Friday was a fairly turbulent day off the field with Pizza's statement, and the resultant fall out. Anyone who knows me, or who reads this blog on a regular basis will know that the news comes as no surprise. In fact, the only surprise is that it has taken so long to happen. In my view we have been overspending for several years and the club have managed to keep the show on the road for quite a while.
I don't the energy for a full article(dying with a Carlisle Grounds cold) so my initial thoughts are:
I'm sorta stuck between two stools, as I have volunteered a lot at the club and I've gain at lot from it. I'd like to think I have decent personal relationship with a few of the directors, and I don't want to slate them, but questions have to be asked.
Less than three months ago we were told that it was merely temporary problems. Journal article, 2nd of June
Questions were raised at that meeting as to the financial state of the club, but we were told there was nothing to worry about. Added to this, we are still awaiting the AGM which was promised for early 2009.
After the talk of cutting the wage bill at the end of last season, we signed Scullion, Kearney, O'Brien and McManus. In fact we paid transfer fees for some of them! Add to that the overnight stays and pre match meals which people have been questioning for months. Asking genuine questions on derrycitychat.com just provoked allegations that you were "anti board". Given I'd already had one fairly public spat with a director, I can understand why people thought that.
The start of June saw the revelation that we'd lost the two sponsors and we were running the draw for a new sponsor and selling next year season tickets early. I thought the shirt sponsor draw was a great idea but I told the chairman at the time that I still believed that massive cost cutting was required. The season ticket idea was just robbing Peter to pay Paul.
The talk is always that we are a community club, but are we? The only contact I got from Derry City as a season ticket holder was the letter asking me to buy next year's season ticket early. As someone described it to me, we are a not particularly well run charity. We have(had) a CEO, a Community Promotions Officer and a Commercial Manager and yet we appear to no better run off the pitch.
Derry City has always depended on a hardcore band of volunteers to keep the show on the road. People who consistently have up 15-20 hours a week, who put their hands in their pockets when it was required. These people don't want their name in lights, they do it for the club and that's it. However the worrying thing for me is that it is the same people who have been there from the very start. In every organisation there should be a changing of the guard, where younger people get involved and gradually take more and more responsibility. That isn't happening at Derry City. Worse, younger people are walking away from involvement with frustration.
The support in Bray was symptomatic of the situation at the club, with the demographic heavily sloped towards the over fifties. Where will that leave the club in ten/fifteen years? What is the club doing about it?
Where is the club going? I don't know. I was working on a strategic review/plan for the last week or two. It won't pay any bills or save us but it is clear that we have to go back to basics. Click on the link to have a juke.
Review Idea
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Stephen Kenny's Volunteer Army
That was the chant of the night last night, as City left the Carlisle Grounds with three points for a change. As another Derry fan said, "I'm delighted to leave with three points and frostbite, as normally it is dropped points and frostbite".
I'll be blogging on the financial issues(again) separately, but last night was a good three points. Having hit the bar three times it looked as if we were going to have to settle for a point, but then McGlynn popped up to break Bray hearts.
The goal had shades of Niall Quinn's against Holland in the 1990 World Cup. A long punt from Doherty, a bounce, confusion in the Bray defence. Nash's impact cannot be understated as he got the vital touch to direct the ball into McGlynn and with the winger directed it into an empty net.
We deserved the three points as we had the best chances. The additional of McLean added a real threat from set pieces and a series of five corners in the opening ten minutes provided a number of chances for Derry to break the deadlock.
Derry had very fluid midfield, with McGlynn and McLean both cutting infield and posing Bray problems. Eddie hit the bar with a cracking effort from 30 yards and it bounced down on the line. Some Derry fans claimed it had crossed the line, but McGlynn couldn't direct the header back in. Two minutes later, a twisting turning Farren also hit the bar.
Farren had a great chance at the start of the second half, but his header from McLean's cross was frankly, woeful. Derry had another couple of chances, with McManus blasting over from about 16 yards the pick of them. The game looking to be petering out and the chant from the Derry fans was "Stephen Kenny's Volunteer Army". However the last gasp intervention gave the side all three points.
It made all the train journey back into the city all the sweeter.
I'll be blogging on the financial issues(again) separately, but last night was a good three points. Having hit the bar three times it looked as if we were going to have to settle for a point, but then McGlynn popped up to break Bray hearts.
