Tonight At Sports Planet @ East Coast
Posted by rajiv on 29 January 2009
I understand the game tonight ended 15 minutes early.
Teams lined up as follows:
- Reds: Boris, Franco, Rajseran, Joel, Luke
- Blacks: Murray, Andy M, John S, Damian, Chris
I am informed that Reds took a 6-0 lead before Blacks fought back to lead 8-7. At that stage, Franco left the game.
It sounds like it was a pretty good game, until it ended prematurely.
It was only yesterday that I reminded everyone that “confirming carries a degree of commitment to … play for the whole session.”
There would have to be a very good reason why anyone leaves before the end of the session.
Depending on the reason given, I have two options, as shown in the poll below:
The above poll will close at noon tomorrow. My view is that the win for Blacks should remain. The question above is whether it is recorded as a loss or a draw for Reds. If we let it pass, I’ll record the result for Franco as the same way as the rest of the team. I’ll decide later whether it should be a loss or draw. Before anyone reads too much into this, don’t forget the reason behind the rankings.
Any further response will depend on the feedback I receive.
For the sake of completeness, the player of the session poll is below.
FIOFAFI Archive 
rajseran said
It was a game that Reds would have taken all the way and loss the concentration when one or two of red players had internal conflicts and disagreed on each other ways of playing. And it all looked like it was 5 against 3 .
I am living in Jurong and for me to travel a good 45 mins to play soccer + sacrificing my date with my wife has to be a worth it reason but i was really really dissapointed with last night’s performance .
The Blacks will even agree with me that there is no way that they could come back to score that many goals if we still played the same way and no conflicts .
I am still not over this hangover from last night , NOT because we loss but because the way matured adults behave like kids .
IF anyone needs to comment or disagree please do that out of the field otherwise you are only affecting the play and the team.
I guess from today onwards , i will choose the the days to play after seeing who is playing on that day so that i dont have to face this anymore and keep my long travelling worth while .
Once again , i am really dissapointed . FIOFAFI is suppose to be a place for adults and to have FUN otherwise i suggest we change the name to FEDUPFAFI so that everyone one is prepared whats gonna happen in that 1 hour .
I would say that the First 30 mins was competitive and the rest 15 mins was Rubbish Football .
Enough Said.
rajseran said
Hi Rajiv ,
A draw will justify the game last night . A win for Reds will not be fair to the Blacks and The win for Blacks will not be fair since it ended up 3 versus 5 while the other 2 were busy having conflicts .
rajiv said
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the game last night Rajseran.
We can’t afford to have people picking the day based on who else is playing on that day – it goes against the core of FIOFAFI.
It’s ironic that it happened on the same night I put up a post on Playing Styles And Foul Play, which expressly asked for games to be played in the right spirit.
I cannot accept anyone not playing in the right spirit affecting participation, choice of session or line ups. I’ll deal with it by the end of today so that it does not affect next week’s sessions. I’ll take into account all feedback received by noon today.
Don’t worry about the rankings, it won’t make much difference either way. Anyway, we shouldn’t place too much importance on it. In any event, I’ll hold back the end of week rankings until a decision is made on how to classify the session/result.
rajseran said
Hi Rajiv ,
The rankings has no importance to me , i only want to play football and that matters the most . Thanks
Boris said
I don’t really care about the rankings too. But to stop play at 8-7 with 10 minutes to go is just sad. I didn’t mind continuing with 4 on 5 but the whole atmosphere changed with just one person walking of the pitch and so nobody seemed to want to continue. Oh well, I can only hope it does not happen again.
Murray said
I agree with Raj and disagree with some points.
As Raj says most people turn up to enjoy themselves, i enjoy the game and get on with everyone involved. But on the pitch things are a little different, one or two people especially have a really bad attitude especially if things arent going their way, which is then taken out on either their own team mates or particular members of the opposing team. This is pathetic! especially when it leads to people walking off in hissy fits, it spoils the mood of the game and the reason why most people turn up to play.
But back to the game, for a start Reds were amazing lucky to be 5-0 (not 6-0) up at one point – at 3-0 Blacks had wasted about 15 chances and had the majority of the possession but poor finishing (oops that was me)let them down while Reds had literally scored their only 3 attempts on goal. The game was played at a very fast pace to start with and Joel responded especially well, but it was only a matter of time before blacks would come back into the game statistically we must have had 5 times the amount of chances that reds had – who to their credit played well on the counter and finished when it mattered but would eventually tire and fade.
