We've got a semi...

If you read the marketing blurb of a famous little blue pill, it will claim it's suggested use is for men with ED, but what the manufacturers do not tell you is that it was all a chance of circumstance... luck... mistake. It was designed for blood pressure & angina and only in late medical trials did the scientists realise a welcome side effect and that is where they made a fortune.

You might suggest that this was a one-off, but you'd be wrong. Penicillin, X-rays, Post-It Notes, Pacemakers, Microwave Ovens, Crisps and many more things you might associate with Veterans Football were all by accident. And in a soccer sense, Bobby Moore captaining England, Geoff Hurst starting the final in '66 or Liverpool's win against Cologne in the European Cup were not necessarily by design, but through others' efforts, misfortune or a toss of a coin.

So back to the subject of semis... we have our Semi Final vs May & Baker on the 8th February, as we looking to cap an impressive turn around in form from last season to this. Whatever the result in that game, or the others that we have left, it is important to focus on the much wider quirks of fate that have lead us to here and the expected unexpected twists'n'turns still to come for players individually and collectively.

Football was first codified 150 years ago... approximately 7 generations of 128 ancestors, back to when your great, great, great, great, great grandparents first met (in some parts of rural Essex that means becoming romantically involved with your sister, who happens to be your cousin as well). So 1 of our G-G-G-G-G Grandfather's 500+billion sperm had to hit the right spot with the right woman at the right time... and then expand that to the power of 7 generations that resulted in you being here equals a mind-boggling one in 8 billion billion of you being born (And that’s just since the FA came into existence!) Then factor in how your random footballing journey brought you to White Roding and then think back to the first game of the season vs Rayleigh (in the Cup Group stages)... and the unplanned run up-field by Cyril, with deviation of a cross and his left testicle being in the right place at the right time, to ram home a goal that won us the game, that not everybody played in but a game that set us on this path. We will be taking a full squad to May & Baker on the 8th, with a few more unlucky not to make the final 16 supporting from the sideline and others unavailable on the day asking for updates as often as they can.

What the team has achieved this year is not down to a single person, a flash of brilliance or a point blank save.... every winning team needs luck, an of the aligning of the stars and more than just the 16 that I can play in a game.

So rejoice in being part of progressive season this year whatever your role on the 8th, celebrate as a complete team and be thankful for Cyril’s left testicle (Please Note rubbing or kissing it are not necessities to bring good fortune... )