FC Balaga Tongo 2009 STATS.

2009 saw Balaga play in 3 Footy.ie Div 2 Seasons. From the 42 scheduled matches, there was 23 wins, 5 draws, and 14 losses. 21 Players turned out in the Balaga black and they scored a total 175 goals.

Here is the science!!!

Player Appearance Table

With the help of excel and some tedious blog reading, Balaga can release the official player appearance tally.

Results are taken from 12-9-2007 up to and including the match on the 21-10-2009 so as a result, both Kevin and Tom have had some appearances from the pre blog not taken into account. This is also why Eoin Red and Willie Power aren't included.... Paul Jay Jay Oscott is also hampered as a result. No record bai's sorry! The table only applies to FC Balaga Tongo players who have paid for the privilege!

Balaga Set for Autumn Season Kickoff!!!

Tonight FC Balaga Tongo will be looking to start the new season as they finished it, with a win against DouglasMortgage.ie. There has been some changes in the club during the off-season though, as Rory Browne had to hang his Balaga boots up. A loss which has been compared to that of Cristiano Ronaldo's departure from Man Utd this summer.

But with JD, John Duggan, re-signing after a summer hiatus, Balaga will be looking to him to fill the void after Browne's departure. David Green has also joined, and although he will be asked to mostly play at the back with Broderick and O'Callaghan, he has proved to be handy going forward too with a hammer of a shot. After previously impressing in some friendlies, and in last seasons final fixture, Greener was offered a full contract for the Autumn season.

The right Colour: Greener seen celebrating with his agent after signing his lucrative new contract.

Besides this the team remains the same with Damo, Webz, O'Driscoll and David W all in as well as Parker - who will be most likely played further forward where he can cause more damage.

Balaga will be confident after the past 2 seasons, as they now have a pretty settled squad and system ready to attack the division 2 title. A friendly game against Thursday Division 2 champions ExPats athletic was a good run out for the team, although with 4 key players out it wasn't the best for team tactics and the like. Another boost to spirits is club founder Paul "Juggs" Scott's return to the country after 2 years in Oz.

With the new season comes a new crest, with will be proudly displayed on new Balaga jerseys.... watch this space!



Tonights team news:

O'Driscoll is out due to some golf club finals yoke up the country - goodluck hai.
Jowensy will fill in and is another good option for Balaga Tongo upfront tonight.

VIVA LOS BALAGAGOS!

Cucumbers So Close: A Summer Retrospective Super Speil.

Despite the obvious disappointment of coming so near, FC Balaga Tongo's second season in footy.ie Wed Div 2 was one where they clearly made progress on the first. Finishing Second while winning ten, drawing one, and losing three of the fourteen games played.

The new 2-3-1 formation was an improvement on the previous seasons and resulted in some great wins and a ton of goals for the attacking five players in the squad:

Webz on 14 was top of the charts again, keeping his terrific record in front of goal up, as well as performing when asked to play in the defensive midfielder role. He was deservedly nominated for the footy.ie MVP award (won by teammate Browne last season).

Browne himself could not reach the high high heights he did in the Spring. After an EXPLOSIVE start and a rake of goals, his form was hampered by a moshing injury. Although he persevered through that and the legend still banged in 13!

David W  was a great addition to the team and he managed to make an immediate impact scoring 13 in his debut season. David W 's enthusiasm and team spirit was second to none throughout, even if he seemed rather very excitable at times.

In probably O'Driscoll's best season to date, he established himself as a great centre midfielder wheter he likes it or not. Always with great flare and "presence" going forward, his ball size seemed to double as he got stuck in more and more as the season went on. He also developed a mighty heading ability unseen before and was a great asset bagging 12 goals, his best tally yet helped Balaga to some vital victories.

Parkers season was interrupted by a nasty ankle knock, but he is a player Balaga can always count on 1000% commitment from even though he lamped a big mac 2 minutes before a game there one night. 12 goals is deadly fly and goals scored by the ratt were usually pretty gorgeous and he never complained when asked to fill in at the back.

This formation though was not so great defensively. Conceding on average 3 a game, or something, isn't the best although was the third best in the league to be fair. The formation can't take all the blame though, there are other things like ehhhhh, like losing Rookie of the century JD, John Duggan, to a brief MLS career and club management's failure to bring in a permanent replacement. Instead relying on chopping and changing players out of position. This bred inconsistency and that's probably not good la.

