retired_amyslack

It’ll Take A Miracle
The climax of the season saw us travel to Kildare County whilst Sligo Rovers entertained bottom of the table Limerick. At Station Road we trooped into the dressing room at halftime in good spirits having built a 2-0 lead. Our mood was lifted further when a phone call from scout Tony Ward, who was at The Showgrounds, told us that the home side were a goal behind. With ten minutes of normal time remaining we had added two more goals and were home and dry. By that time I had my mobile pinned to my ear as Tony gave me a running commentary of the closing stages of his game. Sligo were still behind and struggling to find a way through a stubborn Limerick defence. There was precious little stoppage time in our game but four minutes had been signalled in Sligo so as our game ended I was still hunched over my phone. After a brief celebration the players gathered round the dugout whilst our loyal travelling support waited to see our reaction. After what seemed like an eternity I heard Tony yelling in my ear “That’s it boss, we’ve done it!”. I hurled my phone in the air and was immediately engulfed by the players as they realised that we had stolen the final promotion place. The supporters immediately joined in the celebrations and when I had disentangled myself I shouted at the lads to go over and acknowledge the fans.

The coach journey back home was lively to say the least. I had not wanted to tempt fate by bringing any booze with us, but a quick stop at the off-licence was enough for Chairman Liam Reidy to supply enough champagne and Guinness to keep us well lubricated for the rest of the trip. Half the town seemed to be waiting for us as we pulled up outside Buckley Park later that night and Mr. Reidy threw open the gates of the ground to allow an impromptu party. And what a party it was – if there’s one thing that the Irish know how to do, it’s how to have a party.

As I surfaced the next afternoon many of the details were lost in an alcoholic haze, but there was no mistaking the mane of red hair that lay over the pillow next to me in my bed. I tiptoed out of the room, trying not to disturb the sleeping Viv and, putting the kettle on I retrieved my Sunday paper from the doormat, turned to the sports pages and looked with pride, and no little surprise, at the First Division table. Our 14-game unbeaten run at the end of the season had proved to be decisive in the end but I still had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Bray Wanderers | 33 | 21 | 8 | 4 | 56 | 20 | +36 | 71 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | P | Finn Harps | 33 | 18 | 6 | 9 | 47 | 35 | +12 | 60 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | P | KILKENNY CITY | 33 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 57 | 31 | +26 | 58 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Sligo Rovers | 33 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 45 | 31 | +14 | 56 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Monaghan Utd | 33 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 44 | 49 | -5 | 45 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Galway Utd | 33 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 34 | 40 | -6 | 45 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | U.C.D. | 33 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 53 | 57 | -4 | 41 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Dundalk | 33 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 42 | 47 | -5 | 41 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Kildare County | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 32 | 49 | -17 | 39 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Athlone Town | 33 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 42 | 57 | -15 | 31 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Limerick | 33 | 5 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 34 | -16 | 28 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Cobh Ramblers | 33 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 43 | 63 | -20 | 26 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
When Viv eventually surfaced and wandered into the sitting room wrapped in my duvet I nervously remarked that this looked like a scene out of a Hollywood movie. Her reply was short and to the point. “Movie my arse, now would you be getting off yer backside and makin’ me a cuppa tea for pity’s sake. My mouth’s like the bottom of a budgie’s cage.”

I did as I was told, returning with a strong cup of brew for both of us. Little was said over the next few minutes, each of us seemingly lost in our own thought. I finally broke the silence. “Helluva party, eh Viv?”

“Aye, it was a good one alright. How’s your head?”

“Been better – and yours?”

“Pounding – got any aspirins?”

“Sure, there’s some in the bathroom cabinet I think.” I went off to the bathroom, pausing to look in the mirror before I opened the cabinet door. I looked none to good to be honest – unshaven, pale and with bloodshot eyes – all the symptoms of too much Guinness followed by too much Jamesons. I returned to the living room and gave Viv a couple of tablets, taking two for myself at the same time.

“So Viv, I’ve still not quite got my head together. What exactly happened last night?”

“How did I end up in your bed Paddy, is that what you mean?” I nodded and then wished I hadn’t as it set off a pneumatic drill at the back of my skull. “Damned if I know, I can’t remember too much myself. But as far as I can see we both kept our pants on as good Catholics should.”

I smiled ruefully, feeling a strange mixture of relief and disappointment. “So what are your plans for the rest of the day?”

“Try to find my clothes, get dressed and go home for a long soak in the bath. I think that you should do the same.”

“Is your bath big enough?” I asked with a grin.