On the slide tackling issue (if that was the issue) i think if we decide to ban sliding then thats fine, we could adopt a sin bin, but this should also apply to late and bad tackles. For example on the pitch last night, i was deliberately tripped (no big deal) and then later on had my ankle crunched in a late challenge with studs up, i didnt say a thing at the time just limped it off and got on with the game if we are complaining about injuries and playing properly statistically a late challenge with studs up is more likely to cause damage than a sliding tackle.
I do tend to think that one or two people take things far too seriously as Raj says most people turn up to enjoy themselves,
Damian said
Hey guys lets not make too big a deal outta it. I think conflicts are inevitable given the nature of the game and the fact that what is considered acceptable contact by some would be considered foul play by others. However I think thats the whole reason we all belong to Fiofafi so that underlying all of this is a sense of camaraderie which prevents disputes from becoming a free for all 🙂 End of the day, I saw Franco shake hands with John and it ended amicably.
In any case, I don’t think blacks ought to be deprived of the win just because reds had some internal disagreement betw 2 players (actually i wasn’t even aware of that and from where I was, it looked like everyone was still playing). So with respect I wld say a fair outcome wld be to accord a win to Blacks (since it was not our fault that the game ended prematurely while we were up) and perhaps a draw to the other Red players.
BTW, I was told last nite that since we were playing no outs on the sidelines, that we cannot hold on to the netting while shielding the ball? To be honest I never heard of that “rule” before can someone confirm if this is the case? Weird 😉
Murray said
Damian, yeah i agree you shouldn’t hold the netting during play unless as a temporary means of steading your balance – holding on and using it to shield the ball or gain advantage should be disallowed.
And my point was not that it didn’t end amicably – off the pitch everyone is fine – just on the pitch some people need to learn to control themselves for the good of the game and everyone involved.
rajiv said
Everyone, please read this.
Murray, mistimed tackles are a foul, so call it and take the free kick. If it was particularly bad, raise it on the blog the next day, and the player concerned should take note, and be more careful in the future.
I might start keeping tabs on bad fouls.
I don’t think we need a sin bin. 🙂
rajseran said
Rajiv
Not a Sin Bin but we might need TRASH BINS soon .
Manuel said
i think in all fairness… there is a difference in a BAD foul and an INTENTIONAL one.
Well, maybe Semantics may be wrong, but in anycase, underlying any foul would be the attitude behind it, and thats the main killer many a times. If it was done in bad blood (intentional), then no matter how small it is, its a bad move. If it was a bad foul cos one was clumsy and dumb, then perhaps a bit more forgiveness allowed 😛 although still not good.
Guess 2 wrongs never made a right..
redseason said
Jiv, I think you are avoiding the issue. The sooner we address it, the sooner you and I and everyone here will get to re-focus on football.
luke said
I thought we left five minutes early and reds were winning 8-7. I also did not see any bad tackles (a good couple of strong shoulders maybe).
We are not pro footballers, mistakes happen, nobody is going out there to hurt anybody. I got a few kicks but none were intentional and a friendly apology followed everytime. We all missed sitters, misplaced passes and got caught out of position.
Franco just got pissed off and had enough, I dont think he should have walked off, but it was his choice and that was that.
Good game though boys.
Manuel said
Oh how i miss Dennis and the OLD Tom… 😛
rajiv said
The first SMS I received last night (without naming from whom) was at 9.57 pm, so I think you’re right Luke (although the SMS itself said it ended 15 minutes early).
Tom, “[any] further response will depend on the feedback I receive”.
The basic principles by which we should play are set out here. Perhaps it wasn’t entirely coincidental that it was posted at about the time the session started. I strongly suggest everyone read it, as it applies to everyone.
Like I said above
Apart from the responses above, I have received feedback by SMS, e-mail and telephone from three others (who shall also remain unnamed).
As far as the classification of the result is concerned, I’ll put it down as a win for Blacks and unranked/unclassified for Reds, other than Franco. We had 10 votes, all in favour of this option. First time we’ve had a unanimous vote. 🙂
As for Franco, rather than recording a loss, he’ll be treated as if he didn’t play at all.
I’ll update everyone on the impact on next week’s schedule by the end of today.
Chris said
What is done is done, rajiv has given the final decision on the game which I respect, so lets leave it at that.
Every player on the field took a couple of knocks off the ball, and they also gave knocks off the ball, so I dont think any one person has the right to point a finger at anyone else.
