The Wanderers, Chengdu. Fixtures Spring/Summer 2007
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Date |
Time |
Opponent |
Score |
Scorers |
Man/Men of
the match |
| 4 月 1 日 | 11:50-1:00 | The Reds | 3-0 |
Julien, John M., Arnaud | Mark's knee / Nico's bottom / Cesar and Francois - Your choice |
| 4 月 8 日 | 12:50-2:20 | 光大旅行 | 9-0? |
Joel (4), Rob, ??? | Joel - 4 goals |
| 4 月 15 日 | 12:50-2:20 | 天福实业 |
7-1 |
Arnaud(3) Cesar (2), Max, Julien | Arnaud and Joel |
| 4 月 22 日 | 11:10-12:40 | 新华能 | 0-0 |
- | Cesar (and Kaleb) |
| 5 月 13 日 | 2:30-4:00 | 黑脚足球队 | 6-1 |
Lucky Jim,Julien,
Arnaud, Kaleb, Cesar(2) |
Julien |
| 5 月 20 日 | 9:30-11:00 | T229 | 3-2 |
John M., Cesar, Mark W. |
Rob T. |
| 5 月 27 日 | 11:10-12:40 | 永和豆浆 | 4-0 |
Arnaud(4) |
Arnaud and Mark Wheeler |
| 6 月 3 日 | 2:30-4:00 |
汇源吉讯 | 4-1 |
Arnaud(2), Francois G.(2) |
Francois G. |
| 6 月 10 日 | 11:10-12:40 | 达义房产 | 4-0 |
Cesar(4) |
Cesar |
| 6 月 17 日 | 9:30-11:00 | 好哥们 | 4-3 |
Cesar (2), Jackie, Adam? |
Cesar |
| 7 月 1 日 | 9:30-11:00 | 成都 1970's | 13-1 |
Arnaud (5?) |
Arnaud |
| 7 月 7 日 | 16:00-17:20 | Purple boys | 15-0 |
Arnaud (8?) , Joel (2?)
er.. |
John M. |
| 7 月 15 日 | 12:30 | 光大旅行 | 7-0 |
Arnaud (4), er.. |
Julien |
GAME ONE
1st April 2007: The Squad (all played): Norm, Francois, Nico, Kaleb, Mark Guan, Cesar, Francois G., Jackie, Jim (yellow card), Arnaud, Julien, Rob, Mark W.(red card) Joel, John M., Mark A., Laurent.
Noted fans: Nancy, Marco, Max, sorry, can't remember the other(s)
Match Report: April 1st 2007. Wanderers v. The Reds.
GAME TWO (?)
8th April 2007: The
Squad (Can't remember - can anyone help?): Norm, Francois, Nico, Kaleb,
Mark Guan, Cesar, Francois G., Jackie, Jim (yellow card?), Arnaud, Julien, Rob,
Joel, John M., Mark A., Laurent.
Noted fans: Can't remember -
help, please.
This was the game that was not a 'real' league game due to some local negotiations. I think the Wanderers won 9-0 or 9-1, with Joel helping himself to 4. I think Rob bagged a scorcher, too. The other team never gave up - they must have seen us play before. Please let me know more details.
GAME THREE/TWO (?) (Depends
if Game 'Two' counts)
15th April 2007: The Squad (Can't remember
- can anyone help?): Norm, Francois, Nico, Kaleb, Mark Guan, Cesar, Francois
G., Jackie, Jim (no yellow card?), Arnaud, Julien, Rob, Joel, John
M., Mark A., Laurent.
Noted fans: Can't remember - help, please.
First half: Sir Alex Wheeler (taking a break from playing duties) watched in teeth-grinding despair as Wanderers created about 15 chances in the first 20 minutes, and went down 1-0. As predicted by Rob, with 5 mins to go before the break, Julien brought us back on par. In the second half the other team either were tired, or were not trying as hard, having challenged for everything in the first 40 mins. In the first half, Joel was superb in defence. Arnaud was on form and popped in a cheeky hat-trick. Max announced his recovery with a tasty header from a corner (I think?), and Cesar decided to get on the score sheet, too.
GAME FOUR
22nd April 2007: The Squad (Can't remember
- seemed like everyone played, though): Norm, Francois, Nico, Kaleb, Mark Guan,
Cesar, Francois G., Jackie, Jim (yellow card?), Arnaud, Julien, Rob, Joel, John
M., Mark A., Laurent.
Noted fans: Can't remember - help, please.