Damo had another flyer, confident again after his captain cleaning him out in the Spring, he was FULL of talk and pulled off some awesome saves. He should be confident of his place with rumors Blake Shine's contract in Canada is coming to an end.

Broderick and O' Callaghan have begun to form a good defensive partnership playing in the 2-3-1 formation and in the games where both were available and playing beside each other Balaga conceded less. Unfortunately these games weren't too often with O'Callaghan's new employment making him miss games, Broderick having to cover when Damo was injured and the 2 of them travelling off to the Mediterranean at different times. They scored 5 between them and both probably wish it was a bigger sum.

During the season reserves were called upon for many games and always did a great job. Skinty and Dawson(2 goals) were the main men used with 4 caps each. But all who played a part were safe, JD, Seanie Nich(1 goal), Greener(1 goal), Harry, Jowensy, and even an appearance from Tyrrell(2 goals) and O'Sullivan(1 goal). Sound biys.



No.1 fan for the season was obviously Ashling!

The story of the season in match reports:

Game 1 - Balaga cripple Cowboys
Game 2 - Premier Auto Taken Apart
Game 3 - Browne Shines Again As Balaga Bash Mercer
Game 4 - Arses ravaged by Cucumbers
Game 5 - Balaga stand up-2-setters
Game 6 - Rosies Cause Balaga To Blush
Game 7 - Balaga deny Mortgage

Game 8 - Cowboys Keep Cucumbers Quiet
Game 9 - Balaga service Premier Auto Parts
Game 10 - Balaga shown no mercy
Game 11 - Balaga Scrape Past Bare Arses
Game 12 - Balaga Exorcise Upsetters Demons
Game 12 - Balaga’s title hopes not so Rosie
Game 14 - Balaga Win Penultimate game but Fail in League


The season was celebrated at Webz'z Rooftop Rave where several Balaga Tongo Players Drank and were merry.

2009 Spring Review and Summer Preview

Balaga Tongo find themselves on the cusp of a new season in footy.ie Wednesday medium standard football. Participating in their first footie league last season, Balaga finished up with 24 points from 14 games and in 4^th position. An early surge saw the Tongolese team at the top of the table but a run of poor mid-season form, following the horror injury to goalkeeper Damo Kennedy, resulted in points lost and what could of been a title challenge faded away, culminating in the routing received in a high profile 6 pointer against the upsetters, a match where defensive linchpin Graham Deano the Rock Deane suffered a horrific broken ankle.


Highlights of the season were of course some great attacking football which saw the team notch up over 60 goals. Christmas signing, playmaker and freekick specialist Rory Browne went on the win the official league MVP award, as well as the FC Balaga Tongo in house MVP award. Eoghan Webz Kennedy continued his prolific goal scoring record in the Cucumbers colours and picked up the FC Balaga Tongo Golden Boot award with 16 goals to his name. Stephen Stefán The Rat Parker ,another Christmas signing, made a big impact on the team and produced some memorable match winning performances, scoring 9 goals in the process. Phil O Driscoll was another good performer adding a touch of class to midfield and occasionally the Balaga front line. The last of the Christmas signings was John JD Duggan who was the most consistent defender of the season and managed to grab 8 goals from his thrilling runs up the wing.



Kevin Broderick, Tom O’Callaghan and Graham Deane all fought hard for the cause throughout the season and although they all individually played very well on occasion, they sometimes lacked the defensive organization and positioning awareness needed. This left their goal tender Damo Kennedy without protection, especially at the start of games. Damo himself had a solid season in between the sticks and came back very strong after his concussion which was a crrredit to him. An improvement is needed though, with the backline conceding over 50 goals in the 14 games and not picking up one cleansheet. O’Callaghan will be looking to have a more settled backline for the forthcoming season and the onus is on the captain to get the right formation.

With Deano and J.D. out with injury and summer trips respectively, transfer rumours were rife with John Owens and Andy Herbert looking like likely introductions but these were not possible and Balaga Tongo management moved before the end of the Spring season to sign David W for the Summer. With a squad of 8 rather than 9, this should result in more continuity in the team. David W himself is a colleague of O’Callaghans from his Dnet days in CIT. A hardworking player who is not afraid to get stuck in David W should fit right into Balaga and add an extra edge to the squad.




