The Game: 17/12/2007

I sit here wondering if I'm actually any good at this. If my research truly depended on ethnography or observations of this type, I'm sure that I'd fail. Thank goodness I deal with experimental work! Much less effort is put into it!

Well, this week Anime AFC managed to bring themselves (or at least a lot of themselves) together for a friendly match between themselves. I brought my sister along to watch the game with me, and to basically introduce her to the team that I've been observing/watching for the past year or so. Although she said she enjoyed it, I think there were two things that stopped her from fully enjoying the experience. 1) She had a cold. 2) The boys were playing against each other, instead of another team. It's true, if they were playing against another team, you'd feel that competetive spirit. However when they play themselves, it just feels that there's something lacking, not only that, but that somehow you really see how the boys work (or don't work) together. It was interesting to see how everyone played as the score turned out to be 6-2 (Ken's team to Ryu's team) at the end...

As it turned out Ryu, Batou, Jubei, Togasan, Deejay, Ishikawa and Kaji (along with another player I'm not familiar with) were on one team, while Ken, Yamazaki, Shinji, Aramaki, Vega, Ota and another player I'm not familiar with were on the other. Ryu and Aramaki turned up looking quite ill, although Aramaki looked as though he was ready to just lie down for the rest of the game at one point. However, first thing I told my sister was do not judge Ota by his appearance, and to watch when Shinji ran. Ota is one of the oldest players in the team, with a short and stocky build. However, he never lets that get in the way and once that ball starts moving you can guarantee he's sprinting right after it. There were a couple of times when my sister would show her shock and disbelief at how fast he could run. But that wasn't the best part, I found that he and Vega worked well as a team. Somehow they both had a way about the field that allowed them to work well with each other. Vega is tall and very slim, which allows him a certain amount of speed but impressive agility. I only really started becoming interested in his skills when I realised the man could score goals. I'm not saying he was never a good player, but last season I never really saw him play that much since he was out of a lot of games because of injury. However, this season, although he doesn't play quite as often as he should, he is still very good at passing the ball and with his timing. I think that he and Ota work well together when they pass to each other or work on the same side of the field. There's just something about them that clicks - quite an unlikely pairing.

As always Shinji put on a great performance when he had the ball, however, there are times when I feel that he doesn't push himself more and loses control of the ball too easily. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Yamazaki on the pitch. He seemed very much at home when he was on the pitch, and although I still have to make up my mind as to how I feel about his skills, he seems to know how to throw his weight around and make sure he's light on his feet. As mentioned earlier, Ryu was feeling a little ill (from a fun night out) but it didn't stop him from giving it his best. I sometimes wonder where such a quiet and soft spoken man gets such a contrasting persona from. Off the pitch he comes off as quiet, genial, mild mannered... on the pitch he's loudly supportive, commanding, but most of all he's a smart player. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when he didn't display much fancy footwork so that my sister could see what he was like (but I was also disappointed she didn't get to see Ashitaka*). What I like about Ryu is that although he isn't captain, it doesn't stop him from encouraging his team, shouting orders or taking control. He knows what he's doing and he lets others know...

Since I haven't written the previous games in yet, I guess I have to say it here otherwise it will be pointless to keep it for later. Togasan is a hard working player, he's also passionate and smart. However, there are times when I watch him play and I wonder what it is he's supposed to do. It feels like he has one idea and yet he's being told to do something else. At one game we played there were times when the coach would shout out reminders of what he had told Togasan to remember during the game, and yet I felt as though he had other things in mind. The issue was cleared up afterwards (I basically asked the players what was going on), and this week proved that I was right. Togasan managed to play his own game and work by his own rules. I found that he played better as he knew just what exactly it was that he wanted to do.

Although it is always interesting to watch Ryu and Ken play together (because they really do work so well) it was interesting to see them playing against each other. Somehow, even though I thought the opposite would be true, both of them seem to play similarly. There were times when I saw one of them doing one move and later on the other would do that same move. They don't look alike, they have different looks, builds, and yet their skills do reflect the other. However, although Ken is very skilled and driven, I find he lacks a similar finesse as Ryu. That may seem harsh, but I do think that he will get there... he just needs to be in the games more.

Ishikawa - he comes to most of the games, either as a sub or to spectate and in all honesty I would love to see him play more. He deserves the time because from what I've seen he's very good at what he does.

The Game: 10/12/06

I really must organise myself better. My entries are taking longer and longer to write down as I'm constantly being distracted by other things, and I really wish it was my other research! Today's game though, I must jot down as it's one that I intend to keep remind myself that football is not just about jolly fun and sightings of leggy men in shorts - but involves a lot of hot tempers and easily wound up men (or boys, take your pick).

So today we were playing a team that was a spiteful set. We'd played them before, and honestly, I never liked them. The last time we played them, they had a little minion on the sidelines harrassing our team. They were not a nice team to play against, and on top of that their players were a tough lot - younger, faster, and I have to admit their shrill voices added to their advantage (you just didn't want to go near them once they opened their mouths). Today was no different.

The coach became the referee for the day, which I'm sure was quite tough for him. I'm sure it's hard to see your team's faults and have to penalise them, or worse not shout out corrections to them as you watch the mistakes they make (leaving gaps, not 'pushing out' quick enough, leaving players unguarded). I was told it served a good purpose as it helped to allow the team to try on their own. I guess the team would know that they'd have to watch themselves if their biggest judge of play is their ref, not only would you have to watch out for any mistakes you make, but try to remember the plan/game that was discussed and agreed upon at the start in the pre-match talk. My sympathy went out to both sides in any case.