“Not quite what I meant Paddy” she replied, a hint of a smile playing on her face. With that she stood up and made her way back to my bedroom, returning a few minutes later dressed and ready to go. “Thanks for the cuppa. Are any of the lads coming into the stadium for a massage?”

“I doubt it Viv. Anyway, I’m not so sure that you’d be fit for work in any case.”

“No, I suppose not. So I’ll be off then.”

“OK. Now don’t forget we have the awards dinner on Tuesday – you will be there won’t you?”

“Of course I will. See you then Paddy.” And with that she was gone, leaving behind the faint scent of her perfume and the vague memory of the fresh clean smell of her long red hair.

retired_jgirl87

Well done on the promotion first season up. :thup:

No scurrilous comments from me however on the happenings with Viv.

retired_amyslack

An old man can dream Spav

Savour The Moment
Viv was as good as her word, arriving at the stadium to take the coach with the rest of the players and backroom staff as we went off to the annual First Division Awards dinner. As the awards were revealed the mood at the Kilkenny table grew more and more raucous as the booze began to flow again. David O’Neill, Paul Leahy and Pat Scully were all voted into the Team of the Year. Stephen Campbell was named Player of the Year with Alan McNevin runner-up and loan signing Mark McGowan was second in the Young Player of the Year standings. O’Neill received the Goalkeeper of the Year award, McNevin won the Bronze Boot as the division’s top scorer and I finished second in the Manager of the Year standings.

We had clearly possessed the strongest midfield in the division and our defence had been none too shabby either. Our biggest weakness had been up front and that was reflected in the fact that midfielder McNevin had scored as many goals as our two top strikers combined. If we were to have any chance of lasting a season in the top flight then I would have to rectify that failing somehow.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Name | Apps | Gls | Ast | MoM | Pas | Tck | Drb | Sh T | Av Rat| | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Campbell | 25 (1) | 4 | 11 | 8 | 75% | 4.06 | 1.85 | 34% | 8.08 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan McNevin | 33 (3) | 20 | 11 | 9 | 83% | 1.88 | 0.85 | 46% | 7.97 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Mark McGowan | 28 (1) | 5 | 8 | 2 | 75% | 3.04 | 2.63 | 35% | 7.62 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Andrew Cosgrove | 5 | - | - | - | 68% | 4.40 | - | - | 7.60 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Paul Leahy | 32 | - | - | - | 65% | 4.88 | 0.47 | - | 7.59 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | David O'Neill | 27 | - | 1 | 2 | 50% | - | 0.04 | - | 7.52 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pat Scully | 31 | 1 | - | - | 74% | 2.72 | 0.07 | - | 7.45 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Ray Kenny | 22 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 70% | 3.15 | 0.09 | - | 7.41 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brendan Rea | 30 (1) | 1 | 2 | - | 71% | 3.54 | 0.10 | - | 7.35 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Peter Curran | 4 | 1 | - | - | 70% | 3.50 | - | - | 7.25 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Darragh O'Brien | 14 (12) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 75% | 2.00 | 1.74 | 52% | 7.23 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Michael Comerford | 34 (1) | 10 | 10 | - | 83% | 0.45 | 1.38 | 50% | 7.20 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Eric McCormack | 25 | - | - | - | 71% | 2.96 | 0.12 | - | 7.16 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Declan Mahon | 9 (1) | - | - | - | 65% | 2.60 | 0.10 | - | 7.10 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Kevin Hogan | 30 (2) | 10 | 6 | - | 79% | 0.56 | 2.13 | 52% | 7.09 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | John Shanahan | 3 | - | - | - | 84% | 0.78 | 1.16 | - | 7.00 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Mallon | 11 (6) | - | - | - | 76% | 3.48 | 0.32 | - | 7.00 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Keith Maher | 4 (12) | 1 | - | - | 85% | 0.95 | 1.14 | 41% | 6.88 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Ian Earley | 4 (3) | - | 1 | - | 75% | 1.14 | - | - | 6.86 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Ronan Stanley | 12 | - | - | - | 65% | 3.06 | 0.09 | - | 6.83 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Damien Coogan | 3 (2) | - | - | - | 73% | 2.27 | 0.76 | - | 6.80 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Gavin Morris | 10 | - | - | 2 | 55% | - | - | - | 6.50 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Martin McGlue | 1 (8) | - | - | - | 81% | 3.09 | 1.03 | - | 6.44 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | John Hayes | 4 (3) | - | - | - | 70% | 2.31 | 0.29 | - | 6.43 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Damien Raggett | 3 | - | - | - | 88% | 0.41 | 0.41 | - | 6.33 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Lynch | 3 | - | - | - | 78% | 1.29 | 1.72 | - | 6.00 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Aidan O'Sullivan | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pat Trehy | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
With a hatful of awards to celebrate it turned out to be another wild evening that once again ended in a bit of a blur. When I surfaced later the next day I was greeted by a familiar sight – a carpet of curly red hair spread across the pillow next to me. “This is becoming a bit of a habit” I thought to my self as I had a quick peek under the duvet to see if we were both still wearing our pants.

