Annan aim to brighten January gloom
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and wish you all a happy New Year.
If any of you are similar to me, then January won't be your favourite time of year - it's like a whole month of Mondays.
I always take holidays from work through the festive season and now that we're back to normality it takes me a wee while to get into the swing of things again.
As usual I got just about everything I asked for from old and Annan have done not too badly either.
After the win against Berwick we managed to take a point from our game away to the league leaders and although the game at on Saturday I think the manager will be fairly happy with our efforts.
I've mentioned before that we are lucky at Annan to have a decent artificial surface to train on, so although the weather hasn't been great we have still been able to train with little disruption.
We altered the training schedule over Christmas and were only in on Tuesdays instead of twice a week but we did train on Saturday due to the cancellation.
We did a monster run and then had a full-scale game. Unbelievably, it finished goalless but my team went on to win on penalty kicks.
A special mention goes to young Tom Short during the shoot-out when he slipped and fell on his backside putting the ball as high and wide as you can imagine!
I've got mixed feelings about the postponement of the game last weekend. I admit to not looking forward to the trip at that time of year but when you think about the possibility of facing the journey midweek, I'm not exactly bowled over with enthusiasm, and I'm sure the club aren't either.
I have read from the local press that there are discussions taking place as to whether the game can be rescheduled for the international break in February.
This is the only free Saturday between now and the end of the season and, if we can't use it, we are looking at a Tuesday or Wednesday evening.
I was talking to Derek Townsley at training and we realised that some of the boys might need two days off from work to make the trip.
We have began our preparations for this weekend's game at home to Albion Rovers and if the pitch manages to thaw out in time we will be looking to continue our recent good form.
The chairman even put the floodlights on last night to try and aid the process!
We had a really good session and everyone was looking fit and sharp. I think the only two players struggling a bit are Gary Brown and Darren Johnstone.
I'm not too sure what's up with the big man but he looked good last night doing his own thing in his lycra tights.
After a quick warm down after training it was Alan Inglis' turn (again) to pick his nominations for the Thursday biscuit boy.
You've already heard about Tom Short, so he was an obvious choice, as was Phil Storey who, shall we say, was a little unwell after the run on Saturday.
The only surprise was that they were both outdone by Steven Sloan who scored an unbelievable own goal at training with a finish that any striker would have been more than proud of.
At least Sloany won't have to make much of an effort to improve on Shingles' (Alan Inglis) effort of ginger nuts and low fat rich teas - officially the worst biscuit choice ever.
We have come to the conclusion that Shingles is choosing poor biscuits to stop the boys picking him - I'm afraid to do that you're going to have to stop putting the balls in the river mate!
Comment number 1.
At 7th Jan 2009, Rabster wrote:Postponements must be one of the most frustrating things in football, for fans too.
I sometimes wonder why the season *must* end on a certain date, surely in extreme circumstances it could be extended for a week or two?
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Comment number 2.
At 7th Jan 2009, Ali_Don wrote:Postponement due to icy and freezing conditions is understandable, but I’ve always wanted to have a kick about on a waterlogged pitch just for a laugh. The Swiss v Turkey game at the Euros was a good laugh seeing the players falling over each other in a messy game.
Im amazed that Championship and even some League 1 teams dont have undersoil heating. It definitely should be compulsory at the top two divisions. Birmingham City is an embarrassment of a club.
Nice blog though, and I certainly agree with you that January is the worst time of the year. Its a month full of Mondays.
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Comment number 3.
At 7th Jan 2009, Raef Barnes wrote:What a good read this blog is, one that isn't written to "big up" the author, just a nice honest article about a small club player.
Annan to Elgin must be a heck of a trek, especially for a midweek fixture, hope the Saturday idea comes through for your sake!!
Good luck for the rest of the season Annan Ath.
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Comment number 4.
At 10th Jan 2009, Catherina_X wrote:Low fat rich teas! I'd make that joker do a few extra laps at training...
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