Begg on Jess

[manc_don]

Decent read on Ally Begg's first blog post:

 

https://allybegg.com/eoin-jess-i-thought-to-myself-this-cant-be/

 

Welcome to my first blog. The aim of the page is to offer you,  the reader,  interesting and thought provoking pieces which center in and around Aberdeen FC and beyond. I would like to think that some of the stories you read will inspire you. I have been extremely fortunate in life, but I’ve had to work incredibly hard to get to where I am today. We all have, but if you’re thinking of something different or creating a new life for yourself and your family maybe, just maybe, in these pages you can find the incentive or motivation to do just that. I have written stories, which will appear here in the coming weeks, where the subject has come through adversity and hardship.  Mainly, however, I just want you to enjoy the upcoming narratives.

 

It was always my intention when setting out on this journey to launch my page with a story about a guy who to this day is idolized by thousands despite retiring from the game many years ago. He is, in my humble opinion,  the greatest of his generation and I’m not sure we will see his likes again. When seeking him out for this blog I wondered nervously if he would agree to do it considering his shyness so you can imagine my elation when he agreed to speak with me.

 

Eoin Jess was magical.  A talent like no other, he was able to turn a game with one flash of brilliance. This blog, though, is not about Eoin’s career or what he achieved in the game. This piece is about Eoin’s spirit, his drive and, more importantly, his bravery when faced with the unthinkable.

 

Eoin has had to remain strong throughout his career, even from an early age when he was unexpectedly released from Rangers as a teenager “It came out of the blue.  I played a game against Deveronvale where I did really well setting up three goals but then they released me right after the game. The following day they called me back and asked me to play against Inverness, but I said ‘no’. I stood up for myself and had already made my decision so I didn’t really have a lot of time to think about what was happening because, before I knew it, George Adams (Aberdeen FC Youth Team Coach) was on the phone inviting me to Pittodrie to have a trial”

 

Rangers loss was categorically Aberdeen’s gain but Eoin did not have too much time to think about what was going on and, more importantly, how to deal with the rejection at the age of 17. “My dream was to make it as a professional player so I was sick after doing so well in the game against Deveronvale. It was a huge shock to me. I don’t recall any tears or anything like that, but it was the first time I had been rejected from being a footballer. What I learned from that? I don’t know.  I was probably too young to fully comprehend it but, of course, it was a huge disappointment”

 

Eoin though did not give up and with a maturity instilled beyond his years, mainly thanks to a strong family background, he knew he had to dig deep and remain mentally strong to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a professional football player “I was grateful to be given another opportunity. I look back on it now as a stroke of luck because George made me aware how lucky I was to be given a second opportunity which I fully appreciated at the time. I then went into Pittodrie for a week and had my trial and it was George and Teddy Scott who persuaded Ian Porterfield to sign me. I have a lot to thank them for”

 

Having signed on and impressed not just at youth and reserve level Eoin was quickly catching the eye of newly installed managers Jocky Scott and Alex Smith. At the age of 18 Eoin made his debut in a drab 0-0 draw against Motherwell, a game he will never forget. “It was all a blur to be honest. I felt very lucky to be given such an opportunity so early in my career through Alex Smith. He had the bravery, if you like, to put me in the side at that time. I can vividly remember the game despite it being 0-0. I played really well out on the right wing and it all just kicked on from there. I went into a team full of Scottish internationals which made it a lot easier for me back then”

 

Five months later and two months before his 19th birthday Eoin found himself having to deal with the biggest test of his career to date, a place in the starting XI for the 1989 Skol Cup Final against Rangers. I’m sure we have all wondered at times how young players deal with the pressure of playing in high-profile games – thankfully, for Eoin, there was no time to think.  If you delve a touch deeper this was probably a well thought out ploy from the management team.  “I think being so young I didn’t have the time to think. I remember the morning of the game.  We used to travel down to Glasgow the day before and we trained the morning of the game whether it was a cup final or not. I just remember making my way down to the training field and Alex Smith pulled me aside and told me I was starting the game. To be honest I wasn’t even expecting to be on the bench. He informed me about 9 or 10 in the morning; I couldn’t speak to anyone as those were the days when nobody had a mobile phone. I couldn’t even tell my mother or my family. To be honest the game now is such a blur. I know I had butterflies in my stomach and a little bit of nerves,  but once the game kicked-off that all disappeared and I just got on with the job. The game in itself I can’t really pick anything out apart from the goals. I can’t remember that much about it. You just go into a mindset that you have a job to do and you just have to try and do the best that you can”

