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This is very much a tongue-in-cheek look at some of the things we can do to help each other produce the best possible results service, for the benefit of everybody, on @GirlsResults.
Stuck in the Middle With You
We all make mistakes, especially me and my big sausage fingers typing away like a whirling dervish every weekend as results fly in from here, there and everywhere. But one of the major issues last season was the number of games where the two teams just couldn’t agree on the score. It got to the point where it was at least once a week.
This is frustrating for all concerned but especially me as I’m left as piggy in the middle, with my light blue UN helmet on, between two coaches who are adamant they’re right. The knock-on effect of this means that I can’t put up the full results round-up for that league and, in turn, can’t put up the up-to-date table either.
You Know The Score
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At the last count, I was following almost 100 teams on Usqor. A few of those accounts are now dormant but it’s still a lot of teams that actively use the app. Usqor is a great app for providing commentary, or just the goals, to anyone who can’t make a game but still wants to follow the action.
I used to run the app for a few teams and it was a godsend for at least one parent who was able to follow his daughter’s team from his workplace in Azerbaijan.
Teams seem to use the app in different ways, which is entirely up to them, but there are some things that all teams can do to make it easier for themselves and me.
Firstly, start the game on time. That might seem obvious but you amazed at how many times the person running it forgets. Similarly, don’t forget to end the first half, restart the second half and press End Match at the appropriate time. You wouldn’t believe the number of teams who forget to end the games. Hours after the game has finished it’s still showing as being in the fifth minute of injury time! I know some of the time added on in recent TV matches has been extreme but two hours?!
Secondly, if you’re the away team make sure you tick the box that says Away when setting up that game. (See “If You Go Away” below)
For those who don’t know, Usqor is a free app (with adverts, but not once games begin), with an ad-free premium version that allows you to follow as many teams as you want. (Note: I am not on commission, mores the pity!)
Thanks to the decision to split 14s and 16s NAP games over four periods (why?) , it might not be so suitable for NAP teams anymore, unless Usqor can find a way to split games into four periods.
You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
Unlike the multi-staffed governing body, I am a one-man operation. I spend a large part of my week, especially the weekends, preparing fixture lists, checking fixtures, collating results, updating tables in my spreadsheets and a whole lot more besides. And all while trying to watch games too. You might only have to worry about one result; I have to search for results from over 400 teams! So, if you can message me the result as soon as you can that would be much appreciated. The less I have to chase up the better. I do appreciate that some people are driving home or to another game straight after. That’s fair enough. We all have busy lives but I’d rather not still be chasing up results at 9pm on a Saturday night when everyone else is doing the Slosh at the local miners club or watching Match of the Day!
Anyone Can Make a Mistake
Due to the sheer volume of results I have to deal with sometimes there are mistakes. It happens. I’m only human. Always feel free to let me know If I do. Generally, I can amend the error within minutes. I would rather know than not know.
Sometimes I’m at the mercy of the SWF. I’m not privy to information such as when a game has been “awarded”. Sometimes these awarded results are missing from tables I publish but I do catch up with them eventually as I do a weekly audit between what I have and what the SWF has. Occasionally, I get told by a coach or secretary that a match has been “awarded” but I tend not to update my tables until it’s official.
If You Go Away
I understand that teams on their own social media platforms are looking to emphasise their own team and do so by putting their own teams name first. This can be confusing especially if the team were actually playing away from home. If you can put the home team first and the away team second that would be great and saves me asking, “were you home or away?”, which I do frequently. It might seem obvious to you who is home and away but there are quite a few fixtures each season that are reversed for whatever reason.
Give Give Give Me More More More
This list is not exhaustive and I may add things to it as they crop up during the season. Please note that if I bring up a recent issue that may be personal to you I’m not having a go at you, or taking sides and I’ll avoid naming names. I’m just bringing it up in case it affects others.
What (Goal) Difference Does It Make?
At least once a week, I have to remind new followers that you can’t show more than a 9-goal winning winning margin on social media for youth football. (Note: This is different from not showing than 9 goals scored). You can show 9-0, 10-1, 11-2, 12-3 etc, always giving credit to the losing teams for their goals. So 12-2 becomes 11-2, 14-0 becomes 9-0 and 17-1 becomes 10-1 etc. Goal difference isn’t used in youth football. Nobody in their right mind wants to see 23-0 results.
With a Little Help From My Friends
If there are any ideas you might have for improving the page for the benefit of all then don’t hesitate to DM me (assuming Twitter lets me access them) but please be aware there are only so many hours in the day and now and again I need to eat, sleep and talk to my family!
If you like what I do and would like to show your appreciation then feel free to buy me a coffee. But only if you can afford it. I know times are tough.
Best Wishes
Paul
P.S. Most of that was written last week but a few things reared their head yesterday (Saturday 19 August 2023) on the first day of the season for most regional and NAP teams.
The main issue was that unbeknownst to me Twitter has instigated a daily limit on the number of DMs you can send and by mid-afternoon yesterday (Saturday) I had apparently reached mine. I’m not convinced I had sent 500 DMs but there you go. They wanted to know if I would be willing to pay to be verified and therefore alleviate the problem. “Jog on!”, says I. The egg-headed gazillionaire can go and raffle himself. We’ll see if I get to start from zero tomorrow. As a friend kindly pointed out, “it’s because you like a blether” and she’s not wrong. So from now on, unless I have a specific question, I’ll simply click the thumbs up icon, which is still allowed.
The other issue was the sheer volume of games. Hunting down the scores for over 120 games was tough. Another 60 odd today. If you find I haven’t got back to you within a short space of time it’s because I’m taking a wee break to recharge the batteries. My heid was nippin’ around dinner time/tea time (delete as applicable) so I took a break for food and some family time.
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