St George's Showboaters - Catford Power League 5 a side football


SGS History
St George's Showboaters are a Five A Side team who compete in the first division, on a Thursday, of the Catford Powerleague. Powerleague is a National Event and has 25 centers running it's divisions throughout Great Britain. We are only new to the league and as you can see in the game reviews, aren't doing brilliantly. We were set up by Oliver and myself after months of careful planning and discussion, over a few cans of Stella. This sort of planning is never that thorough but we eventually dragged ourselves to register and immediatley were given games.

The idea (Oli's) behind the showboaters part of our name, was that the team would try our best to show off at any given opprtunity on the pitch. I'd rather we just won every game, but you've got to have a hook I s'pose. The St Georges comes from the name of the Church opposite Oli's house, so as you can see we travelled, read and studied long and hard to find our name. Oli and I run the team with the team Captain, Robbie. I say run, we ask people to turn up and more often than not they do. I am Adam, and I like to call myself the team manager. I am six feet two, 14 stone and handsome with blue eyes and a passion for adventure.. Oh wait wrong website. I am all of that though.

The aim of our sponsorship deal which we have clinched with the very generous (lick, lick) Ivan Madeira at Hentuckybreaks is simply to have a centre point for our players/ supporters to read our newsletter, and hopefully build up our profile and Hentuckybreaks. It's not a money thing, neither is it a complete joke, but hopefully people logging on will enjoy reading about our little misadventures and we can get an online fanbase too. So let Ivan at Hentucky know what you think (via the Contact Us section). Or you can email the team at stgeorgesshowboaters@yahoo.co.uk and sign up to the newsletter which we do after our games.

The Farewell
I’d love to write a beautiful poem. Not generally, just about Showboaters. I can’t however, not because I’m not capable but just because the way Showboaters ended was neither poetic, nor was I present to actually know what I’m talking about. I will try, aided by a nameless informant. For those (few) of you who don’t know Showboaters, or the St George’s Showboaters to give us our full title, we were a five a side team playing at Catford Powerleague. The now global Hentuckybreaks.co.uk let me post our team reports on their site. I am sure they still knock about in Ivan’s vast dusty caverns should you want to read them to catch up. I ain’t going to update. I’m busy now don’t- you- know.

Which leads us to our main focus, Showboaters no longer exist. Blunt I know, but it’s better for you that way. I’m here to tell you why, and maybe hit on something important while I’m at it. We were going so well, we’d had a good start to our third season and looked to be playing nice football. The teams we were most matched by got relegated after the 2nd season and we were left, in theory to roam up the league with the new teams left to suckle at our teats for scraps. Only Robbie offered his teat, and no- one was interested. The players however were changing week by week, which maybe I should have spotted more as a sign of flagging interest. We still got results though, even when I wasn’t playing. Cough.

Then...
I got a job. Now as proper fans will know I actually had a job for most of the time Showboaters existed, bar a self/lager imposed exile in unemployedment. The concept of “job” was not new to me, but that of “working for the money a job pays” was. Dammit I had no Ivan to chat crap to via messenger and no internet to chat crap to anyone. Add to this the fact that I gave a toss about this job and I was stuck. A 50 hour week isn’t very easy on the energy and I was incapable of running ‘Boaters anymore. I handed the team to Oli, playing the last time myself for ‘Boaters in a very heated lose to Lance Boil. Who are still a bunch of cunts, if you ask err Oli. Now I’m told that for a while the team fared quite well. Darren and James, the two ringers.. I mean semi – pros we drafted in started to fight less with the ref and more with the other team and we got good. Well actually we got relegated. Oliver tells me that Darren and James were on a “different wavelength”. I take that as meaning they were looking to fight everyone where Oli and the others weren’t. However Robbie likes a fight and rumour has it so do I. So maybe not. Maybe they were actually good at football.

In Division Two the ringers left, and the team played the best football of their “careers”, according to Oli. Which probably accidentally sums up any of our chances at playing professional football. Don’t let Bish know though, he’s still hoping his “beer diet” will break the market. The decline in player interest I mentioned which I’d attributed to A levels, as most of our team were 18, went and Showboaters went up the 2nd Division looking really good. Until University. This is what Oli attributes to the ultimate passing on of the St George’s Showboaters. Robbie, our die hard captain went to Liverpool to study burglary, Ed B our keeper went off to study saving more than just our lives in taking medicine, Bish went to, well, play football and get hammered just as he had been doing- but in Leeds which made him less easy to select and Pat Shiel went to Borstal to study how to not get caught. All this with me off taking one in the arse for the sake of my “career” and Rob Clarke just taking one in the arse. The fans just went. Maya, Dan (Jim Rob Cpt), Aaron (Jim Rob skills man), Steve (medievil genius), Louise and others, well done- You made it easier. Especially Michelle, Maya and Louise who I reckon between them showed the whole team their “Hat- tricks”.

The Future
It’s sad I know. Showboater’s don’t exist anymore, except here at Hentucky #weep#. Such grand ideas; jumpers, T- shirts, flavoured jonnies. There have been all kinds of plans, but I suppose what the team has taught me, is that being 18 (which I wasn’t) is so different to being responsible despite what you think at the time. Something I feel summed up in ‘Boaters’ ultimate departure from Powerleague, no one cancelled, they just didn’t turn up. So as I was told, straight faced: “we probably do still exist”. Maybe a reunion wouldn’t be a bad idea. Given a few years.


Match History


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