 

Having established himself as a first team player and adding a Scottish Cup winner’s medal to his collection it wasn’t long before Eoin’s strength of character was tested to the limit. Season 1990/91, as we all know, ended with the biggest blow of them all, losing the League to Rangers on the final day “It’s the biggest disappointment of my career. I came off early after I got injured but the game itself was such a huge opportunity to win the League.  The disappointment was indescribable but you have to learn to get on with things.  There’s always going to be disappointments in professional football and you have to handle them. You have to handle winning honours, but you also have to learn how to handle disappointments. That was really hard”

 

Losing the League on the final day was a bitter pill to swallow but no matter the disappointment Eoin remained driven and grateful that he was doing the thing he loved, playing professional football “It was always my dream to be a professional footballer since I was five years old so you have to try and give your best every single game. People may doubt that but it’s something you have to do. It’s what I strived for, to win things, to win trophies and games. That’s what it’s all about; it’s not about making money. Financial gains obviously come from doing well but every young boy has a dream to become a pro player and that was mine and that’s what drove me. When you’re put in a situation with some talent it’s important not to waste it. You train every day to perform on a Saturday or Wednesday and that’s the opportunity you get, being a professional player was a childhood dream for me and that’s how I felt so, why waste it”

 

Despite his success as a player and being revered by so many nothing would prepare Eoin for his biggest battle yet upon retiring from the game. Always one for being self-conscious and healthy the unthinkable presented itself one morning when Eoin suffered a stroke in April 2009 at the age of 38 “I had a shower in the morning before heading to the gym, I was just sitting at the end of the bed and I bent down to put my socks on and I couldn’t manage. I started speaking to myself and became aware that my speech was slurred; I had seen an advert on TV about strokes so I followed the instructions I recalled from the advert. I went to the mirror and could quite clearly see that my face had dropped on one side; I thought to myself this can’t be. So, I immediately phoned the club to get the number of the doctor then phoned for an ambulance. Within twenty minutes I felt fine. I told the paramedic that but he insisted I get in the ambulance to go to hospital. When I was in the emergency room the doctor and I were chatting and then it happened again. I had another stroke. I was rushed to cardiac where I was kept in for two to three days as they carried out a number of tests. I’m lucky. I know that I’m lucky. I don’t have any symptoms now but I’m fully aware strokes can kill you. Thankfully my stroke was just a minor one but with all the tests and scans that I had we discovered that I had a hole in my heart. Medicals at clubs back when I was playing were not as stringent as they are now so, if they had discovered the hole in my heart,  I would probably never had made it as a professional. It makes me appreciate my career even more so and also makes me realize how fortunate I am because I’m here but it was very scary”

 

Not one for wallowing in self-pity after such a shock to the system Eoin’s character was such that he only had thoughts for others. “I was coaching at Nottingham Forest at the time They were absolutely fantastic. They gave me the time off I needed to recover but, within a month, I was back coaching.  I had young players who were trying to make their way into professional football so I had to get back in to help them. That thought drove me back.  Yes, it was a huge shock to the system.  You never expect that to happen to you. I’ve been healthy all my life, keeping fit and eating the right food. Then, obviously, the stroke happened.  But I’m grateful that I’m here as it could have been a lot worse”

 

It’s testimony to Eoin’s character that he came through such a life-changing experience better for it but humble enough to fully appreciate how fortunate he is. Eoin has always had an appreciation for life and the career he forged for himself. As I mentioned at the top of the piece he is relatively shy, but that won’t stop him offering words of wisdom to those who have faced adversity and set-backs “Never give up; looking back at the Rangers situation when they released me I didn’t see it as the be all and end all. Obviously, you need a little bit of luck, but you have to believe in yourself, believe in your goals, believe in your dreams and, hopefully, it will come to fruition in the long run. You receive setbacks in life but it’s how you deal with it. You have to be strong mentally, be able to push on and prove the doubters wrong, and be positive throughout”

[Kowalski]

Nice read, thanks for sharing.