Matthew and All, I'd be very sad if I thought our football club had caused offense to the visiting Aztex. I sincerely hope this is not the case on many levels. The Aztex are fondly regarded by many Stoke supporters including myself and we keep abreast of their development with interest. They are often a subject of discussion on club forums and they get decent update coverage in the local media. I know many Stoke supporters shared the surprise and a degree of disappointment at the side the club chose to field at Nantwich. Most had shared the expectation expressed above that a more experienced contingent would be lined up to face the Aztex and nothing had been indicated via the club or media to suggest differently. Having said all that, to suggest the club have behaved in a disrespectful manner is a big call. A major problem of course is the unfortunate coincidences surrounding the timing of the game. I doubt the date was greeted with glee by the Aztex coming as it did so close to the squad landing in the UK. I know via the experience of my own boy in making the reverse trip with Stoke and facing a similar schedule that the first game before you have adjusted to the time difference and climate is very difficult. The ideal timing would have been to play the game next week which would have avoided all sorts of other conflicts and left a much wider scope in terms of what players could be included. This was not possible due to Stoke being committed to a Barclay Premier League Reserve fixture at Nantwich against Aston Villa. This left only this week available which of course clashes with an International week. As you will be aware we have many first team players away with their national squads and it is inevietable that there will be injuries and travel issues that will not permit some to be included in Saturdays Premier League fixture against West Ham. The only question is how many? We already know that Glenn Whelan is unlikely to be available thanks to a calf problem picked up with the Rupublic of Ireland. Given that unknown it surely means that first team fringe players who may have been involved had to be held out of the Aztex fixture? I can assure you that no one would have been impressed if say we had a midfield player injured in a international capacity and then his potential replacement had a mishap in a friendly with the Aztex. We should also be cautious in dismissing the development squad as some sort of poor quality test or insult for the Aztex. Included was Matty Lund who is a highly rated first year pro who we snapped up from the highly respected Crewe Academy in the summer. It would also have included without doubt Ben Marshall who came from the same route but has been loaned out to League 1 side Northampton Town for experience. Also unavailable but would have played is Nathaniel Wedderburn but he is away on England under 19s duty in a European Championship qualification tournement. Also playing was Louis Moult who appeared for the first team in a recent League Cup tie and dare I mention David Parton who has also made it to the first team bench this season. The vast majority of the side that appeared against the Aztex has several games experience at Premier Reserves League level which I can assure you is a very high and demanding standard of football by any measure and they regular play against many a household Premier League player in those fixtures. We should note that many the boys left from the trip to Texas last summer are now in their second year as scholars and are striving for professional contracts at the end of this season. They have now grown and matured as footballers and even if they do not get a pro contract at Stoke, I can assure you that a good number will go on to have decent careers at one level or another within our professional game. It is fair observation that many have and will perform at a level that the vast majority of the Aztex squad that faced them can only dream of. As evidence of this (and without breaking into a match report) it was clear that the Aztex were not under matched in a game that could easily have gone the other way. Aztex were worthy of their victory thanks to good spells either side of half time but make no mistake the goal came at a period of the game in which the young Stoke side were very much in control. You should also be aware that all the Stoke senior coaching staff were present. The side was managed on the evening by Mark O'Connor who is the first team coach and Adrian Pennock who as well as being Under 18s Manager is very much involved in the first team coach group on match days. I sincerely hope that above all Phil Rawlins is happy with the way his project has been treated at and by Stoke. Phil is very highly thought of among the Stoke faithful and I will be very disappointed if he feels let down in any way by the club. I had a brief chance to speak to both Phil and Adrian at the game and will hopefully be joining them socially on Friday evening when I hope to hear that all they could expect is being done to look after the squad in terms of hospitality and football experience at the Clayton Wood training centre. All the best. Mark
