The boys started off the day with the most anticipated event of the whole trip. The Manchester United Megastore. We toured Old Trafford before getting into the store and each of the boys were able to snap some shots of the amazing stadium and even pictures next to Ronaldo's jersey (and others) in the actual locker room. Only those who have been there can understand the unbelievable awe of the stadium and the atmosphere that takes place during a game.
We made our way into the 15,000 sq foot megastore to try and rummage through more Man United stuff tha you could possibly use in an entire month. I spent most of my time trying to decide whether to get Coach Matt a plastic coffee mug or a real one! I settled on a Wayne Rooney bobblehead doll instead. I was happy to see that most of the boys were picking up some gifts for family members back home as well. If you don't happen to get one of those gifts it probably means they ran out of pounds and had to sell it for their last meal of fish and chips before returning to the US.
We will be attending the Bolton -Stokes game tomorrow at Bolton so be sure to get up extra early and try to catch us on TV. We will be the ones with the rain jackets on!
This could be the last post depending on our arrival back at the dorms. I hope that you have enjoyed keeping up with our boys as they have traveled the globe looking for the best competition. I have enjoyed keeping you up to date and hopefully you laughed a couple of times at my attempts at humor and wit.
We will be posting all of our pictures from the trip at www.mpsoccer.com upon our return. Please be sure to check them out and to tell your friends about them as well.
WE WILL SEE EVERYONE SOON!!!!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Indoor in Liverpool
The boys trained in Liverpool Academy's indoor center (picture at left) again today. This has been their 2nd opportunity for a training session on the full size turf field on the Academy training grounds. Liverpool Academy training grounds are separate from Liverpool's 1st team training grounds but are first rate in all aspects. The boys have been introduced to some great coaches and one of the best facilities and youth programs in the world. If we could only add a couple of these out at Patriots!
Soccer Tennis Anyone?
Soccer Tennis has become the favorite past time of the boys on the trip. They have spent absolutely all of their free time at the dorms on their make-shift soccer tennis courts (parking spaces and sidewalk). There are several different variations going on and each of the boys have a preferred game. Most of them will also argue that their variation allows for much more enjoyment!
As you can see in this photo Brock actually found a giant tennis ball to play with when we visited the ginormous (I do mean ginormous, it had an indoor ski slope!) mall today in Manchester. Hopefully the enthusiasm will carry over to some impromptu games in the boys neighborhoods back home!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Welcome to Blackburn!
After playing what some would call a smaller Liverpool side the Blackburn Rovers clearly received the note and brought out a much more physical group (is shrek from Blackburn?) than what the boys faced yesterday.
The game against Blackburn got off to a very spirited start as they arrived late and we arrived early. It was a very fast paced game for the 1st 8-10 minutes and both sides had a couple of chances. After the Blackburn players settled in though they were definitely out to prove that they were no Liverpool softies! It was a very hard fought game on both sides but Blackburn's athleticism was very difficult to match up against. There were definitely some bright spots throughout the match and the players once again had the opportunity to play against some of England's brightest young players. Even though the score did not reflect it Joe had an absolute stunner of a game with some brilliant saves in both the 1st and 2nd half. All of the boys fought hard until the final whistle but today was definitely not our day.
We jumped back on our favorite mode of transportation (that's a bus for those of you joining us for the first time) and headed back to Liverpool. We are scheduled to visit Old Trafford and and the Man United Store which from listening to the boys might just be the single most important part of the trip (the store not the stadium!)
Oh yeah. Keep your eyes open for our Moultrie News in Blackburn picture from the team!
Thanks again for your faithful support and until then.....
The game against Blackburn got off to a very spirited start as they arrived late and we arrived early. It was a very fast paced game for the 1st 8-10 minutes and both sides had a couple of chances. After the Blackburn players settled in though they were definitely out to prove that they were no Liverpool softies! It was a very hard fought game on both sides but Blackburn's athleticism was very difficult to match up against. There were definitely some bright spots throughout the match and the players once again had the opportunity to play against some of England's brightest young players. Even though the score did not reflect it Joe had an absolute stunner of a game with some brilliant saves in both the 1st and 2nd half. All of the boys fought hard until the final whistle but today was definitely not our day.
We jumped back on our favorite mode of transportation (that's a bus for those of you joining us for the first time) and headed back to Liverpool. We are scheduled to visit Old Trafford and and the Man United Store which from listening to the boys might just be the single most important part of the trip (the store not the stadium!)
Oh yeah. Keep your eyes open for our Moultrie News in Blackburn picture from the team!
Thanks again for your faithful support and until then.....
Do they have INTERNET here in this country or do they just call it something else?
We do apologize for the interrupted blog service for those of you who have been faithfully following along. We were experiencing technical difficulties (of the technology variety not the ones the players experienced tonight versus Blackburn Rovers).
We have had a fabulous past two days even though our match versus Preston was canceled. The boys had the opportunity yesterday to play a quality Liverpool U13 side. The boys found themselves down 2-0 early on but fought back to tie the game up 2-2 early in the 2nd half. Charlie drew a PK which Andrew Davis put well out of reach of the Liverpool GK who dove the wrong way. Hamilton later tied the game with a very sneaky (probably his best quality!) goal that he found just behind the defense before slotting it home. Unfortunately the boys were unable to hold on to the tying goal as Liverpool found the net two more times in the final 20 minute period.
Overall it was a great experience for the boys to see the attitude and work rate of the Liverpool players during the match. They were all very disciplined and most of all very technical on the ball. Hopefully it has a lasting impression on all the boys.
We finished up the evening watching Liverpool play in the qualifying stages of Champions League versus Standard Liege. The atmosphere was great but the burger was lacking (as I have found to be the rule much more than the exception!) The boys got to bed at a reasonable hour and prepared for another light training session at Liverpool Academy and then for the game against Blackburn Rovers tomorrow.
We have had a fabulous past two days even though our match versus Preston was canceled. The boys had the opportunity yesterday to play a quality Liverpool U13 side. The boys found themselves down 2-0 early on but fought back to tie the game up 2-2 early in the 2nd half. Charlie drew a PK which Andrew Davis put well out of reach of the Liverpool GK who dove the wrong way. Hamilton later tied the game with a very sneaky (probably his best quality!) goal that he found just behind the defense before slotting it home. Unfortunately the boys were unable to hold on to the tying goal as Liverpool found the net two more times in the final 20 minute period.
Overall it was a great experience for the boys to see the attitude and work rate of the Liverpool players during the match. They were all very disciplined and most of all very technical on the ball. Hopefully it has a lasting impression on all the boys.
We finished up the evening watching Liverpool play in the qualifying stages of Champions League versus Standard Liege. The atmosphere was great but the burger was lacking (as I have found to be the rule much more than the exception!) The boys got to bed at a reasonable hour and prepared for another light training session at Liverpool Academy and then for the game against Blackburn Rovers tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
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