Ups and downs

The news from cash-strapped Accrington Stanley, whom the Aztex played on their recent visit to the UK, is that they have a stay of execution. They have been given one more week to pay the remainder of their tax debt and avoid being wound up. The problems off the field have coincided with some great results on it - they are currently 14th and on course for their highest league finish since 1968. We met with the fans when we played there, they were friendly and welcoming and passionate and vocal about their team - I hope they make it! http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/4711679.Stanley_goal_getter_is_not_taking_anything_for_granted/

The MLS playoffs got off to an exciting start last night with an action packed game between the Seattle Sounders and the Houston Dynamo ending with a 0-0 scoreline. I know non-soccer fans point to this kind of result and ask 'how can you watch a game with no score'. But the stats at least show part of the story:

Seattle Sounders FC		Houston Dynamo
total shots:	14	(Patrick Ianni 3, Nate Jaqua 3)	9	(Brad Davis 4)
shots on goal:	2	(Nate Jaqua 1, Steve Zakuani 1)	4	(Brad Davis 2)
fouls:	6	(5 tied with 1)	18	(Mike Chabala 4)
offsides:	2	(Nate Jaqua 1, Steve Zakuani 1)	2	(Brian Ching 1, Dominic Oduro 1)
corner kicks:	9	(Freddie Ljungberg 9)	7	(Stuart Holden 4)
saves:	4	(Kasey Keller 4)	2	(Pat Onstad 2)

Misconduct Summary:
SEA -- Fredy Montero (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 16
HOU -- Pat Onstad (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 16
SEA -- Osvaldo Alonso (caution; Reckless Tackle) 64
SEA -- Brad Evans (caution; Tactical Foul) 68
HOU -- Brian Mullan (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 71
HOU -- Mike Chabala (caution; Tactical Foul) 75

The game was played in front of almost 36,000 noisy, passionate fans - full match report here:
http://web.mlsnet.com/mls/events/mls_cup/2009/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091030&content_id=7579462&vkey=mlscup2009&fext=.jsp

Tomorrow, Stoke City take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in a local derby i.e. a distance of around 30 miles, an alien concept here in Austin! Our 'local' rivals this season were Minnesota, a mere 1044 miles away! City's Ricardo Fuller will celebrate his 30th birthday tomorrow - a couple of goals from him would make a great gift!

Have a great weekend!
Kay

Post season blues?

So the season is finally over - it was great to finish on a high note with the successful UK trip. The guys have been sending me photographs, some of which are on the website and some on our Facebook page. Of course, the work in the office is just beginning all over again - working on what needs to be done at House Park, talking to new and returning sponsors, working on ticket packages, organizing the next soccer camps, dealing with the many requests from non-profits for auction items and replying to the 7 to 10 requests per week from potential players asking about tryouts. I'm always amazed at how many different countries the emails and phone calls come from - Australia, Hong Kong, Spain, UK, France, Chile and lots from the different countries of Africa.

Speaking of Africa, Phil and Gary Mellor (Aztex board member and all round good guy!) traveled to Senegal to see the academy set up in his home town of Kedougou by Stoke City's Salif Diao. He is hoping to help young Senegalese players break into the game without having to go to the extreme lengths he had to - http://www.tribalfootball.com/diao-delighted-stoke-launch-senegal-football-scheme-404041


I spoke briefly with Kieron Bernard yesterday - he is thoroughly enjoying his time training with Stoke City and is staying with City striker Ricardo Fuller. Most of the rest of the players have returned home for some down time with their families except Yordany Alvarez who has made Austin his home.

Quick update on the Heart Walk - despite the fact that it happened whilst most of us were in the UK, we still raised over $1000. Thanks to the folks who made it out there and especially to Sergeant Pepper for completing the whole walk in costume!

Kay

Aztex return to Austin

The bags are packed, slightly heavier with souvenirs and English candy and the team are on their way home, arriving in Austin around 7 pm this evening. The staff at the Tollgate Hotel are sad to see them go - they have loved having them to stay. Stoke City have requested that Kieron Bernard stays behind to train with them for a week - he has already become friends with fellow Jamaican, Ricky Fuller.

The Aztex finished the tour with a 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday. It was the first taste of wet, chilly weather for the players but they relished the playing surface, including being able to slide tackle! Sheffield fielded a side that included some first team players but the Aztex were on a roll and gave a good account of themselves.

Phil and I return on Thursday - the trip for Phil has involved side trips to both Senegal and Italy, more about that in a future post.

Kay

Aztex see win for sister team, Stoke City

Well, it's all good news! Firstly, all the guys who went out last night in Manchester all returned home safely. The minibus driver was subjected to songs from all the newbies on the team before deciding to join in with a few numbers of his own, much to the delight of the guys. There were a few other incidents involving transvestites and fake Chicago accents but you don't want to hear about those......!

