I thought that said donkey pain relief for a second.
You assā¦
I suffered a crushing blow tonight.
TFK AFC physio (Aidan Woods - former Irish Olympic team physio) told me this evening that I would never play football at an elite level again (TFK AFC) but that I should be able to resume playing socially in early 2013 if my treatment goes well and I complete my rehab programme diligently.
My quadriceps muscle is completely torn. Well, when I say quadriceps, I mean the main muscle of the group of 4 (the rectus femoris) is totally fucked - itās the one that goes right down the middle of the thigh before joining the knee. I can only build up the lesser remaining 3 muscles that surround it to try to compensate but it will never heal.
My thigh problem originates back to TFK AFCās participation in the Champions League blitz competition in March. I felt my thigh pop in the first game when delivering a kick-out but I was pressurised to play on in that game, and another subsequent 3 games, by our manager despite the searing pain.
I dealt with it by resting, icing and exercising on an ongoing basis it but it was nagging away all the time. I actually played most of the games as we won the summer league after an initial 3-week absence but it turned out I effectively had a torn thigh muscle all along.
Anyway, it went completely again 3 weeks ago and I even played another game after that. I truly am such a brave character, an absolute fucking hero, playing on pure adrenalin and pride in the DART green jersey. 
However, Iāve probably played my last ever game for TFK AFC.
[quote=āBandage, post: 231835ā]I suffered a crushing blow tonight.
TFK AFC physio (Aidan Woods - former Irish Olympic team physio) told me this evening that I would never play football at an elite level again (TFK AFC) but that I should be able to resume playing socially in early 2013 if my treatment goes well and I complete my rehab programme diligently.
My quadriceps muscle is completely torn. Well, when I say quadriceps, I mean the main muscle of the group of 4 (the rectus femoris) is totally fucked - itās the one that goes right down the middle of the thigh before joining the knee. I can only build up the lesser remaining 3 muscles that surround it to try to compensate but it will never heal.
My thigh problem originates back to TFK AFCās participation in the Champions League blitz competition in March. I felt my thigh pop in the first game when delivering a kick-out but I was pressurised to play on in that game, and another subsequent 3 games, by our manager despite the searing pain.
I dealt with it by resting, icing and exercising on an ongoing basis it but it was nagging away all the time. I actually played most of the games as we won the summer league after an initial 3-week absence but it turned out I effectively had a torn thigh muscle all along.
Anyway, it went completely again 3 weeks ago and I even played another game after that. I truly am such a brave character, an absolute fucking hero, playing on pure adrenalin and pride in the DART green jersey.
However, Iāve probably played my last ever game for TFK AFC.[/quote]
What a brave character. Iāll give Woodsy a call in the morning to see if thereās anything we can do as an organisation to improve the rehabilitation process. We may set something up in the US with Dr Stedman in Colorado.
Do not go quietly into that dark night Bandage. Will the jersey be retired?
Iām beyond gutted - itās a shockingly abrupt end to a glittering career. How do I replace the buzz? Players have gone completely off the rails in the past when faced with sudden and forced retirement. Iāll have to rely on the Astro Playersā Association for support and guidance and I wonder if thereās a benevolent fund that I can tap in to? Either way, I want to stay in the game in some capacity - astro football has enriched my life for many years and it will continue to do so, albeit in a different way. I canāt help but think of the night we won our first ever title. Iām crying.
[quote=āBandage, post: 231838ā]
Iām beyond gutted - itās a shockingly abrupt end to a glittering career. How do I replace the buzz? Players have gone completely off the rails in the past when faced with sudden and forced retirement. Iāll have to rely on the Astro Playersā Association for support and guidance and I wonder if thereās a benevolent fund that I can tap in to? Either way, I want to stay in the game in some capacity - astro football has enriched my life for many years and it will continue to do so, albeit in a different way. I canāt help but think of the night we won our first ever title. Iām crying.[/quote]
Iām sure weāll be able to come up with a suitable programme to help you through. It might help to talk to Smelly given the similarly abrupt ends to your astro careers.
