One Of Those...

Attention all haters: this is a football blog! I repeat, THIS IS A FOOTBALL BLOG!!! So there you go. It has been too long, it has to be done, it stops me from getting bogged down in anything too deep and meaningful. Like it, or lump it.

I did, indeed, stay up until nigh on 6am last night to watch Ireland's 3-2 home defeat at the hands of World Cup semi-finalists, Uruguay. It was late, I was wrecked, but it was a cracking match. Come on Trap! That's the way we want to see Ireland play! Ok, we lost and, although we were really nervy against Macedonia, we did at least win that one. I get it. The result is more important than the performance, etc. BUT, like most Ireland fans, I really believe we can play like we did against Uruguay and win, more often than not. Ten of the players who started for the visitors in the World Cup semis were on show last night. In sharp contrast, we had a very experimental line-up in action, including an entirely second-string back five (which showed).

In saying that, there are a lot of things that our veteran Italian maestro does get right, and the media get wrong. Here's just a sample:

1. Not playing Ciaran Clark against Macedonia. Ok, Kilbane is about 90 now and plying his trade in the third-tier of English football with Huddersfield Town. However, Clark was all at sea last night. Kilbane has been there, done that - Clark's time will come, but last weekend was still too soon.

2. Sticking with Shane Long. Long has been a virtual ever-present in Trapattoni's squads, often chosen ahead of more popular alternatives such as Stokes, Walters, or Best, in the past. Now with Keane increasingly unavailable, Long looks a key part of our system, and a threat should either Doyle or our all-time record goal-scorer be unavailable.

3. Favouring Green over Gibson. I might get stick for this, but I think it's time to face facts about Gibson. He clearly has potential. He clearly has more in his locker than Green. He clearly plays at a higher level (even though his first-team chances at Old Trafford are extremely limited). The problem is, that when he plays for Ireland, he gives possession away so cheaply, so often. Green doesn't do very much of anything, which I think is the lesser of two evils.

I guess to sum up, what I'm saying is that, although Trapattoni is often chastised for his selection of the same players, his conservatism, his stubbornness in refusing to do what the majority of Irish fans and media would prefer, he gets it right a fair amount of the time (with hindsight). He sees these guys in action, he has a clear vision of how he wants them to play, and he still manages to surprise us from time to time. The frustrating part is that when we see Ireland playing confident, attacking football, it reminds us that we are capable of it, and makes us wish we could see it more often...

From the Republic of Ireland, to my beloved FC Seoul. On Saturday at 5pm (hopefully with my replacement season ticket in hand), I'll be at Sangam World Cup Stadium for our latest K-League encounter with 2009 league champions, Jeonbuk Motors. Quick recap: 3 leagues games in; one point; one goal (an o.g.); FC Seoul lying 15th in a 16-team division. A friend recently asked me what happened, so here's my diagnosis, my own humble opinion:

1. Hwangbo Kwan. Having romped to the title last season under Nelo Vingada, the club, in it's infinite wisdom, appears to have made a financial decision to bring in an inexperienced former international (he scored a screamer against Spain in 1990, don't you know?), whose only previous managerial experience has been at Japanese J-League Division 2 side, Oita Trinita. Before moving to the K-League champions, he managed them to a 15th place finish - out of 19 teams. They had just been relegated from J1 the season before...

So far at Seoul he has looked indecisive, unsure of his best eleven, has shown faith in some of our more shocking fringe-players, and managed to look utterly ridiculous in his FC Seoul scarf and drooping stance as each match has worn on. Despite the fact that he has some of the league's most talented players at his disposal (Dejan, Adi, Lee Seung Ryeol, etc.), he hasn't shown that he is able to switch things around once it's clear that his ill-considered 'Plan A' is falling to pieces.

Some might point to two good results in the AFC Champion's League, but in the 3-0 home win against Hangzhou Greentown, it looked more a matter of them being rubbish, than us being great. Had they taken a few of their opportunities at 1-0, it could have been a very different story.

