So, we are almost a month into 2011, and the project is still ticking along.
Most of the new changes have been made to the statistics section, where you can now find a complete list of all Germany’s fixtures since 1908, with more details to come including a spreadsheet with all of the coaches’ records since 1984 and a number of goodies to please stattos everywhere.
One section that has seen a lot of work has been the area covering the matches played between Germany and England; time permitting, I am hoping to have finished all of the match reports by some time in February. One may think that this is an easy job, but writing match reports takes time, more so given that I am writing much of it “as live” rather than referring to previously published sources – though these are helpful for providing background detail.
While it is fun to watch a match, take notes and produce the resulting write-up, doing this on a daily basis really does eat into one’s time and affect one’s home life, particularly if one’s better half has had enough of the monotonous drone of Motty, Barry Davies, and/or massed vuvuzelas. It’s more than just watching ninety minutes of football; to write a single match report properly it can take the best part of an afternoon or evening.
So far I have finished the 1930s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and things are looking pretty good. I am also looking to spice up the articles with something not seen elsewhere – some detail, including scans, of my Germany v England programme collection which stretches back to the friendly at Wembley in 1954.
Then will come the challenge of writing match reports for all of the other World Cup and Euro finals matches. Gulp.
With regard to the Trikots section, I had thought this was complete – but no. As is always the case with projects of this nature, someone always comes along with additional information to make things bigger and better – which has the downside of creating more work. Hehe. Marcin from Poland is a collector of DFB shirts, and has offered a wealth of additional information and photographs; his photos of the extremely rare green “flag” shirt worn at Wembley in 1991 is the first in what will be a number of photograhic additions that will take this section back through the 1980s into the 1970s.
My plan is to get this project locked and ready by the start of next year, with the aim of using the following six months to work towards the publication of what will hopefully be the most comprehensive history of the German football team in the English language. Perhaps it may end up being the most comprehensive history of the German football team in any language. Punkt.
While the main site is increasingly being ramped up, the ongoing content will continue to be cared for. This blog will provide team news, match reports and up to date detail, while I am also planning on introducing a video report feature which will hopefully debut with the match against Italy in Dortmund on February 9th. These videos will be hosted on YouTube, which will be part of a dedicated YouTube channel. Online media is there to be used, after all – and I have to cater for those people who would rather watch and listen than wade through lines of text.
You’ll probably next hear from me before the Italy game when the squad is announced; until then, keep a watch on the content and feel free to comment!