My hands were blue from the cold and the new management team was all kitted out in blue, full of the energy and optimism that only a couple of Dubs, in lofty preseason expectation mode, could generate on a bitterly cold Brussels night.
Our new home has the grandeur one only dreams of when they start out on the road to forming a G.A.A. club in Europe. A huge pitch, quality surface, top of the range lights and excellent changing facilities. All we needed was players and they came in their droves, something like 30 in all with the lads and the bones of 20 girls down the other end.
Eoin was all about business and for the 35 or so minutes I lasted in the cold, there was no standing around. The drills were different and the voice was different but I’d be lying if I said I was overly enthusiastic. I said in the last entry that I thought fellas should turn up to training even if they are injured but I learned last night that observing training in Europe is a lonely exercise, especially in the depths of winter.
There was simply no-one to talk to! At home, there’d be loads of fellas pottering around, doing jobs, commenting on players and giving their opinions about anything and everything else. Last night there was no Paddy Joe or Tom Quigley or anyone else.
Eoin’s approach is considerably different to mine and that will hopefully mean he will be able to contain his frustration levels. He didn’t react as Cowan & Co arrived in late or as lads floundered around trying to figure out how to manage an object otherwise referred to as a football.
We're up and running now though and the most immediate objective is a tournament in Dublin against Cuala, Kilmacud and Hudson’s old club in Dublin on February 19th.
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