2. Missing players. Yes, we have a strong squad in comparison to some of our rivals (with the exception of Suwon who appear to have frightening strength in depth this season), but we are DEFINITELY missing three key players at the moment. Djeparov played our first two K-League matches, but was missing as we were hammered away at Chunnam before the international break. Against Daejeon, he was our one shining light: always looking for the ball; popping up all over the pitch; creative searching balls that some of his team-mates simply don't have the football brain to anticipate; and even getting into goalscoring positions (his finishing not being his strong point, however). Added to that, we are without Choi Tae Wook, who owned the right wing following his signature during last season. His current stand-in, Kim Tae Hwan, has been a disgrace to the shirt in the matches in which I have seen him 'play'. Strong words, I know... Last but not least, there's no Ha Dae Sung, our Paul Scholes-eque terrier in midfield. Choi Hyun Dae has improved from last season in that position, but we need that battling, goalscoring threat back, and soon.

One could also point to the fact that we have lost Choi Hyo Jin (my favourite FC Seoul player last season) and Kim Chi Woo to Sangju Sangmu (for their military service). It's not just the novelty of playing in a new city in front of big crowds that sees them perched at the top of the K-League, although I don't expect it to last.

3. A dispirited and isolated Dejan. There have been rumours that he's not getting on with new signing, Molina, who apparently thinks he's too greedy (which may be partly true). Whether or not that's true, the Montenegran marksman has cut a forlorn figure up front, without the support of a credible attacking partner, and clearly lacking the conviction that had us expecting those 30 yards screamers from him last season. He's a proven goalscorer in the K-League, but his record up until then was a lot less convincing. Let's hope that this is just a blip because, with Molina having failed to settle thus far, it's not clear where else the goals are going to come from.

But you know what? It's not all that bad! We are still the reigning champions. Yes, we lost our opener at home, but that was to Suwon, who look fairly strong this season (but lacking in consistency). And although we have only picked up one point from a possible nine so far, no other team has looked utterly convincing. Sure, Jeonbuk have looked decent. Yes, it is worrying to see Jeju starting so ominously, and quietly, well. Of course, Derek Asamoah adds a whole new dimension to Pohang. I can't argue either, that Suwon have brought in a lot of quality, and were by far the better team against us in our league opener. Still, a win against Jeonbuk on Saturday and a few other results go our way, confidence will be back. Maybe the manager just needs time to settle? Stamp his authority and system on the team? A goal for Dejan and they could start flowing. Molina could show us the form that made him such a feared opponent when he was at Seongnam. We get our injured players back, momentum behind us, all we need is a place in those coveted top six positions.

It hasn't been the greatest of starts, but after what we witnessed from Seoul last season, it certainly isn't time to throw in the towel... not just yet.

OK

Hope you are well as you read this, wherever you are today! Nothing hugely special to say. Some big things have changed but it's too soon to be chatting about it so I'll skirt the issue for now. Keep it general: work, the weekend, the craic, the future.

Work is fine, good even. My classes are going well and my kids' classes produced a hell of a lot of high-quality written work in advance of their parents coming in to watch them on Thursday. I don't mind observations at all anymore. One parent last time around seemed to think it was a chance for him to ask questions about his own English in the middle of his son's class, but I'm sure that was just a one-off...

The weekend was actually pretty good, considering. We had a mammoth rehearsal on Saturday to really tighten the set up and our gig that night was very assured. It wasn't he craziest show ever or anything like that, but it just felt really comfortable and I was probably as happy with it as I have been with any gig for a long time. A few of our really loyal friends (Ian, Jonathan, Byounghi, etc.) came along so it was generally a fun night with good people. I watched the Ireland match with Tom and Gerry (yes, really) and the less said about that frustrating mess of a match, the better.

Stephen and I had a bit of an unplanned day and night on Sunday which threatened to get a bit out of hand but turned out just to be good fun. With a holiday coming up (Singapore and Malaysia April 15th-25th), the move to China (or somewhere) looming, our 'Dead End Friends' days numbered, and a generally brighter disposition, I'm hopeful that just good fun will be on the menu for the foreseeable.

Let's hope it can start off this weekend. FC Seoul have a chance to get things back on track with a home fixture against Jeonbuk on Saturday. Later that night, we'll be headlining at a charity event in Rocky Mountain Tavern, Itaewon. I'm totally distracted by the Ireland V Uruguay friendly so I'll sign off for now, and get back on it later in the week. Uruguay just went one up... Ugly stuff...