Today, Saturday, was match day. The players were treated to VIP tickets entitling them to some great seats on the half way line, sandwiches, soup and pies before, during and after the game. They were invited down onto the field just before kick off to be officially introduced and were greeted enthusiastically by the fans. The game ended in a 2-1 victory for Stoke, a great end to the day.

You can see pictures of the game against Accrington Stanley http://matchpics.fotopic.net/c1768644.html

On a side note, I took Alex from Operations and David, U23 General
Manager to a beautiful English town called Shrewsbury for a bit of down time. The town dates from the 5th century and has many beautiful old buildings including a castle, abbey, market place and merchants houses. A river surrounds the town and every shop, business, pub, street corner has hanging baskets of flowers. http://www.shrewsburyguide.info/

A peaceful Sunday awaits before back to training at Stoke City's facilities on Monday, ahead of our final game against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on Tuesday.

Back soon

Kay

Another day, another win!

The Aztex travelled up the M6 (think I-35, just as painstakingly slow in places!) for their second game in 24 hours. Accrington Stanley are one of the 12 original members of the Football league and therefore have a long history in the game. The stadium is a litte like going back in time but the people are just warm and friendly. We put on a great show, looking more confident and clearly enjoying the playing surface. The fans showed some great British humour when our first goal went in, chanting "USA, USA" and then 'touchdown'!!! They also found it highly amusing that our two Haitian triallists made a kind of scream when they went down from a tackle and proceeded to scream every time they touched the ball afterwards! I spoke with Ednerson and VaVa after the game (in my best school French) and learned that teh coach in Haiti encourages them to do this! Don't think they will be doing it any more in the north of England!

The players have a day off today and then tomorrow, go to the Stoke City v West Ham game, they are very excited, as am I - it's my first live game this season.

Kay

Day 3

The morning after the night before and a few mixed feelings. It was great to get a win, we had around 600 people come out to watch, the guys loved playing on a grass pitch....but I know a lot of folks were disappointed that it was the Stoke academy who came out to play. On the plus side again, the game was watched by Stoke manager Tony Pulis and his coaching staff plus many talent scouts.

Today, the team were given a tour of the Britannia Stadium and a history lesson too - I plan to test them at the end of the week to see who was listening. Thanks to Jean Alexandre for translating for Ednerson and Vava! The guys learned that Stoke is the second oldest club in the world and one of the original founders of the football league. The trophy cabinet holds a special loving cup that only the 12 founding clubs have in their possession. It is used to toast each new season, filled with champagne of course! The players especially enjoyed going field side and being able to see the beautiful grass up close and sit in the dug outs. The photo is Miguel and Jean practicing for when they get interviewed by Sky Sports News!

Tonight sees the Aztex take on Accrington Stanley, another of the 'Founding Fathers' who find themselves in financial difficulties - let's hope for a good turnout.

Go Aztex!

Kay

Aztex on tour!

The team and coaches arrived safely in England this morning - blue skies, sun and beautiful autumn colours. After settling in at their hotel, the players reported for practice at 2.30 pm over at Stoke City's training facilities. Tony Pulis and Peter Reid, Stoke City's Head Coach and assistant, were there to watch the Aztex go through their paces There has been quite a bit of media attention from local radio, newspapers, the Stoke City website and also Sky Sports news.

In case you were wondering, the players who made the trip are:
Miguel Gallardo
Nick Noble
Kevin Sakuda
Kieron Bernard
Salif Diao
Sullivan Silva
Mike Callahan
Ryan McMahen
Jarius Holmes
Michael Dello-Russo
Jamie Watson
Jean Alexandre
Ednerson Rayman
Vaniel Sirin
Tynan Diaz
Nicky Paterson
Eddie Johnson
Gareth Evans
All the coaches are here - Adrian, Bobby, David plus Sheila the trainer and Alex Wolf from Operations - a merry band!

You will have seen that Stoke are broadcasting the game tomorrow, 1 pm your time so take your earphones to work and have a sneaky listen! Match report will follow plus I'll try and get some decent photos.

Kay

All quiet on the Aztex front!

Apologies for the lack of blogging lately, it's the old " Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it." !! Anyway, we are off to the UK on Monday so I will try and be that 'Somebody' and let you know how the trip is going, the players reactions to Stoke, line-ups for games and photos. I can tell you now that the players are very excited to be getting the opportunity to travel to England and play the likes of Stoke City. We play 3 very different teams in very different circumstances - great experience for the guys. The weather today was a good taste of what may be in store - we've told them to pack warm clothes and rain jackets.

Our daughter, Nikki, is at university in Sheffield so she is gathering her troops in support of the Aztex, making banners etc, to welcome them. She has attended 5 or 6 games over here in Austin so she's a true fan! We are looking forward to taking the Aztex team to their first Stoke City game - Can't wait to see their reaction to the spectacle and sound of what has become known as 'the Bear Pit' due to the amazing noise the fans make throughout the game.

So, I promise to blog during the whole of the trip - we will be back in Austin on 22nd October.

Kay