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.

It's Coming..

It's been ages since I blogged about football so I'm going to rectify that situation today and you can like it or lump it. I got up at stupid o' clock this morning for the Ireland V Wales Nations Cup opener at Aviva Stadium, Dublin. Trapps can be a bit frustrating with his insistence on always sticking with the same conservative line-up even when younger, more exciting players are coming through. Last night, there were three new caps for Marc Wilson, Seamus Coleman and Ciaran Clark; all very encouraging. The match and the result were more than encouraging. 3-0, all good goals, not much bother at the back, and plenty of players staking their claims for future participation.

The one glitch was the news that James McCarthy may have withdrawn from the squad because he's considering switching allegiance to Scotland, the land of his birth. This guy is a real talent, a claim his goals last weekend against Blackburn only provided extra strength to. He has played for Ireland before, but not in a competitive match, so we haven't actually nailed him down to representing us. Although it would be unfair to complain about the results we've achieved under Trappatoni, it's questionable whether or not he has our long-term welfare at the centre of his thoughts. Surely, making sure McCarthy comes on for a couple of minutes at the end of a competitive fixture that's more or less in the bag, is just smart thinking. Considering the fact that we're already without Premiership-level creative midfielders the likes of Andy Reid and Stephen Ireland, we don't need to be losing another that could well feature under our next, (hopefully) more adventurous manager.

Today, the FC Seoul website have presented our fixtures for the 2011 K-League season. First up, we will be welcoming arch-rivals, Suwon Bluewings, to Sangam on Sunday, March 6th. It's obviously a tough start to the season but, given that they have signed a lot of new players and will probably be very competitive this term, I'm glad we're playing them before they'll have had enough time to gel. We have signed a few ourselves (most notably Molina and Kim Dong Jin) but, with Djeparov signing on a permanent basis, it's much the same squad that won the K-League so impressively last season. It'll be my first match as a season-ticket holder, beeping myself through our own gate: no more queuing for tickets for meeeee!!!

The following weekend I'm hoping a few of us will head down to Daejeon for the match against Citizen. We have a good friend working down there so I'm trying to arrange a gig that night and make a real day and night of it; it'll actually be his birthday then too. The weather is getting warmer, our lad's night out is rapidly approaching, K-League around the corner, Derry City starting off our first season back where we belong in early March, already talk of World DJ Festival: it's coming...

Same Sport, Different World

What is it that makes us care about one particular sports team over another? When you consider that some people will resort to violence, abuse and even murder to defend the honour of their beloved football club, how likely is it that that self same person could have ended up with a different allegiance if something in his/her past had just gone that little bit differently?

When we were in primary school in Ireland, lunchtime games would soon turn into 'Man Utd V Liverpool' and the race would be on to claim the identity of your favourite players for the duration of our precious free-time. At the time, it didn't occur to us that we were slagging off the British in one breath, before claiming allegiance to a British team from a city most of us had never even been to with the next. The 'Irish links' would be talked-up (legends such as George Best, and lesser greats like Irwin, Houghton, Aldridge, etc.) but none of us ever seemed to be too interested in the clubs we had right on our doorsteps, such as Finn Harps or Derry City.

My connection to Man Utd stemmed, very simply, from my uncle Peter supporting them. I have no idea why he liked them, in particular, and we have no geographical ties to Manchester or anything like that. Still, they were the team I defended to the hilt during corridor football talk. I wanted to be Lee Sharpe, Ryan Giggs, Eric Cantona - Barnes, Clough and Rush were dirty words. Over the years that built up to the point where Man Utd were the only club I cared about really, even though I couldn't explain rationally why...

My earliest experiences of football were at Derry City matches with my Dad, his friend, and his son who was around my age. I guess I was there during our glory days, without even realising it. At the time, I wouldn't say that I paid much attention. I remember the stands being pretty packed, and the kids just wandering about the place probably getting into trouble (which I'm sure I simply watched from a safe distance...). It was only as I matured and became more critical and socially aware that I questioned my loyalty to a foreign team I had no physical link to, and started to identify with the local team, a place I could actually go to and witness my club in action regularly. So started my real relationship with Derry City FC, still going strong today.

Then, just to complicate things, I move to Seoul. Early in my time here I went to K-League games with friends more as something to do (and an excuse to hang out with mates and beers under the pretense of doing something 'different') rather than something I was actually interested in. Yes, the stadium was amazing. Yes, the fans were colourful. Still, I didn't feel anything for this club. If they won, we cheered. If they lost, we didn't exactly need counseling. The quality of football at the time probably didn't help. In that first year, we only ever seemed to see 0-0 draws! And not even the exciting type, at that.

Somewhere, at some undefined point in time, something changed in me. I started to get to know the players, the style, the history (albeit VERY short) and the passion of the fans. I felt myself REALLY looking forward to games and being hungry for information regarding transfers, injuries, gossip, and so on. The real clincher was meeting Adi and Dejan at COEX (mentioned in an earlier blog) and then Dejan giving me his sweat-soaked shirt after a game. NOW THIS IS A FEELING! This season has been incredible. It helps that we're playing good football and being exciting, but the real link comes simply from the fact that, wherever I have lived in Korea, FC Seoul has been my 'local' team. It took time, but now I really feel a part of what they're doing. Perhaps as indicative, I have started to really dislike our traditional rivals, Suwon Bluewings. When they won the FA Cup on Sunday, I found myself cursing the competition as a backdoor to Champion's League football. I'm never ever going to get to the point where I hate the club (just as I don't hate Finn Harps or Liverpool), but I'll certainly always be clear about where my loyalties lie.

So, when I look at the world of football these days I see it from three distinct and varied perspectives. Whilst I might roll my eyes at Rooney's latest antics and grumble about the role of money and agents in the game, I know that that is part of the attraction. We love the Premiership precisely because the stakes are so high and if they weren't, stories like that simply wouldn't occur. Whereas the star striker at Man Utd is a millionaire with his private life sprawled across the world press, his equivalent at Derry City went to school with me. He lives down the road from my family home. He kissed my ex-girlfriend around the back of their school when they went to primary school together for crying out loud! Their counterpart at FC Seoul is a Montenegran international who has somehow wound up playing on the other side of the planet in a stadium and in front of capacities he could probably never have hoped to have achieved had he stayed playing in Europe, never mind being adored by some wee Irish teacher he, no doubt, can't even remember having met.

With Derry City on the verge of promotion back to the top-flight of Irish football, FC Seoul vying to win their first championship since 2000 and Man Utd recovering from a stuttering start to the season over-shadowed by off-field antics, each teams' fortunes will affect me in varying ways. I don't think I have to justify or prioritise my attachments. I'd never get to the point where I did something for any of the three that I would regret. No matter how many mindless quotes are repeated and celebrated, it is just a game. In saying that, it really is the beautiful game. I will enjoy the highs and suffer the lows, still reminding myself that under different circumstances, I might well have been cheering the opposition.