Mark, I really appreciate the note, and it's good to hear from you. As you have experience with the supporters here in Austin, you know we are a fierce, passionate group of supporters, and have personal relationships with many of the players. I know that I've spoken with several of them leading up to this trip who were very excited to get the opportunity to travel to England, play Stoke and get to face an opponent who plays week in and week out in the most popular league in the football world. I can only speak to my disappointment in that from 4500 miles away, the view was one that showed almost all of the hopes of this trip not being fulfilled. The ability, that was communicated, to play against several senior team players. This doesn't degrade from the U18's. I went to all of the U18 matches when they were in Austin in August 2008 and was impressed with how they handled themselves, especially in crippling heat. Especially that kid Parton in goal! In my most logical mind, if I were in Tony's shoes, I probably would not have done anything differently (except get there before the match). Stoke is in it's second year in the Prem fighting to not only stay up, but to continue to improve on an amazing 12th place finish in the tables. They also have a number of players off on Int'l duties, that pose a danger unto themselves when it comes to injury (we know this well, as US men's center back Oguchi "Gooch" Onyewu went down against Costa Rica with a torn patelar tendon, meaning he's absent from AC Milan for at least 5 months). I can't fault him for the priorities. It would've been nice to have some notice about who we were playing communicated to the fans, but then, who knows where that fault lays. At the end of the day, the trip hasn't lived up to what we hoped it would in our highest visions. However, with 2 wins out of 2 matches (something we've not had all season), we can't be too disappointed. I hope that the next time the opportunity arises for the Aztex to play a Stoke squad, that we can play a fixture with some senior players on the other side of the ball. I guarantee you, I'll be in the stands, yelling, pounding the drum, and cheering on the red and white (well, the side from Austin ). At that point, I'm hoping I can finally pay by bill to you at the pub (I think I'm up to 10 pints now). I will still support Stoke, as they are our sister club. But like all families, sometimes the smallest infraction, when made from family, can hurt the most. Again, I really appreciate you coming in and chatting with us. You're welcome any time. We'll see you I'm sure on the Oatcake (I occasionally jump over and post items). Matthew Gray aka mgrayscale
Here are the match photos of the game from the Accrington Stanley website: http://matchpics.fotopic.net/c1768644.html And for the love of God, IT'S AZTEX NOT AZTECS !!!!!! EDIT: And one pic for Matthew.
Mark, thanks very much for that thorough rundown of the Stoke academy side our boys faced on Wednesday. I see U18s and I think, okay, they played a high-school team, or what would be one here in the States. It's easy to forget the difference a dedicated youth academy system can make. That makes it all the more unfortunate that it wasn't made clear to fans from the start that the Aztex would face an academy side. As you detailed, there's nothing wrong with that... except in comparison to expectations we had that they'd face first-team players. Lesson learned for next time, I hope. Best of luck to the Potters against Wet Spam this weekend!
sniff thas beautiful papa. To the tune of Winnie the Pooh: Jamie Watson Jamie Watson Stubby, but not tubby He's stuffed with goals He's Jamie Watson Jamie Watson He's are very own TinTin
Oh and what singin a song, say about a guy murdering his cheating girlfriend named Delilah, is a better song ta sing at a football match? U watch AAFC will have me on contract soon as "Official Song/Chant writer."
It appears that the Aztex have completed their England tour with a perfect 3 wins out of 3 matches, having defeated (awaiting final confirmation) Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 today. Goals by Michael Callahan (1st half) and Jarius Holmes (2nd half) were enough to put the match away. Last I heard was that the guys are in the locker room, trying to warm up by having some pies. So this marks the final end of the Aztex 2009 season. The squad and organization will be returning to the US later this week for their off season. As a note, for anyone interested in joining Chantico's Army (Aztex Supporters Group), we are having our organizational meeting on Sunday, October 25th from 12:00 noon - 1:30 p.m. at Cuatro's. We will have Gaffer Adrian Heath speaking to the group at the beginning, and I'm sure he'll address with England tour.
Just to let everyone know, I did receive confirmation on the final score. Aztex 2, Sheffield Wednesday 1.
I got an email from Kay earlier, that mentioned the Aztex arrive tonight at ABIA at 7:35 on American Airlines flight #2293. It would be great if they had some supporters to welcome the team (minus Kieron) back to Austin after a very successful England tour!! Reply here if you are planning on going. Unfortunately, I'm in Orlando for meetings until late Thursday, so I won't be able to attend. However, from when we met Gifton last year, waiting by the baggage claim for American Airlines (I think it's #3), is the best way.
It must have something to do with getting a work permit, and Kieron's experience on the Jamaican U23 team. Our defense was as leaky as the SS Minnow all season. Europe can take them all, maybe we can get some new defenders with the money.
Wow. It looks like there's a chance that we'll have a substantially different team next year. Not that we weren't expecting one anyway, but the boys on that list were a good chunk of the ones that we were looking forward to seeing again next year. Ah, lower division football!