The goal had shades of Niall Quinn's against Holland in the 1990 World Cup. A long punt from Doherty, a bounce, confusion in the Bray defence. Nash's impact cannot be understated as he got the vital touch to direct the ball into McGlynn and with the winger directed it into an empty net.
We deserved the three points as we had the best chances. The additional of McLean added a real threat from set pieces and a series of five corners in the opening ten minutes provided a number of chances for Derry to break the deadlock.
Derry had very fluid midfield, with McGlynn and McLean both cutting infield and posing Bray problems. Eddie hit the bar with a cracking effort from 30 yards and it bounced down on the line. Some Derry fans claimed it had crossed the line, but McGlynn couldn't direct the header back in. Two minutes later, a twisting turning Farren also hit the bar.
Farren had a great chance at the start of the second half, but his header from McLean's cross was frankly, woeful. Derry had another couple of chances, with McManus blasting over from about 16 yards the pick of them. The game looking to be petering out and the chant from the Derry fans was "Stephen Kenny's Volunteer Army". However the last gasp intervention gave the side all three points.
It made all the train journey back into the city all the sweeter.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Smash and grab
We won. A home victory, the first since before the mid season break. It wasn’t great, in fact it was a dire game but Ciaran Martyn’s rocket finish did the damage. Pats owned the ball for most of the game and with us down to ten men for most of the game it was a great three points.
If, and I am employing the relentless optimism of the football fan here, we win our game in hand then we will only be four points behind Shamrock Rovers, with a decent chunk of the season left. There may not be anything in the cups for us but it is definitely game on in terms of the League placings.
It was a worryingly small crowd at the Brandywell but there was an “old school” atmosphere as the renditions of “Red and White Army” from the New Stand when the goal went in. The poor night and our recent form wouldn’t have encouraged many neutrals along but it is definitely something we need to address for the rest of the season.
Clive Delaney picked up his third red of the season, once again for stupidity. The round of applause he got as he was leaving the pitch was cringeworthy. It seems to be the default reaction now when a player is sent off that the player is clapped off, no matter how guilty. I hope Delaney gets a massive fine for management as he will be banned for ages now anyway.
Gerard Doherty once again has to get praise for keeping us in the game with a couple of smart saves which Farren missed a sitter in the first half. It was a rearguard action when we went down to ten and I thought Eddie and Ger O’Brien were outstanding for Derry.
However you just struggled to see where the goal was coming from but there was a flash of the 2006 Ciaran Martyn as he arrived late and absolutely hammered it home to grab all three points.
As we were leaving the ground we were treated to Jeff Kenna lambasting his side in the dressing room. Ha. Roll on Bray.
If, and I am employing the relentless optimism of the football fan here, we win our game in hand then we will only be four points behind Shamrock Rovers, with a decent chunk of the season left. There may not be anything in the cups for us but it is definitely game on in terms of the League placings.
It was a worryingly small crowd at the Brandywell but there was an “old school” atmosphere as the renditions of “Red and White Army” from the New Stand when the goal went in. The poor night and our recent form wouldn’t have encouraged many neutrals along but it is definitely something we need to address for the rest of the season.
Clive Delaney picked up his third red of the season, once again for stupidity. The round of applause he got as he was leaving the pitch was cringeworthy. It seems to be the default reaction now when a player is sent off that the player is clapped off, no matter how guilty. I hope Delaney gets a massive fine for management as he will be banned for ages now anyway.
Gerard Doherty once again has to get praise for keeping us in the game with a couple of smart saves which Farren missed a sitter in the first half. It was a rearguard action when we went down to ten and I thought Eddie and Ger O’Brien were outstanding for Derry.
However you just struggled to see where the goal was coming from but there was a flash of the 2006 Ciaran Martyn as he arrived late and absolutely hammered it home to grab all three points.
As we were leaving the ground we were treated to Jeff Kenna lambasting his side in the dressing room. Ha. Roll on Bray.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Trappatoni puts the journos in their place
Classic stuff from el vecchio Trap midweek. The journalists were asking about Chris McCann and Fahey getting a place in the squad.
"Did they not have a case for inclusion? “You knows these players?” he asked his questioner.
“Yes.”
“Chris McCann? Which position would you play him in?”