retired_amyslack

Season Two – 2005/2006

Life With The Big Boys
The nice thing about the Irish League operating during the summer months is that we have a good holiday over the winter, allowing everybody to spend Christmas and the New Year with friends and family, before getting back into training ready for the kick-off in March. But as a manager you can’t afford to relax for too long, and before the year was out I had to look at any possible contract renewals, as well as re-visiting my shortlist of potential signings. I knew for sure that we had to up the overall level of the squad, otherwise we would be slaughtered next season in the Premiership. One of my first actions was to allow a number of fringe players to depart at the end of their current contracts. This meant that Pat Trehy, John Shanahan, John Hayes, Keith Maher, Damien Raggett, Aidan O’Sullivan, Damien Coogan, Ian Earley and Ronan Stanley were all released.

I had been very impressed by midfielder Mark McGowan and I decided to try to get DCU to part with him permanently. I was pleasantly surprised when they accepted my offer to take him off their hands for no fee and he agreed a deal as of January 1st. Striker Kevin Hogan had been less impressive but nonetheless I still felt he was worth holding on to, so a similar arrangement was struck with the same club for him. Backup keeper Gavin Morris had spent the last few months mithering about being on the bench and by season’s end was attending training so infrequently that he might just as well not have been at the club. With 12 months still remaining on his contract I was reluctant to pay him off and he refused a mutual termination so I decided to keep him on the books for the time being.

Shorn of the deadwood, the squad was now down to the bare bones and I was anxious to hear what kind of transfer budget Chairman Liam Reidy had in mind for the forthcoming season. We had done reasonably well financially with our average crowd just over 3,000 and we had turned in excess of £150K, a fair amount of money for a club in our position. I knew that Liam was cautious and I had fairly limited expectations but even so I couldn’t help feeling some disappointment when I was given the princely sum of £12,000.

The squad was augmented by the arrival of half a dozen youngsters from our fledgling youth programme, although none of them looked like potential world-beaters to be honest. My search for new players proved to be an uphill struggle with most of my offers either rejected out of hand or floundering on the rock of excessive wage demands. By the end of January I had attracted just two new faces – goalkeeper Declan Weir and midfielder Gavin Whelan, both aged 22. With the arrival of Weir I once again broached the subject of a contract termination with Gavin Morris, this time agreement being reached and he made his leave – good riddance too.

We had one significant change in the backroom staff as my right hand man Brendan Rea decided that at 37 years of age he could not combine both his playing duties and those of Assistant manager. He was desperate to see out his playing career in the top flight and we agreed that he would continue to play a part on the coaching side but that he would step down as my assistant. With fellow veteran Pat Scully, he had been part of a solid central defensive partnership and although I doubted how he would stand up to the rigours of the Premiership I at least owed him the chance. A fellow by the name of Gerry Scully was interviewed on Brendan’s recommendation and quickly installed as our new Assistant Manager. He seemed to settle in quickly and put together a full programme of pre-season warm up matches for us.

Before our warm-ups began I managed to bring in defender Keith Rushe on a free signing from Bray Wanderers, as I really needed some cover on the left side of the defence. The first team squad still looked pretty threadbare and I fancied that one or two of the lads in the Under-18 team could well get a taste of Premiership action before the season was over.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| --------------------------------------------------------------| | Name | Position | Nat | Age | Value | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | David O'Neill | GK | IRL | 35 | £2K | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Declan Weir | GK | IRL | 22 | £0 | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Declan Mahon | SW/D C | IRL | 22 | £0 | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Andrew Cosgrove | D R | IRL | 20 | £0 | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Paul Leahy | D R | IRL | 24 | £3K | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Eric McCormack | D L | IRL | 21 | £0 | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Keith Rushe | D L | IRL | 22 | £0 | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Peter Curran | D C | IRL | 20 | £0 | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Brendan Rea | D C | IRL | 37 | £0 | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Pat Scully | D C | IRL | 35 | £1K | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Ray Kenny | D/M RC | IRL | 32 | £0 | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Mallon | D/M C | IRL | 25 | £1K | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Lynch | M L | IRL | 19 | £3K | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Campbell | AM RLC | IRL | 23 | £8K | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Mark McGowan | AM RC | IRL | 23 | £0 | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Gavin Whelan | AM RC | IRL | 22 | £0 | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan McNevin | AM C | IRL | 26 | £35K | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Darragh O'Brien | AM C | IRL | 17 | £2K | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Martin McGlue | F RLC | IRL | 23 | £0 | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Michael Comerford | F C | IRL | 25 | £2K | | --------------------------------------------------------------| | Kevin Hogan | S C | IRL | 22 | £0 | | --------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_amyslack

