THE OPEN VEINS OF CODGERS’ DEFENSE

Golden Codgers 28- EHL 34

THE OPEN VEINS OF CODGERS’ DEFENSE
Golden Codgers 28- EHL 34

In his Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare turned to football to formulate a character’s complaint: “Am I so round with you, as you are,/ That like a football you do spurn me thus? You spurn me hence, and he will spurn me hither,/If I last in this service you must case me in leather”. Indeed, unfortunately for the Codgers, yesterday match mirrored into these Shakespearian words. The ball spurned them at least 34 times, and the defense was roundly abysmal in its performance; moreover if not the leather certainly the posts of the net cased our heroes denying at least 5 goals and pinning them down for the second defeat in a row. Indeed, the pillar of Codgerian back was missing (Matthew is in Egypt to cure his injured tendon), but this cannot explain the terrible performance of the people who was supposed to take his place. It is, indeed, true that in the early, heroic, days of football no one played a particular position in the field and everybody ran happily after the ball, each wherever he wanted, but –no Shakespearian as it may be- modern football requires less improvisation and more technocracy to keep people in line. In other words, more discipline and less dream-maneuvering. Oddly enough the Codgers showed the usual glowing and gliding splendor from the belt up (Ravi scoring 10, Amin and Ahmet 6 each, Will 2, Luca 4), and a goal-keeper (welcome back Can!!) who had fingers of steel and a bravery to be eternally graced; nevertheless their defense was very Italian, only because it resembled a colander for gnocchi.
In other human trades decline comes with old age, but in football decay comes with being grinded by an opposition which proves the effectiveness of shouting correct instructions and developing decipherable tactical schemes. We do not believe that football is a science and the field a laboratory, but without a decent display in defense the Codgers won’t need the genius of Einstein but the miracles of the Virgin of Fatima to win again.