New beginnings

Well, so much for updating this blog on a regular basis! Anyone who knows me, will know why - and no, it's not because I am so badly organised! Four weeks ago my beautiful baby daughter was born and as you can imagine its been a pretty hectic and mind blowing time since then.

The funny thing is that throughout my girlfriends pregnancy virtually everyone thought we were going to have a boy. For me, the worry was that if I had a boy, would it mean eventually leaving Dynamos and joining one of those nasty boys clubs?!! Thank goodness that decision was taken out of my hands, and Miracle (yeah an unusual name I grant you) already has a babygro emblazoned with the club badge, only another six years to her first training session....

Of course having a baby has impacted a little on me following my two favourite teams, but I have had half on eye on the action.

At Dynamos it has been a bit of a struggle as our U15 team has been decimated with players leaving during the summer. This is one of the biggest challenges facing the game - how to keep players interested once they hit 13/14 years old? We have recently been able to sign a couple of new players and so are finally able to field a full team - what I must commend is the spirit of the girls to keep coming back after some heavy defeats - well done and I hope everything turns around soon.

For our U12 team it has been a mixed start to the season. We have a larger squad this season and the main challenge facing Martin is integrating new players whilst ensuring existing members are getting plenty of action. Next season most, if not all of this age group will move up to 11-a-side football so everyone will see plenty of match play then.

Arsenal's chances of winning the Premiership were written off a month or so ago following defeats to Man Utd and Man City. How bizarre then that after this weekends end draw we find ourselves third with a game in hand. This weekends match was disappointing, but I think we are well in the mix and I will be very surprised if we don't pick up a couple of trophies come next spring. One thing I will say is that we are honoured to have Arsene Wenger as our manager. He is truly amazing and what he has done for the club on a minimal budget is nothing short of genius.

Well, this week there is plenty of action to enjoy. Tomorrow night a chance to knock Liverpool out of the Carling Cup with our young guns, then on Saturday a chance to put Spurs in their rightful place. Being a dad has not altered my perspective on the game!!! LOL! On Sunday, the Dynamo U12s are also in cup action and I wish them all the best for that important match.

Me, yep you got it - Miracle in my arms, a beer in one hand and Arsenal on the TV - bliss.....