“Centre midfield or on the left.”
“How many games have you seen these players? McCann, against Manchester United, he touched the ball four times in 90 minutes. Did you see the game?”
“Yes.”
“I saw the game two times. Maybe we look at it together? I am not focusing on him in particular, but this player, for example, does not have the same qualities or characteristics as, say, (Glenn) Whelan, (Keith) Andrews, Gibson, Reid or Miller"
Aye, and how many titles have the assembled press corps won. Zero. Trap has us in the shake down for a place at the WC, with a completely average squad. Let him get on with it.
"Did they not have a case for inclusion? “You knows these players?” he asked his questioner.
“Yes.”
“Chris McCann? Which position would you play him in?”
“Centre midfield or on the left.”
“How many games have you seen these players? McCann, against Manchester United, he touched the ball four times in 90 minutes. Did you see the game?”
“Yes.”
“I saw the game two times. Maybe we look at it together? I am not focusing on him in particular, but this player, for example, does not have the same qualities or characteristics as, say, (Glenn) Whelan, (Keith) Andrews, Gibson, Reid or Miller"
Aye, and how many titles have the assembled press corps won. Zero. Trap has us in the shake down for a place at the WC, with a completely average squad. Let him get on with it.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Selling the family silver for a song
Derry are auctioning off the match worn kits from the recent Europa League games. Great idea. However we have managed to minimise the chances of maximising profits from this, in a way that DCFC specialise in.
1. We have listed it on derrycitychat.com, not Ebay
2. It ends this weekend, less than five days after it started.
3. I sent out a text to publicise it, but it hasn't been in any of the other local media
I stuck five old shirts on Ebay a few weeks ago and we made a couple of hundred quid from it. Next week, the club were selling last season's shirts in the shop for £20. The mind boggles.
Seriously, it would make you tear your fecking hair out.
1. We have listed it on derrycitychat.com, not Ebay
2. It ends this weekend, less than five days after it started.
3. I sent out a text to publicise it, but it hasn't been in any of the other local media
I stuck five old shirts on Ebay a few weeks ago and we made a couple of hundred quid from it. Next week, the club were selling last season's shirts in the shop for £20. The mind boggles.
Seriously, it would make you tear your fecking hair out.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Twas the night before Christmas and nothing was stirred...
It is actually the night before the CSKA game
Nietzsche wrote “Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torments of Man”. It sorta sums up how I feel at the minute. Do I dare to hope about tomorrow night, or should I resign myself to the fact that the every statistic says that we are probably heading out? Derry people don't do accepting the way the things are very well. We tend to go “Batter On” and do what suits us, not what people tell us to do.
I know there will be be few raised eyebrows but we have to look at the other side of the house to take our inspiration for what we need to do tonight. This weekend the Apprentice Boys will march around the walls of the City to celebrate the fact that the walls of the City were not breached in over hundred days. It wasn't easy, there was a lot of hardship but those involved held firm when everyone else thought all was lost. We'll have to draw on that spirit tomorrow night. Tear up the formbook, throw out the history books, crumble up the oods from the bookies. If we don't believe we can win this game then we have lost the battle before we even take the pitch.
Is it going to be easy? No. In fact it will probably be the most difficult game for some of their players in their careers to date. However do you think that Tommy Stewart wants to be back playing the likes of Dungannon or Institute instead of tomorrow night's opposition? No. You want to test yourself against the biggest and the best. Tomorrow night is a chance to do that. They mightn't have the names round Derry that the likes of PSG but that doesn't make them any easier to beat. They are a very good team and we will need a brilliant performance and a large slice of luck to even give us a chance tomorrow night. I love good performances but I would trade the moral victory for a horrible game and a famous result.
Tomorrow night isn't about League points, or a title challenge. It isn't about a derby, a relegation battle or a visit from a Dublin club. It isn't about the Bohs, Shels, Harps or Rovers. There will be no Ian Stokes, no Richie Winter, no Terence Moyne. There will be no Pat Fenlon, no David Jeffrey, no Paul Doolin. It doesn't matter how far behind we are after tonight, or how many times we have each team home or away. Tomorrow night is European football.