Last week it was generally agreed that Ashitaka and Kaji play well together, and they're getting better. Today however, Ashitaka had a lot of misses. Although he still has good passes, there were still quite a few misses. For me, somehow I felt that Ashitaka wasn't really playing as well as he could. On saying that, even though he was missing a couple of passes, he still showed a great amount of dexterity which never fails to impress. He may not have the towering stature of some of the players (e.g. Batou, Guile, Zangief), but I guess that's what works to his greater advantage. Kaji, on the other hand, was admittedly having a better game. He was pushing harder for the ball, however at times I felt that he was still holding back. I sometimes get the feeling that he's almost afraid to challenge for (?) the ball. He seems a little less inclined to attack a player to gain control of the ball, and I don't know why. He can stand his ground as much as anyone else can... so what's holding him back?

Hmmm, a lot of the players on the other team were a lot smaller and lighter on their feet. They showed quite a bit of skill (admittedly), which is probably why a few of our players probably felt less inclined to show off as much with the football. Today was a much more serious game that was played. I have to admit the players seemed to make sure they kept their composure at all times. In all honesty, I think the other time were allowing themselves to be wound up so easily and were itching for a fight. However, Anime kept their priorities right, and I have to say it definitely paid off. Although neither team scored, it also meant that they didn't let the other team score. That's not to say we didn't have the chance to score. There were a couple of times when I thought we'd be close, but for some reason it just wasn't enough.

I have to say though, Ryu showed a lot more seriousness in his control over the ball. What I like about Ryu, which is something that also showed last week, is that he knows how tough he is and he's not afraid to use that. He's got guts and he tackles when he should do. I used to enjoy watching him because of his skills at kicking or keeping up a football. Now I enjoy watching him simply because of the dedication and effort he puts into winning that ball for his team. Not only that but when there is a voice among the team spurring them on, it's sometimes his (otherwise it's Deejay or Sagat). For a quiet spoken man, he makes his presence on the pitch known, I like that. He'll take a tumble, he'll get scratched up and messed up, but he'll also pick himself up and ran after that ball.

In all honesty, there were times when the team played ever so well. Their passes were brilliant. At times they played magnificently, and even though they did not score a goal, they managed to give the other team a run for their money. I was proud of their performance, they worked well with each other, and I could understand why the coach did not change any of the players until the end of the game. There were just those times when those passes kept our boys in the game and the other team on their toes.

Whether or not it's fair to do this, I don't know. Batou took an unfair bullying today from his man. Apparently Batou and Deejay were busy winding the other team up, as they usually do, however Batou had a player (who was apparently 5'4 - Batou is 6'+ and imposing). When the ball went off the pitch, Batou and #16 (as my goldfish memory recalls) ran up to the line and stopped. In a friendly gesture, Batou's arm went around #16's chest, but locked around his neck. #16 took this as a headlock and went mad. As a short person myself, I can understand why he got upset. I was worried that Batou would be sent off, but thankfully the situation was defused and the game continued. However, Batou was then substituted, and watched the game with the rest of us. However, the ball was kicked off the pitch yet again. I was in close proximity of what happened next, and I completely stand by Batou on this one as he really was the innocent party. #16 went to pick up the ball to throw back onto the pitch when Batou said, "what?" For some reason it was enough to send #16 into a mad frenzy and he threw the ball in Batou's face. The game ended after that, with only 2 minutes left to the end of the game. They were, in general, a vicious team.

(looks as though I'll be posting the other games as I write them up)

The Game: 19/11/2006

So, I've managed to leave posting this game for way too long. However, this game was not one I really wanted to remember for a number of reasons. First the pitch was double booked and so we all had to move to another one. Second, one of the players brought one of their kids who kind of distracted me from the game. Third, we lost the game (2-3) and hearing some of the comments that a couple of the subs were making, it wasn't a good game. In general, it was the kind of game I could forget easily.

We played somewhere near Archway, I'm still getting to know London myself, but when I told it was off Market Road, I didn't realise how 'off' it was. However, the pitch wasn't too bad, although the surrounding area was COVERED in dog doo (which goes to show why I'm not really a dog person). That may seem insignificant until a football is kicked into it and someone has to retrieve it, and stupidly enough the 'fan' goes out to get it... I can only say, thank goodness I wore gloves, at least I could throw them away afterwards. The turf this week was fake grass, and seemed to allow movement for the ball to be quite fluid and a little more natural. I heard at least one player commenting on how good the pitch was to play on.

The referee that we had originally booked could not cover our game as it was starting two hours later, however we managed to get one of the members of our team to be the referee. In all honesty, he tried his best to give our team a chance, and yet somehow we missed it.

This week Ryu was given two penalty shots, he managed to get one, but missed the other one, which was disappointing.

Although it's sad and terrible to say this, I didn't take notes for this game because of a number of things that had been going on during the weekend and the week to follow. Therefore this entry will have to remain incomplete with sparse details. In all honesty, my goldfish memory isn't helping me, but neither is the fact that halfway through the game I slowly became both disheartened and terribly distracted.