I’ve hogged it long enough…

Trophy hogger Joe Newbury hands the 2007 prize over to Billy Collins!

From the picture you will see me handing over a trophy to Billy in what was a very low key ceremony. Don’t worry – you haven’t missed out on the Team Picker Cup!

For too long this little piece of TTFE pride has been collecting dust in a cupboard which should be put on display for all to see. On the inscription it reads – ‘WINNER – GOL SUNDAY DIVISION FOUR’, a nod to the former TTFE league team which won two titles after over thirteen competitive seasons at one of Cardiff’s 5-a-side centres.

What’s that – TTFE had a league team? Indeed it did – and I’ll let the ‘TTFE history 2003-2007’ tell you more about how it came about:

Since the days of FC Rgos Orgy the idea of competing in a 5-a-side league was largely forgotten about in TTFE circles, especially as the experience was not a pleasant one for those who played in the ill-fated team. However on September 22 2005, Chris Phillips became interested in creating a new 5-a-side team based the current players of the TTFE organisation and posted a thread of interest in a brand new section of the forum labelled ‘League’. 

First we played at the Llanishen Arena, then the team moved to Gol when a league spot could be secured. We played five seasons there before winning our very first title in 2007 winning 12 out of 14 games. Although we boasted a number of TTFE regulars over the years, the team for that particular season consisted of myself, Dave Weller, James Pugh, Chris Phillips, James Carling, Billy Collins and Paul Preece. The winning moment was captured in my match report:

At 5-3 a sigh of relief and jubilation ringed out from the TTFE players as they knew that after such a tough clash, they had not only won the game, they had won promotion and now they had won the league title. Well done TTFE, you achieved the impossible. You earned the title of champions for a Herculean performance which may not have shown the true talents of your ability, but it certainly embodied the TTFE spirit of perseverance, determination and good teamwork. You should be proud. A great end to a wonderful season which has had many plaudits from pundits, whilst commentators like myself have been forced to eat our own hats.

Chris had the trophy at first, but then he passed it on to me who gave it the respect it clearly deserved! I decided today to pass it on to another member of team, so they can bask in its glory and hopefully fill an empty space in their cabinets or mantelpieces. Well done Billy!

If you’re interested the old match reports from the TTFE league team are filed away and hopefully will be viewable on the site soon.

TTFE League team – champions 2007!