Derry City Never Surrender

[Bilbaoboy]

This isn't a story or anything like that i just wanted to tell about my exploits with Derry

I really wanted a challenge and try a smaller nation as iv'e completed the Big 3 so many times it's like Groundhog Day

I am also always on the Lookout for Special kind of team, one that represents something a bit more than football- an us against the world type club (Bilbao,Lazio, Celtic,Millwall)

My eye was drawn across the short Irish Sea- Derry are a unique little club as the hail from Northern Ireland yet play in the Republic due to their Religious beliefs and politics- This city isn't ****ing around and if you are like me a little extreme and not one to sit on the fence these are the Real Deal

 

Transfer Budgets in Ireland are Non Existent and your Top earner will be on around 900 p/w

That was more than enough though to sign up free agent and ex Celtic Legend and local boy Paddy McCourt 

 

 

Now i don't want to make this too long i basically just want to get to the main reason for the post- Qualifying for the group stages of Champion's League

So after Winning the LOI i sold a youth prospect to Brentford for 180k with a 50 percent sell on- considering we could only keep 30 percent of it not much to get exited about- but then in the off season for the first time ever on the game i noticed the sell on clause cash in option- perhaps because iv'e never been at a club where every penny counted i never took notice- but i negotiated a higher percentage of transfer revenue and pushed the button- now we had a 'War Chest' of 360k along with the 20k wage allowance i already had- we could now do some proper business

 

In - Donal McDermott Jake Wright, Brandon Comley, Aaron Kuhl  Ben Hall and Alex Samuel all big earners on a whopping 1.5k p/w

 

 

As you can see not world beaters by any stretch but compared to what we had these were huge upgrades

Malmo First Qualifier

2-1 at home and 3-1 away really expected more from them but it was a massive result, already probably one of the biggest in the clubs history

Remember any sort of success in Europe is like a world Cup to these lot- in many ways this is our Champions league right here

Next up Sparta Prague 

I was quietly confident in this game because they set up with 2 deep lying midfielders and i know how to play that system well  so we totally out played them i was quiet shock at just how easy we beat them- they had a by far better side i kept thinking they were going to have to change system soon and then they might get back into it but they never did so we just kept the ball all game 

Patrick McCourt with a legendary performance btw- by now even by our poor standards he is only rated 2 and a half stars by my coaches and other managers frequently call him out as the weak link- but he is the first name on my team sheet an tonight he showed why

Zero pace can hardy move but get the ball to him and he has a wand on either foot

Love him- Build the Statue

Final Qualifying Round 

Glasgow Rangers- As Fate would have it if there is a club which represents everything Derry hates then it's this club- How Poetic is this

Derry are Basically a Roided up pure form of Celtic

 

18000 coming out for this one our average attendance is 2400 so this was a momentous occasion and in a way i was already happy with what we had achieved- my thinking was even if we get knocked out then we will go straight into the Europa so either way we are looking at a huge cash boost

I felt we needed that something- our inside left is Make shift Paddy and i prefer him in the hole so i went on a 'splurge' 

If Ireland does have a 'Wonder Kid' then i suppose it's this guy

 

Parted with 80k upfront and a few hundred k in add ons but we can afford it right now as i haven't touched the 360k

We nicked the first game 1-0 we defended for lifes and nicked one from a corner

First Blood us but the return leg is at Ibrox and they will be heavy favourites

How wrong i was

They changed formation to a 3-4-3 so i switched to 3-5-2 with new signing Brandon Miele in the Hole and Keshi and Alex up front who both have pure pace

here's how it payed out

 

Pinball in the box poor clearance from them and an own goal- 1-0 us and i can smell nerves 

Also 2-0 aggregate they need 3 and we are starting to believe

33m-Oh no they woke up

And then,

Ball broke to Keshi who dropped deep and Miele makes a forward run into the box Keshi plays it through to Miele who is clean through on goal, takes a touch and hits and early shot into far corner- Unbelievable scenes here at Ibrox- all over surely

Rangers Pull one back but there is not enough time and Derry City beat Gasgow Rangers 3-2 on aggregate 

I am not even bothered that we will probably lose 6 in 6 and be smashed from pillar to post- we qualified and recieved the handsome some of 20 million pounds

Pound for Pound one of my favorite saves ever

 

How weird does this look?

That will keep us in spray paint for a few years

 

To be honest i think the legs on this save my be over- with the financial power we now have the League will be a cake and i don't have the patience for a 15 year save to try and win Europe but i like the story of i dropped in June 16 won the League and then in less than a year took them to place they never imagined and left the City with an absolute fortune to keep fighting the good fight

The end

 

 

Edited August 12, 2020 by Bilbaoboy