Tough game against XinHuaNeng (?), who attacked for the last 25 minutes, and many of the preceding minutes, too. Solid start from the Wanderers, with a classy midfield of Max, Jim, Francois and Cesar, and solid defence of Wheels, Kaleb, Nico and Mark Guan in front of Norm. When Francois was injured, it required Cesar to step up a gear, and he seemed to step up about three - tackles all over the place, great pasing, always covering back, threatening at the front. Surprisingly he was the target of some unfortunately timed tackles, but we managed to get through the game without causing too much of an undiplomatic incident. Arnaud worked non-stop, not only trying to calm Max down. Max was pumped up and when he was injured, we knew things were going to be really difficult. Rob ran himself into the ground, and the last subs came on for the final tense 15 minutes, but the Wheeler-led defence held firm, along with staunch support from the rest of the team. Some good stuff by Norm kept us in the game, as did some exceptional interceptions and all-round defending by Kaleb, the young'un with an old hairy head. Outstanding team performance against a very organised and unreasonably rapid and skilled team. Oh, Jim had a good shot at their goal.
GAME FIVE
13th May 2007: The Squad : Norm,
Nico, Kaleb, Mark Guan, Mark Allen, Mark Wheeler, Cesar, Jackie,
Jim, Arnaud, Julien, Rob, Joel, John M.. Laurent
Noted fans: Belinda, Max, Tommy, Skidow, Laurent, and Mark W's father-in-law.
First fifteen minutes, were, as per tradition, awful. A looping header from Jimbo (always intended for the goal and in no way a misdirected attempt at crossing the ball) put the Wanderers ahead after about ten mins. At the other end a few minutes later, in came a cross almost as innocuous as an Armitage long shot, and about 4 players missed it. Their striker spooned it up into the goal and they were level. Around 15 minutes later, as predicted by Norm, Jim popped in a firm cross from the right and Julien met it in the middle to put the Wanderers 2-1 up. Arnaud got the third after a cross from Cesar. At the start of the second half John Murray blammed the ball against the bar with only his second touch of the ball, and the tone was set. César scored a cracking header from a corner thudded in by the boot of John M. Just for a bit of fun later, Cesar popped one in from about the halfway line, lobbing the keeper, and Kaleb, operating waspishly with his oh-so-nearly-deadly strike partner Nico, got his name on the score sheet. The opposition had plenty of attacks but it was all a bit fussy and they failed to capitalise on their pace advantage on the flanks. Still, who knows if they would have beaten Norm anyway? 6-1, but it could have been many more with more direct attacking at times. I chose Julien as man-of-the-match for his constant hard work, classy touches, good distribution and that tasty goal. Cesar was outstanding, with some very enjoyable skills, deft passing and tenacious tackling. Wheeler had a good second half, controlling the defence and not wagging his finger (or any other body part) at anyone. - If this is wrong, or you disagree, email editor@randomstuff.biz -
GAME SIX
19th May 2007: The Squad : Norm (red card),
Nico, Kaleb, Mark Guan, Mark Wheeler, Cesar, Jackie,
Jim (yellow, natch), Arnaud, Julien, Rob, Joel, John M.
Quick match report from Mark Wheeler:
A bright first ten minutes with good possession and a chance or two.? Only 13 players and the heat drove away all but the most diehard fans, meaning no one was there although Laurent showed up at some point (although he could have been on his way to the bar and just needed some water).
It's hard to describe their first goal other than to say it was a corner and no one touched it and it went in. There you go. 0-1 at half.
Second half starts and we aren't that great but the ball ends up rolling out to Jim on the right wing. A cross, which we can fairly call "the rainmaker" reenters the earth's atmosphere and reaches terminal velocity. The keeper, a Sichuan native with little experience with sun, also must contend with glare coming off of John Murray's head.? The smogshine and high gloss shine are too much and he spills it. Jon Murray pounces and hits applies a powerful strike with his left ear which glances off a defenders arm and bounces twice before bulging the back of the net. 1-1. Game on.
The Wanderers dominate the next 3.2 seconds with superior positional strategy before the cunning 229s used Jedi mind tricks to score a goal from midfield. 1-2.
Wanderers respond and tie game with a header from a corner from Cesar. Almost called back because he actually jumped. 2-2. Game back on.
Dismissal and penalty kick to the 229s. Game off.