We dream about nights like these ones. As a location we are nothing more than a limpet on the arse of Europe, holding on to the very corner of the continent. No one knows us, no one rates us. However we have another chance to make Europe sit up and take notice of this little Candystriped limpet. We have a chance, and that all we can ask for. No one hands us anything here, no one makes it easy for us but we're still hear. The Irish League sides have bowed out with a record of P8 W0 D1 L7 F4 A32. Half of the League of Ireland representatives are already out. Ourselves and Pats are left flying the flag and let's hope that both will advance to the draw tomorrow.
So starting from now, let's get the build up start. Send that text to everyone badgering them to come to the game. Have a juke on YouTube at the old favourites. Stick that DCFC playlist on your iPod on. Tomorrow. The day. You wake up with that feeling in your stomach. No one else will understand it, people will make some crap joke about you having swine flu. Don't worry, we'll all have the same feeling. It might be August, bring your scarf and your gear to work. Radio on in work? Fry their heads texting in requests for any Derry City related songs. Steal all the work papers, read all the previews. Check and recheck the message board. People might ask you for inconveniences such as work to be finished before you head off for the match. Do these people not know what is happening tomorrow?
This is no paparazzi driven, media hyped pre-season friendly tournament. This is no Audi Cup, no Community Shield or no Beijing Memorial Tournament. Others will be getting worked up by who they can get in their Fantasy Football side for their last 9 million. Tomorrow night isn't fantasy, tomorrow night is reach out and touch it stuff instead. We'd like a bit of fantasy football right enough but tomorrow is about making it happen. We don't care about Alonso to Madrid or Van Der Sar's finger, leave that to people who believe Andy Gray is a modern day prophet.
You might see a few other heads in work who are heading to the game. You might be wandering round the town over your lunch and you'll see the faces. You might nod, nothing will be said, but you will both know. You might work with a few fellow City heads and you might have a chat about it at half time. You'll worry, you'll be nervous, you'll be agitated. People around you who support a team by watching a 2D image beamed from miles away won't get it. Sack them, these feelings would be wasted on them.
Wherever you are heading to the game from be it London, Dublin, Belfast or the top of the folly, the buzz will be there when you are ready to go. I'm already working out just how early I can manage to extricate myself out of work in Dublin tomorrow to maximise my time in Derry before the game. We spare a thought for the exiles. I know how grim it is to be trapped, away from home on nights like this. Whatever about being in Derry, people elsewhere definitely don't understand. We'll do our best to convey the atmosphere to you via iCandy.
Work done, you're on your way. Be it to Waterloo Street, the Oak or straight to the game. Get the colours on, get the music blaring. If you in Waterloo Street, get the chants ringing out. This is our City, this is our team, this is our night. Moreso, we could convince a few floating fans or tourists to come along to the game. Whatever about the result, if this game doesn't sell out there should be serious questions asked. Those will be other questions for another day.
Get there early. We need a big one. No, we need a massive one tomorrow night. We need to make the sound of 2,000 to sound like 20,000. At this point I think it is apt to reiterate some of the points made pre Riga.
“We are Derry City. Everything else in your life may change but you'll always be a City fan. You may waver at times, you may wonder you do it at times, but you're always a City fan. You might be driving back from Cork/Waterford/Dublin after a defeat and moaning, but you're always City. You always look at the fixtures to see how you can fit it round holidays. You'll text home or seek an internet cafe for the results. People ask you who you support, you say Derry. You don't have to think about it, there is only one answer. People ask you who you really support and you think “What does this clown mean” and just go, Derry. Tomorrow night is a chance to enjoy yourself, throw off the shackles of the rest of your problems and just go mad. Let the Premiershite brigade wet themselves over another weekend of televised bollix. Brandywell, 7pm, that's what it is all about.”
Sing until you are dizzy, clap your hands until they are raw. It is up to the manager to decide what way we play it, how much we push it or how much patience we exert. There will be times you won't want to sing. There will be times you will think you can't sing any more. Your head should be aching, and you should be incapable of any speech. Just sing. That's it.
It is all about the pride and the passion, the ninety minutes. 11 heroes from the edge of Europe against a side that could buy and sell us with loose change. None of that matters when the players take the pitch tomorrow night, it is just 22 players and 90 minutes. Names, reputations and the like mean nothing tomorrow night. We need a win and we need a clean sheet. The opposition is frankly irrelevant, that's what need. Yeah, it would be easier if we were playing Finn Harps but we aren't. Suck it and breathe it in. This is what it is all about.
