Well folks this is my last day of the year in the slave cave, and what a year it’s been! The euphoria of promotion was still fresh when the realities and challenges of a new season in the premier were upon us. I still remember the surreal feeling of going to a league match in August, having a few scoops in Mother Hugh’s beer garden, standing on the terraces and not freezing and, strangest of all, watching the Drogs winning. And they what did they do? They go and hold the mighty $hel$ to a 3-3 draw. Oh such heady and optimistic days. We were back, and this season we were gonna be nobodies whipping Drogs. I’m sure you all remember that glorious Sunday when we beat Cork City, the sun splitting the terraces, t-shirt weather, Cork fans with their big four-four-two banner and we were in second place. Yes, second place, second from the top. Nose bleed time. And then Longford and the raging bitterness of that night replayed on the old mb. But then we had the joy of beating the despised Scumrock at a heaving UNITED PARK. Optimism was at its highest as we travelled to Bray. The Hibernian Bar packed with Drogs in all their finery, finding a ground that was in a worse state than ours and then kick off and disaster. I sat, with hundreds of other noisy Drogs, in the Jodi stand watching as we matched the best team in the country for over an hour. But they won, their professionalism eventually paid dividends. But, hey, weren’t we going professional? Soon we’d able to match the Bohs of this world. And we did go professional (well, partly) and things went utterly pear-shaped. Defeat after defeat, culminating in that shameful capitulation at Tolka. Things couldn’t get worse, or so we thought. Another financial crisis. Players threatening to strike. Once again the club I love was at the centre of another farce. More ammunition for the sceptics and the “sky” heads. More negative publicity. It was so sad and such a contrast to those sunny days when we beat Derry and Cork. But, to my surprise, the players responded with admirable purpose and pride. And so another Sunday date with Cork. However, this time there was no sun, no t-shirts, no beer gardens and no victory. A drab 0-0, another precious point in the relegation Drog-fight. And it over yet, folks. Before the season ends there will be more turmoil, more uncertainty, more pain. The early season optimism, like the sun, is gone. Now we are in the most critical phase in the clubs history. The next few weeks will see either the promised land our banishment to wilderness. Let us hope for the former.
So, I wish you all a happy and safe Xmas and I’ll talk to you in the new year when things should be a lot clearer
19/12/2002, 10:35 AM
DrogMan
And a Merry Christmas and Happy new year to you too :D