Surreality

The old blogging has died down a bit, hasn't it? I would love to say that this is because I have been incredibly productive and busy with other things but - that would be a lie... I haven't really been on it at all recently but I'm definitely not still in the murky depths of a couple of weeks ago. That wasn't fun at all. So to recap on life of late: I did indeed get offered the English job with Dipont Education at Nanjing Foreign Language High School in China. It looks like a really attractive deal, will involve prepping very high level students for A-Levels and SATs with a view to studying abroad; usually in the UK or US (although the UK is looking a lot tougher as a destination for foreign students these days). It's international education, secondary level, a good benefits package, not too far from Korea for visits, and it has opportunities for progression within the company. I need a few crucial questions answered but, at this point in time, it looks a better option than Cairo English School or anything else than has been in the offing. I'm hoping to get it all sorted out soon so that I can focus on my dissertation again, which has taken a back seat in recent weeks. Departure from Korea in August looking very, very likely now.

St. Patrick's Day started off with a very late poker night last Wednesday, Irish trad session with Tommy and a few others at Shamrock n' Roll on Thursday, Friday night gig following on from the fantastic 'Fotla' at Club FF's 'Go Green' party, a brief visit to the Irish festival in Insadong on Saturday before our gig at RMT that night. Around 6-ish I started getting calls and texts going on about something to do with Slash and his band being in Seoul for a gig this weekend and possibly being around RMT that night. I was too tired and busy getting into the spirit of the day to really think about it. As it turned out, his drummer, Brent Fitz, was there when we arrived. The band were introduced to him on our break, and he asked to come up and do a couple of numbers! Having said he could play "anything", there then ensued a pretty funny "not that one" saga before we agreed that we'd call him up for 'Paint It Black'. Jim was incredibly cool about it, because he is a great person, to put it simply.

The gig was scrappy (technical hitches, drunkenness abounded, energy was low) but no-one seemed to mind or notice. The atmosphere was great (we always get a good crowd at RMT, no matter what), and we were enjoying ourselves. A few co-workers were there, which was very nice of them, but made me a bit paranoid. I don't think I'm exactly their favorite co-worker and being on-stage is just asking for judgement and condemnation. Still - something you have to get over if you choose to be in a band! When the time came to call Brent up, I wasn't at all sure what to say. Cheese it up? Play it cool? Make a big deal of it? I probably did some kind of awkward mixture of the three. He was a cool guy and it was very, very hard not to just forget the words and stare at him as he played. It's the first time any of us had played with a professional, touring musician (although all that kinda stuff is old hat to Jimbo). He wound up staying on for 'Otherside' as well and threw a few really nice compliments our way as he went off. Definitely something for the grandkids, even though I think a lot of the crowd barely noticed. It was cool for us though. Very.

He actually got a few of us on the guest-list for the show the next day, but I was absolutely sapped when I woke up on Sunday, so I gave it a miss. Watched Chunnam V FC Seoul on the telly but I'm not going to start on that one right now. Have been playing catch up in a lot of ways this week but really on top of my classes, and feeling as though I'm on the verge of becoming a fully-functional human being again soon! Gig at Woodstock coming up this weekend. Bearing last week in mind, you never know what the night will bring...

Opportunities

Really upbeat today. Did an interview this morning, really just for the sake of it, which turned out really well. It was with Dipont Education for an international school in China, which I had already all but written off in my mind behind the option of going to Cairo (which I have, in theory at least, accepted). As a result, I wasn't at all nervous and was really frank in explaining the incredible irregularity of my qualifications and teaching experience. Teenagers in England > elementary school kids in Korea > adults in Buenos Aires > adults in Korea > Uni students and kids in Korea. It doesn't exactly look as though it has been rationally thought through by someone who has a clear view of the desired trajectory of his career. So I just explained that I felt too young to settle down to a teaching career at 23 and wanted to work in different teaching environments whilst studying towards my MA, which is the truth! That conversation led to me telling her that, eventually, I want to be a Social Studies/History teacher, which in turn led to her lining me up for an A-Level History & ESL position at Nanjing Foreign Language School. It's by no means a done deal (both sides have things to look into) but it looks a great option if it comes through. A path back into the kind of teaching I really want to be doing, a lot earlier than I had anticipated.

