Dubai Preparations Suffer Potential Blow

It was back to the British School in Tervuren today for a challenge game against the 'Rest of the World'. Actually, our modest Dub Eoin Seanoin had recruited 6 footballers from Ireland, most of whom were from Cork. They were over for the weekend for some beer and football and their team consisted of themselves, Eoin and some other Belgium players. It was typical Belgian weather, rain and wind, whilst underfoot conditions were soft. We played 3 periods of twenty minutes and resident referee Willie Cashin did a good job with the whistle. The rust is still in evidence but we played some good football at times, the best of it when we kept it simple and moved the ball on by hand.

In my role as 'Trainer', I would say tactics are something I have paid least attention to. Partly because I don't see it as one of my strengths and partly because any direction you give lads tends to go in one ear and out the other. The first twenty minutes today was very frustrating as we continually kicked the ball away. At the break I asked lads to focus on short ten yard hand passes which in my opinion greatly reduces the risk of giving the ball away. Key to making this work is supporting the man on the ball. For the next ten minutes lads demonstrated complete disregard for the request and continued to kick the ball away. After some amicable exchanges to clarify the request we started to move the ball very well and picked off some good scores. It baffles me that grown men will look at you noddingly when you ask them to do something and then turnaround and do exactly what you don't want them to do.

One thing which I often forget though is that alot of lads haven't played football for a few years, some for up to ten years! As a result their main concern is actually getting possession of the ball, whereas a more experienced player takes it for granted that they will get a hold of it and already knows their next move. We will keep the faith though. Football can be broken down into a very simple game and even the most simple plan can be effective i.e. pumping long ball into a big brute of a full forward and working off the breaks.

The most significant thing that happened today has provided us with a big problem ahead of Dubai. Gearoid Sayers from John Mitchells club in Kerry, pulled up with a hamstring problem. It seems he is prone to this kind of thing as he suffered in Rennes and Maastricht last year. This blog doesn't intend to comment on individuals too much but it will bend the rules in this case. Gearoid is a former Kerry Junior and even though he hadn't kicked a ball for a couple of years when he arrived, you could instantly see his class. For me, he was the key man in the last two tournaments of 2008. He is a powerful wing-back who always picks the right option and keeps the game very simple. If it is indeed a hamstring pull, he will be a massive loss from the Dubai squad.

Still, in every season you will face these type of situations and it requires the rest of us to up it a notch or two. I remember playing for my club Kinsale and for about three years we worked off 15-17 players whilst the rest picked splinters out of their arse. When a lad was suspended or injured he was seen as irreplacable and panic ensued. Then we started picking up alot of injuries, had lads heading off to the states and some fading from the scene. Those lads warming the bench came in and proved more than capable replacements. The point i'm trying to make is, if we lose Gearoid it will of course be a big blow, but we won't play with a man less. Its up to the rest of us to compensate for the loss by raising our game.

So, we are four days from departure and still hope to get one more session in. Other than that we will be keeping the fingers crossed that no one picks up any bug or injury. Personally, I'm buzzing about it. There will be none of the muck and shit we had in Tervuren today. Instead we can expect desert, sunshine and perfectly manicured football pitches!