Jim Armitage selflessly steps into goal and employs mind tricks of his own (Good luck on this penalty my friend. I'll see you after the game).? The ball glances off the post and goes wide. Jim may or may not have got a finger on it but a save nonetheless. Game back on.
Rob takes the corner, picks out the biggest target he can find, and bounces it in off of Mark Wheeler's mouth. Brilliant cross + big mouth = Goal. 3-2 to the good guys.
Lots of defending with ten men but the score holds.
Man of the Match: Rob. Came on in second half and did everything (took care of the ball, beat defenders, got deep into their half, got crosses in, came back and defended after he created the third goal, etc.). Great game from Rob.? He almost lost out on MOM due to not showing up at the bar. Max made a late bid for MOM by not only showing up at the bar but buying drinks as well.
GAME SEVEN
26th May 2007: The Squad : Jim A.(yellow card),
Nico, Mark Guan, Francois Jr., Mark Wheeler, Mark A., Cesar, Jackie,
Laurent, Julien, Joel, John M., Arnaud, (J. Ameson, G. Uinness.)
We didn't give a goal away from a stupid corner in the first 20 minutes. That wasn't the only unusual thing about this game, as the Wanderers were missing previous M-o-M, Rob, and Norm was away on rugby tour, so James Armitage slipped the gloves on to start with. After that many pints of Guinness, the chances were dire of many things on this day being solid, especially our footballing performance. The team was delivered in an ambulance, and the full contingent of 11 was there 4 minutes after official kick-off time.
The other team seemed to be annoyingly organised and pretty quick, with two beefy central defenders, one of whom gave Joel a good kicking. There was no way lone striker Arnaud was going to score today.
Quite a lot of possession for the blues to start with, but some dangerous pacy red breaks threatened occasionally to expose the Wanderers' best kept secret - Marks A and W are not sprinters. Laurent takes the award for Jim-of-the-Match for an astounding 15-minute spell of psycho behaviour. Don't worry - Jim caught up soon afterwards when he was released from goal by Francois, who gave a flawless display of not having to do anything. Well done. Meanwhile Mr. Guan was showing solid heading and interception skills, cutting out a few rather rude intrusions into the Wanderers' box - potentially nasty.
Following good pressure/hustling from the strikers and midfielders (a feature of the team's play for nearly the whole game),
a handy backpass to the red goalkeeper was picked up. The free kick from 3 metres out was to be taken by Cesar, or Arnaud, or John (and Mark really wanted a stepover). Following a UN conference, Arnaud took the pass and placed the ball under the bar and into the net. Nerves calmed, we continued to be under pressure from breaks occasionally, eased by the introduction of Nico, but gradually a little structure was emerging to the attacking play.
The second half started with the Wanderers intending to apply more pressure, but the reds were still showing attacking intent, although the Guan-Wheeler-Nico-Francois wall was almost inpenetrable. Mr Armitage made a stunner of a save from a shot whipped across the face of goal, and then came the Champagne moment. Arnaud rose like a pro to meet a sparkling cross from John Murray after a cracking ball from Cesar, and powered it home. Once everyone had stopped shaking their heads in disbelief, celebrations began. Lovely goal.
Another switch in defence allowed Mr Wheeler to move in front of the back four, and he excelled, cutting out attacks and moving forward with confidence, and once even with flair. The level of Mark A-Nico chat is testament to the quality of the libero's play, who showed his usual defensive resolve, sprinkled with a more than usual portion of daintiness.
Jackie, Julien, John M, Laurent, Cesar and Arnaud worked extremely hard in the humid conditions and created the pressure which led to the latter bagging another two, one of which I can't remember, but John M. informs me that it was also a breakaway, inspired by the passing of (surprise) Cesar. The third or fourth goal was a breakaway in which he left the defenders in his wake to place it past the goalie, which made up for the other one-on-one which he screwed up earlier.
Men of the Match: Arnaud, who, as usual, worked hard all game, hounding defenders and midfielders, and, found time to net yet another four goals, the second of which was very classy. Mr Wheeler's defending, pushing forward, and his distribution get him on this coveted podium, too.
Next week is Kaleb's last Wanderers game, so please bring your cameras, and of course, tissues to wipe away the tears.
