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A great season! Thank you all!

22 people out last night - I hope everyone had fun. Sorry to Simon for spilling wine on his pulling shirt.

Those awards went to...
1. Player of the season: Luke
2. Fans' player of the season: Irial
3. Goal of the season: David Messi Horan
4. Top scorer: Irial for the third consecutive year
5. Club player of the season: Charles
6. Most improved player: Johnny

So it looks like Alemanno isn't the only reformed right-winger winning landslide victories in votes. I wanted to have some pun about becoming a sweeper and him saying he was going to 'clean up' the town, but I could quite work it out... Just like him though, I don't deserve it.

Thanks so much for the presents as well. All in all, I was genuinely moved last night. Well done Irial for getting his very much deserved two prizes and to Davie Horan for surprsingly winning goal of the season - as Dave M said, it should have gone to him for that classic goal where I booted it as hard as I could from way inside my own half, the keeper fluffed it and Dave tapped in. Well done to Charles and Johnny, who really deserved their prizes, unlike me - thank you so much though. Thanks to Dave P for counting the votes!

There are loads of photos from last night on facebook - some of them are great - have a look:

part one: dinner and awards:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=167853&id=1053091757

part two: blob: in particular check out manolo and charles dancing!:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=167854&id=1053091757

Whisper it........... promozione... IUE 4-1 Sporting Club Firenze

Cerreti, Friday 9th May 2008. Scorers: Ryan 2, Dave H, Irial

Okay, so getting promoted is always fun. I found out the morning of the game that we were going up, but kept it secret for some reason until after. This means one thing: linesmen! If we had had them yesterday maybe Irial wouldn't have been scandolously called offside twice in the first half and would have finished top scorer in the league. As it was he finished vice capocanonniere for the second season running. Well done to that boy. I think he needs a more serious haircut if he wants to keep scoring next season though. Look who's talking.

Right, so on a sentimental note, I want to dedicate this promotion to this people who ran this team before me: Antonio Corretto who basically set this team up, John Cronin who took over, Andrew Glencross and his reactionary politics. I also dedicate it to whoever takes over next year from me. Primaries start in Ohio next week. I am backing JAIME.

Yesterday's game: In front of a ridiculously large crowd, we were absolutely abysmal in th first half on a collective level. Ryan made his first start of the season, eh Dave M?, and Leo moved back to his hated but natural territory of left wing. He protested by pulling a hamstring and going off after a few minutes. We were, to be honest, crap in the first half. We still defended well and Ryan scored a brilliant striker's header after Ernesto crossed fantastically from the right. David made an excellent save, tipping over from a brilliant shot by Sporting Club, who were trying to piss him off by wearing Real Madrid's kit. We failed to look cohesive, and laboured to half time. As I said during the break, this was our worst team performace of the season. Just terrible. We were trying to do everything on our own, not covering spaces, not giving options, not releasing the ball, not winning it when it was there to be won, not making runs, not believing in each other. We were not helped by an overzealous ref who stopped the game at every opportunity, but we struggled to get an improvised passing game going, which, when it goes right, can massacre the opposition. Anyway, Luke not happy at half time.

Second half. The first twenty minutes, to be fair, were excellent. Ryan got a second headed goal, after a great move, topped off by a complete regalo by a Sporting defender. We passed it better and looked more disciplined and determined. We got a third, I think my favourite goal of all season, after I dinked a freekick that they expected me to cross into Davie Horan's . path into the box which he knocked in with the outside of his foot. 3-0. Game over really. Nate came on down the right, and then switched to rightback after Dave pulled his groin, overexcited by my pass for the third goal. Charles came on down the right, and Johnny for the excellent Ryan. Simon has come on for Mate, who moaned about being taken off. Shut it Tokic! We let in a very bad goal, which, to be fair, was finished excellently by their boy, who took it down and stroked it home in one fell swoop. Irial, who needed a hattrick to level the league's top scorer, netted one after chasing down the ball in the inside right channel after a probing ball by Dom, whipping it in after sidestepping the keeper. By this time they had gone to a kind of 4-3-3, switching from the 4-4-1-1 that they had started with, creating lots of spaces. It was a shame we didn't make more use of them, as several of our playrs decided to have a rest for the last 15 minutes. Okay, we had won, and okay, it was very very warm, but come on. Dom and Manolo had a 'let's see who can run the least' contest down the left for a few minutes, with no clear winner. Our best player for the last ten was probably Nate, who defended decisively, playing, as he was keen to point out, out of position. Your position is where you are put, rudebwoy! Hi frat buddies. We should have won this game by more, and, as they say, that shows how far we have come as a team. A satisfying end to the season though, as was playing in front of Teatro Verdi with the goalies Charles and David at god knows what time this morning.

I would like to thank everyone involved this season: all the players, people who provided cars, and especially people who came to watch us play. Grazie mille!! Thanks to Irial for scoring so many goals, thanks to Dave Horan for being el Messi irlandes at times, thanks to Leo and France for being the Italian wizards, thanks to Luis for having so much class, thanks for Ernesto for having so much grinta and getting booked six times in about nine games, and sent off once, thanks to Simon for doing that funny thing where he jostles for space with the striker, thanks to Mate for playing in so many positions, thanks to Johnny for coming on and doing so well so often (it's hard to shift Irial from the team), thanks to Dave McCourt for asking whether we want it, thanks to Dom for looking tired all the time, thanks to Charles for personifying personal sacrifice for the team, thanks for David, and Igor, for being goalkeeper, thanks to Jaime and Norberto for getting a getting a goal each, thanks to Sebastian for bringing class and order to the midfield, thanks to Arnout for winning so many headers, thanks to Ryan for being patient and eventually getting his reward, thanks to Nate and his frat buddies, thanks to Manolo for always having something to say whenever I asked him to do anything (and Nate actually), thanks to Jeremy and Joel who didn't really get to play much, thanks to Andrew, obviously, thanks to Mark, who we could still here shouting from Germany (lads, we need to be angry; lads we need to be calm. Mate and Luke: Mark, shut the fuck up). Thanks to many other people. I look forward to being friends with a lot of you again! I would like to say sorry for shouting at you all, but you know I wouldn't really mean it.