With some familiar teams from last season are present again, ie the Upsetters and Rosies. But the league is filled with mostly new ones, Mercer, Premier Auto Parts, Bare-Arse-Alona, Callas Cowboys and douglas mortgages make up the 8. Nothing is known about these 5 teams but if Balaga can get going from the start it shouldn’t matter too much!!!

Talk of a Balaga Tongo 11-a-side team did not materialise yet... but players are there and a place to play is needed!

The Big 2009 Preview

Hopes are high on the eve of the most anticipated Balaga Tongo Season in years. Opinion is divided about the fate of the club which had so much potential, in Autumn 2006, when it arrived on the football arena.

Since that first turbulent season of astro.ie Balaga struggled to come to terms with the 6-a-side game. With second and third seasons coming in late 2007 and early 2008 the team failed to shine and battled at the bottom of the table in both competitions.

Despite having to rely heavily on part-time appearances, FC Balaga Tongo built a solid base of players. With Broderick and O'Callaghan the only remaining players from the 2006 season. Signings Webz Kennedy, Phil O'Driscoll and Graham Deane all played a huge part and stuck with their club during this time. Youth team star Damien Kennedy who showed great promise during his first team call ups has been given a contract and will be guarding the Tongelese goal for the new season. Blake Shine and Alan O'Flynn who palyed a vital part in these Seasons for Balaga have now moved on in their careers. Shine signed for the Vancouver Whitecaps in October 2008, while O'Flynn decided to follow a management career.

Shine, now goaltender in Canadian Leagues.

With Broderick and O'Callagahan gaining some experience in the footy.ie league over the summer 2008 Club management decided a switch was needed, astro.ie was left behind and Balaga Tongo was entered into the footy.ie 7-a-side league system.

The player base of 6 left the club short 1 of a team and 3 of a good squad, which was their aim. A rigirous recruitment campaign was put into place to get the right balance.

The first good news was an oppurtunity to sign Rory Browne, a close colleague of O'Driscolls and a vastly experinced player, who would give Balaga the stability it was lacking. The deal was done quickly. It wasn't all plain sailing from there though. Shane Deane, a player who had occasionaly put in reliable shifts in the Balaga shirt was unavailable. With other part-time players injured, such has Neil Tully, Management had to go look further afield.

O'Callaghan had spotted Stephen Parker in a St.Lukes/Ashton exhibiton game and had gotten reports of fantastic performances in a 2008 summer league. After another friendly game over the festive period which, Parker, O'Driscoll and O'Callaghan played in, the concensus was clear. Parker would be the clubs main transfer target. Contact was made and an offer was put on the table. The player was frank with his desire to play for FC Balaga Tongo and negotiations with his Agent began. Although talks were slightly prolonged a deal was hammered out and Parker joined the club.

The last piece of the puzzle came from a Damo Kennedy brainwave. John Duggan would be available. A friend of many Balaga players, through Cork Harlequins, Duggan was approached by Kennedy and the reply was positive. The young sensation had become a Balaga player.

Some big name players freshen up Tongo team.

With the 3 new and the 6 present players the club have a great squad to mount a good campaign this season. Although new to the league and in some cases each other the mood is of excitement rather than fear. Crowd sizes will hopefully be up with the team now playing in Garryduff, but its the team on the pitch that will have to gel quickly if they are to get a good start. We have seen poor starts from the Tongonese club before but this seems to be the most settled squad Balaga has had and confidence seems to be on an all time high.

Details on formations and selection decisions have not been released. Club management seem to be keeping their cards close to their chests in that regard, but it should be interesting to see how the players will line out on Wednesday night

If you are unable to travel to the games, there is only one way to find out how the team fairs over the next 14 games, and that is by following FC Balaga Tongo here.

Munich 2008 Review and 2009 Season coming up!!!

Oktoberfest, Munich 2008
John Owens, Aidan O Sullivan, Eoin Thomas, Eoghan Webz Kennedy, Brian Moggy Morgan, Ian McCarthy, and Graham Deane together with Oktoberfest veterans Kevin Broderick, Blake Shine, and Tom O Callaghan, hit Munich with a bang on October 2nd 2008...