GAME EIGHT
3rd June 2007: The Squad : Jim A.(yellow
card), Nico, Mark Guan, Francois Jr., Mark Wheeler, Mark A., Francois G., Cesar
(yellow card?), Jackie, Laurent (yellow card?), Julien, Joel, John M., Arnaud
Two from Arnaud, whose purple patch came to a shuddering halt with
an injury that ruins his chances of claiming the Golden Boot award for this season,
and a tasty brace from returnee, Francois G., saw the Wanderers home. Murray crossed from the left to find Arnaud, who popped it in, and then Arnaud followed up on Jim's powerful low looping shot, spilled by the goalie. Two-nil
up in double-quick time, and so it was about time to give one away, as the classic
long-ball policy paid off for the opposition. Francois G. added class to the
defence and as he began to break out into his normal more attacking role, the
result was safe for the Blues. Francois scored his first from the spot after Mr Barrand was horribly fouled in the area, and then Francois added a classy finish at the far post to a cross from (who else?) Mr Murray. Kaleb watched in despair and amusement from the
sidelines, commenting on one of the many errors with a terse, "Well Shambled!" and
joining us for a beerful presentation at HQ afterwards.
GAME NINE
10th June 2007: The Squad : Jim A.(yellow
card), Nico, Mark Guan, Francois Jr., Mark Wheeler (yellow card), Mark A., Francois
G., Cesar , Laurent, Julien (subbed, 2 mins), Rob, Joel
The other team's 'tactics' were clear - rile the Wanderers with a slightly more physical game than usual. Cesar's tactics were clear - play with exceptional purpose. After a (we thought it was a thing of the past, but...) traditional 1-second scare of a comedy defending moment, the Wanderers eventually settled into a formation that steadied the nerves. Then Julien got injured - second Francophone injury in two weeks. Sacrebleu! It's a conspiracy. .. Cesar got the first one in, which greatly calmed things down, and then Mark Wheeler decided the that his prize view of the buttock-rippled shorts of the stunning Guan-Allen-Nico-Francois Jr defence was too much, and it was time for more circus performances by the new goalkeeper, courtesy of his namesake. Seeing the dire need, Jim was kind enough to step in to take the yellow-black jersey and exhibited some of the finest 'chatting to Max' ever witnessed at the Wanderers goalposts. The Wanderers went into half-time 1-0 up (is that right?) and a few sighs of relief were emitted, after 15 minutes in our own half. In the second half everyone continued working hard against a team that was not 'shirking the challenge', and the Blues were 2-0 up early on, Cesar slamming it in. Following some further 'full-blooded' tackles and colloquial language, the Wanderers defence kept on keeping the rapid attacks out, although there were a few hairy moments with some deft running and decent crosses coming in from both wings. Francois and Cesar were combining well in this game, passing to both wings, and linking well with the other midfielders, the energetic Laurent and Rob, and with Joel, who made some clever runs, and nearly finished off a delightful move down the left. Cesar put another two in, and it would be nice to get a reminder of the details of those. The Blues exerted pressure for long stretches of the game, but the Arsenal (the opposition) pressed hard for at least a third of the game. The Marks-Nico-Fran defence held fairly firm, and the midfield support was good, with Wheels and Francois of particular help . Good team footy in the end, and a tasty victory, even without that goal machine, Arnaud (I can't believe I wrote that either).
GAME TEN
9.30 am, 17th June 2007: The Squad : Johann, Nico, Mark Guan, Francois Jr., Mark A., Mark Wheeler, Jackie, Cesar , Laurent (red card), Adam, David, Rob
The Wanderers won. The hair has been shorn/brushed aside/their defences parted/they were only a fringe element in the game/they went out not with bangs but with a whimp. We could go salon and on and on. Confident that the Blues were going to get 4 goals today, we deliberately gave away two goals in the first 7 minutes, some superb combinations from the Alliance Francaise seeing to that. Classy goalkeeperJohann was feeling delighted that he'd turned up. Cesar punched in a free kick from 25 metres out, and it dipped slightly as it flew fast and true to the left of the diving goalkeeper. Heads and morale were back up. Then Mark Wheeler sent in a dainty free kick from just past the halfway line to find the head of David (?) who put it over the goalkeeper and into the chewed up net. Tasty. 2-2 at half-time. Jackie was there to meet Cesar's cross and put the Blues back ahead. Their number 24 had dropped back to make use of the occasional void in front of the defence, but swarming defenders generally kept things tight-ish, sort of. Cesar bagged his second with some solo magic, following a nicely judged defence-splitting header by Laurent in midfield. Cesar was unlucky on two other occasions, both involving elegant chips, one going just wide to the left, the other rebounding off the bar. Man-of-the-match to Cesar. We all know he is just a bit more skilful than most of us, but his non-stop work, breaking up attacks in midfield, and his match-turning goal, as well as a headshake-and-smile-inducing cross-pitch pass through a 5-man defence to Rob on the right wing, get him this honour yet again. The furry-topped hordes kept on constructing neat attacks, with their red-booted midget cutting in from the left, and their (disappointingly normally coiffured) stocky midfield playmaker pressing from centre right for the equalizer. All this happened in a dramatic atmosphere, as the hirsuite ones nearly walked off, and Wella-waved the game goodbye. Laurent and his counterpart decided they needed a rest, a view shared by the ref. A full-on attack with 10 mins to go bunched the Blue defence in the middle, and a clever ball out left let in their excellent no. 6, who went for the jugular, taking the ball goalwards rapidly into the box and firing in a corker of a shot with the outside of his left foot. The ball fizzed in just inside the top right corner. Terrible defensive gap, but outstanding shot to keep the hairy hopes up. Further defensive resolve, slightly less manic than usual, saw us to the end. One dope thought it ended 3-3, but it was 4-3, an admirable result, given that 5 or 6 first-choice players were unavailable. Kaleb would have been proud of us (after the first 7 minutes).
