When my lad played youth football I used to turn up religiously to all the matches - it was sort of my Anfield replacement fix over here I guess. As I was just about the only consistent "fan" of the team I got to know the coach quite well (he was an ex semi pro from Athlone Town), my lad was also mates with his son.
Anyway, one week, for some reason he couldn't make it, and the other coach who normally stepped in was also unavailable, so I got a message when I arrived at the pitch asking me to take control.
That was an absolute disaster - I have a really bad memory for faces & names so didn't have a clue who was who or what positions they played in (other than my boy & his mate), so deciding the lineup was a nightmare. Eventually I got 11 lads on the pitch and they were mega disorganised, kept looking over at me for direction, to which I would shrug my shoulders, and got battered by the opposition. At half time I had to ask my son's mate to give the team talk, while I just stood there looking embarrassed. What made it worse was the local FAI official (who lived locally, but wasn't allowed to intervene at all) was there, looking on in complete disbelief at how bad I was. He came over for a chat, but we ended up talking about the renovation of our village hall, as it was obvious I had nothing intelligent to add to a footballing conversation.
I would be happy to give you kids the benefit of my experiences & wisdom in this area. You have a lot to learn from me, count me in.