So I'm in good form today because my mood is almost 100% influenced by events that happen to me rather than by my own self-control. Blue skies and snow out my window. Lots of work to get through with my students in our last two classes tonight and tomorrow because I was only about 50% all there the first week of the course this time around. Big, big, big celebrations in store for St. Patrick's Day (otherwise known as St. Patrick's Weekend over here). Will dash out of work on Friday to headline the Friday night at FF's 'Go Green' party and, if I pace myself, we'll be hosting the St. Patrick's Day party at Rocky Mountain Tavern on Saturday night. That's a big 'if'...

Events

There's been a lot going on of late in my little life: some of it serious enough; some of it not at all. For tonight, I'm just going to bring you all up to speed on the more trivial elements. I don't want to be getting too heavy on here at 1.25am!

Catherine and I headed down to Daejeon last Saturday for the Daejeon Citizen V FC Seoul match and, later, for a friend's birthday. The weather is really weird in Korea these days. The start of the match was pretty hot, but by 5pm it was shiver-inducing frostiness once again. You just don't know were you stand! I loved the whole experience of visiting another away World Cup Stadium, hanging out with 'Cath', the atmosphere in a bigger-than-expected crowd (they reckon over 30,000 but I'd be pretty skeptical about that), and the beautiful sunny day. The match, or rather, the FC Seoul performance, left a lot to be desired. Wagner put Daejeon ahead on 14 minutes following an unforgivable miscued header in a suicidal position from Lee Gyo Ro - not his only blunder of the match either. We somewhat fortuitously equalised on 37 minutes when a Djeparov free-kick from the right was nodded into his own goal by Hwang Jae Hyun, although Daejeon keeper Choi Eun Seong should probably have done better.

As the temperature plummeted in the second half, Seoul began to carve out a few half chances, without really looking all that threatening. The longer the match wore on, it became fairly obvious that Daejeon were happy enough with a draw, and it was all away pressure without much end product. The hugely ineffective Molina was guilty of a particularly glaring miss, as was Server Djeparov, whom I can pardon a little more easily as he was by some distance our most influential player. Kim Tae Hwan put on the most frustrating of crap, pathetic displays on the right wing. No vision, no idea where to run, no guts, no stomach for a fight, and no respect for his superiors when he inexplicably chastised Djeparov having not read a delightful through-ball from the Uzbek captain. The guy is so far below the required standard, but it looks as though he'll feature under Hwangbo Kwan, who has had a pretty shaky start as manager thus far.

In football, the chance to turn things around with a positive result usually comes around quickly enough. FC Seoul did so earlier tonight with a convincing 3-0 home victory over Hangzhou Greentown of China in the AFC Champion's League. Dejan, former Metz trainee Ou Kyoung Jin, and Molina all chipped in for what is undoubtedly a great result to make it two wins from two in the competition so far. I have looked over the starting line up a few times and still can't make head nor tail of it. Molina was dropped to the bench (he came on to score) and Djeparov didn't feature at all but I'm not sure if they were rested or injured or what. I get the impression that the manager has no idea yet about his preferred starting eleven, and I hope he can figure it out before we lose touch with the top teams in the K-League! Saturday sees us travel to Chunnam Dragons, who haven't looked like pushovers at all in their opening two matches. I'll be taking time out of my St. Patrick's Day festivities to watch it on TV. Defeat would mean one point from a possible nine and leave us languishing at the foot of the table. A win, on the other hand, will be 'proof' that we're starting to find our feet and are still one of the teams to beat this season. All the more harrowing is the sight of Suwon Bluewings perched at the top of the league... Cmon Seoul...

That's the football rant out of my system for the week. Normal service resumes tomorrow - whatever that is.

Last Weekend

Figuratively speaking, I have had my head up my backside all week so I'm only getting around to ranting about all the shoddy football and other events from last weekend. Honestly, I think any team I even thought about liking lost. Derry City went down to an 88th minute sucker punch at home against Sligo Rovers, having missed a penalty (and easy rebound) through new-signing Eamon Zayed in the first half. FC Seoul looked a shadow of the side that looked so great at home last season as they lost their opener 2-0. Unforgivably, it was against arch-rivals Suwon Bluewings. They looked great. Please, no... There aren't many positives to take from that one: Molina was anonymous; the tactics were shot; team selection nonsensical... I can only hope and pray (but to whom?) that we come out with something more positive from our travels to Daejeon Citizen this Saturday. To rub salt in the wounds, Liverpool trounced Man Utd 3-1 at Anfield late on Sunday night. In the eternal words of Peter Cunnah, "things can only get better."