Things Are Warming Up
It was mid-February, the 14th to be precise, and we were just starting our pre-season programme when physio Viv Keller stormed into my office. Her eyes were blazing with anger and hurling an envelope onto my desk she exclaimed, “I suppose you think is this funny do you? Your idea of a joke is it?” I said nothing but picked the envelope up and opened it. Inside was a particularly slushy and sentimental Valentine card. I flipped open the card and saw that as well as the usual gushing sentiments of everlasting love, there were a few handwritten lines.

I couldn’t help but grin at the rhyme but that seemed to make her even angrier. “Laugh away Paddy Feeney but you’ll be laughing on the other side of your face when I’m done with you.”

“Now calm down Viv, you’ll do yourself a mischief in a minute. What makes you think I sent you this lovely card now? That’s not even my handwriting.”

“Handwriting be damned, it’s printed in capitals to try to disguise it you eejit, so I don’t recognise the writing. It’s obvious why I think you sent it.”

“The thing with the pants you mean?”

She blushed slightly and replied, “Yes, the thing with the pants as you so delicately put it.”

“Viv, let me ask you, was this the only card that you received today?”

“No, I must have had a dozen or so.”

“And how many young lads are there in the first team? Young lads that you have been working with for a year or two? Young lads that tease you all the time about your beautiful red hair”

She hesitated, her cheeks reddening slightly more – “Hmm, a dozen or so I suppose.”

“So, do you not think that it might be one of those cheeky young sods?”

“To be honest I read the poem and..”

“And jumped to conclusions. But think about it a little and you’ll realise that one of the young scamps is having a laugh with you. I’ll bet that one or two of the other cards you got were even more saucy than this one.”

“One or two I suppose. I’m sorry Paddy, it’s just that when I read those words..”

“No need to apologise Viv, I understand. So let’s say no more about it and you go off and get the lads well stretched and warmed-up”

Saying no more, she gave a quick nod of her head and turned to leave. “Viv” I called out. She turned in the doorway. “Don’t forget your nice card now” I said, with a big grin on my face. She was also smiling when she came back to my desk to retrieve the envelope. “Not a word now” she said quietly and I made a zipping motion across my lips to show that nothing more would be said.

After she had left the office I sat in quiet contemplation for a moment or two. “Paddy Feeney” I thought to myself, “I told you that card would be a big mistake, see if I didn’t”.

retired_amyslack

The Battle Begins
With our six-match warm-up programme completed with just a single defeat I was happy that the players had gained a good level of match fitness. The bookmakers had us a relegation favourites, and I can’t say that I blamed them, although I had a feeling that we might just surprise a few people. Our survival campaign began in mid-March with a Friday evening trip to Drogheda United, one of several teams expected to be making a challenge for the title. A whirlwind start saw three goals being scored in the opening seven minutes, luckily two of them going to us. We held our lead until half time and then extended it within five minutes of the restart to give me hopes of a winning start. Sadly we conceded twice in a minute just after the hour mark and then allowed a 4th in stoppage time to suffer a heart-rending 4-3 defeat.

Our first home game of the season came in the middle of the next week and a healthy crowd of over 4,000 turned up on the Wednesday evening to early leaders Cork City. We went ahead through an early penalty calmly converted by player/coach Brendan Rea but midway through the half he went from hero to villain when he inexplicably kicked out at an opponent and was sent off. I took off striker Kevin Hogan and put on Peter Curran in the centre of defence, hoping to hold on to what we had. But the expected onslaught from our opponents never materialised and we scored a second goal before half time to gain a surprisingly comfortable 2-0 win.

Next up was a trip to title favourites Bohemians on the Saturday. Outclassed and outplayed we still put up some stubborn resistance, holding out until 20 minutes from time before we conceded the opening goal. Another soon followed though and the 2-0 win was a fair reflection on the balance of the game. Nonetheless I was pleased that we had managed one win in a demanding opening month and if we could end the season in our current 9th place then that would be counted as success.