Players and supporters: don't leave anything behind. No regrets. Tomorrow morning, next week, next month; don't find yourself stopping and thinking “I could have given something more”. Leave here tonight knowing there was nothing more you could have done for the team. So no-one else gets it. No one else gets why you bust you balls and your wallets to follow a team all over the country in a League that no-one cares about. Well tomorrow night you will be with 2,500 others who understand. We all do the same. It matters.
There will be a winner and there will be a loser tomorrow night. CSKA, the media, the bookies all expect that the CSKA jolly will continue to the next round. Let tomorrow night be the night that bring another big name to their knees in the Brandywell. I mentioned the Apprentice Boys earlier in the piece. Well tiocfaidh ár lá. Let tomorrow be that day.
Choose to forget the Irish League.
Choose rebirth.
Choose 1985.
Choose Declan McDowell.
Choose EMFA in the snow.
Choose Da Gama and Da Silva.
Choose red and white convoys.
Choose tea and soup at half time.
Choose Cork at Flower Lodge.
Choose a mass exodus for a cup final.
Choose Jim McLaughlin.
Choose the Treble in '89.
Choose the Jungle.
Choose Punts and Euros.
Choose Storky scoring against Benfica.
Choose trying to pick Liam Coyle's best goal.
Choose Sunday at the Brandy.
Choose scoring a 100 goals and coming second.
Choose Roy Coyle kicking Turlough O'Connor up the arse.
Choose owning the League Cup.
Choose McNabb and "Miss it" Blisset.
Choose Derry City 3 Celtic 2.
Choose outsinging every team we ever play.
Choose beating Finn Harps.......every time.
Choose winter football.
Choose summer football.
Choose Coyle putting Puyol on his arse.
Choose Cardiff, Lisbon, Arnhem(twice), Sofia, Maribor, Nicosia, Gothenburg, Gretna, Paris, Pyunik, Riga, Sofia.
Choose planes, trains and automobiles to get to the game.
Choose to back Stuarty to score that penalty.
Choose to hate Shane Curran and Tom McNulty.
Choose beating Sligo after going 4-0 down.
Choose being two kicks from two doubles.
Choose the League in '97.
Choose the Dublin mafia.
Choose the Undertones in Squires.
Choose DCFC Online.
Choose Brandywell Pride.
Choose to abandon your barstool.
Choose the League of Ireland.
Choose face paint and tickertape.
Choose City till you die.
Choose sing songs and ding dongs.
Choose to walk a million miles for their goals.
Choose your Teenage Kicks.
Choose Derry 2 Finn Harps 1.
Choose the game to end all games.
Choose God to score.
Choose to think that it's destiny.
Choose red and white.
Choose Candystripes.
Choose Derry City F.C
Hit them Derry!
Nietzsche wrote “Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torments of Man”. It sorta sums up how I feel at the minute. Do I dare to hope about tomorrow night, or should I resign myself to the fact that the every statistic says that we are probably heading out? Derry people don't do accepting the way the things are very well. We tend to go “Batter On” and do what suits us, not what people tell us to do.
I know there will be be few raised eyebrows but we have to look at the other side of the house to take our inspiration for what we need to do tonight. This weekend the Apprentice Boys will march around the walls of the City to celebrate the fact that the walls of the City were not breached in over hundred days. It wasn't easy, there was a lot of hardship but those involved held firm when everyone else thought all was lost. We'll have to draw on that spirit tomorrow night. Tear up the formbook, throw out the history books, crumble up the oods from the bookies. If we don't believe we can win this game then we have lost the battle before we even take the pitch.
Is it going to be easy? No. In fact it will probably be the most difficult game for some of their players in their careers to date. However do you think that Tommy Stewart wants to be back playing the likes of Dungannon or Institute instead of tomorrow night's opposition? No. You want to test yourself against the biggest and the best. Tomorrow night is a chance to do that. They mightn't have the names round Derry that the likes of PSG but that doesn't make them any easier to beat. They are a very good team and we will need a brilliant performance and a large slice of luck to even give us a chance tomorrow night. I love good performances but I would trade the moral victory for a horrible game and a famous result.