Lots of crap has been going on behind the scenes in life these days but nothing that I can really talk about on here. What I will say is that it may be time to rethink our faith in Seoul as a 'safe' city. A friend got into a taxi in Itaewon on Saturday night only to be robbed at knife-point by someone who had stolen a taxi and later withdrew a significant chunk of cash from her account. She'll get it back, but that's hardly the point. Of course people should be vigilant wherever we live, but I know that we Seoulites often take our personal safety for granted, and maybe lower our guard more than we should. Needless to say, take care...

In the ensuing days, I somehow lost my FC Seoul season ticket (after one use - although I can get it reissued though) and had a big scare when my hotmail account blocked my access. Where do you think all my MA research data is? You got it. Thankfully, I got it sorted and have learned my lesson. The result being is that I no longer think the universe is conspiring against me this week (month and year) so I'm going to quit whining and get on with living.

I'm going to wrap it up here but not before I add another chunk from my old Bebo blog. In a poignant example of the cyclical nature of life, this one is around the time of a break-up about a month after I moved to Seoul. It also really pissed off an ex, as I recall, but I'll post it again - what the hell!? This entry DEFINITELY sounds at least a little gay but, hey, I did write it.

New Year Seoul Blues!!	1/3/07
	Well the New Year hasn't really started as I'd hoped as things have come to a pretty sad conclusion with Becs. I never knew it was such a popular season for it! But I'll be trying to take positives from it like every other shit thing that ever happens. Part of me has been thinking about calling it a day here but having just talked to Rob (expected back here end Feb) I'll prob rough it out. I can see myself having great craic here given time. The events of the last few days came as a massive shock but we're all still friends, etc. I'm also getting a taste of my own medicine and understand a lot of things about the past much better now. Why can't we still be friends Louise? Oh, this is why. Yeah I see it now. Better late than never. No one has died though and I get her reasons. So the story now is that I'm 24, outgoing, hot (hehe) and single in Seoul. Although it isn't really what I want right this sec, it doesn't sound so bad on paper does it? New Years Eve was shit enough because of the timing but also fun in ways. It was random. I preferred last New Years much more (take note tootsythumbs, lol). I'm not back in work til next Monday but rather than mope around I'm trying my very best to explore, socialise, feel good again. I hope all is well with you lot. Do stay in touch, it's always great to hear from you. Someone tell Furey I'll make him listen to SCLUB7 if he doesn't at least email. Tell Jay to join this thing too the postman Pat wannabe. Hope your New Years was...better than mines, lol. All the best, Brian (still smiling)

Blast From The Past - From Yours Truly

I'm in shitty form these days so there's no point blogging with nothing positive to say. However, I just remembered that I used to blog on Bebo (remember that?) absolutely years ago. So, what I'm going to do is post a few of my early entries here and let you compare the tone of 23-year-old Brian and 28-year-old Brian. How did that happen...? Make of it what you will. It starts off during my PGCE, and the last post is from my early days in Korea, many moons ago. Don't I sound happy?

Drink free zone4/29/06 Well, not had a drink for THREE WEEKS. That may not sound like much to you but, for those of you who know me best, it's a long time!! Must say it's bloody good too, believe it or not. I still go out, I still do the whole socialising thing BUT when I wake up in the morning there is the lack of that strange throbbing sensation (keep the thoughts clean...) in the head that used to mysteriously affect me following a night on the piss. There tends also to be a bit more cash in the pockets as, surprisingly, we non-drinkers (ah the irony) tend to not drink Coca-Cola at the same frequency as beer (or vodka, sambuca, whiskey, tequila, all of the above...). Seriously speaking I feel amazing. I recommend it. The only major flaw is that people constantly seem to feel that I would like to be reminded that I'm not drinking (alcohol) on nights out. It also seems to put people on edge. BUT interestingly no-one notices I'm not drinking until I tell them so. I'm not famed for being shy and retiring. I think I'm going to keep it up a while longer. It would be nice to just maybe have the odd beer or two on a night out, but I know myself too well. One becomes ten - simple as. Anyways, just thought I'd share my little social experiment with you all. We have Ofsted in school this week and I have my last (hopefully) Uni observation on Thursday so its going to be a busy one. Picked up a good quote from school; "Worry is like riding on a rocking horse. You can do it all day, but it won't get you anywhere!" Thought it was cool. Anyways, do be in touch,