April started brightly and three wins and a draw from our first four games took us briefly to the top of the table. But then three defeats on the spin saw us end the month in 7th place in what was a very competitive division. Lat April and early May saw us involved in a lot of Cup games and I took the opportunity to field many of my fringe players both to give them some playing time and also to see if any of them were capable of challenging for a place in the first eleven. We came close to qualifying in our League Cup group finishing tied with Galway United but losing the playoff between the two teams. We also got to the second round of the Leinster Cup before losing a compelling game at Bohemians 3-2. Young centre back Declan O’Leary impressed enough to be considered a regular starter in defence. But it wasn’t all cup action and we were unfortunate to only win one of the three league games that we played that month. A last-minute penalty denied us a win at home to Drogheda United and our lack of a cutting edge in front of goal cost us dear at home to Bohemians as we lost 1-0 in a game that we should have won comfortably. And in our final game of a packed month ill-discipline and harsh refereeing saw us relinquish a two-goal lead at bottom club Dublin City, have two men sent off and come home with a 2-2 draw.

We entered June holding 5th place with Shelbourne, Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers all scrapping for the title. We played just twice that month although strangely our games were scheduled just three days apart, and a defeat and a draw left us solidly in mid table.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | Shelbourne | 17 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 33 | 13 | +20 | 37 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | Shamrock Rovers | 17 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 29 | 16 | +13 | 33 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | Bohemians | 17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 30 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | Cork City | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 26 | 25 | +1 | 25 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | Drogheda Utd | 17 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 26 | 22 | +4 | 24 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | KILKENNY CITY | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 23 | 24 | -1 | 22 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | St. Pat's Athletic | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 25 | 30 | -5 | 20 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | Longford | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 30 | -6 | 19 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | Bray Wanderers | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 23 | -4 | 18 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | Finn Harps | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 24 | 29 | -5 | 18 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | Derry City | 17 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 19 | 28 | -9 | 16 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | Dublin City | 17 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 31 | -12 | 15 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_amyslack

World Cup Dreams
All the signs were that we would stay around that position for the remainder of the season but I was convinced that if we had a quality goalscorer then with the sheer number of chances that we were creating we could do a lot better. As the World Cup in Germany was played to a conclusion and the whole country watched enthralled as Ireland finished top of their qualifying group. A draw with Argentina, who were surprisingly eliminated, and wins over Japan and Australia, sent the team into the last 16.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | Q | IRELAND | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 7 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | Q | Australia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Argentina | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 2 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Japan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 1 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
A 2-0 win over Senegal sent the lads into the Quarter Finals and the dream continued with a stunning 2-1 defeat of Holland. The marvellous run was finally ended in a 1-0 defeat against Nigeria who became the first African nation ever to compete in a World Cup Final. Ireland then contested the 3rd place playoff with host country Germany and a tight contest went the way of the hosts after extra time. In the final Spain finally shed their tag as perennial under-achievers with a narrow 1-0 win.

During that time we were able to sign experienced striker Neale Fenn from Cork City for a nominal fee and I hoped that he might just give us a few goals in the second half of the season. July was another quiet month with just two games played and sadly we lost them both. We also lost key midfielder Mark McGowan for a month with a groin strain and as we entered August morale was low as we were dragged ever closer to the relegation dogfight. Our first win in 8 games came in the 2nd Round of the Senior Challenge Cup with a 2-0 defeat of Dundalk

retired_jgirl87

Liking this very much, Bob (you lovestruck fool). :thup:

retired_amyslack

Cheers Spav - not sure if it is love or lust at the moment!

Starting To Struggle
We started August with a dire 3-0 defeat at champions elect Shelbourne and with morale reaching rock bottom I decided on drastic action for our next match, sending out a totally revamped starting eleven for the visit of second place Shamrock Rovers. To my delight we ran out 3-0 winners but two days later it was back to square one with a 2-1 defeat at Bray Wanderers. We went out of the Senior Challenge Cup after a 2-1 defeat at home to Bohemians and at the end of the month a 3-1 defeat at Drogheda United left us down in 9th place.

Things started to improve in September as Fenn finally found his scoring touch, finding the net five times as we had an unbeaten month, three wins and a draw enough to land me my first Premiership managerial award with midfielder Stephen Campbell taking the playing award. October on the other hand was a complete contrast as we played three teams below us in the table and lost each game. Although still sitting in 8th place we were now just a point away from the 11th place relegation playoff slot.

