In this weeks Teenage Kicks In our young writer Darragh Mullen is on holiday (somewhere hot, islandie and Spanish) so to celebrate his contribution to Clarkeonenil we have selected some edited highlights of this young mans ability and wit for your appriciation.
Darragh joined us back in November and hit the ground running with an insight into Simon Grayson’s steely side. For a first post the following quote really showed us what was to come: “When he left Blackpool, the Tangerines forums were very busy in both wishing Grayson well and naturally angry comments at his departure. Most fans were appreciative of the things he had done at the club stating he is a great tactition and knows how to get the best out of his players. The angrier fans, who at the times just seemed bitter, were more interested in pointing out flaws rather then his attributes. They didn’t like the fact that Grayson seemed to hold grudges against players. Several players were reported to have left Blackpool due to lack of first team appearences all because they had a spat with Grayson at one point or another. Grayson seems to want to be seen not to take anything from players and likes to rule with an iron fist, as do most managers, but there is a chance that this could possibly cost the club points in the future”. Ladies and Gentleman I give your Mr Darragh Mullen.
Not content with that low key start Darragh followed with a polite piece about Mr Jermaine Beckford which certainly got a little feedback: “For the last 2 seasons I think it is safe to say that he has been our best player or at least our most valuable. His goals have saved us on countless occasions but for some reason I see him nothing more than a slightly above average Championship striker at best”. Already this kid was doing for me.
The FA Cup third round draw set Darragh off a trilogy, it started with this: “Now for me the priority is still winning the league but for me getting this game against our arch rivals and then putting up a good performance is actually also very important. Now at the back of my mind is alway going to be this game and I think this really shows my immaturity. To add to all of this I was offered a ticket by my scum supporting Uncle if the game did go ahead, to sit in the home end”. and then two weeks later we had: “On a separate note due to the current economic climate I will not be going to Old Trafford in the New Year. With flights/ferry, tickets and accommodations the minimum price turned out to be €440 pp not including expenses and we just don’t have that sort of money at the moment for a weekend trip so I will be hoping to get to the replay a couple of weeks after that!” That last comment was particularly appriciated by those who took the trouble to read the touching story of his football betting addiction fight! But wait good news: “Two articles ago I finished with the statement that I would not be going to Old Trafford as planned because it was far too expensive but having a 7 year old in my house paid dividends this Christmas as Santa left 2 tickets for the Leeds match in Old Trafford this Sunday. This being my annual trip to see the Whites in action (pre season not included) I was over the moon with the present. The trip though was booked through a Man Ure fan so I will be travelling on a chartered Man Ure plane, then a coach to Old Trafford and then sitting in the home end throughout the game but for me this for me was a small sacrifice to pay to see Leeds play our biggest rivals”. You could hear the cheering from his readers across the Irish Sea.
Before that fateful day Darragh penned this: “A big criticism of our squad in the previous two seasons is that we would rely on our big players far too much. Opposition fans would claim that Beckford was our only player and that any success we might be attributed with is only down to him. A worry among us ourselves as fans would have been somewhat similar. Less exaggerated but even if we didn’t wouldn’t admit it or didn’t want to believe it, I think we all felt it and ultimately it could probably be said that our variety in our squad and strength in depth or lack of it cost us promotion those two seasons. This season is visibly different as we quite possibly reach 50 points next week before the half way point of the season” and this: “The thing I am the most ashamed about though in my antics was that it actually led me to wanting a certain team across the Pennies to win the odd week as allot of times they would have been one of my bankers. I am not proud of this but I feel I must get it off my chest and say that I can assure you and more importantly myself that it will not be happening again”. Both thse contributions were starters to the main course of his Old Trafford day out!
To say Clarkeonenil was looking forward to his January 8th 2010 article was to put it midly but inbetween the game and the post some other news broke, Darragh bravely looked at both: “As you can imagine fresh from my trip to Old Trafford I was ready to write an excited article on what it means to the club, to me etc. but in 24 hours allot of things have changed and the brilliant mood that was with every Leeds fan has suddenly changed with the announcement that Beckford had actually applied for a transfer before the match last Sunday and now the development in the last couple of hours that Beckford told Goal.com in what I think will be a famous quote in the future, “Im off to Newcastle!” That is going to split Leeds fans right down the middle like the Alan Smith topic does with Leeds fans but I have decided first I am going to write about how I was feeling 48 hours ago, fresh from our trip to Old Trafford”. In the same article he proclaimed “In the end myself and my dad got unwanted season tickets for an executive box so it was pints and prawns before the match and padded seats during the match quite near to the Leeds fans so being honest it was the next best thing to sitting in the away end. One point of interest during the game was the goal. I have no idea how I didn’t manage to celebrate but it must have been the fact that the goal went in so slowly that I just sat still and looked at my dad”. It was the end of the trilogy but Mr Mullen was now part of the history of the day.
Since then we have had this on promotion: “So going back and trying to answer the original question to my scum friend I have not come much closer to finding an answer. Basically little could be said because there are so many variables but one worrying factor is the amount of things that are in the hands of Ken Bates in this. Such a thing is a scary thing to say but the fact of the matter is that the manager has stepped up, the players have stepped up and now its time for our very dodgy Chairman to step up and take us to the next level. We hopefully have mastered getting out of this league, something Grayson must have down to a fine art at this stage, but come August its going to be a completely different kettle of fish where different things are going to be involved. Its all about ambition and it really is time for our chairman and manager to prove that they have it! and this on the FA Cup: “As unromantic as it sounds, a clubs reputation is simply based on how many trophies they have won much like somebody who goes to the gym regularly is judged on what he can bench press. In a way Revies team is unique in that they are one of the few teams that goes against this as they remembered for their years of dominance rather than the amount of trophies they won compared to how long they were dominant.” He has also given us this on Cardiff City and the like: “I am willing to admit that the majority of all of this is just bitterness but to be honest I really don’t care. The lack of sympathy we received while we were in our downward spiral was somewhat appalling and there were few teams who supported us in our plight” and this on the post FA Cup season: We are Leeds United and nothing is that simple. I suppose looking at my own argument I see that I have nothing other than’ it won’t happen so easily because we are Leeds United’. Really the thing that we need most is patience.
In his last column (before his holiday) he wrote: Similarly Carlisle are just a nothing club from Cumbria who were just excited about their amazing fete of 5 Football League Trophy Finals! (Hows that for history Chelsea FC?) a sure sign of a growing appriciation of the art of hitting two clubs with one pen! Darragh will be back next week and I am sure you are all looking forward to more of this talented young man’s musings.
Cheers Darragh.
Ed.