Tomorrow night isn't about League points, or a title challenge. It isn't about a derby, a relegation battle or a visit from a Dublin club. It isn't about the Bohs, Shels, Harps or Rovers. There will be no Ian Stokes, no Richie Winter, no Terence Moyne. There will be no Pat Fenlon, no David Jeffrey, no Paul Doolin. It doesn't matter how far behind we are after tonight, or how many times we have each team home or away. Tomorrow night is European football.
We dream about nights like these ones. As a location we are nothing more than a limpet on the arse of Europe, holding on to the very corner of the continent. No one knows us, no one rates us. However we have another chance to make Europe sit up and take notice of this little Candystriped limpet. We have a chance, and that all we can ask for. No one hands us anything here, no one makes it easy for us but we're still hear. The Irish League sides have bowed out with a record of P8 W0 D1 L7 F4 A32. Half of the League of Ireland representatives are already out. Ourselves and Pats are left flying the flag and let's hope that both will advance to the draw tomorrow.
So starting from now, let's get the build up start. Send that text to everyone badgering them to come to the game. Have a juke on YouTube at the old favourites. Stick that DCFC playlist on your iPod on. Tomorrow. The day. You wake up with that feeling in your stomach. No one else will understand it, people will make some crap joke about you having swine flu. Don't worry, we'll all have the same feeling. It might be August, bring your scarf and your gear to work. Radio on in work? Fry their heads texting in requests for any Derry City related songs. Steal all the work papers, read all the previews. Check and recheck the message board. People might ask you for inconveniences such as work to be finished before you head off for the match. Do these people not know what is happening tomorrow?
This is no paparazzi driven, media hyped pre-season friendly tournament. This is no Audi Cup, no Community Shield or no Beijing Memorial Tournament. Others will be getting worked up by who they can get in their Fantasy Football side for their last 9 million. Tomorrow night isn't fantasy, tomorrow night is reach out and touch it stuff instead. We'd like a bit of fantasy football right enough but tomorrow is about making it happen. We don't care about Alonso to Madrid or Van Der Sar's finger, leave that to people who believe Andy Gray is a modern day prophet.
You might see a few other heads in work who are heading to the game. You might be wandering round the town over your lunch and you'll see the faces. You might nod, nothing will be said, but you will both know. You might work with a few fellow City heads and you might have a chat about it at half time. You'll worry, you'll be nervous, you'll be agitated. People around you who support a team by watching a 2D image beamed from miles away won't get it. Sack them, these feelings would be wasted on them.
Wherever you are heading to the game from be it London, Dublin, Belfast or the top of the folly, the buzz will be there when you are ready to go. I'm already working out just how early I can manage to extricate myself out of work in Dublin tomorrow to maximise my time in Derry before the game. We spare a thought for the exiles. I know how grim it is to be trapped, away from home on nights like this. Whatever about being in Derry, people elsewhere definitely don't understand. We'll do our best to convey the atmosphere to you via iCandy.
Work done, you're on your way. Be it to Waterloo Street, the Oak or straight to the game. Get the colours on, get the music blaring. If you in Waterloo Street, get the chants ringing out. This is our City, this is our team, this is our night. Moreso, we could convince a few floating fans or tourists to come along to the game. Whatever about the result, if this game doesn't sell out there should be serious questions asked. Those will be other questions for another day.
Get there early. We need a big one. No, we need a massive one tomorrow night. We need to make the sound of 2,000 to sound like 20,000. At this point I think it is apt to reiterate some of the points made pre Riga.
“We are Derry City. Everything else in your life may change but you'll always be a City fan. You may waver at times, you may wonder you do it at times, but you're always a City fan. You might be driving back from Cork/Waterford/Dublin after a defeat and moaning, but you're always City. You always look at the fixtures to see how you can fit it round holidays. You'll text home or seek an internet cafe for the results. People ask you who you support, you say Derry. You don't have to think about it, there is only one answer. People ask you who you really support and you think “What does this clown mean” and just go, Derry. Tomorrow night is a chance to enjoy yourself, throw off the shackles of the rest of your problems and just go mad. Let the Premiershite brigade wet themselves over another weekend of televised bollix. Brandywell, 7pm, that's what it is all about.”
Sing until you are dizzy, clap your hands until they are raw. It is up to the manager to decide what way we play it, how much we push it or how much patience we exert. There will be times you won't want to sing. There will be times you will think you can't sing any more. Your head should be aching, and you should be incapable of any speech. Just sing. That's it.
