When in Dublin, do as the Dubliners do.
Now those of you who know me a little by now will understand that I’m more comfortable with a glass of champagne in my hand than a pint of Guinness.
But Keeno said it was a must to at least try a pint of the ‘black stuff’ before we left.
So in Temple Bar, I tried my first full pint….and I liked it!
Not only did I like it, but I may have partaken in a couple more, not to mention a sip of Hophouse and a few ‘Baby Guinnesses’ – if you know you know!
The music was excellent, everyone was in great spirits, but we couldn’t go crazy with the Celtic game later that day.
A solid brunch in a cute American style diner by the Aviva allowed us to soak up the liquids of the night before.
It was lovely seeing plenty of Irish fans in and around the ground – so many locals were delighted Wolves had finally come to town.
The stadium itself is mightily impressive and it was a pleasure to get into the away end after the final whistle and grab the thoughts of the travelling army.
As for the game, Wolves definitely grew into it – they had to after a pretty poor start.
But in the end there were positive takeaways after a strong second-half showing.
One thing’s for certain, Matheus Cunha looks a different footballer when playing just behind a central striker.
On this occasion it was Fabio, but I think Kalajdzic would also give the Brazilian international the ability to play to his true strengths.
It was good to also meet some of the Irish media as there was plenty of buzz around Matt Doherty and Joe Hodge.
Hodge will be delighted to have played 90 mins at his country’s home stadium while we saw plenty of the ‘old Doc’ in his short cameo on the pitch.
After finishing the post-match reaction, it was a quick shower and change and down to the locals spot ‘Merrion Row’
Following a lovely traditional romantic Irish dinner dinner for two (the steak was incredible), it was a short walk down the road to a bar that was rated as one of the best places to drink Guinness in the world.
Now with me still being very much a novice, I didn’t particularly know the difference, but Liam reliably informed me it was magnificent!
For those of you who are partial to a pint, we also played the ‘splitting the G’ game where possible – think it was a pretty close contest though.
We finished the evening in a swanky hotel so I could try a ‘Guinness Velvet’ (half Guinness/half champagne)… let’s just say Liam was not a happy bunny after offering to pick up the tab!
An early flight back to Birmingham and our mini pre-season trip was over for another year.
It’s always a privilege to be able to link up with the team despite the current off -the-field issues.
I hope you’ve enjoyed all the coverage and understood as best possible our explanation of the current club finances.
Two more pre-season games before the opener at Manchester United.
There’s plenty of work still to do and a lot of questions still to be answered.
Time to catch up on some sleep – we’ll see you vs Luton on Wednesday!