Football Poets

The Half-Time Team Talk

The Half-Time team talk that had to be good

to turn what looked like certain defeat around.

I was once a youth team manager of Tring Tornadoes U/16s

we had led the league the whole season undefeated

but we had another local side hot on our heels.

They had lost one match at our ground earlier in the season

and were just 2 points behind us going into the last match,

with the final game at their ground .

They went for a 9.30 am kick off on a Sunday morning,

with a 40 minute journey and to be ready for kick off

I had to get fifteen 16 year olds up at 7 am

to be ready to go at 7.45 am, not an easy task!

But to a young man they were all ready to go.

At half time we were 2-0 down!

So my half time talk would have to be good.

It would have to be different, exceptional and memorable!

So what do you think I said? I said:

“Lads we have had a great season,

undefeated before this match and we have been top all season.

But with Stokenchurch’s’ gamesmanship

going for an early morning kick off on a Sunday morning,

it has caught us half asleep in the first half.

We know we can play much better than this

so we have to play our hearts out

if we are going to turn this game around.

We have to wake up and start the second half running

and keep it going until the final whistle.

I believe if we play like we can we can do it.

Put it this way, it’s like we have been to a very posh restaurant

and had a fantastic main course, but the restaurant manager

has just told there are only enough desserts/ puddings for one team

and they were going to serve them to you, as you were top of the league.

But now Stokenchurch are top of the league,

they have nicked our puddings and there are non for you, as it stands.

So are you going to let them nick your puddings

or are you going to go out there and nick them back and say

get off those puddings they are ours? “

The team laughed as did the assistant manager and parents

listening in to my half time team talk

“So come on lads get out there and get those puddings back,

they belong to you , not our arch rivals Stokenchurch.”

Within ten minutes of the second half we scored !

Game on!

“Come on lads I shouted,  think about the puddings”

Their team hadn’t a clue what I was talking about.

Some of our lads were smiling.

Thirty minutes in we equalise 2-2 , the comeback was on.

“Come on lads we can get those puddings they belong to us!

We are top of the league not them”

Fifteen minutes to go, end to end stuff, a draw would be enough,

but a defeat wouldn’t.

We would end runners up after leading all season.

One last big shout from me:

“Come on Tring Tornadoes you can do it!

Let’s take this game, we have got them!

Take the puddings off them! “

And we do just that within minutes of the final whistle, we score again.

3-2 to us ! We hold on for what looked like an impossible come back.

We won the league at Stokenchurch!

You should have seen their manager’s face and their team and parents.

They thought it was in the bag.

but they didn’t know I had one special half time team talk up my sleeve:

‘the pudding talk’…and it worked!

That was 21 years ago now,

but I expect not one of those lads

have ever forgotten Mr Icke’s pudding talk.

On the way home with the League Cup Winners Cup on the table,

I treated all the boys to a big ‘fry up breakfast’ at Tesco

I’m not sure how many went for the black pudding option but it didn’t matter now,

that the Half Time team talk had made such a difference

and we won the league at Stokenchurch!”

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© Simon Icke

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