1 August 2014
I'd be lying if I said I thought this was coming. I figured we would be among the league's stronger teams. We're a big club by First Division standings. Our wage budget is bigger than any team in the league besides Shamrock Rovers B, and that reflects the Premier Division status of Rovers' senior team. Still, I didn't think we'd be good enough to lead the league by eleven points with nine matches to play.
We ground out a character-building win at home to Wexford Youths, and
Gary Joyce celebrated his return to health and the first eleven with a brace at Longford. Wide man
Rudner Talsma wasn't so lucky. He'd only been on the pitch for eight minutes in his return to action before he injured himself again. It will be nearly September before we see him back on the pitch.
It will be next season before we see
David Reilly in a Galway shirt again. I hate to send the club captain out on loan, but Bohemians were willing to pay his wages for the rest of the season. It seemed odd to me that a player who was struggling for playing time here would be that attractive to a team at a
higher level, but football is strange sometimes. David did say complimentary things about wanting to improve for the sake of our club, so he left on better-than-expected terms.
Mark Molloy will wear the armband for the remainder of our season.
I wonder how long we can keep it going? It's been a fun ride, that's for sure.