A late one ...

A phone call from Fat Lad told me that Wednesday's training was off as we both had a game at the local Unibond ground between their academy side and another youth team.

It seemed easy enough as we got there early, warmed up and apparently I terrified the away team by conducting a jewellery and footwear inspection before they entered the field of play. One player was wearing a music festival wristband, which you will know if you've seen one, consist of a fabric strip with a lead like seal pinched across the ends to stop it slipping off the wrist. He wasn't happy as I explained that it either came off or he wouldn't be allowed to play.

With the formalities completed the game kicked off and the home team took an early lead. The heavens also opened and we got thoroughly drenched. I also noted I had a high number of offside calls to make as did Frosty on the other touchline. Neither team seemed to be able to get the hang of the opposition's offside trap.

The goals rained in, Fat Lad had to speak to one player and even more offsides were adjudged in the second half. I was having a problem as my new boots as I've recently switched from an old pair of Nike Tiempo Naturals II FG (firm ground) to a newer design but I hadn't realised that they were SG (soft ground). The only difference is the configuration of the studs/cleats on the bottom.

This is the FG version

...and this is the new SG style (except the whole of the upper is black apart from a white edging on the black Nike swoosh)

The new boots don't seem to spread my weight as evenly and apart from the sore soles from six studs, they have affected my running style. This meant last night I ended up with sore calves and hamstrings. The game finished soon after my legs went from sore to agony. Fat Lad seemed happy enough and I had lost count of the number of offsides I had flagged for (and ignored). Calories 1337, max hr 90%, average hr 70%.