Gloucester 1-1 Swindon by Eratosthenes (and his sieve)
There was a festival atmosphere at Longlevens as all four Gloucester teams faced off against a variety of opposition and 150 spectators came through the big green gates for the final time this season. An average crowd of 101 for the 2016/17 campaign means GPSFA had a higher mean attendance than 17 of the 18 Hellenic Premier League clubs; compare this to Tuffley Rovers’ average of 69 supporters at each home game for instance.
The season’s final outing finished 1-1; Gloucester had the majority of possession and the majority of the chances, but Swindon were hugely resilient from first minute till last and worked incredibly hard to take a share of the spoils back down the A417.
There’s always a tinge of sadness at the end of the last game and Saturday 29th April 2017 was no different. This group of people has come a long way both individually and collectively, both on the pitch and off it, from when we first got together at Hartpury College at the end of August.
There have been football and non-football challenges and that is good, and by and large the obstacles have been surmounted and success has been gained.
Of the first nine games of the season we lost six, of the next twenty two we lost four. We all know what Henry Ford once said about ‘statistics and damn lies,’ but there is no falsity in these numbers. The players improved and the team improved. Hard work, commitment and working for each other are attributes that go a long way towards achieving success in any aspect of this amazing thing called life.
None of the games we lost were lost because of decisions that went against us. And none of the games we won were won due to decisions that went for us. We lost because on the day the other team was better because they scored more goals than we did and we won because on the day we were better because we scored more goals than they did. And when we drew, like today, we were both the same because we scored one and they scored one. And that’s the way that it is. No-one ‘deserved it’ and likewise no-one ‘didn’t’; as that ultimate pragmatist Dorrigo Evans never tired of saying, ‘It is; it just is.’
Everyone made mistakes, but no-one made a mistake on purpose. And that’s good, because the man who never made a mistake never made anything. One much-read philosopher once relayed, “The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure, but rather fear not trying.” And in 2016/17, everyone tried.
Off the field independence, self-sufficiency and confidence grew. There are two types of each of these characteristics – the materialistic and the emotional. The first is about packing your own kit, doing up your own boots, being responsible for your own possessions. The second is far more important – it’s about coping when things don’t go right and turning negatives into positives. It’s about self-belief and being confident enough to go outside your comfort zone and put yourself in situations where you can fail. Sanitised, unchallenged, over-protected youngsters rarely achieve great things in later life as they have never been allowed to feel disappointment, cope with it, get over it and find the silver lining for themselves. The best way to protect youngsters is to make them self-sufficient and there have been some fine examples of this over the past eight months.
Other aspects of life getting better in the semi-civilised world have been apparent too. There have been hairstyles of varying quality, but most improved as time went on. There has been timekeeping of varying quality, but most people improved as time went on. There have been diets and diaries of varying quality, but most improved as time went on. There were rooms where hygiene was of varying quality, but one room in particular made no improvement whatsoever. No people will be named and no-one shamed in regard to this, but they all lived in Jersey 416.
On the changing room wall is a poster which states, ‘There are no stars in this team; the team is the star’ – but in this team there were twelve stars. Twelve stars, one team, loads of memories, lots of friends, thousands of miles, oodles of fun, several mini buses, ferries and planes and personal development that shines brighter than any piece of silverware could ever shine. Only the partridge in a pear tree is missing.
Thanks to everyone for a great year. We’ve loved every day, hour, minute and second of it, and we hope you’ve enjoyed it just as much too.
Happy days.
The season’s final outing finished 1-1; Gloucester had the majority of possession and the majority of the chances, but Swindon were hugely resilient from first minute till last and worked incredibly hard to take a share of the spoils back down the A417.
There’s always a tinge of sadness at the end of the last game and Saturday 29th April 2017 was no different. This group of people has come a long way both individually and collectively, both on the pitch and off it, from when we first got together at Hartpury College at the end of August.
There have been football and non-football challenges and that is good, and by and large the obstacles have been surmounted and success has been gained.
Of the first nine games of the season we lost six, of the next twenty two we lost four. We all know what Henry Ford once said about ‘statistics and damn lies,’ but there is no falsity in these numbers. The players improved and the team improved. Hard work, commitment and working for each other are attributes that go a long way towards achieving success in any aspect of this amazing thing called life.
None of the games we lost were lost because of decisions that went against us. And none of the games we won were won due to decisions that went for us. We lost because on the day the other team was better because they scored more goals than we did and we won because on the day we were better because we scored more goals than they did. And when we drew, like today, we were both the same because we scored one and they scored one. And that’s the way that it is. No-one ‘deserved it’ and likewise no-one ‘didn’t’; as that ultimate pragmatist Dorrigo Evans never tired of saying, ‘It is; it just is.’
Everyone made mistakes, but no-one made a mistake on purpose. And that’s good, because the man who never made a mistake never made anything. One much-read philosopher once relayed, “The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure, but rather fear not trying.” And in 2016/17, everyone tried.
Off the field independence, self-sufficiency and confidence grew. There are two types of each of these characteristics – the materialistic and the emotional. The first is about packing your own kit, doing up your own boots, being responsible for your own possessions. The second is far more important – it’s about coping when things don’t go right and turning negatives into positives. It’s about self-belief and being confident enough to go outside your comfort zone and put yourself in situations where you can fail. Sanitised, unchallenged, over-protected youngsters rarely achieve great things in later life as they have never been allowed to feel disappointment, cope with it, get over it and find the silver lining for themselves. The best way to protect youngsters is to make them self-sufficient and there have been some fine examples of this over the past eight months.
Other aspects of life getting better in the semi-civilised world have been apparent too. There have been hairstyles of varying quality, but most improved as time went on. There has been timekeeping of varying quality, but most people improved as time went on. There have been diets and diaries of varying quality, but most improved as time went on. There were rooms where hygiene was of varying quality, but one room in particular made no improvement whatsoever. No people will be named and no-one shamed in regard to this, but they all lived in Jersey 416.
On the changing room wall is a poster which states, ‘There are no stars in this team; the team is the star’ – but in this team there were twelve stars. Twelve stars, one team, loads of memories, lots of friends, thousands of miles, oodles of fun, several mini buses, ferries and planes and personal development that shines brighter than any piece of silverware could ever shine. Only the partridge in a pear tree is missing.
Thanks to everyone for a great year. We’ve loved every day, hour, minute and second of it, and we hope you’ve enjoyed it just as much too.
Happy days.
