Having read some other blogs on this site (proper ones), I thought I'd actually do some proper writing about something I can talk about, and me playing football is that thing.
Football is something I'm very passionate about and have played for the last 13-14 years, or tried to at least.
First team was Shorts, under 10s, back in the good old days. Still to this day probably the best team I've played in. King George pitches every week to hammer teams 11 and 12 nil, to win us the league. Unfortunately we were beat in the cup final that year. Good players in that team with kits that were about 4 sizes too big.
Season after brought new management, new players and new kits to Shorts fc. A team which would have been more successful had St Andrews not been in our league. Still won a cup, runner up in the league a good few times, and runner up in the Blackpool cup after an epic penalty shoot-out. Some thrilling games in the league, and cup trips to Londonderry, Cookstown and the likes. Prize day was also a good laugh, wearin your favourite football top and collecting as many vouchers as possible for a plate of chips. After a few seasons managers decided to bail out. The team was in limbo, no das were willing to take on the pressures of managing the side. I do vaguely remember some fat bloke nicknamed 'Pringle'(dunno how I remember this to be honest), saying he would take on the job. We had one training session with him, where he told us he was busy on Saturday mornings. As being available on Saturday mornings is actually quite important in managing a junior football team, the idea of him taking over was scrapped, and so the team was wrapped up.
A lot of us decided to try our hand at Knockbreda fc. It was here where I first played under Willy Manley, at about the age of 16, someone who would later on in my career, be partly responsible for where it is now. Knockbreda, again weren't a bad side. Unfortunately I wasn't playing as regularly as I would have liked, and took the decision to leave with a mutual termination of my phantom contract.
A few months in the wilderness, doing nothing on Saturday mornings apart from lyin in bed or watchin sm:tv live followed by cd:uk, until pre season arrived and I received a call from one Dee Gallagher. A coach at my former club Shorts, and he had now taken over at Knockbreda and wanted me to return. In a Defoe type Tottenham situation, only I wasn't as successful, I returned to Knockbreda. It was here where I would witness first hand what it was like for those teams we used to hammer 11 or 12 nil. Turning up on Saturday mornings, sometimes with not even 11 players and suffering heavy defeats by the likes of Newbridge and Plunkett, there were really no good moments to savour, and so at the end of the season, that was that.
18 and not contracted to a club, it was then that my career would take a change of direction, when I was persuaded to join old boys side 5th B. Just like the younger days, playing in Ormeau Park, Victoria Park, etc and sometimes having no changing rooms to change in. It was a tough and physical league, but I enjoyed my football there, playing regularly and scoring goals. The second season wasn't to be so successful. Results took a turn for the worse until a game down in Carrick, after getting absolutely hammered, the decision was took there and then to wrap the team up and finish it.
Once again I was without a club, before making a short term move to Civil Service, like Larsson at United, chipping in with a few goals but deciding it wasn't the club for me.
It was down at East Belfast's Inverary pitch, watching my old school Grosvenor playing in a cup semi final, when I was approached by the man himself, Willy Manley. He told me he was taking over Knockbreda 2nds team and was looking to get all the old players back. Rolling off names and how he had persuaded them back, he told me to think about it. I did, and with no other viable options on the table, I returned to Knockbreda for a third time. There was no pre-season, and it was quite a shambles set up, but Manley, and assistant John Rice were optimistic for the season ahead. They shouldn't have been. That first season we must have used in excess of 30 players, some who didn't know each other, most who'd never played together, and thrown into the toughest 2nds league the Amateur League had to offer. I think in that season, out of roughly 8 positions, I played 6. My versatility had slightly improved if anything, even if my goalscoring rate had decreased season by season.
Inevitably we finished bottom. For the first time in my career I had suffered the humiliation of relegation. League 3B, and things weren't looking any better. New personnel arrived in the form of Graham Wallace, Harry McKee and hardcore fan Davy Peckenham, as well as John Rice popping in and out to give words of wisdom, but to no avail. Once again results were pathetic. Willy Manley's constant tirades of "we have a good wee side if we get everyone back" were fooling no one but himself. Bottom of the league again, successive relegations. Abismal. It got to the stage no one really took the games seriously, knowing we were going out just to keep the score down against the likes of Newington and Abbey Villa. Even playing first team players couldn't help.
I actually enjoyed my time there off the pitch. Good laughs were had and I did get a number of run outs for the 1st team under Roy Bennett and later Hugh Sinclair, so not all was lost. With Knockbreda 1st team being the complete opposite of the 2nds, and winning games, they took the move to the Irish League, leaving Knockbreda 2nds in the lurch.
The decision was made to united Knockbreda 2nds with Carryduff fc, just like Hayes & Yeading United have done, only they both had managers, pitches, and enough players. However the merge was formed and the team was just called Carryduff, as basically what had happened was a lot of Knockbreda players just signed for Carryduff and there wasn't actually a merge at all. The surprise decision was made to make Willy Manley and Davy Peckenham as managers. I had the feeling, as did many others, that it wouldn't work. We were proved right. One win in 4 months wasn't the return chairman Geordie was anticipating and so I received the call from Willy Manley that both managers had resigned. It was no real surprise, but Manley surely has hope that he will one day work with his Knockbreda players again some day.
I am still playing for Carryduff, under new manager Billy Woods. One win in the cup and still bottom of the league, things don't look good, but who knows. Well most people know that another win will be hard to come by to be fair.
I've a few medals and trophies from my playing days, which I've kept for good memories. The only chance of a medal this season comes in the form of the Clarence Cup (lol), where we play Ballynahinch tomorrow in the next round..... we'll see.
At still only 21, I hope I will have many years playing football still to come. Who knows where but there may well be more stories to tell.
Till then, farewell