Our inconsistency was beginning to infuriate me and I knew that if we didn’t pick up a few points from our final three games then we could lose our place in the top flight. I did manage to pick up a couple of free agents during the course of the month – former Leeds youngster Ian Morris and experienced campaigner Kevin Maher. November opened with a visit from newly crowned champions Shelbourne and I was pleased with our battling 1-1 draw. I wasn’t quite so pleased when we failed to hold on to a two-goal lead at 2nd place Shamrock Rovers and came home with a 4-2 defeat. We had to win our final game of the season at home to Bray Wanderers to guarantee our place in the premiership. A nail-biting game finally ended 3-2 in our favour and having allowed the visitors to come back from 2-0 down I was mighty relieved that we scored the crucial 3rd goal.

A 7th place finish was more than enough to keep us in the top flight and despite both the Board and the supporters being delighted that we had survived I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of disappointment as I felt that we were capable of better things.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Shelbourne | 33 | 22 | 6 | 5 | 63 | 25 | +38 | 72 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Shamrock Rovers | 33 | 18 | 9 | 6 | 54 | 31 | +23 | 63 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Drogheda Utd | 33 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 51 | 32 | +19 | 59 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Cork City | 33 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 49 | 38 | +11 | 52 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | St. Pat's Athletic | 33 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 50 | 50 | 0 | 46 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Bohemians | 33 | 12 | 6 | 15 | 40 | 49 | -9 | 42 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | KILKENNY CITY | 33 | 11 | 6 | 16 | 49 | 56 | -7 | 39 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Derry City | 33 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 36 | 47 | -11 | 37 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Finn Harps | 33 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 38 | 51 | -13 | 37 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Bray Wanderers | 33 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 38 | 47 | -9 | 36 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | R | Longford | 33 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 43 | 57 | -14 | 35 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | R | Dublin City | 33 | 7 | 7 | 19 | 36 | 64 | -28 | 28 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
Events on the pitch were not the only thing that were on my mind as my relationship, or to be more accurate my lack of a relationship, with Viv also occupied a lot of my thinking time. Ever since our little misunderstanding back in February she had been very careful to keep me at arm’s length and despite my best efforts to thaw the icy atmosphere between us she had remained polite but distant. I wasn’t entirely sure why this bothered me so much but for some reason it was really starting to get to me.

But making a conscious effort to get my mind back on to the job in hand I took a look at how the squad had performed. Clearly we had not done as well as last season but then we had to bear in mind that we had moved up a division.


<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Name | Apps | Gls | Ast | MoM | Pas | Tck | Drb | Sh T | Av Rat| | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan McNevin | 30 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 80% | 1.26 | 1.29 | 42% | 7.57 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Declan Weir | 7 (2) | - | - | 1 | 59% | - | 0.24 | - | 7.56 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Neale Fenn | 15 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 79% | 0.72 | 1.29 | 75% | 7.53 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Mark McGowan | 25 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 76% | 2.35 | 1.15 | 41% | 7.52 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan O'Connor | 5 (2) | - | 2 | 1 | 70% | 2.87 | 1.53 | - | 7.43 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Campbell | 30 (6) | 4 | 11 | 1 | 71% | 2.41 | 1.73 | 35% | 7.39 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Kevin Hogan | 31 (2) | 13 | 8 | 3 | 81% | 0.78 | 2.22 | 51% | 7.36 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Andrew Cosgrove | 26 | - | - | - | 66% | 4.23 | 0.12 | - | 7.35 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Kevin Maher | 3 | - | - | - | 78% | 2.00 | 0.67 | - | 7.33 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pat Scully | 32 (1) | - | - | - | 72% | 2.96 | 0.06 | - | 7.24 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Ray Kenny | 27 (3) | 1 | 3 | - | 74% | 2.85 | 0.19 | - | 7.20 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pat Malone | 12 | 1 | - | - | 77% | 2.27 | 2.08 | - | 7.17 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Declan O'Leary | 27 | 1 | - | 2 | 68% | 4.20 | 0.04 | - | 7.15 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Gavin Whelan | 15 (7) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 78% | 1.39 | 1.72 | 51% | 7.14 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | John Baker | 40 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.08 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Paul Leahy | 14 | - | - | - | 72% | 4.42 | 0.29 | - | 7.07 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Martin McGlue | 8 (15) | 4 | 5 | 1 | 81% | 0.68 | 2.99 | 66% | 7.04 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Eric McCormack | 28 | - | 1 | - | 67% | 3.16 | 0.15 | - | 7.04 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Keith Rushe | 12 | - | - | - | 60% | 3.33 | 0.17 | - | 7.00 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brendan Rea | 9 | 3 | - | - | 79% | 3.40 | 0.13 | - | 7.00 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | David O'Neill | 33 | - | 1 | - | 53% | - | - | - | 7.00 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | David McCaul | 1 (2) | - | 2 | - | 84% | 0.93 | 0.46 | 45% | 7.00 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Mallon | 12 (7) | - | 2 | 1 | 74% | 3.37 | 0.24 | - | 7.00 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Rob Campbell | 32 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.97 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Michael Comerford | 19 | 3 | 1 | - | 80% | 0.55 | 1.33 | 46% | 6.95 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Kavanagh | 24 (13) | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.92 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Darragh O'Brien | 5 (12) | - | 1 | - | 74% | 1.89 | 1.51 | - | 6.88 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Declan Mahon | 7 (1) | - | - | - | 68% | 2.55 | 0.64 | - | 6.88 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Peter Curran | 3 (3) | - | - | - | 69% | 3.47 | - | - | 6.83 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | John Walsh | 0 (38) | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.47 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Lynch | 1 (2) | - | 1 | - | 72% | 2.03 | 1.16 | - | 6.33 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Ian Morris | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
Once again the midfield had been our strongest area and Alan McNevin and Mark McGowan were selected for the Premiership Team of the Year together with striker and top scorer Kevin Hogan. We had enjoyed some healthy crowds and our average attendance topped the 4,000 mark so financially we were in good shape with a bank balance in excess of £450K.