I thought it was a good game, red certainly didnt miss many scoring opportunities in the first half, as apposed to black that missed a lot of chances (myself well included in those). This did turn around in the second half of the game, but well before any arguements started occuring. Blacks took advantage of counter attacks and the fact that reds were not coming back in defence fast enough, for every attack that red had, blacks defended and then counter attacked and made it count.
All in all a good game, even in strength and skill which always makes for good value competition. Looking forward to next game next week.
Boris said
Except me lol. I’m always on the receiving end.
Andy M said
agree with most that has been said. It’s football not balet so there will always be some mis-timed tackles. In general i think the skill level is not that high so the defender alays fels they will have a chance to win the ball if itis miscontrolled so a bit of over enthusiasm occurred last night. Part of the problem i think was the way the game played out, as Murray said we were 0-5 down but had squandered many chances so a bit of frustration set in. Had it been 1-1 then it could have all been different.
I didn’t find the game malicious but it was quite solid in the tackles and fast paced which often leads to a few mistimed tackles.
The issue is as Rajiv says different expectations of the players, i am happy for someone to tackle me hard but i’m probably more used to it than some others. i am also guilty of tackling hard at times, however i do however try to modify my game to the opponent as i realise that the are different expectations. Without a referee it is always going to be a tough call though! It was probably me who kicked Luke at some point 🙂
i made it 5 mins to go when the game was stopped, from memory i’m sure thre is a rule to state when a result stands. I think it has to do with floodlight failure.
It’s not easy to say stop the physical side of the game if that is the persons style as it will hinder their natural game, it would be like saying someone can’t dribble the ball. Maybe if we passed and moved a bit more then tackles wouldn’t be required as you would always pss before being tackled.
By the way are you saying that the GK can slide tackle?
Good game anyway and last night very competitive almost like playing at Turf City
rajiv said
Andy, no sliding tackle applies to everyone, but when I said everyone should stay on their feet, I had to distinguish goalkeepers as they in any event may have to dive to make a save. I’ve made that clearer now.
yaseen said
Hi Jiv i have to agree with Tom. you are avoiding the issue here. we should have a standard way of doing and implementing things for the sake of everyone regardless of stature
rajiv said
Yaseen, I don’t particularly want to have to repeat myself, but please read this, and
The “standard way of doing and implementing things” are set out in the pages above – “About FIOFAFI”, “Participants”, “Health, Fitness & Safety”, and “Current Schedule” in particular. Please go through them thoroughly. I assume everyone has? 🙂
Boris said
This is like War of the Worlds minus the ‘l’ lol. 😀
Reza said
For what it’s worth, I think we should keep in mind that Rajiv has done a great job of running Fiofafi over the last year and i am quite confident that he will use his judgment to deal with this appropriately.
This isnt the first time that someone has left the pitch early, or there has been an incident which has kicked things off but more often than not the games are played in the right spirit and everyone goes home happy.
redseason said
Reza, there’s no dispute about Jiv’s efforts – and we’ve all said it in appreciation both here and privately.
I agree that more often than not games are conducted in a proper (“civilised”?) manner.
However, I don’t think it’s as simple as someone leaving the game early.
rajiv said
I know I keep saying this, but I hope everyone will read this, and further follow the links in that post.
You will see that there have been several incidents involving several individuals over the past few months. There are also other incidents over the past year that have not been linked in that post, which I can link if necessary. However, there is no purpose to be served in identifying every incident and naming any name.
If you go back further to the Archive page and the contents of old e-mails listed there, you will see there have been other incidents over the past few years, going back to even before I started organising these sessions.
My primary concern is that any participant not playing in the right spirit should not affect the participation or choice of session of other participants, or line ups. This applies across the board. Like I said, I will deal with that.
Andy N said
We all love the beautiful game and enjoy the exercise and camaraderie it brings. In the last 9 months that I have played it has always been enjoyable mainly because of the mix of flare players, physical players and skillful players. All of us seem to play honestly and fairly and like Andy M says, it ain’t ballet and is a physical game. If there’s a foul then say so, don’t get in a sulk about it and moan for the rest of the game, get on with it and enjoy however long is left. There’s always the Women’s league on a Tuesday night at East Coast, although my wife says it’s even more competitive!
Good news though; I’m trying to lose weight so my 124kg frame won’t be considered a foul by some because I cast shadows on the ball! Philipp and Dirk encapsulate what it’s all about on a Wednesday night at the cage – win, lose or draw we all sit down and say cheers with a post-match beer at full time.
For those who have thrown their toys out of their prams, pick em up, put em back in and lets play football in the spirit that it’s meant to be played.
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