It is all about the pride and the passion, the ninety minutes. 11 heroes from the edge of Europe against a side that could buy and sell us with loose change. None of that matters when the players take the pitch tomorrow night, it is just 22 players and 90 minutes. Names, reputations and the like mean nothing tomorrow night. We need a win and we need a clean sheet. The opposition is frankly irrelevant, that's what need. Yeah, it would be easier if we were playing Finn Harps but we aren't. Suck it and breathe it in. This is what it is all about.
Players and supporters: don't leave anything behind. No regrets. Tomorrow morning, next week, next month; don't find yourself stopping and thinking “I could have given something more”. Leave here tonight knowing there was nothing more you could have done for the team. So no-one else gets it. No one else gets why you bust you balls and your wallets to follow a team all over the country in a League that no-one cares about. Well tomorrow night you will be with 2,500 others who understand. We all do the same. It matters.
There will be a winner and there will be a loser tomorrow night. CSKA, the media, the bookies all expect that the CSKA jolly will continue to the next round. Let tomorrow night be the night that bring another big name to their knees in the Brandywell. I mentioned the Apprentice Boys earlier in the piece. Well tiocfaidh ár lá. Let tomorrow be that day.
Choose to forget the Irish League.
Choose rebirth.
Choose 1985.
Choose Declan McDowell.
Choose EMFA in the snow.
Choose Da Gama and Da Silva.
Choose red and white convoys.
Choose tea and soup at half time.
Choose Cork at Flower Lodge.
Choose a mass exodus for a cup final.
Choose Jim McLaughlin.
Choose the Treble in '89.
Choose the Jungle.
Choose Punts and Euros.
Choose Storky scoring against Benfica.
Choose trying to pick Liam Coyle's best goal.
Choose Sunday at the Brandy.
Choose scoring a 100 goals and coming second.
Choose Roy Coyle kicking Turlough O'Connor up the arse.
Choose owning the League Cup.
Choose McNabb and "Miss it" Blisset.
Choose Derry City 3 Celtic 2.
Choose outsinging every team we ever play.
Choose beating Finn Harps.......every time.
Choose winter football.
Choose summer football.
Choose Coyle putting Puyol on his arse.
Choose Cardiff, Lisbon, Arnhem(twice), Sofia, Maribor, Nicosia, Gothenburg, Gretna, Paris, Pyunik, Riga, Sofia.
Choose planes, trains and automobiles to get to the game.
Choose to back Stuarty to score that penalty.
Choose to hate Shane Curran and Tom McNulty.
Choose beating Sligo after going 4-0 down.
Choose being two kicks from two doubles.
Choose the League in '97.
Choose the Dublin mafia.
Choose the Undertones in Squires.
Choose DCFC Online.
Choose Brandywell Pride.
Choose to abandon your barstool.
Choose the League of Ireland.
Choose face paint and tickertape.
Choose City till you die.
Choose sing songs and ding dongs.
Choose to walk a million miles for their goals.
Choose your Teenage Kicks.
Choose Derry 2 Finn Harps 1.
Choose the game to end all games.
Choose God to score.
Choose to think that it's destiny.
Choose red and white.
Choose Candystripes.
Choose Derry City F.C
Hit them Derry!
Monday, August 3, 2009
So that didn't work.....
So the preview didn't work
We went two down and then battered them for the rest of the game. Haven't won a game since the break........
RTE Report
Irish Independent
Irish Times
Sack it, roll on Thursday.
We went two down and then battered them for the rest of the game. Haven't won a game since the break........
RTE Report
Irish Independent
Irish Times
Sack it, roll on Thursday.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Rovers: Match Preview
Given the bad luck that my post match comments seem to bring, we'll try a pre match one this time.
WE'll be iCandying it from the ground tomorrow, though with the Setanta broadcast I expect the numbers will be down.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/icandy-live
Massive week for us. Need a win tomorrow and a win on Thursday. If there every was one where we have to pull it out of the bag, this is it.
WE'll be iCandying it from the ground tomorrow, though with the Setanta broadcast I expect the numbers will be down.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/icandy-live
Massive week for us. Need a win tomorrow and a win on Thursday. If there every was one where we have to pull it out of the bag, this is it.
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