take care,

Brian

	Drink free bullshit...	7/19/06
	Just to confirm the obvious - I am no longer drink free. Two months was cool. Life is better with a bit of booze - double JD and coke anyone? x

Seoul-tastic 12/3/06 Well I've been here four days now and it feels like I've done a million things already. First off I better say that I love it! My flat is ok, rough n' ready like but does the trick. It's a good size too. The school is really nice and the teaching is far from rocket science, although some of the younger kids are annoying I must say. The other teachers are dead on but as I'm the only foreign teacher I guess the conversation is limited, lol. We all headed out for dinner last Friday night and it was awesome - karaoke bar afterwards too was sweet!! My bosses couldn't really be more helpful if they tried. Met up with Rob that night too and spent a good chunk of the weekend laughing as a result. If he comes to Seoul in March as he is planning then it will be an amazing year. Found the biggest market area I've ever seen in my life today and bought two pairs of shoes for about 11 stg, lol. Have already earned more than I've spent and that's impressive considering I've been buying one-off essentials like CD players, etc. Could save a fortune here this year and feeling rich for the first time in my life! Anyway, just to let you all know I'm alive and feeling good. Keep in touch! Happy Christmas! 12/23/06 23/12/06 Things have settled down nicely here. The teaching is mainly easy to be honest. There aren't many jobs I've done that involve an hour in the morning, a four hour break and then three hours in the eve. But that's my story Mon, Wed and Fri so it's pretty sweet. Plenty of time to read, catch up with people at home, eat, etc. So yeah, the job is sweet. I get on really well with a girl at work and we hang out quite a bit. Other than that I occasionally frequent the least Irish 'Irish' bar I've ever been to in my life in Itaewon (the English speaking area). Have met some sound people, some right eejits. So much the same as home really on that score. Last weekend I met some people who live quite close to me and they are a very sound bunch. Few English, Canadian, etc. Get on well with them so head out with them quite a bit and will be spending Xmas, New Years, etc with them. Social side of things is pretty good here. Watching the cash a bit as my first pay doesn't arrive until Jan 5th but after that I'll be laughing hopefully. Of course some days everyone suffers from the 'Seoul blues' where everything just gets on top of you a little bit but I've only had two days like that so far so I can't complain. Plus it was mainly drink-induced, lol. Being so far from Becca is far from ideal too but we keep in touch as much as we can and I think most of the time we're dealing with it quite well. Tonight I'm heading out with Eunice (korean work-mate) to Suyu then meeting Alex (London lad), etc. in Itaewon to head out. Nights out here last until 6am at least, as that's when the subways re-open. It's a whole new lesson on 'pacing yourself' for me, lol. Being here for Christmas will be very strange. Of course I'd love to be in Cooley but so many people here are in the same boat so I'm sure we'll make the best of it. Be sure to keep in touch. Most people I expected to are but some (Furey!!) aren't doing as well. My number is 010 6870 2470 if anyone feels so inclined over the Christmas I'm sure that'd be nice. Hope you're all well and have a great festive period, Brian

Turn Turn Turn

Spring is in the air: blue skies; signs of life; new school term; St. Paddy's Day around the corner; and football leagues kicking off in Ireland and Korea (Ireland because we can't compete with the EPL, Korea because we can't compete with the deep freeze). It's a time of year when people start looking happier, take the opportunity for yet another 'fresh start', and start thinking about the promise of the upcoming summer. Gigs? Holidays? Outside beers at some roof-top bar? It all sounds so good.