retired_amyslack

Season Three – 2006/2007

Give The Kids A Chance
With the club having a very healthy bank balance the Chairman gave me a transfer budget in the region of £70K but to be frank it might as well have been 70p for all the good it did me. Through our scouting network I had built up a decent list of prospects but without exception every approach I made was turned down flat by the player in question. Our fledgling youth programme did produce around a dozen graduates though and in addition we also snapped half a dozen more who were unattached and it was beginning to look like the youngsters would be the lifeblood of the club. After consultation with the coaching staff we did let six or so of our current crop go as they had failed to make the grade. In addition senior players David O’Neill, Declan Mahon and Peter Curran were released and Brendan Rea hung up his boots but stayed on as a coach.

Alan McNevin was rewarded for another fine season in midfield by finishing runner-up in the League of Ireland Player of the Year award and being voted the Fans Player of the Year. With little to celebrate except our survival in the top flight Viv and I managed to avoid any drunken indiscretions and I had the distinct feeling that there was a chilling in our relationship and that I was being kept at arms-length.

Half a dozen productive warm-up games saw us remain unbeaten and gave most of the first team squad an element of match fitness. Once again the bookies saw us as being amongst the relegation favourites but I was somewhat more optimistic than them. I was pretty happy that we had a decent set of midfield options and that we could firm up a little defensively but I still felt that our main weakness was a lack of goals.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Name | Position | Nat | Age | Value | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Declan Weir | GK | IRL | 23 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Paul O'Shea | GK | IRL | 17 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan O'Brien | SW/D C | IRL | 17 | £4K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Paul Leahy | D R | IRL | 25 | £3K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Andrew Cosgrove | D R | IRL | 21 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Keith Rushe | D L | IRL | 23 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Eric McCormack | D L | IRL | 22 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pat Scully | D C | IRL | 36 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Declan O'Leary | D C | IRL | 18 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Ray Kenny | D/M RC | IRL | 33 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Mallon | D/M C | IRL | 26 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Kevin Maher | DM C | IRL | 30 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Lynch | M L | IRL | 20 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan O'Connor | M C | IRL | 18 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Campbell | AM RLC | IRL | 24 | £12K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Gavin Whelan | AM RC | IRL | 23 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Mark McGowan | AM RC | IRL | 25 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan McNevin | AM C | IRL | 27 | £35K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Darragh O'Brien | AM C | IRL | 18 | £4K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Ian Morris | AM C | IRL | 20 | £5K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Martin McGlue | F RLC | IRL | 24 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | David McCaul | F LC | IRL | 18 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Michael Comerford | F C | IRL | 26 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Kevin Hogan | S C | IRL | 24 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Neale Fenn | S C | IRL | 30 | £5K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
The veteran Pat Scully remained club captain but would almost certainly be playing his last season on the pitch, combining playing duties with his coaching duties. Teenager Declan O’Leary was now firmly established as his partner in central defence and we had several youngsters pushing for a place in midfield. Declan Weir would be starting as first choice keeper with young Paul O’Shea pushing him hard.

