Billy Clery ruined my life

- By a Galway United fan!!

Waterford 1 Finn Harps 0

Griffin 87

United 0 Pat's 0

"Oh shit we're going to be in the playoff" then up pops Billy Clery to head home THAT goal - send you into the playoff and keep us up! Now why is that a bad thing for GUFC you're wondering I'll explain.....

Bohemians 5 Galway United 0

Galway United 1 UCD 4

St. Pat's 3 Galway United 0

What?!?! Who the fu** are UCD - how can we lose 4-1 against a bunch of students?! That's the reality of Premier Division football - you get hammered every couple of weeks and feel miserable for the next 7 days - but in the First Division these things are merely blips - OK you might lose against Monaghan, Cobh or some other team where there are more sheep in the town than people - but Gortakeegan and Colman's Park are what makes this league.

How many of you when you've been sitting in the clubhouse in Gortakeegan looking out the window have had a sudden urge to run up to the top of THAT hill behind the goal and sprint back down - when I was there a few season ago I had visions of it being terraced and it being like one of those terraces in The Stadium of Light (No not Richmond Park!) which seem to stretch upwards for hundreds of metres and whenever Benfica score there's an avalanche of bodies moving forward towards the fencing.

Now put yourself in Tolka Park and try thinking of anything remotely exciting happening there - I can't even imagine more than 2000 fans being there let alone 2000 going crazy at the sight of Stephen Geoghegan scoring the winner (OK Geoghegan on the scoresheet that's hardly likely anymore!).

In the First Division you can dream - in the Premier you can't because you realise if Bohs, $hels or Rovers can't get any fans there's no hope for anyone! (Well I don't really believe that but when they're hammering us out of sight some pretty awful thoughts come into my head)

Another thing about the First Division is that the home fan(s) are delighted to see an away following - they think it's great the people travel to the middle of nowhere to support their team and sing songs. Much like when United (that's MY United not yours) went to Longford 3 seasons ago and all the locals thought we were great - traveling to the midlands going on the piss and supporting our team - this season we did exactly the same and a few weeks later in one of the local papers there was a complaint about "the rowdy Galway fans" - perhaps this Longford fan took offence at the "Where were you when you were shit?" chant!

You see crowds are much more hostile in the Premier and a lot of people regard an away following as a nuisance - there's not enough of them to substantially boost gate receipts but there are enough of them to outsing the home fans and if you're a "Big Dublin club" this isn't acceptable. And fans having fun at a game is something unheard of so this has to be sorted out! Things are too serious up here in the big time - gone are the days when we're playing in Baldonnel and one of the fans shouts at Ricky O'Flaherty "Move you're fat arse" and Ricky turns around and replies "but I've been in bed with the 'flu all week".

Gone are the days when in every round of the cup we're regarded as an underdog - we're actually expected to beat Kilkenny in the cup this year - what's that all about - give me the League Champions at home when we're just a Mickey Mouse First Division club any day of the week - we'll be up for that one alright - but Kilkenny... just another Dublin club (well look at their team if you don't believe me!)

So although you're in the First Division - when you get back up, which you surely will, you'll be like me thinking back to the good old days - lighting a flare in Whitehall, getting drunk in Gortakeegan and a screamer by Alan Kirby in Cobh, while 2 thick stewards are robbing all your drink and pushing down some steps because your team had the audacity to score away against $hels in the league and you thought that lighting a flare would add to the atmosphere.

As they sung in Finn Park when they first got up "It's better craic in the First Division"