It was an unreal 2 and a bit days of Larks and Boozing that will go down in History...

Some photos(minus moggy cause i cant find any photos with him(send me some Moggs))...

HofBrau = HOME:


11am on day 3:


The First Beers from Agnes on the first day:


Precious:



The new BALAGA TONGO season will hopefully start on Jan 14th 2009... Club matters are still being discussed so wait for any official statements here!

JayJay goes GaGa

News has filtered back from the southern hemisphere regarding former midfielder Paul "Juggs" Scott. Reports from the Melbourne Courier, the first scandal paper on the scene, suggested that JJ had thrown in the towel at Melbourne Knights after finding it tough to settle into the Australians all round more professional set up. He donned the famous number 4 Balaga Tongo shirt previously worn by him, and hit the streets of Melbourne with an AK47 he bought from a local arms dealer. The dealer "Alf", when asked why he sold the machine gun said; "well mate, he said he was going to shoot some wild koala’s didn't he, so I took nay notice I didn't". It is believed that news filtered back to JJ regarding the only 4 results Tongo achieved last season directly after Scott left the team. 8 people in total were killed in the massacre, before he was spotted fleeing in the direction of the outback. An onlooker said, "he ran in that direction" pointing in the direction of the outback. It is believed he had always dreamed about living with the Aborigines and that’s where the police are going to begin their search.









A survivor of the Melbourne Massacre

SPRING SEASON 2008

Balaga Tongo can now be found playing in the same venue but at a earlier time of 8... With a solid 6 starting and Bundy in reserve Balaga could be off to a flyer!!!



heres the team formation...

2007 round up...

Form LLLLLLLLLLDDWD

with 10 losses followed by 3 draws and a win, Balaga Tongo had an up and down season.... although mostly down, they're were positives; a settled team at the end of the season and some good results...

Webz and Phil were the top scorers with 6. Tom followed close behind with 5 and millzie had a late surge of 4 in the last 3 games... Blake was next with 3, which is impressive as he played in goal for most of the season.

Balaga found blottoed

Balaga were shamed this week as news from Salzburg and Munich have shown little or no training was done at the cucumbers camp. Pictures from the local Munich Schnell Star have shown a disgraced Balaga team building exercise. Perhaps its the tonic Balaga needed as their team are far from hitting on all cylinders.
Team news for tonights match sees the Balaga keeper Bundy pull out due to injury. Willie Power, a former player makes a comeback along with Phil O D. A formation of 4-0-1 is likely tonight after a long hard weekend in Octoberfest, and after last weeks embarrassing 7-3 defeat, you can hardly blame them.

Further match analysis, Balaga Update and United game Preview...

...Balaga Tongo's second game gets underway...

Well as previously reported Balaga Tongo lost their second match 2-1 and now sit at the foot of the league table... A much more gutsy and professional performance was put in by the Balaga team and they were unlucky not to come away with at least a point... Here are some video highlights taken by a supporter... UNfortunately he was able to get a clip of FTC's goal from yards away which shows terrible tongo defending, although he did get a hazy shot of Blake shines 2nd goal of the season.






After the game (and the ensuing team gathering at alan and blake gaff)... Long drunken discussions were held between tactic boffins Kevin, Juggs and Tom... Joining the chase for coach Jose mourinho was decided against due to wage demands, with Tongos income from shirt sales and advertising currently at 83 cents the club decided to keep its player managers... Broderick suggested a new formation which he had been a part of in a local amateur 7 a side game... with the United game in mind the details of this super all out attack, solid a a rock defence, we are everywhere midfield type formation cannot be revealed and I for one think we should at least try to utilise the tactic in our third match this week.

...Kevin Showing off his flexibility...

A training session was held on Sunday evening where only Kevin Juggs and Tom were in attendance... as Bundy had ogame commitments, blake was drinking in Holland and Webz was no where to be found... Some corner drills were done as well as first touch and long range shooting practice... but mostly we just sweated out the weekends drink... carb and protien loading was done afterwards with a team big mac feast in mahhhhhhhhhhhhon point!