On a practical note you should aim to have the autobiography out for this time next year and hope to get a bit of publicity momentum building up to the Christmas market.
Have you any interests outside the game?
[quote=āThe Dunph, post: 231840ā]
Have you any interests outside the game?[/quote]
Diet & Nutrition mainly pal.
Iāve had a fair bit of posterior tib pain for the last couple of weeks. Gait analysis needed perhaps.
My injury is still such that I was unable to clean out a calf house earlier and will be unable to line out later today. A deep cut on the elbow takes time it seems, still not closed properly.
Bandage I think you should read this, it could be very helpful to you in these dark times.
http://soberpaddy.coā¦ith-pat-gilroy/
The last time I spoke with Pat Gilroy
September 14, 2012 By Sober Paddy[/url] [url=āhttp://soberpaddy.com/the-last-time-i-spoke-with-pat-gilroy/#commentsā]12 Comments
Pat Gilroy stepped down as the Dublin GAA manager last week. I take my sombrero off to him as he brought the glory days back to the city. He went about his business calmly and steadily and he has to be commended for an outstanding few years work.
The last time I spoke to Pat was when he told me I was no longer involved in the senior inter-county set up with Dublin. It was October 2008.
I was working as a sales rep for Guinness out in Meath and Cavan and was just after walking out of a pub in a sleepy town called Oldcastle. The dry winter evenings were setting in. It was close to 4pm and already the sky was darkening. You could smell the turf fires being lit in cozy little homes. It smelt like Christmas was just around the corner.
http://soberpaddy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Pat-Gilroy.jpg
Pat Gilroy
My phone rang and I saw Pats name pop up. I knew the news was going to be bad. I had been to a fitness test the week previous and I had struggled. I had been drinking and smoking again and was out of shape.
To be honest I didnāt think I could take another few years on the bench, but if Pat was to tell me I would be given a chance to show how good I was, then I was willing to roll up the sleeves once more.
I had spent three years as a sub for Dublin. Three years training 6 days a week to be a sub. Three years giving every ounce of sweat and blood I had to try and break into the team. Being number two to Stephen Cluxton is no insult, but I always believed I was better. I always thought if I was given a chance then I would pull off saves which would go down in the annals of brilliance and supreme performance. I stayed involved because I believed.
http://soberpaddy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Me-with-my-beautiful-mother-and-three-sisters-with-the-Leinster-trophy-in-2007-300x225.jpg
Me with my beautiful mother and three sisters with the Leinster trophy in 2007
In those three years I never drank except for a blow out for a month or two from October to November, but even then you would still be training and watching what you were eating to a degree.
That all changed when Pat Gilroys call came through.
-
Hi John, I just wanted to call to tell you that you are no longer part of the squad. The reasons are that your kick out is inconsistent and we believe that your decision making is suspect at times. As a shot stopper you are probably the best in the county, but I am afraid overall that you are not consistent enough. -
Thatās cool Pat, I understand. I had a feeling this call would be coming..best of luck with everything and I hope you bring the All-Ireland home.
And that was it. More or less. There was some fluff either side of this but all in all, that was the end of it.
I had to commend him on his honesty and lack of bush beating.
I think it was this that got Dublin back into the championship winning mode. (Honestyā¦not dropping a sub keeper!)
He was honest and direct and kept things inherently simple and clear. This allowed the team to work together and no one man was above anyone else. This work ethic, while attempted while I was involved, was taken to another level. And Sam came home. (Sam is the name for the Championship trophy)
This phone call began a binge that would only really end six months later in Sydney Australia. The shackles were off. My reasons to drink, indulge, party and consume were so blatant and obvious that they screamed at me every day I woke up[indent]
- You are no longer with the Dubs manā¦fuck work, get stoned and play golf
- You are no longer with the Dubs manā¦fuck club training, get into town and go on the session
- You are no longer with the Dubs manā¦fuck everything, get a big bag of pills and get mashed up this weekend
- You are no longer with the Dubs man, fuck the lot of it, letās go on the piss this morning, get some coke for the avo and go on a real drinking session.[/indent]
It was my excuse to consume, drink and indulge. My work performance suffered. My interest in life seemed to suffer. I wasnāt interested in much save who was going on the session and when they were going. Drink, drugs and the rest flowed.
