so I imagine the Christmas period has
been a tiresome one for the Tranmere players!
Ever since I arrived at the club the questions on everyone's
lips has been "how does the standard compare to the UK?".
I can tell you that Paul Ifill and I had this conversation
almost everyday as we drove into work!
After
watching the other A-League games, and obviously discussing our
games and players etc, I think we came up with this; every squad
has maybe one who could play in the Premier League, three or
four in the Championship, three or four in League One, and so
on.
I think
that in games you will see some top football and great skill on
the ball, and then you will see mistakes that you wonder how
they have been made. This league is going to have a good
number of players playing in the greatest competition in the
world in the summer and hopefully that will open the gateway for
more top class players joining the league.
Once again I would like to thank you for taking time out to read
my blog and hopefully my next one will follow in the next few
weeks
Greeny
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