With all first team players fit and raring to go, Balaga must get some points on the board on Wednesday... With the upcoming Oktoberfest trip this weekend and 4 of the 6 players and both reserve players getting pissed in munich there will be little hope for the cucumbers in the game versus balls deep next week... although we all like to think we play better when hungover!!! or in webz's case drunk...

...Paul JUGGS Scott gets aggresive with the paparazzi...

All supporters dont forget to order the new balaga tongo t-shirt... now available to the public...!!!limited edition!!!

Official FC Balaga Tongo Lyrics

The song was originally penned for the World Cup in Germany for publicity purposes, but has made great strides in Ireland, eventually reaching No.1 in the charts. The lyrics themselves were co written by none other than Eurovision idol Johnny Logan and Paul Scott. However, the song was most memorably known for Tom O'Callaghan's impressive rusty vocals.


Balaga, balaga tongo,
we're so good we make ya go, bongo.
Balaga, balaga tongo,
we dont need, rigobert, rigobert songo.
Balaga, balaga tonogo,
we're so shit hot, its oh so wrongo.
oh balagaaaa oh balaga, oh balaga balaga balaga tongooooooo

Chorus
Raaaaaay Houghtooooon, wooooh waaaay ooooooooh x4 times


It has been widely rumoured that after the season is finished the team will go on tour with a string of unreleased material.

2007 SQUAD ANOUNCEMENT...

Kevin Broderick...

A Fierce Defender, his tackling at the back and his communication skills on the pitch are second to none... He also has a wicked strike of the ball and in his early career was compared to Luis Figo... Had a spell as goal tender in Balagas first season when he conceded numerous own goals.









Paul "JUGGS" Scott...

Tireless midfield soldier... With the aggression of a Cork man and the soul of a Mayo man, Juggs brings strength to the midfield pairing... Has been known to take his chance if the ball falls to his feet, although these chances are often not converted.









Tom O Callaghan...

Completing the defence partnership, Lanky O' Callaghan compliments Broderick at the back... Susceptible to lurching forward runs leaving tongo open to counter attack. Playing in his second season here he should know his position better and hopefully high oppositions scores such as 12 wont be seen again this year.








Alan "BUNDY" O' Flynn...

A late signing, Bundy was brought in to add strength to the team, although a bit of an unknown quantity as his career has been in hiatus for a few years Balaga Tongo have fate in the Bundmann... brought in to score goals and to keep clean sheets he could prove to be a big player this season.









Blake "SHIN SHIN" Shine...

The Latino Midfielder come keeper is another new signing for the 07 season... bringing an air of fitness to the midfield and hopefully safe hands if called upon to keep goal, Balaga Tongo has big expectations for Mr shine and he better not let them down.









Eoghan "WEBZ" Kennedy...

This nifty Attacking genius was brought in under the noses of Scunthorpe Utd who were also keen on his signature... replacing Eoin Fogarty aka RED, Webz has the creativity up front to bring trophys to Balaga and hopefully entertain the fans!!! has been known to have an addiction to dutch gold but management are sure this wont affect his game.

Quick History...

"Established in the summer of 2006, this club went on to play in the astro.ie league. After a poor start, middle and end, Balaga Tongo ended up a satisfactory 2nd place..from bottom. Highlights from the season were drawing with the team in 2nd place and the numerous scuffles we had on the pitch.

The 2007 season begins on Sept 12. Management are excited about this season as the summer signings brought in look to eager to win. The club will retain the green colours. A Russian consortium had made it their plan to take over Balaga Tongo also during the summer, and a name change was on the cards. However Balaga Cucumbers did not get 100% commitment and now the clubs nickname is "The Cucumbers" after the eh green jerseys."

quoted from Paul Scott, veteran player and member of management FC balaga tongo.

There is not much to add to Pauls description, but the 2006 squad consisted of...

-Beazer... (did not have the heart to fight for the mighty balaga and moved on in early season)
-Darryl... (joined late in the season)
-Eoin Fogerty... (moved on to a full time position in Clonmel)
-Hoggy... (presently on tour down under)
-Jamie... (solid player, lost contact)
-Paul Scott... (present member)
-Kevin Broderick... (present member)
-Tom O Callaghan... (present member)
-Willie Power... (retired to home town in Waterford)



Philip OD, and Eoghan kennedy also made fleeting appearances to cover injurys.