GAME ELEVEN
9.30 am, 1st July 2007: The Squad
: Mark A., Mark Guan, Francois G., Mark Wheeler, Jim A., Jackie, Cesar
, John M., Arnaud, Rob, Joel
The Wanderers won. The other side never stopped trying and were let down staggeringly badly (well?) by their cooking-oil-fingered goalkeeper, who at least knew where his nets were, since he got to see them many a time. Arnaud on top form, pestering the defence and midfield and relying on any first touch to present goal chances, which they did. Can't remember much else, except with 30 seconds to go, two of their strikers broke and three of our defenders decided to give them a goal. 'Goal difference' difference was reduced to 12, we think, so more needed next time.
GAME TWELVE
4.15 am, 8th July 2007: The Squad : Mark
A., Mark Guan, Francois G., Mark Wheeler, Jim A., Jackie, Cesar , John
M., Arnaud, Rob, Joel
The Wanderers won in 70 minutes because the opposition goalkeeper got annoyed and called the whole team off, annoying many of his own team. Pressure from the start and it was 7-0 at half-time, with some nice striking as well as stunning misses. Joel finished the first half with a tasty solo effort cutting in from the left and finishing past the 'quite good' goalkeeper. Another 8 followed in the second half. John Murray's crossing was exceptional throughout, and Rob also kept popping the ball in from the right. Then Cesar was given a free kick and the other side decided 15-0 was enough. Let's hope it is.
GAME THIRTEEN (but actually game TWELVE in the league because the first one didn't count)
12.30pm , 15th July 2007: The Squad : Julien, Mark
A., Mark Guan, Francois G., Mark Wheeler, Jim A., Jackie (2nd half), Cesar , John
M., Arnaud, Joel
Ten players started the deciding fixture of the season, as the Red Devils and the Wanderers were level on points and goal difference. Again the Wanderers won in 70 minutes, this time because the opposition
just could not be bothered to play on. Man-of-the-match was superb goalkeeper Julien, stylishly grinning for the parts of the game when he didn't have to do anything. The traditional comedy moment at the start of the game was supplied by none other than Mark A., clearly suffering from a lack of booze the night before, but Julien sorted that out. There followed a quick break from their strikers, who were often released by their very good attacking midfielder, and Julien made two exceptional saves to keep us in the game and our spirits up. 3-0 up at half-time and we were cream-crackered. Jackie turned up and having 11 players made things quite a bit easier. Cesar was showing off his range of dribbling skills, and won a penalty, which he charmingly gave to the keeper, who parried it, and Arnaud finished it off. Nice. Francois was on excellent form, cutting through their midfield and defence with some deft passing and movement off the ball. Murray put in a load of good crosses, Joel did his clever defence thing (lost on some of the other non-clever defenders), Mark Guan was solid in defence, with Wheeler playing an exceptional first half, cutting out attacks just in front of the defence and pushing the game forward down the flanks. James Armitage was at his bustling and purposeful best, and I think I've mentioned everybody now.
Well done all round, since the Red Devils drew 3-3, so we could've called it a day at 1-0, really.
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NB: If I've got info wrong, or written something insulting (or not insulting enough), please let me know. If you've written a Wanderers match review, please send it to editor@randomstuff.biz. Cheers. Mark
Some oldish photos of the Wanderers