Poor old granddad
I laughed at all his words
I thought he was a bitter man
He spoke of woman’s ways
They’ll trap you, then they use you
Before you even know
For love is blind and you’re far too kind
Don’t ever let it show
I wish that I knew what I know now
When I was younger
I wish that I knew what I know now
When I was stronger
Ooh la la, ooh la la la la, yeah
‘Ooh la la’ by Faces
I played in my first World Cup in Edinburgh in 2011 at Men’s 35s level. I missed Australia in 2015. In Malaysia in 2019, I played Men’s 40s level. Now in Nottingham in 2024, due to some administrative error presumably, I’ve got younger again and am playing Over 30s Mixed.
You do the math(s), as they say in America-land. I didn’t want to have to talk about this but I suppose it needs to be mentioned.
I’ve reached the age that Stanley Matthews was when in 1965 he became the oldest player ever to still be playing top level professional football in England.
It’s all very sobering.
How have I changed as a Touch player since 2011? Well, what I would love is to have the 2011 version of me beside me now on the pitch as a teammate. I’d guide him through the game and get him to do all the donkey work for me, ‘You make that touch for me there, good lad… I’ll sit in the pocket here, you get up and take both middles… Just drive in and go down for me, young fella, and I’ll take it from there… Can you run to the shop for me before the next game and get me the paper and a packet of fruit pastilles? You’re a fine young man, clearly from a good family.’
My body doesn’t work quite as well as it did in 2011, I suppose I’d have to say. My understanding of the game is so much better. In my first world cup, I remember playing on the wing against Australia having no real idea what was going on and wondering, in a blur of green and gold, why my teammates kept letting scores in.
Overall, am I better or much worse now? I’ve had to ask myself what my motivation was for this world cup to play at over 30s level against players nearly twenty years younger than me. It was two things. One, can I compete still at this level in Touch? Can I contribute? And secondly, the quality of technical coaching in the squad is the best I’ve played under. And I say that having coached one of the squads I previously played in. Every training session, I was picking up things. So, that has driven me.
Let’s see how I get on.
A many splendored thing
A world cup is different to a European Championship, it’s bigger and more interesting. If you come from a European nation, you’re not going to win it. For most European teams, you’re not even going to challenge for a medal. But it’s better.
I went to the opening ceremony for once. I wasn’t really pushed. I never am. The last one I was at was maybe 2011, when it took place on day 3 and included the Touch song that, though only ever heard once by those present, could not like seeing the face of the sirens, ever be unheard.
This year was good. Having played in so many tournaments, there are lots of people to talk to, loads of people saying hello to, some who I even remembered who they were and how I knew them.
The now traditional photo with Jeff before a world cup.
We kept our tops on this time. Which I now regret.
vs Fiji
I honestly had no idea how we would go on the first day, how we would stack up against Fiji. I looked at a little bit of footage of them from Malaysia but who knew if any of those players would be on the pitch or if they’d changed their style of play completely since then as a lot of the Irish teams have. I’d also no real idea how good we are. We’re such a new team, that came together quite late in the process. And I’ve only played with one of the players, Emily, in a tournament before.
The cliche of Fiji is that they are ‘less structured and stepy with lots of switches’. That wasn’t too inaccurate. Some really good hands and angles of running. We stuck at it with our game plan. Our defence on the line was good enough to stop a lot of what they were doing and our conditioning was probably better than them. I think there were about two or three ways (out of ten) for us to lose that game. We didn’t. We won 7-5. It’s such a great thing to get a win with a new team. It builds confidence in what you are doing and helps players trust more in what they’ve been coached and keep doing the right thing even when the game is not going your way.
vs China
The match against China we knew was going to be hard. They are coached by the best Touch coach in the world, on YouTube at least, Mr. Touch Screen. It’s become a brilliant resource for coaches around the world. I’ve learned loads from it.
Obviously, we didn’t know how much time he was actually able to spend working with this Chinese team or how good the players actually were but they would definitely be structured and smart and able to play. I’d say there were about 5 or 6 ways (out of ten) to lose this game.
We didn’t, we beat them 6-4. I was so elated after this game. I felt comfortable at this level. They had some good middles but I was back in my element, defending intensely on the line, diving a couple of times to stop the attacking mid scoring outside me. 2011 Ian probably would have got there without diving but thirteen years later I still got there.
Ooh la la, ooh la la la la, yeah.
A nice easy one to start tomorrow against New Zealand. They’re a different level to us but I can’t wait to see how / if / for how long I / we can survive against them.
https://www.internationaltouch.org/events/world-cup/2024/mixed-30/match:8424/video/
An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence;
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.
‘Sailing to Byzantium’ by W.B. Yeats
MALLEYMAN 
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