It wasnāt long before I was depressed with life in Ireland. I got in touch with my old buddy Fran Daly living in Australia and he said he might be able to hook me up with some work. I thought to myself that there was no other option. I couldnāt face staying around. Three months after being dropped from the squad I was on a plane to sunny Sydney.
It was here where I could drink and party on with the new reality of life far, far away. So I carried onā¦drinking heavily, getting in the pills, smoking my brains out. I could carry on the lie here. I could continue the madness and people didnāt know where I was coming from or really why I was there. I was there because I couldnāt face living in Dublin, knowing I wasnāt on the Dubs. I was there so I could blitz myself, numb myself and drink myself to oblivion and no one would pull me up.
I often wonder what it must be like for proās who finish up, or inter county superstars who have to hang up the boots or who are told to.
It must crush.
I mean, look at Gazza (former England soccer superstar Paul Gascoigne)
It is hard to adapt to life away from the top performance routine. It is a hard nugget to swallow that you just arenāt good enough anymore. And if you have an addictive, expressive personality, then you better watch out. You better understand that the rails might be about to be come off.
The rails first came off when I was 17. I had been scouted by Oldham Ahtletic, then in the Premier League. The scout was talking about possible moves to Everton FC in the future. He was extremely excited and so were the club. I had only been playin in goals for 4 years but was on the brink of a professional contract.
What the scout didnāt realise was that I was two months too old to play U/18 the following year. When the birth certificate went through he called me up to break the news to me that I was surplus to requirements.
I still remember how my world caved in after that phone call. My heart sickened and I knew everything would be different from the way I had hoped.
The drinking, hash and old school āeāsā were consumed in heavy doses to deal with the pain. But I still had GAA to bring me back inā¦.the Dublin minors, then under 21ā²s kept me from committing too heavily to this life of excess.
But something died inside.
But unlike then when I had parents and other high performance sports to ground me, after being dropped from the Dublin panel, I only had myself to fix myself. No football, no commitments, no hope for the future.
It took me another six tortuous months of remodelling my brain, my attitude and myself before I was able to deal with myself as a human again. I had become a twisted, cynical, paranoid and angry wreck of a man. My normal, good and happy self was buried behind a drunken, drugged up animal. But I got my head together over time. And here I amā¦ā¦
-The one and only Sober Paddy.
So thank you Pat. Thanks for winning the All-Ireland again. And thank you for sending me on one of the heaviest binges of my life which has resulted in me being the strongest, most creative and happiest I have been in my life.
The drinks are on me when I see you next.
There is so much wrong with that post mbb that I donāt know where to start. :lol: GGA player confirms simpleton generalistaton.
Runt, could you provide with a typical āfitness testā for a player coming back from 12 weeks out with a ruptured thigh muscle?
donĀ“t need a Ā“testĀ“ā¦heĀ“s not worth picking if that injury keeps him out 12 weeksā¦what an utter faggotā¦no love for the jersey and no love for the gameā¦
Give HHH a ring.
I would advise doing it on front of a section of the support and make sure they are aware that you are under going a fitness test. Do a bit of running, knees up, heels up. Lots of big exaggerated movements. Give a little grimace when jogging towards the fans, then turn sharply and sprint away. If the thigh is still too sore to play go towards the physio with a very disappointed look on your face and a slight shaking of the head. Give a half hearted salute to the fans on your way back to the changing rooms. But if your ok to play clap the physio on the back and give a clenched fist salute to the crowd, with a few more exaggerated exercises on your way back in. Give a wink or thumbs up to one fan I particular.
That should see you right.
Bumped for chewy seeing as heās back training
Best wishes for speedy recoveries to TFK AFC defensive stalwart Dex and former TFK AFC midfield lynchpin Stevie G following their recent cruciate knee ligament injuries.
Do any of ye astro boys not pick up serious injuries? Was one of ye rude to a witch once?