I loved this season for a few different reasons: Obviously for seeing us turn into the excellent team we had the potential to be, but also for some more subtle things... The genuine collective joy at some goals and wins, the coming of age of several players who got into scraps for the love of the team - even Luis(!!), at S Frediano, the team spirit that developed, the fact that we had actual fans!, the fact that so many players put the team ahead of their personal glory, playing where they were put - to be honest, almost no-one actually ended up playing in the postition they thought they were best in when they arrived. Playing the second half of the season with only one defender and what was, in effect, eight midfielders made us look brilliant on the ball and we played so many teams off the park with that system.

Right, Wednesday, dinner. pre dinner drinks at Finnegan with some free spumante and cheap pints, then dinner at the Oil Shoppe's restaurant, La Cantina, where I'll try and get them to make us something which the English kids won't moan about this time. Dom's pushing for beans on toast. We'll get a good price. Let's say Finnegan at seven. Everyone welcome... players, fans, frat buddies, hangers on. Luis, find it this time!

Vote for player of the season: iuecalcio@gmail.com
Vote for: Player of the season, Goal of the season. Anyone who has seen any games can vote, including fans. Player of the season should be about what they have given the team this season, all things considered, not who you think is the best player, although obviously those things might coincide! Vote before Wednesday, where there will be the awards ceremony! Brenny is not invited.

Only ourselves to blame. Cavallina 2-1 IUE

Scorer: Leo.

Right, to dominate a game for its entirety and then let in two goals in the last ten minutes with their only two shots of the match is ridiculous. We should have won this game 2 or 3-0, no questions asked. How we managed to throw it away is beyond me. We missed two many good chances when dominating, and seemed to have assumed we had already won. Okay, we were denied what was one of the most blatant penalties I have ever seen, and their freekick that they equalised from was a complete joke, but come on, this is not how it should be. We have to make up for it in our last game, my last as coach. We are in two tournaments in May and June, with some very very good teams. I am only playing in those though; Dom and whoever else wants to help him are in charge of the team. Bagsy not in goal.

A lot of us took this defeat to heart last night, including me. To cheer you up, here is a funny comic strip: Click on it:Last night's team: Charles - Luke - Mate (captain), Dave M, Dom (Simon) - France (Johnny), Ernesto, Dave H, Nate (Manolo) - Leo - Irial. Good to see Ryan on the bench last night, eh Dave?

Alice Bands. IUE 5-0 Sporting 2003

Cerreti, Tuesday 15th April, 2008. Goals: Irial (2), Leo (2), Johnny.

Okay, yes, I was wearing a hairband that even the Italians were disapproving of yesterday. I blame Lewis Carol. In any case, we played brilliantly with me in my hairband, Dom in his captain's armband, and Andrew in the stands in a chipper mood, next to the Rychlik clan. Are they here on spring break, Nate? Woo.

With Si suspended and Ernesto out, Dave M came in at centre back and Dave H came back into midfield, with Luis holding slightly more, France shifted over to the left and Nate came in on the right, while Leo finally had his dream of playing just behind the striker come true. I'm glad I took him off before he got his hattrick or I'd never have heard the end of it, and he would expect to play there every week. This was a very important game, if we wanted to secure third place, and Sporting having only lost three games all season.

The first half was a relatively tight affair, but all in all an excellent performance by us. We were caused some problems by the movements of their striker on their onrushing midfielders. Discipline was the name of the game and it was important to stay alert with their clever movement. We actually defended excellently, with them not having a chance in the whole half apart from one from a very tight angle that was never going to trouble David. Sporting's high line looked like it had been copied off us before Christmas; while they managed to press the play, they held it naiavely and statically high, and Leo, Irial and the two wingers combined well on several occasions to beat it only to be called offside by the northern ref. We eventually broke the deadlock through Irial, after some brilliant play down the left and a wonderful interchange between the token Italians. 1-0. Excellent goal and a deserved lead. We had to be patient, as Sporting pressed the game well, but always looked on the verge of getting in. The mood at half time was upbeat but cautious. It was discipline and simplicity that had put us in the lead, and it was these things that would keep us there.

We started the second half well, and quickly found ourselves 3-0 up after a couple of goals by Leo who danced round the keeper after a long ball by David (see, Baez, it sometimes helps if you don't waste time!) after he had finished beautifully a couple of minutes before, whipping it round the keeper. We were passing the ball smoothly and Dave M was very solid at blocking defender, snuffing out any danger before it could materialise. Irial got his second and, frankly, we should have had four or five more quite easily. Manolo and Charles came onto the wings, and eventually Johnny uo front. Their midfield continued to work, but their high line, while still high, didn't look like it cared any more, and we got in countless times. Johnny came on for the excellent Leo and finally got his first goal for the EUI after a brilliant cut inside and cross by galavanting left back Mate Tokic. An excellent header by Johnny - a real striker's goal. The biggest cheer of the night too. Have fun washing that kit, Manc.

Team: (1-3-4-1-1) David - Luke - Mate, Dave M, Dom (captain) - France (Charles), Luis, Dave H, Nate (Manolo) - Leo (Johnny) - Irial.