Although I love the weather, the fact that it's not quite as Baltic as it was a few weeks ago, the colour threatening to break through all around, my new students and their bright enthusiasm, March 17th edging ever closer... it's all good... but... what's really getting me is the thought of the football coming back. FC Seoul got their competitive season back underway last night with what could turn out to be a vital 1-0 win away against UAE side, Al Ain. You can watch the goal here. Dejan got the winner but we had Kim Yong Dae to thank for a late penalty save. It looked like a very attacking line-up with Adi, Molina, Dejan, Djeparov and Lee Seung Ryeol all starting. Apparently it was a 4-2-3-1 formation? It's too early to make predictions, but we should have a better idea of what to expect from new manager, Kwan Hwangbo, following the K-League opener at home against Suwon. I actually cannot wait...

Derry City get their return to the top flight of Irish football underway with a really tough opener at home against Sligo Rovers, who will be very near the top of the league come the end of the season, many believe. An 18-man squad, average age under 23, not a whole lot of top-flight experience and missing our talisman and top scorer, Mark Farren; it's going to be a very tough season. Luckily for us, the division is expanding to 12 teams next season, so only the bottom team will have to face the prospect of relegation. Even then, they have a 'get-out-of-jail-free' card with a play-off. New Libya international striker, Eamon Zayed, is keeping a blog here, which will be a good read for footie fans throughout the season. Personally, I think we can surprise a few people this season and that a mid-table finish is possible. Come on the Candystripes!

The End Is Nigh

Hey all, hope your weekend was as fun as mine. We headed out to Bucheon with the band on Friday night for a show at The Park. It's a bit of a funny venue in that it tends to be very polite and restrained during the first half, only to go totally nuts for the second. Jeff was in flying form and we went on for about three encores, including what seemed like a never-ending version of Born to be Wild with plenty of crowd participation. Fun times. I was staying in a really nice motel over there (they do exist) so I stayed as long as I possibly could the next day before they came up to gently insist that I get the hell outta there.

I finally gave in to peer pressure by getting a haircut in Shinchon, but it was what Jim dubbed a, "compromise cut" in that I didn't really cut it up all that short. It was one of those weird experiences we have here as foreigners: put to the front of the queue; the boss came out to cut my hair; about half a dozen staff members gathered round to watch; a generous discount for no particular reason, etc. I know I had to get it done but, I miss my out-of-control-tramp-esque hair...

A couple of our friends were having their last night out n Seoul (unless they come back...) so, after a bit of pool with Stephen and Creego, we headed over to Shamrock n' Roll for grub and a few drinks. Jes was on a no-drinking vow for the night, but this didn't seem to include any of the shots we were buying her... curiously... There were obviously a lot of farewell parties that night, because Club FF was absolutely jammed. Angry Bear were playing before us, and were quite good this time around. They are a nice bunch of blokes too - fair play to them for going down the 'originals' road so steadfastly. I had an absolute ball during our gig. Great crowd, great set, lots of energy. It was just one of those great nights where everything comes together. We were getting a lot of good feedback after the show, but we still need to do more to get our name out there on the Seoul music circuit. I'm looking into getting some posters and leaflets made up for every gig, and just take it out of whatever the kitty is.

Sunday was a lazy one. Ji and I headed to Nowon for Jimdak and watched 'Unknown', the new Liam Neeson flick. It was one of those ridiculous, intelligence-insulting films, that I always hate myself for watching when I occasionally do so. It had some redeeming features in it's action scenes, car chases, Neeson not being terrible (unlike January Jones), but if you're thinking of watching it and there is ANYTHING else on - go see that (in my humble opinion).

Yesterday marked the start of a new 'session' at work and the first day for a new batch of teachers. There was a lot more hustle and bustle in the teacher's room, with new teachers not sure what to do, and 'older' teachers trying to help them out. It seems as though they all got on fine and enjoyed their classes; it isn't a difficult job to get through at all. I'm teaching a higher level than usual this time so it took (and will take) a bit of adjusting. However, they seem like good classes, and I'm looking forward to trying out a few new things and stretching them as much as I can.

Today is a holiday in Korea so I've been studying (some Council of Europe guidelines for selecting methods, approaches and materials - directly applicable to my teaching for once), dealing with job offers (I accepted the job in Egypt...), and I'm just about to go and meet a few friends in Itaewon for dinner. I hope everyone is doing well this week. Bizarrely, it seems as though there was something on the radio at home about 'old friends', which prompted three different people to email me pretty much out of the blue. Small world we live in...