The season kicked off in mid March 2007 and we opened our campaign with a 2-1 win at home to U.C.D. A robust encounter at Shamrock Rovers saw us concede two penalties to lose 3-2 and after a break for Euro2008 qualifiers we then ended the month with a 2-0 win at home to Cork City.

April was a packed month and we started with a narrow 1-0 defeat at Bohemians before getting our first away point of the season courtesy of a stoppage time strike from substitute Martin McGlue that secured a 2-2 draw at Bray Wanderers. We maintained our perfect home record with a 2-1 defeat of Finn Harps and then picked up a useful point in a battling 1-1 draw at title favourites Shelbourne. We had suffered a number of niggling injuries but in the middle of the month we were hit by something more serious when O’Leary suffered a pulled hamstring. Viv recommended that we consult a specialist and his decision was that surgery would be required, ruling the 18-year-old out for several months. I sent out my second string selection in the League Cup and they played well, winning our opening group match at non-league Mayo 4-2. The injuries were mounting as we lost our 100% home record with a 3-2 defeat by St. Pat’s Athletic and with Mark McGowan a casualty in that game we now had five first-team players undergoing intensive treatment. We took our leave of the Leinster Senior Cup at the first hurdle, losing 3-0 at Shelbourne with the second string not performing at all well. In our final game of the month it looked like a brilliant free kick from Stephen Campbell in stoppage time had given us the points at Drogheda United but the home side scored an even later equaliser.

A perfectly symmetrical record of 3 wins, 3 defeats and 3 draws from our first 9 league games left us in 7th place in a predictably competitive division where a mere three points spanned second place to ninth place. At the beginning of May we had a new face in the squad when Steve Feeney (no relation I promise you) joined on a free transfer from Sligo Rovers. Our injuries had left us very short of cover in central defence and the 22-year-old would help to shore us up in that area and he could also play in a defensive midfield role.

A 2-1 win at home to Derry City propelled us several places up the table and the second string saw us through our League Cup group with a 2-1 win at home to Limerick. Back in the league we rode our luck at Galway United to return with a 3-0 win, a late brace from Alan McNevin putting a gloss on the final scoreline. McNevin’s contribution at U.C.D. proved to be crucial when he scored two more goals, his second deep in stoppage time giving us a 3-2 win and we found ourselves one of three teams all on 21 points. Luck wasn’t with us at home to Shamrock Rovers as the visitors came back from a goal down to win 2-1, the winner coming from a deflected shot and striker Neale Fenn suffering a groin strain. At the end of May we sat in 3rd place in a congested table with only two points separating 1st and 7th.

In early June a training injury ruled out key midfielder Alan McNevin for three weeks and I was concerned that his presence would be missed. But it was our defence that let us down in the crucial encounter at home to Bohemians with a nightmare spell that saw three goals conceded in an 8-minute period as we slumped to a disappointing 3-1 defeat. We then lost captain Pat Scully for three weeks with a groin strain before suffering another defeat at Cork City. We suffered another major injury when young centre back Alan O’Brien was ruled out for four months with a serious back injury. It was a patchwork central defence that took to the field at Cork City but after taking the lead early in the match we were just five minutes away from victory before conceding the equaliser. A 2-0 win at home to Bray Wanderers in the League Cup Quarter Final offered some respite but before facing the same team in the league we lost left back Eric McCormack and midfield anchorman Kevin Maher. An outstanding midfield display by Stephen Campbell and some heroic defending by stand in centre back Ray Kenny gave us a narrow 1-0 win.

A disappointing month saw us slip down to 6th position at the mid point of the season and I was keen to see us get back into a winning mentality.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | Bohemians | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 25 | 15 | +10 | 34 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | Shelbourne | 17 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 29 | 19 | +10 | 28 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | Cork City | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 22 | 18 | +4 | 27 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | St. Pat's Athletic | 17 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 21 | 14 | +7 | 25 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | Derry City | 17 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 25 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | KILKENNY CITY | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 25 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | Shamrock Rovers | 17 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 18 | +1 | 24 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | Bray Wanderers | 17 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 22 | 24 | -2 | 23 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | Finn Harps | 17 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 21 | 25 | -4 | 21 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | Drogheda Utd | 16 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 19 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | Galway Utd | 16 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 23 | -15 | 12 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | U.C.D. | 17 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 14 | 32 | -18 | 8 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>